Recently I read “A Life on Our Planet” by David Attenborough. In it he describes the dramatic decline of nature on this earth: disappeared jungles, lifeless oceans, extinct animal species, climate change. The solutions he mentions are exactly the same as those proposed by Peter Peeters in his “Fourth Phase” in 1998. For example: don’t buy more than you need, don’t eat more than you need. Use renewable energy, do not eat meat, avoid the use of pesticides. Let’s try to live according to those precepts: out of respect for all other life, the animals, the plants.
The Heimanshof is located in Hoofddorp, a small town near Amsterdam. The Heimanshof is an ecologically maintained botanical garden, which now exists for 45 years. With the help of many volunteers, as many plants, trees and crops that originally occurred in the Netherlands are maintained. There are various biotopes, such as a dune area, a forest, a field, a peat bog. These biotopes provide a habitat for many animals: birds, frogs, butterflies and other insects.
We have a few colonies of bees that do the pollination and give us honey. By maintaining this garden we contribute to the biodiversity, flora and fauna!
Every Wednesday afternoon a group of children comes to work in the garden. They grow vegetables and help maintain the crops.
We make insect hotels from natural materials. We make birdhouses for birds and in the spring we enjoy the newborn birds. In this way we pass on the love for nature to the next generation.
