What should you do if a protected oak tree is felled in your hometown to make way for a power station? Bertus ten Caat from Hollandscheveld came up with a plan. Together with his son and grandsons he is working on a protest song.
Outside the house of the Hollandschevelder, the sounds of a drum kit can already be heard. Inside, grandson Merijn is busy with the percussion. “Recording the last bits,” he says. A little further on, Grandpa Bertus records some texts. “Most of it is now on it,” he laughs. “The number rings The pedunculate oak of Riegmeer to be named. We make it because the municipality of Hoogeveen has plans to cut down a fantastic oak tree. That’s just not possible.”
The felling must take place at the Riegmeer business park. Grid operators Tennet and Rendo want to install an electricity station there. This is necessary if companies want to have a connection to Riegmeer in the future. It is also necessary for the energy transition, says Hoogeveen, for example, solar panels can be connected.
The news has kept the family busy for some time. Bertus ten Caat himself has lived in the village for some time and has a view of the tree from his backyard. “I’m not a tree hugger, but who doesn’t like trees at all? That station should be exactly where the oak tree is. That’s the bizarre part of the story, it makes no sense.”
He wonders why the station cannot be located elsewhere on the site. It is the only location suitable for large cable ducts, says the municipality. A location somewhere else on the business park is not an option, Hoogeveen thinks, so the tree has to give way.