{"id":142175,"date":"2022-07-07T15:02:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T13:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=142175"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:21","slug":"if-we-feel-like-were-part-of-nature-we-may-yet-be-able-to-save-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/07\/07\/if-we-feel-like-were-part-of-nature-we-may-yet-be-able-to-save-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If we feel like we\u2019re part of nature, we may yet be able to save nature\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since 2020, professor Kees Vink has held an endowed chair in From Big Natural History to Urban Ecology. The name of the subject may be unwieldy, but it basically means that we humans must be conscious of the kind of position we hold in nature. His message: if we feel like we\u2019re part of nature, we may yet be able to save nature. Maybe students will lead the way.<\/p>\n

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"Realising that as a human being you are part of nature is not only an enrichment, but necessary to save nature", says professor Kees Vink.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAli Alshamayleh<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t

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Since 2013, Kees Vink has served as the head of the Life Sciences department, Erasmus University College\u2019s STEM department<\/em>. Prior to his appointment, he served as the head of the Paediatrics Laboratory, a sub-department of the Sophia Children\u2019s Hospital. He is a biologist by training. The chair Vink has held since November 2020 is a so-called \u2018networking chair\u2019, involving a collaboration between EUR and the Rotterdam Natural History Museum. Since its establishment in 2013, EUC has collaborated with other organisations in the city on projects designed to educate people on nature. In addition to the Natural History Museum, EUC\u2019s partners include Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp), Arboretum Trompenburg and the botanical garden in the Afrikaanderwijk neighbourhood.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

On a warm afternoon, we embark on a walk to Het Park<\/a> (near the Euromast observation tower) from the Natural History Museum, passing Westzeedijk along the way. \u201cLook,\u201d says Vink, \u201cI always draw my students\u2019 attention to this.\u201d He looks at the ever-growing forest of high-rise buildings in Rotterdam. \u201cSurely it\u2019s not right to live like this, so far removed from nature?\u201d At the same time, he does understand the dilemma posed by land shortages \u2013 the more high-rise buildings we erect, the less open space need be sacrificed to the construction of homes.<\/p>\n

The fox and the rat<\/h2>

People and the city, and how they relate to nature \u2013 that, in a nutshell, is the issue he focuses on in his research. For instance, he recently joined the municipal Animal Welfare and Urban Nature Committee, by virtue of his new position. The committee advises the municipal authorities on urban nature, which sometimes involves debates on subjects such as foxes. Some people like foxes, and say that, being predators, they are part of the ecosystem. Others argue that foxes should be got rid of because they eat all the gulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They also have debates on rats, which give many people the creeps. \u201cBut,\u201d says Vink, \u201cwherever humans are, you\u2019ll find rats, and that\u2019s not rats\u2019 fault. Humans have appropriated the top dog position in nature on cultural and religious grounds, which is actually quite strange. Foxes never asked to have to be considerate of humans\u2019 dominance. We should turn things around, and make sure humans use their power and knowledge to help nature. Because we\u2019ve done a very poor job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Modern city<\/h2>

So how is the city of Rotterdam doing in terms of nature preservation? \u201cI can tell that many municipalities, including Rotterdam, are now paying attention to nature in the city, but more needs to be done. Rotterdam owes its fame and reputation to its modern-city image, and now we\u2019re getting punished for that. Many big high-rise buildings had to be constructed, but we should really ask ourselves if, in places which already have a lot of bricks, we must really add more bricks, or rather some nature, too. It\u2019s necessary for the biosphere, but also for people\u2019s own wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Rotterdam owes its fame and reputation to its modern-city image, and now we\u2019re getting punished for that\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

However, Vink has found that not all residents of the city welcome nature on their doorstep. \u201cSometimes the municipal government wants to add more greenery to a neighbourhood, only for the locals to say it\u2019s dirty and unsafe. People need to become more aware of the fact that they are part of nature and that nature is necessary for our survival.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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These are a few places of natural beauty in the Netherlands that Kees Vink believes everyone should visit:<\/p>\n

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  1. Every Rotterdammer must have visited Arboretum Trompenburg<\/a>, even if only once in their lives.<\/li>\n
  2. Cycling along the river Rotte<\/a>, close to the city and genuinely beautiful.<\/li>\n
  3. Meijendel<\/a>, part of the Holland Dunes National Park, between The Hague and Wassenaar.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

    Introspection<\/h2>

    Vink is not too optimistic about people\u2019s willingness to do something about things such as sky-high energy consumption. \u201cI find it a little exhausting sometimes. We\u2019ve been told we should all be driving electric cars, but they\u2019re not necessarily a better alternative. Because where does your battery come from, and how is all that electricity generated? That\u2019s right, using fossil fuel. And when I see that everyone \u2013 not just elderly people \u2013 now has e-bikes, I get a little sceptical.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt takes a lot of introspection to change. I\u2019ve noticed that in myself, as well. This summer I\u2019ll be flying to Greece. Maybe it will be the last time I ever fly, or maybe I\u2019ll transition to never flying again more gradually. It\u2019s like quitting smoking or going on a diet. Temptation is everywhere, which makes things hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

    He is a little more optimistic about this generation of students. \u201cI can see that students are really trying to make a difference. More and more of them are vegetarians, segregate waste and have stopped using plastic cups. Change must be inculcated through the education system. We must discuss the fact that we\u2019re making a mess of things face to face.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Humans should be committed to saving nature, but Vink is not optimistic about that willingness.<\/span><\/p>

    \n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAli Alshamayleh<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

    Lichens<\/h2>

    But do today\u2019s students know anything about nature? A little while ago, Vink played the sound of common swifts<\/a> during a seminar. To him, the sound is the perfect evocation of long and hot summer days. His students, however, failed to recognise it. They thought it might be birds having an argument. Yes, that did disappoint him a little. Not that he expects everyone to be birdwatchers, like himself. He himself needs an app to identify plants, because no one can know all things about everything. Vink wants people to become more aware of their own position in nature, to understand what they are seeing and to realise that humans are part of that. Because realising that we humans are part of nature not only enriches our lives, but is a necessity for saving nature.<\/p>\n

    This is why he has students conduct research on nature in the city. For instance, two of his students will be graduating this year with theses on lichens (which are known indicators of air quality) in the city. One of them compared the incidence of lichens on alders in two different neighbourhoods and then compared those results against air quality data for both of these neighbourhoods. Although the differences weren\u2019t significant, it was found that there were more lichens (and also a wider variety of lichens) on trees in green areas.<\/p>\n

    His students also contribute to projects carried out by the Natural History Museum and Rotterdam Zoo, be it for academic credits or on a voluntary basis. In short, there is hope yet.<\/p>\n

    Vink himself is a keen birdwatcher, and he is proud of his surname, which translates to \u2018finch\u2019. When we walk to the small, well-hidden Schoonoord Historical Garden<\/a> on the edge of Het Park, he immediately identifies a robin, which sounds like it\u2019s greeting us, but is more likely announcing that we have entered its territory.<\/p>\n\n\t

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    De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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