Zavelenberg illustrates a particular typology of public space: that of rural spaces structured, as in the past, by hedges, fences and copses of trees.

In 1991, the Brussels-Capital Region bought a part of the 16 hectares, listed in 1989.

Rural and landscaped, the site forms a space remarkable for its homogeneity. A wooded hill, private property, is its central and culminating point. A woodland type of vegetation (acacias and sycamore maples) covers the vestiges of a former quarry. From there, the terrain, covered by meadows bordered by hedges, gently slopes toward the north and the west. At the foot of the hill flows a spring, surrounded by meadows, with a pond and clumps of poplars and pollard willows. This spring has its source in a wet forest where a rich underbrush flora grows. In the meadows, the cattle of the last farmer in Brussels graze. The hedges, meadows, woods, and clumps of poplars are precious biotopes. Green hellebores and wild garlic are found there.

Management by Brussels Environment aims to preserve this authentic rural landscape as well as the biological features of the nature reserve.