Wad: surviving on the border of water and land

A man canoes through the the Rhine

The VARA TV series is made up of three parts in which the 'Circle of Life' of the Netherlands' most talked-about nature reserve, the Oostvaardersplassen, is central. Close to Amsterdam, in one of the world's most densely populated countries, on a piece of land that was under water forty years ago, a nature reserve of international allure has developed. A unique experiment is taking place here: nature is allowed to run its course. The result of this is an untouched piece of wilderness in the reclaimed Flevopolder. It differs from all other Dutch landscapes. Internationally, this piece of nature below sea level is rare. It is used worldwide as an example of the development of new visions of nature and the role of people in it. For many, this area is unknown, because most of it is not open to the public.

At the heart of one of the most densely populated areas of Europe, in a country where every square meter of land has been meticulously shaped by man, lie the Oostvaardersplassen – a unique experiment in letting nature run its course. In just 40 years, 6,000 hectares of newly formed polder has been transformed into one of Europe’s most dynamic and productive wetlands – home to some of Europe’s rarest birds such as the magnificent white tailed eagle, which hadn’t been seen in the Netherlands since the Middle Ages.

The stately wader and national bird tells the story of how to survive on its journey around the world on its way to its breeding grounds in the Netherlands.

The Wadden Sea goes inside the lives of (e.g.) a group of grey seals, shell ducks and a family of peregrine falcons in the Wadden Sea, a sea which changes completely over the seasons or even a couple of times per day. At one moment, it is kilometers of extensive tidal flats full of life and at another a mass of water with reckless waves; all tied to the invisible influence of the moon and the sun on the tides.