The excavator waves its arm towards a truck. The dark bulb soil is removed. The top layer of the former grass and bulb land has been scraped from the plot. Below it lies the old, nutrient-poor dune sand. The Zandpolder nature reserve is a kind of growth diamond that started small 20 years ago.
“This part, Zandpolder 5, will mainly have a botanical function. This is a unique piece of nature. Seen from the sea, it is located behind a single row of dunes. You only see that around here or in Zeeland. Thanks to the salty seepage water that passes under the dunes, you will have a special area with rare orchids and parnassia. They are still waiting underground in old seed banks,” says forester Tim Zutt of Landschap North Holland.
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