Nature's resilience is a story that I keep telling in many varieties; there is the one full of admiration, hope, and positivity, but there is also the one where I show that other reality, the one where our ignorance and arrogance irreparably destroy nature.
Yes, this island is your home. That is a wonderful feeling. And the stewardship you speak of involves all inhabitants. You have community to combat the dark forces of climate instability. That is the piece I yearn for in the USA. We are at present 50 units, not a community for all. I wonder at the beginning of this grand experiment why it was necessary to evolve into 50 states. But I am not well read on other nations structures so could be the “cantons” Evelyne speaks of in Switzerland are similar. How do the Netherlands divvy up areas for governance? I could google; just thought I’d ask. Also interested in your sovereign and responsibilities of same as compared to the UK for example. A background in geography encompasses much of these details I would imagine. Thinking more research (basic) needed!
Google it, Judith ;-) It's fascinating. There are 12 provinces in the Netherlands. The newest one was only added in 1986 - it's called Flevoland. Also look into "polders" while you're on google. I went for a walk close to Flevoland at Hulshorster Zand (a friend who specializes in hiking in the Netherland suggested it. Her pictures looked so lovely that I just had to do it). I was surprised at all the sand and dunes (yes, I know it's in the name "zand" ...), but then I realized that it used to be right by the sea. Difficult to wrap my mind around the Dutch creating new land where the ocean was. They are really good at it. As Alex describes in this article - nature and engineering go hand in hand.
I initially learned about Flevoland and the IJsselmeer in middle school. Then I completely forgot about it until it came up in my Dutch language course when they talked about the 12 provinces and highlighted the newest one. Polders were also mentioned. Triggered more geography class memories. The Swiss are fascinated with the flatness of the Netherlands and what they are able to do with water. The language is cute too.
It's true that if we linger and look, we observe this resilience more or less developed depending on the situations, the context and the modernity of the constructions...
Beyond this observation, it is essential to understand why, depending on the case, there was or was not resilience in order to try to promote it in the future.
Thank you for this nice sharing, Alex! 👌
And our other comment is so very important : « I show that other reality, the one where our ignorance and arrogance irreparably destroy nature »
This summer I was on the « Île de Ré »
🇫🇷, a very pleasant, very lively little island, located in France on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
I observed locks built in the past by the hand of man along the coasts of the island, with a very inventive stacking of local dry stones, and which have been the subject of surveillance and safeguarding since the last century by the island's municipalities and coastal conservation services.
These locks are of course distinct from the structures that constitute the ports and dykes of the towns of the island.
The structure of these locks is complex and their movement can weaken their effectiveness: They have - for several centuries - had a dike effect because they break the ocean swell and thus protect the coasts of the island against erosion.
The maintenance and construction of this type of dike are therefore still relevant on the island.
For several years, tourists have been moving many of these stones to make cairns everywhere...
This practice in these old locks is however prohibited because it destabilizes them (and, moreover, these cairns also harm the balance of maritime fauna and flora).
Explanatory panels (**) have been installed in several languages, but you can still see new cairns every year...
The efficiency of these locks is the result of a successful symbiosis with the nature of along the coasts, thanks to the know-how of the ancient inhabitants.
This island has always lived from the sea but also from land exploitation and salt production (maintenance of salt marshes).
{Panels **} :
Since the Middle Ages, the locks of Île de Ré, fishing areas
surrounded by stone walls, are the testimonies of a irreplaceable art of construction and fishing.
Building a lock requires millions of hours of work - 10,000 to 20,000 -, ancestral work and constant maintenance.
In addition to our national heritage, the locks are maritime concessions.
Walls built of stones without any concrete are very fragile.
Simply removing an oyster can cause a significant deflection of a wall.
These locks break the swell and protect the shore.
These “locks” are in progress disappear.
Today, there are only about fourteen remaining on the island, while there were more than 110 at the start of the 20th century.
Thanks for the positivity Alex!!! Beautiful image, pulled me right in, and how lovely to expand it and see your story...and your beautiful point of how we have the power, ingenuity and capacity when we work as stewards rather than as extractors or dominators of Nature...
A beautiful soliloquy of your love and relationship with this island you know so well.
It’s touching to hear the depth of your passion for the island and how you work diligently to protect it.
I hope it endures for many centuries for those who follow you to continue the stewardship.
It’s a lovely heartfelt writing. 🙏
Beautifully written. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, this island is your home. That is a wonderful feeling. And the stewardship you speak of involves all inhabitants. You have community to combat the dark forces of climate instability. That is the piece I yearn for in the USA. We are at present 50 units, not a community for all. I wonder at the beginning of this grand experiment why it was necessary to evolve into 50 states. But I am not well read on other nations structures so could be the “cantons” Evelyne speaks of in Switzerland are similar. How do the Netherlands divvy up areas for governance? I could google; just thought I’d ask. Also interested in your sovereign and responsibilities of same as compared to the UK for example. A background in geography encompasses much of these details I would imagine. Thinking more research (basic) needed!
Back to American history and colonization as well.
Google it, Judith ;-) It's fascinating. There are 12 provinces in the Netherlands. The newest one was only added in 1986 - it's called Flevoland. Also look into "polders" while you're on google. I went for a walk close to Flevoland at Hulshorster Zand (a friend who specializes in hiking in the Netherland suggested it. Her pictures looked so lovely that I just had to do it). I was surprised at all the sand and dunes (yes, I know it's in the name "zand" ...), but then I realized that it used to be right by the sea. Difficult to wrap my mind around the Dutch creating new land where the ocean was. They are really good at it. As Alex describes in this article - nature and engineering go hand in hand.
Yes, amazing what you can learn from Google
Oh yes, very much so.
I initially learned about Flevoland and the IJsselmeer in middle school. Then I completely forgot about it until it came up in my Dutch language course when they talked about the 12 provinces and highlighted the newest one. Polders were also mentioned. Triggered more geography class memories. The Swiss are fascinated with the flatness of the Netherlands and what they are able to do with water. The language is cute too.
Bravo 🙏
Very interesting.
It's true that if we linger and look, we observe this resilience more or less developed depending on the situations, the context and the modernity of the constructions...
Beyond this observation, it is essential to understand why, depending on the case, there was or was not resilience in order to try to promote it in the future.
Thank you for this nice sharing, Alex! 👌
And our other comment is so very important : « I show that other reality, the one where our ignorance and arrogance irreparably destroy nature »
This summer I was on the « Île de Ré »
🇫🇷, a very pleasant, very lively little island, located in France on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
I observed locks built in the past by the hand of man along the coasts of the island, with a very inventive stacking of local dry stones, and which have been the subject of surveillance and safeguarding since the last century by the island's municipalities and coastal conservation services.
These locks are of course distinct from the structures that constitute the ports and dykes of the towns of the island.
The structure of these locks is complex and their movement can weaken their effectiveness: They have - for several centuries - had a dike effect because they break the ocean swell and thus protect the coasts of the island against erosion.
The maintenance and construction of this type of dike are therefore still relevant on the island.
For several years, tourists have been moving many of these stones to make cairns everywhere...
This practice in these old locks is however prohibited because it destabilizes them (and, moreover, these cairns also harm the balance of maritime fauna and flora).
Explanatory panels (**) have been installed in several languages, but you can still see new cairns every year...
The efficiency of these locks is the result of a successful symbiosis with the nature of along the coasts, thanks to the know-how of the ancient inhabitants.
This island has always lived from the sea but also from land exploitation and salt production (maintenance of salt marshes).
{Panels **} :
Since the Middle Ages, the locks of Île de Ré, fishing areas
surrounded by stone walls, are the testimonies of a irreplaceable art of construction and fishing.
Building a lock requires millions of hours of work - 10,000 to 20,000 -, ancestral work and constant maintenance.
In addition to our national heritage, the locks are maritime concessions.
Walls built of stones without any concrete are very fragile.
Simply removing an oyster can cause a significant deflection of a wall.
These locks break the swell and protect the shore.
These “locks” are in progress disappear.
Today, there are only about fourteen remaining on the island, while there were more than 110 at the start of the 20th century.
Thanks for the positivity Alex!!! Beautiful image, pulled me right in, and how lovely to expand it and see your story...and your beautiful point of how we have the power, ingenuity and capacity when we work as stewards rather than as extractors or dominators of Nature...
Time to rest in the corner of days. Bonds from the heart. Reasons to the near and never far. Life unfolding life.