Jacob Kruijer has been grounds and property manager at the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid since 1996.

Boschoord estate is part of de Maatschappij van. A piece of this woodland has now been set up as a model forest for the European LIFE Climate Forest project. Administrator Jacob Kruijer: "In many other areas, the Society has already played a pioneering role and now also when it comes to climate-smart forest management."

The Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, which receives quite a few visitors since its Unesco status, owns about 1,300 hectares of land. This is divided between various sites and estates. Besides cultural heritage and the new visitor centre, there is forest, heathland, nature and agricultural land. Bosgroep Noord-Oost Nederland supports the Society in managing the various forest and nature sites.

Jacob Kruijer has been grounds and property manager at the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid since 1996. He enthusiastically joined this European LIFE project of Staatsbosbeheer and the Forestry Commission: "Via Martijn Jansen, our permanent contact at de Bosgroepen and also contact person for forest management, we received a message from the Province of Drenthe. The province supports LIFE Climate Forest and it thought our Society was a good option to participate as a demonstration forest. Together with Martijn Jansen, we had a good think about it. Although we have the same thoughts on forests, he knows a bit more about them than I do. Soon we were positive. The Society has been a forerunner in many things. Education, health insurance, elderly care... so we were keen to take that pioneering role again here."

Since its Unesco status, this area receives quite a few visitors.

"Boschoord Estate is a special subdivision on the southern flank of the Drents-Friese Wold. It covers 650 hectares and consists largely of forest. With Climate Forest, we are mainly focusing on improving the quality of nature on the estate. The 30 hectares we are involved in now also serve as an example for the rest of our forests. All the knowledge we are now gaining in our demo forest, we will soon be able to use in the other parts. This is also badly needed. Especially in the last dry years, we are already noticing a lot of climate change. Actually, it already started in 2018. Then we also got a lot of trouble from the letter-setter. We did have to harvest about 1,200 cubic metres. After the wet spell last year, we thought the letter setter would be less of a problem, but even then it was about 50 cubic metres. Our forests comprise 25% of Norway spruce, the fontetter's favourite, but 25% of the total... all in all, that's quite a lot. We know that if we do nothing, everything will die. That's why, however, we now have to look further and manage our forests climate-smart."

"Why exactly did we choose this stretch of Boschoord? Actually, they came up with it from the province. They know our forest area very well and this location is also easily accessible; it is exactly opposite the Westerveld municipality car park. Besides accessibility, the fact that there are already several trees in this demo forest also plays a role. There is Norway spruce, larch, Douglas fir, there is rejuvenation, new planting... Within the LIFE project, we are now looking at how we can organise the demo forest so that it can cope with the coming climate challenges. If you look at the tables now, for example, you can see that the Norway spruce is growing out of the curve. So we need to come up with something on that and see where we can bring in other planting that is climate-smart. Incidentally, it is not the case that Norway spruce is doing badly everywhere. It is therefore very important to really go into the forest and see what is really happening."

"Those new tree species that fit within Cimate Forest, that's quite a list. I agree the choice of tree species together with Martijn. In any case, it's a mix of: good for the climate, rich litter and suitable for timber production. That then comes down to a mix of 5-6 tree species within a hectare and that variety is then good against the effects of diseases and pests, better for litter digestion and more ecologically valuable. Everything intertwines and you have to look at a lot of different facets in your forest at the same time. I also learnt this on the course for forest managers organised from LIFE Climate Forest."

"I found the 'Climate Smart Forest Management for Forest Managers' course incredibly interesting. During those three days, there were speakers who had so much knowledge to share. That really excited me. What stuck with me most is that you also have to have an eye for litter digestion and that you need different tree species for that."

"It is important to look carefully at your hydrology, soil compaction, litter, mineral balance, soil life and risk spreading by using different tree species. I have agricultural training myself and from there I already knew that soil is very important. Thanks to LIFE Climate Forest, I am now learning a lot more about it and how we can actually use it in practice."

"For us, it is important to participate in LIFE Climate Forest. We get a lot of inspiration, knowledge, experiences and new insights from it. This is also necessary, because if we want to preserve our forests for the next generation, we have to do something about it now. The trees that are there now will not be there forever, so we need to work on rejuvenation in time. And while we are at it, we can also look at other species. We have to spread the risk now, because we just don't know exactly what is going to come our way."

"Forest management is about the long term. The trees we have now, we have thanks to our grandparents. My father was a forest supervisor here in the 1970s-80s. As a little boy, I used to go with him sometimes, and the Norway spruce trees we planted back then are ripe for harvest 50 years later. And so what we do now, we do again for the next generation."

Curious about this demonstration forest and the measures taken there as part of LIFE Climate Forest?