Cathrien Posthumus put the Hondsrug in the spotlight in all kinds of ways for many years and now wants to do the same in her home port of Westerwolde.
And as secretary of the Walking Foundation in Westerwolde (SWW). “An unpaid position that I recently accepted and am looking forward to,” she says.
Posthumus, 65 years old, tells her story in Smeerling. The tiny village in the heart of Westerwolde where she lives on a centuries-old farm with her husband. “And we also run a Bed and Breakfast, so we often have guests here,” she says. “We have lived here for years and enjoy it. But in all those years I earned my living on the Hondsrug.”
There she was manager of the UNESCO Global Geopark De Hondsrug. A foundation that puts the spotlight on the Hondsrug in all kinds of ways: that area with its forests and other natural beauty, which runs from the city of Groningen in the direction of Emmen.
Telling the story of De Hondsrug
“She does this with lectures, with walking routes, with all kinds of other activities,” says Posthumus. “The foundation wants to make De Hondsrug better known, tell the story of that area, as it were, and make people aware that it should be cherished.”
As an official of the province of Drenthe, she was involved in setting up the foundation more than ten years ago. “And when that happened, I also became manager. And the Hunebed Center in Borger became my workplace. The Geopark has its headquarters there.”
Happy with UNESCO status
She thoroughly enjoyed her work on De Hondsrug, came to love that area and was extremely happy when the foundation received UNESCO status. “Which does not mean that De Hondsrug will be closed, that nothing more can be done, but it does indicate that the area is valuable.”
So all those years she drove from Smeerling to Borger and back countless times. But now she has retired and can spend much more time in Smeerling and Westerwolde. In the area that is also centuries old, also has many forests and other natural beauty. And the SWW, the foundation that manages and maintains more than forty walking routes and runs entirely on volunteers.
Many dozens of volunteers
“On many dozens of volunteers,” says Posthumus. “I wonder if there is another area in the Netherlands that has a similar organization. It is wonderful that so many people are committed to providing walking pleasure to tourists, but also to residents of the area itself. Of course, I already knew the foundation by name, but recently I was asked, through an acquaintance of mine, to become secretary.”
As a result, she will now handle much of the SWW administration, but she also firmly plans to be involved in other ways. “Just as I previously tried to make De Hondsrug better known, I would now also like to let hikers in Westerwolde learn more about the paths and the villages they walk across and through. About its history, among other things. This can be done digitally, with brochures, with text boards, there are many ways. That extra information can make walking even more fun and make people even more aware of how special this area is.”
Not a real hiker yet
She herself, she admits, is not a real walker. “I walk the dog but not really. But I definitely want to explore some of the routes. No, I don’t know Westerwolde from my youth either. I was born and raised in Marum, in the Westerkwartier, a part of Groningen with a completely different character. But I have lived in Westerwolde for so long that I have come to love this area and am happy to work for it.”