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The Dennen

The Dennen is the forested area between De Koog and Den Hoorn. The first trees were planted around the turn of the 20th century. Dennen is Dutch for pine. Although there are a lot of pine trees in the woods, there are also areas with other trees. The purpose of the woods was to develop the waste grounds. Nature areas were not considered important in those days. On other islands, woods were planted to combat wind-borne sand. However that wasn't a problem on Texel. In fact, some areas were very wet. Nowadays, the main function of the woods is recreation and experiencing nature. That means that management has also changed. The State Forestry is striving for a varied, natural forest.

  • Planting the Dennen
    Aanplant van de Dennen (1910-1930), Ecomare

    Planting trees on Texel began in 1898. However, it wasn't an easy task to begin. The ground had to be dug 'three shovels deep' to loosen up the ground. It was heavy work and poorly paid, which made it difficult to find people to do this work. One could earn more working for a farmer. Eventually, ox and plows were used. Although the ground was not dug as deep as a worker with a shovel, it went much faster and cost less man power.

    In later years, unemployed people were brought to Texel to help plant the trees. For example in 1918, a plot on the south side of the Dennen was planted by a group of Belgians that had fled to Texel due to the First World War. The name of this area still reminds one of this fact: the Belzenbos ('Belgian Woods').

    In order to help the young trees in dry areas, a few blocks of saturated peat were added to the hole. In that way, the young shoots had their own source of water. In the winter, when the ground was too wet, the peat sucked up the excess water, which the tree could use in the summer. The area in the woods that was planted in this way is now called the Turfveld ('Peat Field').

  • Windbreakers
    , Ecomare

    Pines and other trees are not very resistant to seawind. The salty water drops carried by the wind desiccate the needles and buds. In order to protect the pine, a windbreaker was planted on the west side. The windbreakers consisted of deciduous trees found in maritime regions: hawthorns, alder, maple, rowans and birch. Those trees closest to the sea did not grow fast and remained short. The next row of trees grew taller and the next row even taller. In that way, an enclosed ascending windbreaker was created.

  • Mient ground

    The woods was also planted on the old mient grounds (common grounds). Mient grounds were 'waste lands' overgrown with heather located along the inner dunes. The word mient comes from 'meent'. Meent grounds were used almost the entire year for general purposes. Poor farmers in particular used these lands. It was not always successful. Sheep often died from internal bleeding, caused by liver-rot. Liver-rot is caused by a flatworm and distroys the liver. The sheep became infected when they grazed on the scanty wet heathlands.

    Hardly anyone wanted to live on the mient grounds. Only the very poorest led a meager life here. They lived in simple farms or 'plaggenhutten' (huts made from grass sods), which they built from cut sod and driftwood. Rare species of plants also grew on these mient grounds, such as lesser butterfly-orchids, marsh helleborine, common centaury and marsh gentian. Most of the mient grounds and plants and all of the grass-sod huts disappeared when the woods were planted.

  • Alloo

    The Alloo, located on the Ruyslaan across from Ecomare, was originally a dune lake surrounded by swampy mient ground. In much earlier days, in the Middle Ages, a plain strongly resembling the present Slufter lay here. A sea channel divided the former island Ganc which eventually silted up and became the Alloo.

    The Alloo was drained in 1880 and reverted into pasture. It has since turned into a nature area full with orchids and other flowers. Many meadow birds nest here. In the autumn and winter, the land is grazed by horses.

    Every once in awhile, major management is necessary. In 1999, the pond was dredged. In the early 21st century, the creeks were made more agreable for animals by widening them and making the slopes more gradual. Due to grass overgrowth, the top layer of grass was removed in large areas in 2011 and the sods were used to build a tuinwal around the entire meadow.

  • The Mientje

    The Mientje, a heather field in the Dennen along the Randweg, gives an impression of the original state of this 'waste land' before it was forested. For that reason, and because unusual insects live here that benefit from open heath fields, the State Forestry does its best to prevent birch tree overgrowth.

  • Fonteinsnol

    Nowadays, the Fonteinsnol (Fountain Dune) is a high dune in the middle of the woods. Nol is West-Frisian dialect for dune and Fontein refers to the source of water on the northeastern slope, where dune water sprong. It was the beginning of a creek which flowed through the mient grounds.
    The source and the creek on the Fonteinsnol were razed when forestation took place. There is now a lookout tower on the dune. Visitors that go to the top have a good overview of the forest and large parts of Texel.

  • Nature woods

    Woods change with time. The trees grow taller and more and more needles and leaves fall to the ground. In that way, a humus-rich soil is formed which retains dampness well. Oak leaves mixed with pine needles make a nice environment for many animals living in the ground. Many pine trees have been chopped down in the Dennen and lots of oak was planted in their place. Birch and rowan came naturally. The woods changed into a mixed forest with lots of variation and a healthy layer of humus.

  • Rare mushrooms

    You find rare species of mushrooms in the Dennen, particularly on the nutrient-poor soils. During an inventory in 1996, the list of rare or threatened species included the following mushrooms: gemmed amanita, the pine-spike Chroogomphus rutilus, the milkcap Lactarius camphoratus, the russulas Rhizopogon luteolus, Russula drimeia and Russula paludosa, the jersey cow mushroom, the slippery jack, the Suillus collinitus and the bolete Tylopilus felleus. The even rarer toothed mushroom, the shingled hedgehog, was once found here. In 1997, the first large cauliflower mushroom was discovered. The Dennen may not be that rich in unusual plants and animals, but it is rich in mushrooms!

  • Recreation woods

    There are all kinds of facilities in the Dennen for recreation. Besides the lookout tower, there are playgrounds and places to barbeque, trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. There is also a separated trail for mountain bikes. The trails are very popular.

  • Energy woods

    In December 2009, many trees were felled in the Dennen. In total, spread over a number of years, 16,000 trees will be chopped down. A number will remain on the ground. They provide a new fertile humus layer and serve as a dwelling place for many plants and animals. The trunks that remain will be used for lumber, wood or making fiber board. There are plans to generate energy from the leftover wood, mostly tree tops, however that has happened yet.