[press release, translated via Google Translate] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New nature on new stamps: full attention for the Marker Wadden
Between 2016 and 2021, five islands have been constructed in the Markermeer; the Marker Wadden. Representatives of the flora and fauna of this new nature reserve feature on the latest stamp sheetlet that PostNL has issued January 2 in the series “Experience Nature.”
[According to Wikipedia, “the Marker Wadden is an artificial archipelago under development in the Markermeer, a lake in the Netherlands.”]
The following ten inhabitants of this area play the leading role on the stamps “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden”: mute swan [right], bulrush, spoonbill, marram grass, little plover, bearded man, common tern, smelt, grasshopper warbler and sea buckthorn. All photos are included in a graphic layer of overlapping circles of different sizes, which break through the boundaries of the perforations.
Island 6 and 7
With the construction of the Marker Wadden, the initiators in the Markermeer want to promote nature restoration and improve bird abundance. The project is still ongoing, 
islands 6 and 7 will be completed this year. A visit to the Marker Wadden is already possible via a fixed ferry service, with departures from April to October from Lelystad.
Friesland, Overijssel and North Brabant
With the series “Experience nature’, PostNL draws attention to various nature areas in our country. After this first issue, three more stamp sheets will follow this year: about Skrok and Skrins in Friesland (February 13, 2023), the Wieden in Overijssel (June 12, 2023) and the Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen in North Brabant 
(August 24, 2023).
Close to the hearts
Natuurmonumenten manages the Marker Wadden. Roel Posthoorn, project director at the foundation, is proud of ‘his’ area. “The essence of Marker Wadden for me is that it was born from the feeling of desire. In nature management we are often busy looking for solutions to problems. But this is something we want, we desire. Something that is close to people’s hearts. That is why they are very welcome.”
Landscape variation
The stamp sheet Experience nature – Marker Wadden is a design by graphic designer 
Frank Janse from Gouda. “The common factor of this issue about Marker Wadden is the new nature that man has created here. There is a lot of variation in the landscape, with parts that are regularly flooded. This way you attract different species, mainly fish and birds, that feel at home where water and land meet.”
Availability
The stamp sheet “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden” has ten stamps in ten different designs, with the value indication Nederland 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the 
Netherlands.
The “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden” stamps are available while stocks last at all PostNL sales points, the post office in the Bruna stores and via shop.postnl.nl/webshop/collect-club/postzegeluitgiften/bdn-marker-wadden-10-vel-nl1 [direct link. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 868 99 00. The price per sheet of 10 stamps is € 10.10. The stamps are valid indefinitely. 
[VSC Note: The link to first day covers (“Eerstedagenveloppen”) is here. There are two for this issue, shown above and below.] 
