The Maasuiterwaarden are a dozen small nature reserves, situated near the Maas River along the border between the provinces Gelderland and Noord Brabant.
These reserves are actively managed and tweaked  by Natuurmonumenten in an attempt to create wholly new manmade nature.

Two of these reserves sit north of 's Hertogenbosch, between  the Hedelsebrug and Maasbrug that bridge the Maas here.
The local landscape was formed when in 1870 construction of a railway bridge over the Maas was combined with a channelization of a local sharp riverbend. This reshaped the layout of the uiterwaarden (floodplain between the dikes).

For more than a century the land was used for clay mining, harvesting willow for wicker and of course farming.
Extensive sand extraction for the Betuwelijn created a large and deep artificial lake just west of the A2 motorway.

Natuurmonumenten assumed control of Empelse Waard in 1997, which was substantially enlarged a few years later by adding Oude Schans, the area immediately to the west.
TheHedelse Bovenwaard, located on the northern shore of the river, was added to the Maasuiterwaarden in 2009.

Flora and fauna thrive in these small nature reserves where beavers, foxes, rabbits, scores of  birds and insects call the area home while other animals make a quick stop to forage in or along the river, marshes and lakes. 
The Maas here still features a small tide of about 30 cm so the waters are constantly refreshed.