Bouchra Filali, MASTERS Member and Manager of Partnerships at Naturalis is pleased that visitors can once again witness the wonderful world of nature with their own eyes. Due to corona, the museum's doors had to close temporarily and researchers were partially unable to perform their work. Still, according to Bouchra, it was a time to get to the core and there are great plans ahead. The MASTERS Member shares her findings with us.Text: Fleur de Jong
''Most importantly, we are a research institute. Research, of course, always goes on. But the real limitation was with our public function, because we could not receive visitors. The researchers and collection managers, like the rest of the Netherlands, were allowed to go to the office, lab or collection depot only for necessary work. They were fortunate, however, to be able to work much from home. Only the lab work of the researchers, that was barely possible. So the work behind the scenes, which people often knew little about, could go on in part.
The museum did have to close completely. We focused mostly on online. For example, we had weekly online programs where visitors on our YouTube channel received presentations or lectures from our researchers. Visitors could ask questions in real time during these sessions. When we were open we gave these live sessions at the museum and we noticed that there was a lot of demand for this.''
"For the first time in history, Naturalis has everything under one roof: new presentations, scientific research with state-of-the-art facilities and the natural history national collection. A unique park outside - a green oasis next to the beautiful new building - completes the experience. In the biodiversity garden, we turn the spotlight on insects, birds, worms, bats, amphibians and other life, including in soil and water. The park lets visitors experience how important that natural environment is to us. And they gain inspiration to make their own garden or balcony, the grounds around their business or the sports field more 'biodiverse.'"
"It's a time travel in the open air. In the biodiversity garden, you discover step by step which life forms have conquered the earth during evolution and experience how they are connected. The planting attracts all kinds of insects and birds. Among the greenery you will also discover plants that you can eat or that Naturalis is doing special research on. You see and experience for yourself that evolution has led to an enormous diversity of life; past, present and future, provided we continue to take good care of it together.
Friends for Biodiversity: ''To realize this, I would like to recruit partners, such as companies or individuals who, like us, want to promote biodiversity. In 2023 we want to put the garden into use, this year and next year I want to use it to raise the money through collaborations, sponsorships and donations. So all forms of collaborations. Here I really want to focus on content, because 'flat sponsors' no longer exist, content has to be right.'
''I would really like to go on an expedition next year. This year is no longer possible given the time of year. There are a lot of young researchers who want to, but they are not all vaccinated yet. And by the time they are vaccinated, the expedition to the US will be closed. This means we have to bet on 2022.''
"If you want to do collaborations, you find that it really has to be about something and you have to focus on the content. It's really in the collaboration, driven from the content. I think especially last year people had the time to really think about what matters and what makes the difference. "Scagliolabrakkee | Neutelings Riedijk Architects
Membership in the MASTERS League is a special privilege. This year there is room for a selected number of members and we are treating registration on a first come, first served basis. The exclusive business club is part of MASTERS HQ and brings with it pleasant and special privileges that will make networking one of your favorite activities. Do you think you fit within the profile of a MASTERS Member? Mail for your application to Mical Joseph and maybe you can call yourself a MASTERS Member in 2021!
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