For the first season of the DRIFT Transitions Podcast, we are republishing a number of English-language episodes on transition science and practice that we previously recorded for our Dutch-language channel.
In this episode, we're taking a hike. Together with Mara de Pater, transitions researcher specializing in biodiversity, and Samuelle van Deutekom, forest ranger, we're walking through the Dunes of Schoorl. It's a coastal area an hour’s drive North of Amsterdam, and we think it’s a prime example of biodiversity restoration.
We talk about soil and become familiar with the peculiar history of Schoorl's pine trees. We hear why relatively recent forest fires and unorthodox forest management are a blessing for the local biodiversity. And we discuss how so-called transitional zones elsewhere could relieve areas like Schoorl, and help us all in the biodiversity and climate crisis.
This podcast was made possible by the BIONEXT project, which is co-funded by the European Union and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee 10039588. For more information, go to bionext-project.eu
Thanks to: Staatsbosbeheer & Samuelle van Deutekom for giving us their time and access to the area, Audrey Wientjes for voice-over, Paul Mahoney & Oppla for editing, Walvisnest for music, and all our DRIFT & BIONEXT colleagues for support and inspiration.
What is The DRIFT Transitions Podcast?
How is it that societies can plot the same course for years and years and then suddenly change at lightning speed? And why do sustainable innovations seem to pop up everywhere, while so few of them truly break through?
To understand this, perhaps a new perspective on fundamental change can help. If we want to grasp how our society can truly transform, we must look at it through the lens of transition thinking.
In this show, Wouter Mulders and a rotating cast of colleagues speak to a number of theoretical and practical experts about transition science. Because by understanding transitions toward sustainability and justice, we can also accelerate them—or at least, that’s what we hope.
The DRIFT Transitions Podcast is produced by DRIFT, the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, part of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.