Experience Nature - Skrok and Skrins

On 13 February 2023, PostNL will publish the Experience nature - Skrok and Skrins issue: a sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. A sheet of ten stamps costs €10.10.

The Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet is part of the Experience nature 2021-2023 perennial series. In the series, four stamp sheets are issued every year, each comprising ten different stamps. The stamps feature images of plants and animals in unique Dutch nature reserves across the country. In 2023, it is the turn of the provinces of Flevoland, Friesland, Overijssel and Noord-Brabant.

The Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins issue published on 13 February 2023 focuses on the grasslands of the Skrok and Skrins nature reserves, located in the province of Friesland. The stamp sheet issued earlier this year (2 January 2023) featured Marker Wadden in Flevoland. Stamp sheets featuring the Wieden in Overijssel (12 June 2023) and the Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen in North Brabant (24 August 2023) will be published later this year.

The Skrok and Skrins nature reserves are located in the Greidhoek. This region in Friesland is known for its vast meadow landscape scattered with grasslands and terps. The meadows in these nature reserves are a favourite habitat for meadow birds such as golden plover, black-tailed godwit, lapwing, pied avocet and common redshank. Skrok and Skrins are bird reserves owned by Natuurmonumenten and are each about 100 hectares in size. Visitors can observe the meadow birds and migratory birds from the bird hide at the Swyns pond. The hut is accessible from an old mass path from the hamlet of Skrok. Natuurmonumenten keeps Skrok and Skrins wet, making them ideal feeding and resting areas for many bird species. Skrins, which is a similar nature reserve to Skrok, lies in an old estuary that was reclaimed during the Middle Ages. The area consists of wet ditches and convex fields. In some places, salt water still reaches the surface, causing unusual plants such as seaside arrowgrass and brass button to grow there. From January to May, Natuurmonumenten floods a large part of Skrins, which attracts large numbers of geese and thousands of golden plovers, which also benefit. The Skrins bird hide is situated between Hinnaard and the hamlet of Skrins.

Ranger Simon de Winter is around Skrok and Skrins very single day, as he manages the meadow bird reserves on behalf of Natuurmonumenten. ‘They are both special areas – old farmland that has been farmed for hundreds of years. In the late 1980s, Skrok and Skrins were both acquired by Natuurmonumenten as part of land consolidation. While agriculture on the surrounding meadows has been significantly stepped up, Skrok and Skrins still as they used to. They have ditches, fields, grasslands full of flowers and lots of meadow birds. You can see the ponds in the area very well from the bird hides, and each season there is always something going on. Of course, the best time to come is in the spring, when it’s teeming with black-tailed godwits, Northern shovelers, pied avocets, common redshanks and many more species of meadow birds. We keep a close eye on the water level and intensively managed the area. We also regularly flood the land and ditches. If you do it at the right time, the worms come to the surface, which in turn attracts waders. The waders can fatten up and then build their nests in the flowery grasslands next door where they can lay their eggs. The chicks then feast on all the insects that descend on the flowers. The grasslands are leased to local farmers. Only the plots with very few birds are grazed with small numbers of cattle in spring. The tenants only use farmyard manure and only mow when all the chicks have fledged. That’s how to maintain a nature reserve in a healthy way. It’s my job to be there frequently, of course, but I always find it impressive – especially when you’re surrounded by flocks of meadow birds in spring while the fields are in full bloom. That still gives me goosebumps. I highly recommend coming to watch, either from a bird hide or by joining an excursion through the area.’

The ten residents of this nature reserve featured on the Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins stamps are the hare, common redshank, sea milkwort, golden plover, black-tailed godwit, pied avocet, lapwing, water horsetail, brass button and ruff. They play the starring role on their stamps. The stamp sheet also features many more images of typical flora and fauna from this area. The following are shown as monochrome images in a separate graphic layer: water horsetail (top right), flowering rush (top centre), lapwing (just above centre left), brass button (just above centre right), golden plover (centre left), hare (bottom left) and sea milkwort (bottom centre and right).

The Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet was designed by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. On the sheet, the ten plants and animals are depicted in their natural environment, each on their own stamp. In some cases, the image or background colour continues onto the adjacent stamp and onto the sheet edge. All photos are incorporated in a graphic layer of different-sized overlapping circles, which break through the boundaries of the perforations. The circle pattern returns as small droplets on the sheet edge and the tabs. There is another graphic layer on top of the circles featuring monochrome images of animals and plants from this area. These images are almost abstract cross the perforations and connect the stamps to each other.

For the typography, Janse used his own font, which he designed especially for the Experience nature series. The font, which consists of tiny circles, was given the name Fdot. The explanatory texts on the sheet edge are set in capitals in the TT Milks Light and Demibold (2017, Ivan Gladkikh for Typetype). In the text, the designer creatively expresses his associations with the names, features and appearance of the plants and animals depicted, adding a touch of humour.

The Experience nature series was designed by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. While the focus was on various animal and plant species in the period from 2018 to 2020, in 2021-2023 the focus will be on unique Dutch nature reserves and their flora and fauna. The 13 February 2023 issue highlights the residents of the grasslands of Skrok and Skrins in the Greidhoek in Friesland.

Fascinating stories
The nature reserves were chosen in consultation with experts from the nature conservation organisation Natuurmonumenten. A number of considerations played a role in the selection of these diverse landscapes. Each area had to have plenty of interesting flora and fauna, for example. There had to be enough diversity, so every species could be represented: from plants, trees and mammals to insects, reptiles and amphibians. Janse: ‘I also wanted to have a decent choice of beautiful images and it had to have a captivating story behind it. The common factor of this issue across Skrok and Skrins is the open meadow landscape where grass and water alternate. This affects the plants that grow there and the animals that like to stay there. The stamps feature lots of meadow birds that belong there as well as special animals such as the hare. Remarkably, some of the plants depend on salt deeper in the soil.’

List of candidates
For the Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet, Janse drew up a list of plant and animal candidates, of which ten finally remained. ‘I did this for all of the landscapes in the Experience nature series at the same time so that we could show a nice range. Many plants and animals occur in multiple nature reserves across the Netherlands, and so this avoided repetition. Skrok and Skrins are unique due to their wet grasslands full of flowers, which in turn attract insects, and which in turn ensure that countless meadow birds find a nesting or resting place there. This is in contrast to many flat green meadows where biodiversity has disappeared – and with it, the flowers, insects and birds.’

The province
In Friesland, nature is diverse, with vast meadows, large lakes, the Wadden Sea and small landscapes featuring forests, wooded banks and heaths. Both the mainland and the islands are important stopover sites during bird migration. There are large national parks, including the Drents-Friese Wold National Park, the Lauwersmeer National Park, the Alde Feanen National Park and the Schiermonnikoog National Park. The entire Wadden Sea area has also been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Balanced overall image
When distributing the plants and animals over the Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet, Janse’s aim was to create an overall image that was as beautiful and balanced as possible. Initially, he creates a substantive distribution so the same species do not end up in one place. Janse: ‘But I sometimes change that again in practice. The composition is always a guide, with a balanced distribution of colours and shots from close-up and far away. When selecting the photos, I also factored in that this stamp sheet was to be published in spring. That is why you mainly see lighter colours that are associated with spring: lots of light green and light yellow, alongside pink accents and different shades of blue. The latter especially features in the stamps on the bottom row. As always, we meticulously considered the colour composition of the entire stamp sheet. We do that by comparing it with previous spring issues in the Experience Nature series and the colour composition of the stamps that are to be published next summer. Each stamp sheet in this series should be unique, and that also extends to the colour composition.

Representative selection
From the flora and fauna in Skrok en Skrins, Janse selected ten representatives to be featured as main characters on the stamps. He explains that the white images play a key role in the design. ‘On the Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet, the white images mainly feature flowers. The flowering rushes connect the stamps on the top row. The transparent flowers of the sea milkwort do the same at the bottom. The sheet edges also contain transparent images linked to the photo on the stamp. In the top right-hand corner, a lone water horsetail stem joins the drops on the sheet edge. On the left just above centre, a lapwing flies into the pink sea milkwort. In the bottom left-hand corner, a transparent hare is looking at you wistfully, while the colours of the brass buttons photo continue into its fur and ears.’

Hare and common redshank
On the top row, Janse opens the stamp sheet with images brimming with action: on the left, the hares in the rattle when the males are literally fighting each other and on the right, the common redshanks are competing for a spot on the pole. Janse: ‘It is typical spring behaviour displayed by hares, when males are fighting over females. It escalates, but they are still play fighting. I chose this shot because it is a typical scene in a typical landscape. The low horizon provided enabled the circles to continue as a dramatic background. The common redshanks are also competing for who gets to sit where. Or is it romance? In any case, I selected this photo mainly because of the common redshank's wings, which blend nicely with the circles in the background. The same goes for the curvature of the hares' backs.’

Sea milkwort and golden plover
On the first row of stamps, there is a lot of dynamism but calm still prevails. ‘I enjoy those contrasts,’ says Janse. ‘The sea milkwort is a real spring bloomer. The photo is zoomed in considerably, with delicate colours and flowers spilling over the perforation. It contrasts with the golden plover sitting in the grass, a distinctive bird with the black markings near its eyes and the golden speckles on its back. It’s a graphically interesting image, and definitely worthy of featuring on a stamp. Part of the beauty is that the golden plover appears to be fused with the grass – even its legs are invisible.’

Black-tailed godwit and pied avocet
On the other hand, in the photo of the black-tailed godwit, its thin legs are very clearly visible. ‘This bird is symbolises bird-loving Holland,’ explains Janse. ‘Its shape makes it extremely recognisable. It is a typically Dutch bird: nowhere else do so many breed as in our country. And yet the godwit continues to fare badly, despite all of the attention and action that has been taken to increase its population. The photo was taken with a telephoto lens, hence the blurred background. The low sun greatly affects the mood of the image of the lone godwit on its pole surrounded by empty space. By contrast, the avocet next to it takes up the entire stamp, which is another contrast. This black and white drawing is another graphically interesting image. It is a very recognisable bird due to its upturned beak. You can see how it flies up from the water, moving its legs to accelerate.’

Lapwing and water horsetail
The lapwing was also photographed on the water, but this time at the moment of landing. Janse: ‘You can see that from the calm reflection on the surface of the water. The lapwing is a very interesting bird because it runs away from its nest for a while before flying up. By doing this, it leads predators away from the eggs. The left wing protrudes into the corner of the stamp. Its right wing even extends over the sheet edge. Thus, this wing runs with the circle on the left and with the belly of the transparent golden plover above it. The stamp to the right of the lapwing is the water horsetail. It is a simple yet strong image, zooming in on the stem while you can see other blurred water horsetail in the background. The white flowers feature prominently on this stamp by keeping the water horsetail company. This makes it a fine image, especially as a single stamp.’

About the designer
Frank Janse (Vlissingen, 1967) graduated as a graphic designer from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam in 2001. Janse is a specialist in corporate identity, branding, infographics and communication campaigns. Until 2019, he worked for various advertising and design agencies, including Room for IDs, and he also worked for himself as Frank Grafisch Ontwerp in Gouda. In 2019, together with Leene Communicatie, he founded the new company Leene Visuele Communicatie, which designs communication tools focusing on content and information design. Leene Visual Communication works for clients including housing corporation Rochdale, PostNL, Randstad Group Netherlands, the Dutch central government, Vattenfall and the organisation for health research and care innovation ZonMw. Since late 2022, Frank has been the Design Director and Co-owner of VormVijf in The Hague. VormVijf works for governments, companies and organisations with the (mostly organised) citizen as its most important and largest target group. The agency connects strategy, design and content with an ambition to innovate, surprise and create impact. On the instructions of PostNL, Frank Janse has previously designed various luxury storage systems and personal stamps, including the 2017 themed collection on bird species of the Netherlands. He also produced the designs for the Experience nature series from 2018 to 2022.