Nienke Welle | Senior adviser

Nienke studied forestry at Larenstein University of Applied Sciences and obtained a Master's degree in Landscape History from the University of Groningen. She gained many years of experience at a forestry consultancy firm, the Federatie Particulier Grondbezit (Federation of Private Land Ownership) and as an independent adviser, project leader and researcher. She is no stranger to the search for smart land use combinations that can support the realisation of new forests. She pays attention to the balance between ecological, economic and social interests in the countryside as well as to the overview of administrative relationships. (Green) heritage is also her passion, especially the history of estate management in the broadest sense of the word.

Her favorite tree or forest? "An impossible question! I love the typical Dutch small-scale cultural landscape, with old oaks or chestnuts around farms. But also old beech forests, a poplar meadow with lush undergrowth, an avenue with American oaks in autumn, the endless forests in the Black Forest."

At Probos, Nienke is mainly involved in the field of 'More forests and trees'. Her ambition is to contribute, together with partners in rural areas, to the objective of 10% more forests in the Netherlands as well as the green-blue intertwining of the landscape. You can call Nienke for questions about afforestation and everything that comes with it (such as issues surrounding spatial planning, financing, planting material and the Nature Conservation Act), but also for forest history or historical geographical themes.