It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog, the reason? I was busy with my traineeship with Het Groene Strand ( the green beach) and I started working again and soon i will even be switching jobs! The traineeship has come to an end, I learned a quite a few things during this traineeship about nature on the beach, how to enthuse and engage people about something you are passionate about. It was also a good lesson in group work, with people from many different backgrounds and a good lesson of sometimes letting this go. The end of this traineeship does give me time again to write a blog post. But what should I write about? Why not about the very beautiful and interesting location where we concluded the traineeship, Noordvoort a beach reserve between the towns Noordwijk and Zandvoort.
Ecological value of Noordvoort
The Netherlands has over 450km of beach what makes Noordvoort so interesting and unique? Noordvoort is a stretch of 3km beach and dune area where nature is allowed to run free and where humans aren't allowed on the beach (although they can still be seen on the beach). The dunes of the coast of the Netherlands are the first line of defence against the sea and future sea-level rise. Dunes must be able to grow with the rising sea level. And sand must be able to drift from the beach to the dunes for the dunes to grow. In order to achieve this sand drift pits have been created in Noorvoort and the existing invasive vegetation has been removed and dune valleys were cleared. Now fine calcareous sand can once again drift to the hinterland. This creates space again for moss and grass species that like to grow on sand, and for the plants and animals that belong in the dunes to thrive here once again. Typical sea ridge species such as sea rocket, blue sea thistle and sand violets can take root again, creating habitat for animals such as sand lizards and blue-winged grasshopper.
Besides the ecological value of these drift pits, the moving of the sand also causes for the dunes behind the foredunes to grow and become higher. But why are humans not allowed on the beach it self? This is to create an quiet area where coastal and sea birds can rest, feed and nest without disturbance on the beach and dunes. And seals can haul up onto the beach for a rest without being disturbed.
Experience Noordvoort
So how do you visit Noordvoort as you are not allowed to walk on the beach? To mark the 3km stretch of quiet beach reserve area, rows of poles have been placed from the sea to the dunes with information signs on them. These information signs tell you and show you the way to the beautiful walking path over the first row of dunes, which is an area where you are normally not allowed to walk.
And this path I loved it! It has a very steep sandy start to get on top of the dunes. After the climb you walk through the helm grass over a small sandy path. During the walk you will come across the cleared dune valleys. There are also some viewpoints where you can look over the beach and maybe spot some coastal/sea birds and seals, and maybe on a clear day with some binoculars you might see a porpoise!
This was a shorter post, I will definitely keep writing blog posts. However they will not be as frequent as they used to be. I do have some ideas of topics to write about so stay tuned! I might post some short posts from experiences and adventures on my Instagram and Facebook page. Do follow me there as well!
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