The Senne lies at the foot of the 'Teutoburger Wald' forest region in the Westphalian lowlands east of the town of Münster. The three corners of the Senne are marked by the towns of Bielefeld, Paderborn and Horn-Bad Meinberg. By nature, it is the most nutrient-poor area in North-Rhine Westphalia and beyond. On account of its marginal position and its geological characteristics - all of it is nutrient-poor, partly dry and sandy, partly wet and boggy - the Senne remained devoid of settlements into the 12th century.  Since then the utilisation of the heathlands has shaped the landscape, and for the past one hundred years about a third of the Senne has been used as a military training area. For conservation purposes the latter is currently the best protected part of the project region. Since almost all civic uses where excluded this part was protected from suburbanisation, from the sealing of soil surfaces and from defragmentation. Similarly it was protected from intensifying agricultural practices while all around it significant ecological changes, loss of habitats and species were evident. Many threatened species find refuge in the habitats of the Senne. It is, for example, an important rest stop for migratory birds, such as cranes.

Euronatur and its local project partners intensively campaign for the designation of the Senne as a national park. Additionally it is intended to establish a marketing structure for the output of the regional, extensive farms. Together with the Gelsenwasser AG (water and energy supply company) Euronatur works on protecting the streams and wetland habitats as these are a precondition for clean drinking water and also help to prevent damage from floodwaters as they are natural floodplains.

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