The treasure trove of stories is difficult to locate and access. They are hidden away in people’s minds and have disappeared into old books, archives, libraries and magazines which are no longer in print. How have I gone about this task?
I have approached experienced nature guides and sent out requests through channels of the various Instituut voor Natuurbescherming or IVN (Association for Environmental Education).The initial spontaneous stream of stories soon dried up to a trickle and so I went out searching for them. I looked around libraries, ‘googled’ on internet and, above all, I kept my eyes and ears wide open.
Mostly I might stumble across a few lines in field guides and books like the ‘Nederlandse Oecologische Flora’ of the type: ‘As legend has it, the primrose first appeared on the spot where St Peter dropped the keys to heaven.” But I also often find lines like these when reading novels or tourist folders. Based on a few lines I then develop a short story which is suitable for using on excursions or for lessons. Longer stories such as those written by Anderssen or originating in Greek mythology I reconstruct short nature tales. In this way unknown or almost lost stories once again see the light of day.
I do not pretend to be scientific, which is also almost impossible. At
some point in the past these nature tales, stories, myths and legends
came into being through mouth to mouth storytelling traditions. In
the course of this process the stories change continuously to satisfy
the prevailing values and convictions of the age: passed on in the
words of the original storyteller and adulterated through the
forgetfulness or omissions of the next.
| The archetypes are still being adapted to different cultures: the German Frya is the same as the Roman Venus, the Greek Aphrodite and later on appears as the Christian Maria. If I come across a story in different places, then I do not name the source. If someone gives me a story not already in my collection, then I note down the name of the kind provider of this addition. Often I adapt short stories sent to me because I am using them with a specific aim in mind: namely, as material for nature guides. I strive to achieve a certain degree of consistency in my style of writing and composition. When a story is adapted, this is noted at the end. When using a story from a book, then the source is mentioned in full.
The factual details about plants and animals written in italics at the end of the story are partially sourced from my personal working knowledge developed over the years. This is further supplemented with information from ‘De Nederlandse oecologische flora, wilde planten en hun relaties’ by E.J. Weeda, R. Westra, Ch. Westra and T.Westra, an essential five-part standard work published by De Koninklijke Nederlandse Natuurhistorische Vereniging (KNNV) (The Royal Dutch Society for Natural History) and the IVN. The number of birds mentioned comes from SOVON vogelonderzoek nederland (The Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology).
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