Our heroes of the pilgrim office
Together they sent thousands of starter kits for pilgrims of the Walk of Wisdom: Tineke Hendriks and Salima Schipper. The volunteers of our pilgrim office. We can’t tell them often enough and that’s why we like to do it in public: you are great!
Salima usually sends out the starter packs that are requested during the weekend. Tineke does it during the week. Tineke also answers all questions that come in via [email protected].
Cheerful volunteers
The Walk of Wisdom does not receive a subsidy and cannot exist without donations for the starter packs and the efforts of volunteers. As volunteers of the pilgrim office, Tineke and Salima are at the service of a vital task within the foundation: without them, no pilgrim can set out. Both volunteers are cheerful and active. They like to contribute something to society.
But why the Walk of Wisdom and the pilgrim office?
Tineke: “Retire and then do nothing? No, I could never do that. At the beginning of the Corona period, I read the vacancy for “the pilgrim office” of the Walk of Wisdom. That name alone tickled me. I succeeded Wendy, which seemed like a lot of work. But it turned out to be a lot of fun and a perfect fit for me. I like administrative order (making sure the packages are sent) and also the contact with the pilgrims (answering all kinds of emails with questions). A varied and exciting volunteer job.
Only…….I hadn’t walked the Walk of Wisdom yet. That felt like a loss. At the end of this summer I really started working on it, with my best friend Anja. Every Thursday a part of the route. And how beautiful it is! And how much we enjoy it. We almost got addicted to it and the route has now really become “ours”. One more stage to go and we are already thinking about what we will do next.
I am proud to be able to contribute to the beautiful Walk of Wisdom. A beautiful pilgrimage, and a beautiful group of people. Happiness close to home.”
Salima: “….My first contact with the Walk of Wisdom was with a clean-up of the Waal beaches. I thought this was a great initiative with committed people.
Shortly afterwards I decided to walk the WoW: what a wonderful walk through surprising nature reserves!
A special experience for me to discover new places, while I have been living in the Nijmegen region for so long.
When I saw a call from the WoW for volunteers in the local newspaper of Nijmegen East, the step to contact them was quickly made.
I had expected to help replenish stock; Making packages, tying shoelaces, that sort of thing.
But Manja had something completely different in mind for me: arranging registrations for starter packages a few days a week to divide the crowds a bit.
So I rolled into the pilgrim office and am still happy to take on that role.
It’s a nice feeling to be able to contribute to a great initiative; set up and supported by wonderful people.”
Dancing Inside Out
Nice to report: Salima is also a DJ at Swing je vrij in the Cultuurcafé on the campus of Radboud University in Nijmegen. Dancing in a relaxed atmosphere until 00.00h. Recommended! More: link.
And Tineke is the proud mother of a very special nature lover: Jochem Kühnen. In just a few years, this urban bird advisor transformed a modest garden of 7 by 9 meters into perhaps “one of the most species-rich parts of the Netherlands” (Volkskrant). By choosing wild plants that also occur in the area and gardening minimally, an oasis of biodiversity was created. It counted more than 2,150 different species of plants and animals, including the black-bronze mason bee, the raven and the large spiny-weapon fly. He was recently at Binnenstebuiten: link. From the Volkskrant article, we share five of his tips below.
Tips from Jochem Kühnen for a species-rich garden.
1. Make a pond. In no time at all, a huge number of species manage to find that water. Either to live in, or to drink or forage. Don’t put fish in the pond, because fish will eat just about anything and make the water cloudy.
2. Plant wild, native plants in the garden. For sale at nurseries for wild plants. Or just grow something that has appeared spontaneously.
3. First, take a few walks in the area to see which plants bloom naturally, on roadsides for example. These species usually fit well in the garden.
4. Dead wood in the garden is always good. For example, for nesting places of bees, beetles and other animals.
5. Do not use potting soil or garden soil. This often contains peat from destroyed peatlands and is not necessary for a species-rich garden. Many wild plants thrive when the soil is not enriched.
Do you also want to contact Tineke and Salima?
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