He doesn’t know exactly, but it is certain that ranger Jaap Kloosterhuis from the Staatsbosbeheer has visited Rottumeroog about eighty times. For sixteen years he has been guiding people on the island who want to visit the uninhabited island. But that is now coming to an end. The nature management was transferred from the Staatsbosbeheer to the Rijkswaterstaat at the beginning of this year. The Staatsbosbeheer has been organizing annual expeditions to Rottumeroog. The question is whether the Rijkswaterstaat will also organize expeditions. Jaap Kloosterhuis regrets that his mission as expedition leader on Rottumeroog is coming to an end.

The islands of Rottumerplaat, Rottumeroog and the overgrown sandbank of Zuiderduintjes, collectively known as ‘De Rottums’, are restricted areas. They are located in the eastern Wadden Sea, near the river Ems. The islands are uninhabited, apart from seasonal birdwatchers surveying the flora and fauna, short-term stays of scientists conducting research and some volunteers helping to clean up beach waste. Rottumeroog was once inhabited. In the 12th century there was a village and cattle were raised there.

In 1738 the county of Groningen bought the island. Then began the era of the island guardians. The guardians lived with their families on the island. They put up barriers and helmets to shape the new dunes. They also lit the lighthouse lamp for shipping. In 1965 the era of the guardians ended.

Jaap worked as a geography teacher before starting at the Staatsbosbeheer. When he was contacted through his volunteer work for the position of Education and Implementation Officer in the Drenthe Cape, he seized the opportunity. Later, due to the reorganization, the position of forester in the Loersmeer area became available and he was appointed, which made him very happy: “I have loved this area for a long time and it has interested me.”

Jaap takes the excursions in Rotomiruj with great passion: “By showing visitors all kinds of plants and birds literally and figuratively, I also try to explicitly explain the interconnections. Of course it is nice to see the seals, but I want to show people that it is all about the little living things like mud snails and algae. If I make people care more about nature, they will also take it into account more.