Ecologist Wouter Helmer

Ecologist Wouter Helmer writes a text for our pilgrim book of hours Seasons of Life and thus becomes a symbolic precursor of the Walk of Wisdom. 

‘Not man’s fault, but nature’s resilience’ is Helmer’s philosophy. He argues that Europe faces a historic challenge to use the rural exodus to allow wilderness to return in a way that is both good for nature and the economy. For example, he thinks of opportunities for sustainable tourism in the combination of old cultural landscape and new nature. 

We are pleased with the involvement of this visionary ecologist who was at the basis of large areas of nature on our pioneering route: the Streekpad Nijmegen. Examples are the floodplains near Beuningen and the Stadswaard in the Ooijpolder, originally farming areas that have been given back to nature and where free roaming through the ‘new wilderness’ and space for the river (flood protection) go hand in hand.

Anyone who walks the Walk of Wisdom will understand that Helmer is a ‘forerunner’ in several respects: the walker will often come across paths that have been carved out by free-roaming horses and cattle in a dynamic landscape. A landscape that owes its existence in large part to Helmer’s vision.

• De Gelderlander: ‘Wouter Helmer doesn’t believe in man’s guilt‘
• http://www.rewildingeurope.com/
• Ark Nature Development