The Metbroekbos near Smeerling, one of the darkest places in Groningen, is a participant in the Nacht van de Nacht event this weekend. Reporter Marcel Looden visited the forest in the evenings as a foretaste.
The evening is well advanced, the moon is almost full and I think of Tom Sawyer. The hero from the famous boys’ book who experiences wonderful adventures with his comrade Huck Finn, during the day but also in the evening and at night. Such an adventure awaits me in the late hours and my comrade’s name is Jeroen Kuipers.
Still really dark
He is a ranger for Natuurmonumenten and has been watching over flora and fauna in a large part of Westerwolde for 27 years. Also about the Metbroekbos, that ancient forest near Smeerling. This is known as one of the places in Groningen where it is still really dark after sunset. That is why people will walk through it next Saturday night, as part of Nacht van de Nacht, the national event in which attention is paid to the importance of darkness for people and animals, and to the harmful effects of light pollution.
That’s why I’m crossing that forest on foot tonight, to ‘taste’ that darkness. With the ranger who knows it like the back of his hand and who is happy to guide me. And who carries a flashlight to give me some light if necessary. To get to the forest, we first walk across the Eemboerveld. An open kind of meadow full of cow pats and where the darkness is already intense. Looking back you can still see a broad layer of light on the horizon. There is Stadskanaal, with the light of street lamps, houses, shops. A little closer, a light also moves across the land. A farmer harvesting the beets.
Old, tall beech trees
A tawny owl breaks the silence, just before we reach the edge of the Metbroekbos. The ranger turns off his flashlight, we open a wooden gate, walk a few more meters… and then end up in complete darkness. We stand between tall, old beeches that spread their foliage above us like a roof. Not a star, not a moonlight can be seen. You literally can’t see a hand in front of your eyes.
We shuffle forward and I am happy when Kuipers switches on his lantern again and talks about the beech trees that are here and that are so powerful that other trees and shrubs hardly stand a chance under their foliage. I listen and keep an eye on the bottom constantly, so as not to stumble.
Holly and other shrubs
We walk further and then arrive in the part of the forest that at this late hour is like a fairy tale. There are many oak trees here. The ground is covered with holly and other shrubs. The flashlight goes out again, but now something like light descends on us from above. Here there is no all-covering foliage, and in the distance lights of Vlagtwedde flicker. Very far away we hear the sound of a car.
We stop at a fallen log that is on our route, but which Kuipers and his colleagues leave behind. They leave this entire 16 hectare forest, which is accessible to everyone, alone as much as possible. I eat and drink some of the provisions I brought with me and listen to the silence. Kuipers says that there are certainly animals in this forest, foxes and badgers, but that they are hiding, surprised by our presence.
Hundreds of woodlouses
And on it goes, over elevations in the ground, under low hanging branches, with only the occasional small beam of light from the flashlight. As mentioned, ranger Kuipers knows every square meter here, but this evening also has a surprise in store for him. We come across a bare, old trunk of an oak. The light of the flashlight falls on it and what do we see? Hundreds of woodlice walk over that trunk, meters above the ground, and apparently find food there.
This spectacle is new for Kuipers. During the day you only see the woodlouses sparsely, because they are afraid of being caught by birds. But now, on this late evening, they are alone here. The ranger is amazed and cannot believe his luck as a nature lover.
A little later our big tour through the Metbroekbos is over. Over the Eemboerveld, where I slip on a cow pie, we reach the narrow road where our journey started. On the horizon the light of Stadskanaal has become less bright, that large place is slowly going to sleep. Midnight is coming and with it a new day. I start it with the wonderful knowledge that it is still there in 2023, the complete darkness.
The Night of the Night
Next Saturday’s walk through the Metbroekbos, organized by the Association of Dorpsbelangen Vlagtwedde, has now been ‘sold out’. But elsewhere in the province there are many other activities on the program as part of the Night of the Night (they can be found on the website wwwnachtvandenacht.nl).
Even hundreds across the country, says Lineke Keizer. She is the national coordinator of the event on behalf of the Nature and Environment Federations. That organization is the driving force behind the Night of the Night, which is celebrating its 19th edition this weekend. With all these events she wants to draw attention to the importance of darkness and to the fact that too much light in the evening and night has a disruptive effect on people, plants and animals.