[summarized from a PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Experience Nature: De Wieden

Issue date: 12 June

Appearance: sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs
Item number: 430761
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-BeeldThe stamp sheet about De Wieden is part of the multi-annual Experience Nature 2021-2023 series. In the series, four stamp sheets are issued every year, each comprising ten different stamps. The stamps feature images of plants and animals in unique Dutch nature reserves across the country. In 2023, it is the turn of the provinces of Flevoland, Friesland, Overijssel and Noord-Brabant.

The Experience Nature – De Wieden issue focuses on the peat bog of nature reserve De Wieden, located in the province of Overijssel. The stamp sheets issued earlier this year (2 January 2023) featured Marker Wadden in Flevoland and Strok en Skrins in Friesland (13 February 2023). On 24 August 2023, the last stamp sheet in the series will be issued, which will be about the Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen in North Brabant.

Peat bog De Wieden is an area that covers over 6,000 hectares [14,826 acres or 23 square miles] in the Kop van Overijssel. The nature reserve is part of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park. De Wieden is owned by Natuurmonumenten. Within the National Park, Natuurmonumenten works closely together with Staatsbosbeheer (the Forestry Commission), which owns the Weerribben.

De Wieden owes its name to its distinctive broad lakes (wieden or wijden), including the Belterwijde and the Beulakerwijde. The wetland character of De Wieden is the result of peat excavations, storms, and the flooding of the Zuiderzee in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The nature reserve can be visited by open tour boat from the visitor centre in Sint Jansklooster [about 110 kilometers or 68 miles east-northeast from Amsterdam] and other locations. There are also paths for walkers and cyclists through the greenery and along the water. In the middle of De Wieden, the water tower of Sint Jansklooster offers spectacular views.

The landscape gets its unique character from the combination of the large open waters of De Wieden with small pools and winding ditches and canals. As is the case in all peat bogs, open water, moorlands, floating mats, reed beds, fenlands, shrublands and swamp forests alternate. They are home to many rare plant species, including the meadow thistle, tawny sedge, devil’s bit, and slender cottongrass. The abundance of water makes De Wieden popular with large fish-eaters such as the cormorant, osprey, bittern and purple heron. Other unusual birds include the black tern, marsh harrier, barn owl and short-eared owl.

“Water is the dominant factor in De Wieden,” says ecologist Rosalie Martens, co-manager of the reserve. “Everything is done by boat around here. There is one farmer who still has small numbers of cattle grazing in De Wieden. So he ferries his animals across by boat.

“The nature reserve was man-made through the excavation of peat until 1940. The area requires intensive management, otherwise trees will take hold and the area will become forest again,” Martens added. “In my opinion, it is the most beautiful nature reserve in the Netherlands, where man and nature are in perfect harmony.”

The ten residents of this nature reserve featured on the Experience Nature – De Wieden stamps are the marsh harrier, small pearl-bordered fritillary, common hawthorn, fringed water-lily, English oak, water rail, blackthorn, barn owl, purple heron and oblong-leaved sundew. Each has its own stamp. The stamp sheet also features many more images of flora and fauna typical for this area. The following are shown as monochrome images in a separate graphic layer: oblong-leaved sundew (top right), barn owl (top left), western marsh harrier (just above centre), leaf of the black elder (left of centre and centre), leaf of the English oak (bottom left), small pearl-bordered fritillary (bottom centre) and blackberry (bottom right).

The nature reserves in the Experience Nature series were chosen in consultation with experts from the nature conservation organisation Natuurmonumenten. A number of considerations played a role in the selection of these diverse landscapes. Each area had to have plenty of interesting flora and fauna, for example. There had to be enough diversity, so every species could be represented: from plants, trees and mammals to insects, reptiles and amphibians.

“I also wanted to have a decent choice of beautiful images and it had to have a captivating story attached to it,” said series graphic designer Frank Janse. “The common factor of this issue about De Wieden is the wet, marshy nature of this nature reserve.”

“The large white barn owl at the top left is a real eye-catcher,” added Janse. “The centre features a white image of the marsh harrier. I selected a picture on which the harrier’s wings are almost in the same position as those of the water rail below.”

The Experience Nature – De Wieden mminisheets are available while stocks last at all PostNL sales outlets, the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch].

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm
Sheet size: 122 x 170mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: self-adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 285,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-Beeld
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 430761