Here you will find a monument in memory of Prof. dr. Victor Westhoff, born in 1916. He was one of the most influential naturalists in the Netherlands and was convinced that variation and richness in nature partly depend on human management. He conducted much of his research on Terschelling. Such as at the Badhuiskuil, at West aan Zee. This is where his ideas about human management were applied. In the early years of his research, many rare plant species were found in the Badhuiskuil. By the end of the eighties, all these species had disappeared and everything almost completely closed up. In 1989 Staatsbosbeheer decided to excavate the Badhuiskuil down to the clean sand layer. Ten years later, Westhoff visited the Badhuiskuil again and found the same rare plants again. Victor Westhoff passed away in 2001. De Badhuiskuil is the historic testing ground for nature development in the Netherlands, of which Westhoff is the spiritual father. It is a wet dune valley that has been restored according to his insights. With a great result: long-lost plants returned here en masse, including rarities such as shoreweed and brindle gentian. It also set a great example for the nature development that was subsequently set in motion in the other dune valleys.
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