Visiting Varkensland, a Dutch restoration project

Earlier this September, three of us from RE-PEAT visited Varkensland, a special peat restoration project just half an hour’s bike ride from Amsterdam Central Station. Nico Dekker guided us through his initiative in caring for a historic landscape. We were inspired to look closely and to really get a feel of the place.

Varkensland is on the other side of the canal from Ilperveld in Waterland, just north of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Varkensland is a cluster of re-wilded polders in the middle of Waterland, owned by the Dutch government organisation Staatsbosbeheer. The general area was drained in the Mediaeval period and is mostly still used for grazing cattle. But in 2011 Nico, a local Staatsbosbeheer volunteer, began a restoration project.

RE-PEAT member Ireen van Dolderen learnt about Varkensland and intiated an excursion, being joined by Frankie Turk and myself, Kate Foster.  We were all really curious to visit this area of laagveen, a fen peatland typical of western Netherlands.  It was a very unusual chance to visit peatland that is growing more healthily - an ideal excursion for RE-PEATers!

What makes Varkensland so special?

The wider area consists of many small parcels of land (polders) divided by streams of water. Polder water levels are managed and, for peatland restoration, they are kept high to let bog plants grow. Each polder water level can be adjusted separately. Imagine, in the seven hectare area of Varkensland, you can have six different water levels! These are managed by low-tech sluices and pumps.

Nico’s management involves moving water from one place to another and, with winter rains, he lets water drain into the river. Different water levels allow for sub-ecosystems which fulfil varied purposes such as bird breeding, insect reproduction, water-plant propagation or the emergence of a peat moss layer.  We learnt that a slight flux of water is actually beneficial for peat formation.

With Nico’s lead over the last 13 years, Varkensland has been transformed into a site of increasing biodiversity and peat formation.  We were excited to see bog mosses (sphagnum species) growing prolifically in the project heartland, and amazed how quickly this area had recovered. About four years ago, the full upper layer of the soil was removed because it was packed with invasive species. Sphagnum naturally repopulated the bare peat and now forms a dense and soft blanket over the surface. Plant surveys document how other bog species, including orchids and sundews, are growing alongside the regenerating sphagnum.

Regenerating sphagnum mosses grow amongst other plants in the transition areas.

We were curious about what motivated Nico and learned that he started out as an apple and pear farmer, but at a young age got involved with nature restoration projects. He now spends his retirement days on the Varkensland project. Living just on the other side of the canal, he spends six, and sometimes even seven, days a week there. He volunteers for various nature organisations in the Netherlands and, amongst other things, surveys insects and birds and conducts educational tours and restoration work. 

A philosophy of restoration

We learnt about the process of peatland restoration, such as how sphagnum moss grows within reeds that water management in polderlands is kaleidoscopic. But above all this was an inspiring chance to experience a philosophy of restoration in practice.

Staatsbosbeheer guide Nico Dekker helped us observe the details of regeneration at Varkensland.

Nico goes around the land every week to simply observe: what is happening? He asks: What can I do, to make it better? What can I just leave be, to make it better? 

One example is how birds want different spaces for different things. Some want a place near the water but on soil to wash themselves but want higher grasses for breeding. Other bird species actually want little puddles in the ground. By having lots of different areas, Nico is essentially making tailored homes for all life, all connected to each other. New species have found places to live in Varkensland, like birds of prey, ducks, geese and waders.

Nico was well aware of making decisions based on decisions on who or what should benefit. He avoids blanket management, explaining that you cannot just look at this one species and “save it”. You need to look at the whole ecosystem and all the life that comprises it  (reeds, the mosses, the caterpillars, the butterflies, the birds) and act from there.

For Nico, you can have a long term idea of what shape you want the land to take, but in the end, you need to work with what is there. For example, if you are planning to mow and you find that lots of flowers are still in bloom at that moment, just wait another two weeks. He advised: Don’t be a slave to your plan! And things take a lot of time - project timescales can be only three to five years but, for example, some insects need six years in one spot to complete their life cycle. Timescales of “regular” restoration and nature do not always add up.

We were inspired to see an approach to restoration that is informed by love for the land, with skill and long-term commitment. Maybe, there is something  that a farming background can add, with someone special with a lifetime of experience and who is prepared to change and adapt and take on new knowledge.

Reflections about being in Varkensland

We went barefoot in the wettest areas on a late summer’s day, and thought of how in the past this would have been commonplace in Dutch peatlands when life there would have been arduous.

The birds that have found habitat in Varkensland gave us a different dimension to looking up. And looking down, we saw frogs, sundew, and more.  

Maybe it is easy to say sometimes that “The Netherlands does not have nature” - and people might lean towards this idea. Yet there is actually so much when you look closely. And so much to revive in a short period of time! But you have to learn the art of observing, and commit to building a real relation to the land. Learn the names, visit regularly, learn its seasons. Be patient. 

Written by Kate Foster with Ireen van Dolderen and Frankie Turk

Images: Kate Foster / Frankie Turk