Friso van der Zee studied Biology in Wageningen. He has worked as an ecologist for approximately 35 years. At the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and the Nature Data Authority, among others. Since 2014 he works as a project leader and researcher in the Wageningen Environmental Research Biodiversity and Policy team. ‘Much of my work focuses on non-standard locations, such as train tracks, roadsides, river dykes, military terrains and solar parks. So, I often work with parties who are not at all preoccupied with nature management. This is why I like to go to the area with them to show them what lives and grows there. The other day, I pointed out a ditch to a solar park developer, which was not fertilised like the rest of the park. It contained a veritable sea of flowers. The developer had never noticed this before and became very enthusiastic. If people learn to see nature, they are more motivated to contribute to it.’
In order to achieve the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement, there is a growing number of solar parks in the Netherlands, often on farmland. Wageningen scientists join forces with solar park developers to study how nature may flourish under and in between solar panels. Because with sufficient space…