The forest keeper says goodbye to ‘the’ Rottumeroog – Vroege Vogels – BNNVARA

He doesn’t know for sure, but the goalkeeper Jaap Kloosterhuis from Staatsbosbeheer must have been in Rottumeroog about eighty times. For sixteen years he guided people on the island who wanted to visit the island where no one lived. But that is coming to an end now. Nature management was transferred from Staatsbosbeheer to Rijkswaterstaat at the beginning of this year. Staatsbosbeheer organized annual trips to Rottumeroog. The question is whether Rijkswaterstaat will also organize tours. Jaap Kloosterhuis regrets that his work as tour leader on Rottumeroog is coming to an end.

The islands Rottumerplaat and Rottumeroog and the Zuiderduintjes sandbank, collectively known as ‘De Rottums’, are restricted areas. They are located in the Eastern Wadden Sea, near the Ems. The islands are uninhabited, with the exception of seasonal bird watchers who study flora and fauna, short-term stays of research scientists and some volunteers which helps clean up beach litter. Rottumeroog has been an inhabited island in the past. In the 12th century there was a small village and cows were kept there.

In 1738 the province of Groningen bought the island. Then began the era of the defenders of the island. The defendants lived with their families on the island. They put umbrellas and helmets to create new dungeons. They also lit the torch lamp to send him away. In 1965 the era of the defenders came to an end.

Jaap worked as a geography teacher before joining Staatsbosbeheer. When he was approached through his volunteer work for the position of education and enforcement officer in the head of Drenthe, he took the opportunity. Later, as a result of a reorganization, a forester’s position in the Lauwersmeer area became available and to his delight he was hired: “This is an area that I have loved for a long time and have been interesting to me.”

Jaap makes the tours at Rottumeroog with great enthusiasm: “By literally and figuratively showing visitors all kinds of plants and birds, I also try especially to the connections with each other to explain. Of course a seal is good to see, but I want to make it clear to people that it’s about small organisms like mud flat snails and algae. If you make people pay more attention to nature, they will pay more attention to it.”