Early Birds goes around the world!

We are going to the other side of the world, to the south of New Zealand. Lisa van Beek lives here. For several years, she has been involved in the protection of a very rare New Zealand bird: the takahe. The takahe is a kind of rail-like bird and is relatively unknown, with only a few hundred left on earth. It cannot fly and is therefore very susceptible to predators such as rats, stoats and stray cats. These came to the island with the explorers and cause major problems on the island.

Tuscany

Jose Hermens was a forester at Natuurmonumenten in Limburg for many years, but recently moved to an ecologically managed estate in Tuscany. As a forest ranger, she can turn a deaf ear just as well as in Limburg. It is teeming with wild boars which, unlike the Netherlands, roam all over the agricultural area. She also welcomed the wolf to the estate. She takes us for a walk in the park. She comes across several ferns growing on the wall of an old medieval cart path, and a lichen with a very pretty name: the chip bag cup moss.

Antarctic

Ingeborg Klarenberg is a doctor in polar ecology at the VU University in Amsterdam. For the fieldwork, she has already traveled to Iceland for a longer period to investigate terrestrial biodiversity. You can think of mosses and lichens, but also springtails, mites and bacteria that are under study. By getting a better picture of “terrestrial biodiversity”, conservationists can also better determine how nature in Antarctica should be protected. Ingeborg is also a nature photographer.