The manure was stored in the deep litter together with sodded heather shrubs. In the spring they had some manure to provide the poor fields with the necessary minerals. When the demand for domestic wool decreased, the construction of canals brought mineral-rich water, and railways and other roads were built, the heath came under pressure. However, the real death knell for the heathlands was the discovery of the Kempen coal deposits (1901). There was a great demand for mining wood. Thousands of hectares of heathland were planted with conifers. Other heathlands became agricultural areas, factory sites and recreational areas.

In the woods between the Oude Bleken in Millegem and Gooreersels in Achterbos there was a forgotten piece of wooded heathland. In 1988, some members of nature association De Gagel took the initiative to restore this last part to its former glory. Every year in the winter they started working. There was sawing, felling, teasing, mowing... At a certain point, the Kempen heath sheep from the non-profit organization Kemp were called in to achieve the desired result. In 2013, after 25 years of toil, the time had come: the Gagelaars could show off a beautiful piece of purple among the predominantly green conifers.