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Youth and nature: next-generation awareness
Nico Boele, Ranger, Westerkwartier, Jenny van Leeuwen, Ranger, Balijbos,
Erna van de Wiel, Senior Policy Officer, Recreation and Youth, National Forest Service, the Netherlands
F
orests and nature serve an important recreational func-
tion for people living in a densely populated country
like the Netherlands. As forests in the Netherlands are
considered an intrinsic part of nature, the Dutch Government
includes them in its nature policy. Though the focus in the past
was on the ecological value of forest and nature, there is now
a growing awareness of the need to involve people, especially
youngsters, in the conservation and development of forests and
nature. This can be achieved by ensuring that the functions of
forests and nature are more accessible and more closely aligned
to the wishes of the public. Forests should also be protected,
managed, maintained and developed by people.
Encouraging people to support forest and nature conservation
requires effort: they first have to feel involved before they can
take responsibility. That is why the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Agriculture and Innovation is working towards a sustainable
future by means of a green economy, with a particular focus on
the younger generation.
The Netherlands has an ageing population and fewer young people
are choosing studies that lead to work in the green sector. They
are also less likely to take responsibility for the green areas around
their homes, for instance by volunteering for local nature manage-
ment projects. Only sufficient knowledge and active involvement
in issues like sustainable production and biodiversity will enable
young people to make sound choices later, to feel responsible for
the care and management of their environment and to contribute to
the sustainability of our society. Outlined below are two National
Forest Service initiatives which have been implemented in partner-
ship with the Ministry.
Putting policy into practice
The National Forest Service, which is the largest nature manager
in the Netherlands, implements Government policy on forests and
nature and manages around 7 per cent of the country’s territory.
This is equal to 260,000 hectares of woodland and nature, of which
86,000 hectares is Forest Stewardship Council certified forest land.
Since 1998 it has operated as an independent administrative body,
rather than a Government agency. This offers scope for greater
public participation in forest and landscape management and in
decisions about new recreational facilities.
Government policy aims to decentralize wherever possible, allow-
ing local people and local and regional authorities to take greater
responsibility for the quality of nature, forest and landscape. Central
Government wants more visible participation by the general public,
businesses and other interested parties in decisions, action and
funding, with a view to building sustainable public support.
Until now the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Agriculture and Innovation has been responsible for
forest and nature policy and has been the major client
for the National Forest Service’s contractual products
and services. Facilities created in the managed sites
include pathways, picnic sites and hides, as well as
excursions and nature education services for young
people. In the coming years, provincial authorities
will play a more prominent role in determining policy
and subsidising the management of nature, woodland
and landscape elements. Government subsidies will be
available for basic public access, after which the sites
provide the basis for delivering very diverse services to
the community.
Since its inception in the early twentieth century,
the National Forest Service has responded to the needs
of society by planting trees on wasteland, producing
timber and providing recreational facilities. In today’s
society, the collective benefit is less prominent, and
attention has turned to fulfilling the needs of group
interests and individuals. The Service will become a
community-focused organization, developing busi-
ness activities to ensure that forest and nature areas are
sustainably managed and that they operate optimally for
the benefit of society.
In future the Service’s management activities will
be more customer-focused and more firmly rooted in
society. The metaphor is ‘the public estate: of and for
the people’. This grounding in society is particularly
evident at local level (at home in the district), where
people not only take advantage of their local nature
reserves, but also take a greater role in decision-making.
Residents and visitors are offered space to connect
with trees and nature: people refer to ‘their’ place, tree
or picnic spot as having particular significance for
them. The Service’s Youth Programme, which has been
running since 2009, offers children the space to feel at
home in their own environment. The current genera-
tion of adults takes this experience for granted, as they
grew up with it. But things are different for the current
generation of children: many grow up in an urban envi-
ronment, in families that do not automatically find their
way to the natural open spaces.
The Youth Programme puts the needs of young
people first, and centres on freedom to discover.
The guiding principle of the programme is Howard
Gardner’s educational theory of multiple intelligences