Our Living Labs
Many of the questions of WildlifeNL are relevant in the whole of the Netherlands, but the project will test and evaluate the co-created novel interventions in two so-called “living labs”: the National Park Zuid-Kennemerland, located in Noord-Holland, and the Grenspark Kempen~Broek, located on the Dutch-Belgian border in Limburg. Both are excellent testing grounds because they both deal with all kinds of interactions, positive and negative, between humans and animals. Moreover, in both regions, wildlife is diverse and is making a comeback (e.g., European bison, fallow and red deer, wild boar). In addition, Moreover, there is an interesting contrast between two areas, National Park Zuid-Kennemerland is located in a more urban environment with intense recreational use, whereas Grenspark Kempen~Broek is in a more rural environment with farming and recreation.
NP Zuid-Kennemerland
National Park Zuid-Kennemerland is a vast dune area in North Holland, on the south side of the North Sea Canal. It is one of the largest national parks in the Netherlands, and also one of the busiest. The area has a particularly high number of recreationists of all types. It is an area with much relief and scenic diversity, including open dunes, dune grasslands, moist and dry dune valleys, pools, well-developed thickets and various forms of dune forests. The area is home to several species of wildlife, including fallow deer. In addition, the area is grazed by free-living Scottish Highlanders and Konik horses. Since 2007, the Kraansvlak, a small enclosed area within the National Park, has also been home to a small herd of wisents.
Photo: Ruud Maaskant, PWN
Grenspark Kempen~Broek
GrensPark Kempen~Broek is located on the border of Belgium and the Netherlands, between Belgian Limburg, Dutch Limburg and North Brabant. Kempen-Broek contains a diversity of landscapes with streams and marshes, fields and grasslands, forest and heath. The area is also characterized by a diverse schala of land uses, from various forms of agriculture to nature reserves. The area is known for its enormous wealth of plants, birds and animals, including ungulates such as wild boar and red deer. In several sections of Kempen~Broek there is an abundance of large grazing animals such as Exmoor Ponies, Konik horses, Galloways and Tauros.
Photo: Rob Brinkhof, ARK rewilding
Photo header: Loeckx Lander, RLKM