LUST FOR WOODS

Dear mister Hofstede,

In yesterday’s paper, ‘de Volkskrant’, an article was published about a biologist F. van der Laan executing a wonderful and hands on idea to use young tree sprouts for planting new forests all over the world. F. van der Laan is sharing the sprouted seeds for free with the aim to cover the world with forest in order to prevent global warming. He likes to say;

‘Act local, think global’.

Being the registrar of the Landscape of Drenthe in the period of 1757-1795, situated in Assen, you thought of a similar idea to use sprouted seeds of spruce, oak and beech to grow a new forest. For you, the aim was to make Assen into a prestigious living environment by creating an attractive forested place to contemplate for the upper class of society.

Am I right to say you both prefere trees as a solution for degradation? Back in your days the landscape near Assen with poor, depleted soils, caused by cattle overgrazing the heathlands, needed an extension of the residual Kloosterbos. Present day natural forests are important as carbon stores and forests have to extend as well. Intensive methods of farming through times do bear a great deal of responsibility for climate change. The benefit of forest has been proven.

Your sincerely,

Cora Jongsma, Landscape Researcher with Soft Mapping Practice