As a child I would always become very angry and sad when I read about forests, coral reefs or rain forests disappearing. And I still get mad! Because I wanted to see those beautiful areas myself as well before they were all gone.

And because I realized (even as a kid) we need them, we are nothing without them.

Later, when I was traveling abroad, I managed to see some of those areas and I was always fantasizing about having a piece of land myself which I would protect. There I would leave nature alone and try to live off the land, preferably somewhere in a lush bush with waterfalls and mountains. Somehow I ended on Bonaire, an island with a semi desert climate……!

Here I bought 19 years ago my piece of land which was totally barren and eaten by goats. I have protected it, fenced the area and kicked them out. Half the land is reserved for nature, I hardly go there or do anything there. Now it is green and covered by trees, giving the slow growing trees a chance to recover.

Birds are nesting there and in the night you very often see a barn owl flying by.

In the other half I have built an ecolodge and I plant mostly endemic trees or trees who have been on the island for a long time. There are also fruit trees and a green house .

Although this is a never ending job, I guess I have made my dream come true.