Organisation - January 14, 2010

VHL gets wide-ranging nature management lectorship

Three lectors will soon head a new lectorship in nature management at Van Hall Larenstein in Velp. Leeuwaarden will have a new lector position in dairy farming. Extra funding was allocated by Minister Verburg last autumn.

Van Hall Larenstein will soon appoint three new lectors to set up a 'Deltaplan Nature Management' lectorship . The three will cover the landscape from different aspects: cultivation history, ecology and economics. 'We want to show that the ecological values of nature are related to its history and to economic possibilities for its preservation and management', says Hans van Rooijen, programme director for Forest and Nature Management. He points to agriculture areas which have fallen into disuse, giving rise to chances for new nature and recreation. 'The added value of this lectorship is in its integrated approach. It also fits into our aim to project the Larenstein estate as a knowledge centre', adds Van Rooijen. 
Professors
Each lector will be attached to a professor. Around this hub, a knowledge group will be built up, as well as a sounding board with representatives from the work floor. The professors are from Groningen (where courses in landscape history and rural economics are offered), the Radboud University Nijmegen and Wageningen University. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality will allocate 120,000 euros per year for four years for the lectorship. Contributions will also come from various funding sources, such as the Prince Bernard Culture Funds.
Dairy animals
The LNV Ministry will also finance a new lectorship in dairy farming in Leeuwarden. This lectorship complements the courses in Animal and Livestock Farming and in Business Studies and Agri-business. The emphasis will be on entrepreneurship.  It too forms a link between education and the new Dairy Campus in Leeuwarden.
Lecturer
A lectorship - a sort of chair for universities of applied sciences - has a role in expertise development and education reform. Lectors also forge links between education and the work floor. Van Hall Larenstein has appointed seven lectors and two honorary lectors since 2004 in the areas of nutrition, water management and animal welfare, among others.