South of the village centre of Ename, stretching over the green hills of the Flemish Ardennes, lies a particularly valuable historical-ecological area known as Bos t'Ename, "the woods of Ename." From the Middle Ages on, this wooded area has been linked closely to the small harbour town and abbey. The landscape and its natural resources played an important part in every day life for the people of Ename. Today, a footpath leading from the Ename Museum to Bos t'Ename highlights and continues this longstanding connection.

The Bos t'Ename is a large woodland, a portion of which is presently managed as a nature reserve. Human activities that harm the flora and fauna are strictly prohibited. Today, visitors are allowed in the nature reserve area only on guided tours along a raised wooden walkway about half a meter above the terrain, to avoid disturbing the soil and vegetation.

The current forestry program in "Bos t'Ename" seeks to restore the natural landscape and biological diversity that can be found in an undisturbed woodland environment.

An educational route, called the "Mariette Tielemans trail", has been set up through the woodland. It starts at the museum, and includes educational information panels to explain the botanical and historical importance of "Bost'Ename".