Ecomare

Ecomare mainly cares for seabirds that have been wounded, weakened or covered in oil. Guillemots covered in oil are cleaned in a special bird washing machine. When their plumage becomes water resistant again, these birds can be returned to nature. A number gannets live permanently at the sanctuary due to their handicap. These birds play the role of host for other sick or weakened birds, which recover better when put together with one of their own species.

In the reception hall at Ecomare, information and books/brochures are available about nature on Texel, the tidal flats and the North Sea. This is also where one can book excursions in the nature areas of the State Forestry and Natuurmonumenten on the island. They take you to areas where otherwise you can't come. A definite must is a hike on the flats, given by Ecomare or the Waddenvereniging. More information can be found on the page: On tour with Ecomare (see tab above).

Besides the standard tours open to the public, Ecomare can arrange excursions for groups. Possible themes are birds, excursions to a salt marsh area, a beach program involving active fishing in the coastal water, mushrooms in the Texel woods, a cultural historical tour through the old land of Texel or through the various polders; in other words, just about all possible themes relating to nature and the environment on Texel. Further details are worked out together with the group. Specifically for schools, there are complete fieldwork weeks or shorter programs available. For more information, see tab On tour with Ecomare (above).

The fieldwork center at Ecomare is called 'the Slinger'. The education staff provides programs for schools on Texel, schools visiting Texel for a working week, students of higher education and adults. For more information, see tab On tour with Ecomare (above).

In 1930, Mr. Kraai, a teacher in Den Burg, was the founder of the Texels Museum. The collection contained natural historical, geological and archaeological objects. That year attracted 2000 visitors to the museum.
In the years prior to and during the Second World War, Herman van der Horst was director of the museum on Texel. He made his first two documentaries: a film Texel, parel der waddeneilanden ("Texel, pearl of the Wadden Islands") and a film on the sheep farming on Texel. After the war, when van der Horst returned to the mainland, he became one of the most prominent film-makers in the Netherlands.
The old Texels Museum was outgrowing its walls and moved shortly after the war to a wooden barrack in the woods of Texel.

In the 1950s, the director-couple de Haan began taking in young and sick seals. In an ever growing rate, wounded or weakened seabirds were also taken in at the museum.
In 1975, the Texels Museum moved to its present location near De Koog, on the edge of the Dune Park that had been established in honour of the nature conservationist pioneer Jac. P. Thijsse. Under the umbrella of the Texels Museum, the State Forestry, the nature group IVN, the Society for Nature and Environmental Education and the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves all bundled their energy in creating a completely new museum. In addition to displaying natural historical collections, the goal was enlarged with providing information to tourist on the nature found on Texel. The museum thereby became a visitors center
In the mid 1980s, the course was once again revised. The primary goal changed to delivering a contribution to the preservation and recovery of the quality in the wadden region and the North Sea, particularly via the provision of specific information. The center was renamed Ecomare, center for Wadden and North Sea.
In the meantime, Ecomare has been hosting an average of 300,000 visitors yearly since 1998. The greatest number are tourists and Texelaars looking for an educational daytrip. However, schools and other groups also contribute a significant part to the number of visitors.

For the staff at Ecomare, the major message we wish to bring to the visitors is: a visit to Ecomare must be an experience you don't readily forget. An experience which leads to the visitor's  appreciation for the nature and the environment on Texel, in the wadden region and in the North Sea. In the years to come, we will attempt to convey this message, and all things hereby related, in even more captivating, more fascinating and more effective ways.