Meet The... Forest Ranger

Zuidas is best known as Amsterdam’s business district, chock-a-block with skyscrapers and scores of offices. More recently, however, the district has grown into a veritable urban neighbourhood and a great place to live and hang out. Many businesses have also discovered Zuidas, and with their arrival, the district has added a wide range of services and amenities, including shops, schools, fitness centres and places to drink and dine. Powering each of these establishments are entrepreneurs and employees with their own special, personal stories that we’re eager to share with you.

Claudia Plaisier

Just a stone’s throw from Zuidas, the Amsterdamse Bos is a wonderful place to relax and has loads of different opportunities for recreation. Claudia Plaisier has been a forest ranger here for four years. Her love for nature started during her holidays to the woods when she was young, and now she does everything she can to preserve the Amsterdamse Bos in its full glory.

What got you interested in this profession? “I think it’s mostly the way I was raised by my parents. We always used to go to the woods on holidays and we also lived close to the Amsterdamse Bos, which is why we went here very often. So, when this forest ranger job came up, I applied for it straightaway. It’s a place I already knew very well.”

What do you particularly enjoy about your job in the Amsterdamse Bos? “What I really enjoy about forestry in the Amsterdamse Bos is actually the diversity. One moment you’re busy monitoring the flora and fauna, the next there’s been some mishap or someone in the woods needs assistance, so I go to help. It’s never dull and every day is different. There are all sorts of things happening that you have to respond to. There may be a storm coming, or you’re in a dry spell. In summer, people like to go swimming in the woods, so it can get very busy on sunny days. And sometimes there are people who decide to fire up a barbecue, and we’ll be alerted about that.”

What do you think would be good for these woods? “I think the main thing is that everybody should abide by the park rules. What’s become popular lately is to go walking off the trails. People go wandering through the wooded plots to see what sorts of interesting things they can find. I get that it’s fun, but we’d rather they don’t do it here. There are other places where it’s allowed, but the Amsterdamse Bos is very fragile, precisely because so many of us come here to enjoy the woods, year in, year out. We would like for the animals that are here hibernating to be able to rest undisturbed.”

What kinds of things are you doing on the sustainability front? “The roof of the park office is covered with solar panels. We have also got a number of electric vehicles. It’s inescapable, sadly, because we have to do some very heavy work. Although, that gets tricky when you need to haul a downed tree. We always try to go for the environmentally-friendly option. In the woods, we try to use ecological pest control methods. Like for oak processionary caterpillars, which we fight on multiple fronts, using not only pesticides, but also birds. That means putting up birdhouses and planting bulbs that are attractive to insects. We are working to control the processionary caterpillars with a battery of natural solutions. That way, we can keep things in equilibrium. We try to get the local biodiversity right first.”

What do you predict for the future of the forest ranger profession? “We are noticing that more and more people are drawn to the woods, so in the future more forest rangers will be needed to supervise that, as well as to keep an eye on the flora and fauna and make sure there’s no undue pressure from all those visitors.”