Bert Groenewoudt Professor by special appointment in Ecological Landscape History

As from 1 May 2023, Bert Groenewoudt will be named Professor by special appointment in Ecological Landscape History at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen. The chair has been set up in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).

The chair will serve to strengthen Master's education as well as the research programme at the Centre for Landscape Studies. At the same time, the chair broadens the RCE's relations with the academic world as a knowledge institute, among others in the fields of natural history and landscape history. In addition, it contributes to closer cooperation between faculties concerning sustainability issues that relate to the landscape.

Green inspiration

The Ecological Landscape History chair is focuses on long-term landscape processes and historical-ecological connections at several scale levels. The historical nature's dynamics and diversity, as part of the landscape as a whole, shall take centre stage. Its aspects include historical reality, models of interpretation, drivers of change, and research opportunities. Not only is there an interest for the presence of woodland and man-made green structures in historical landscapes, but also for the nature, effects, and societal relevance of human use of said landscapes. By extension, opportunities shall be explored for historical-ecological knowledge to be applied at several scale levels of contemporary landscape transitions.

An honourable task, according to Bert Groenewoudt: ‘The chair places the landscape's green dimension centre stage. Landscapes are dynamic, since they are subject to the continuous interactions between humans and nature. Form follows function, after all, even in landscapes. The green that is part of landscapes defines the view and is highly valued by society. Knowledge development in this area is not only of great importance for deepening interdisciplinary ties between landscape history, earth sciences, and ecology, but also serves as an important cornerstone for the application of integrated knowledge to contemporary societal issues concerning climate adaptation, the 'greening’ of agriculture, the expansion of forest area (with the forest strategy plan Bossenstrategie 2030), and the energy transition.'

A stimulus for teaching and research

The implementation of the chair provides a stimulus to teaching and research concerning our living environment at several levels via lectures, excursions, placement projects, thesis supervision and supervision of PhD students, and conference papers and sessions.

Head of the Centre for Landscape Studies Prof. Theo Spek: ‘Practically every contemporary sustainability issue demands an academic approach that is highly interdisciplinary and often needs to be applied at the regional, or landscape level. For that reason the UG wants to collaborate with important societal actors with regard to contemporary sustainability issues. That is why we are happy to have this new chair. The RCE is an important actor when it comes to practically applicable knowledge concerning landscape and living environment.'

About Bert Groenewoudt

Bert Groenewoudt studied Prehistory at the University of Amsterdam and obtained his PhD with a study on the prospection and assessment of archeological sites, which was awarded the W.A. van Es-prize. As senior landscape researcher he is affiliated with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). Additionally, he is a member of the Advisory Board for the International Association of Landscape Archaeologists (IALA) as well as the Advisory Board for the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. He is also part of the editorial board for the Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology magazine.