[press release]
Dune Residents on New Dutch Stamps

The Hague, June 14, 2021 – The latest PostNL stamps have a well-deserved spot for the flora and fauna of Duin and Kruidberg. This pristine dune area in North Holland is part of the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, which covers no less than 3800 hectares.

In the series Experience nature, PostNL will issue 4 stamp sheets this year with a total of 40 stamps. The stamps feature images of plants and animals from various Dutch nature reserves. Earlier it was the turn of the Dwingelderveld heath landscape (January 2) and the De Onlanden wetland area (February 22). The last issue of this year is about the park at the Haarzuilens city estate (August 16).

Bats in the Icehouse
The Duin en Kruidberg nature reserve is located in the South Kennemerland region in the province of North Holland. This vast dune area was the domain of the lords of Brederode for centuries. Nowadays Duin en Kruidberg is owned by Natuurmonumenten. Nature has now taken the place of the former inhabitants, with bats in the ice cellar and stinsen plants in the tree-lined avenues and roadsides.

Natural Monuments
The series Experience nature for 2021 was designed by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. This year the leading role in the series is reserved for the flora and fauna of special Dutch nature reserves. Janse collaborated with nature conservation organization Natuurmonumenten in selecting them. For the stamp sheetlet Experience Nature – Duin en Kruidberg, he compiled a list of animals and plants, of which 10 eventually remained: dune fritillary, rabbit, fox, sea buckthorn, parnassia, fallow deer, nightingale, dune violet, common thyme and konik horse.

Relationship between flora and fauna
The names of the plants and animals often make it clear that they have a predilection for this environment. There are also often special relationships between the flora and fauna in this dune area. For example, the fox maintains the rabbit population, the dune violet prefers to grow in places where the rabbits leave their droppings and the dune violets are an important food source for the mother-of-pearl butterfly caterpillars.

Other vegetation
Designer Frank Janse has been able to put a special landscape on the stamps. “As a result of the salty sea air and the wind, you will encounter a completely different vegetation on these sandy soils than in the clay and peat area behind the dunes. From Santpoort-Zuid you walk or cycle for 5 kilometers through the dunes until you reach the sea. You then go through a rough landscape, with winding paths where you don’t encounter many people.”

Availability
The stamp sheet Experience nature – Duin en Kruidberg has 10 different stamps with the value indication Nederland 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The stamps will be available from 14 June 2021 at all PostNL sales points, the post office in the Bruna stores and via www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from Collect Club’s customer service on 088 – 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.Direct link for ordering these stamps