Some people take the plane to Africa to spot the Big Five. Others make a daytrip to the Wadden to encounter seals, or go to the Veluwe to see red deer. Less well-known is that everyday wildlife close to home is also very important in strengthening our bond with nature.

Dr. Akke Folmer (1970) obtained her PhD at the department of Cultural Geography, University of Groningen, with her doctoral thesis on the importance of wildlife in people’s bond with green places in the Netherlands. 

Her doctoral research showed that wildlife experiences connect individuals with the world, rather than escape it. The research revealed that especially birds form a remarkable, yet undervalued dimension in people’s bond with nature. Hearing and seeing birds give a strong sense of place; whether this place is a small urban park near one’s home, or a large protected area visited during a holiday. Experiencing flagship species of a destination, such as seals in  the Wadden, or sea eagles in National Park Lauwersmeer, is very important in strengthening the bond with these areas, especially among for first time visitors. Nature lovers’ bond with protected areas such as the Wadden Sea is strengthened more by experiencing small marine wildlife and spotting special birds. Wildlife seems to signify the phase people are in with regard to their place bonding process; from appreciating experiencing large, iconic and/or charismatic wildlife at first, to smaller, less well-known and rare wildlife in later phases.

After her study Human Geography, from 1989 to 1995, Folmer worked for five years at Vandertuuk in Beetsterzwaag, as market researcher and policy and planning consultant in outdoor recreation and tourism. In 2000 she started at Stenden UAS as lecturer in leisure and tourism. She is currently a senior lecturer in Leisure and Tourism, coordinator of sustainability, and member of the research group Mariene Wetlands Studies, at the School of Leisure and Tourism, Stenden university of applied sciences, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. 

Folmer is specialized in sustainable tourism, rural tourism, tourism and outdoor recreation in National Parks, wildlife experiences in tourism, place attachment, and sense of place.

Publications

  • Folmer (2016). Wildlife: a hidden treasure of green places in urbanized societies?: A study into whether and how wildlife contributes to a bond with green places among lay people in the Netherlands. University of Groningen. 196 p. Link:  http://hdl.handle.net/11370/72840c6e-cf77-41fe-acd1-286b5f1250ff)
  • Folmer, A., Revier, H., & Cupido, T. (2016). Sustainable tourism development and the world heritage status of the Wadden Sea: The case of Terschelling. Research in Hospitality Management, 6(1), 45-50.
  • Folmer, A., Haartsen, T., Buijs, A., & Huigen, P. P. (2016). Wildlife and flora and the perceived attractiveness of green places: A comparison between local and national green places. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (16) 16-23.
  • Folmer, A., Haartsen, T. & Huigen, P.P.P. (2013). The role of wildlife in emotional attachment to a nature-based tourism destination, Journal of Ecotourism, DOI: 10.1080/14724049.2013.864297
  • Folmer, A., Haartsen, T. & Huigen, P.P.P. (2013). Explaining Emotional Attachment to a Protected Area by Visitors' Perceived Importance of Seeing Wildlife, Behavioral Connections with Nature, and Sociodemographics, Human Dimensions of Wildlife: An International Journal, 18:6, 435-449, DOI: 10.1080/10871209.2013.811618.
  • Folmer, A (2009). Integration of Sustainable Development in Higher Tourism Education: A Dutch case study, Working paper Research Group Service Studies, Stenden university.
  • Folmer, A. (1995). Toeristische procesmonitor gemeente De Marne, Faculteit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, Special Plattelandsvernieuwing, Recreatie en Toerisme.

Conference papers

  • Folmer, A. (2010) Visitor’s experiences with wildlife in nature areas. MMV5 Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors flows in recreational and protected areas, May-June 2010, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. 
  • Folmer, A. (2011) The role of wildlife in visitors’ attachment to nature-based tourism destinations, Conference “Without Destination, Practicing Nature-based Tourism”, Reykjavik Art Museum, February 2011, Iceland.
  • Folmer, A. (2011) The contribution of wildlife compared to other elements of the natural environment in visitor’s attachment to the Wadden Sea area. International Conference ‘Tourism Futures’, November 2011, European Tourism Futures Institute, Stenden University, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
  • Folmer, A., and Revier, H. (2015). Nature excursions in the Dutch Wadden Sea: tools to integrate tourism, outdoor recreation and nature protection in a natural World Heritage site. MMV7 Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas, August, 2015, Tallinn University, Estonia.
  • Folmer, A. (2016). De werelderfgoedstatus en de perceptie van de Waddenzee [The World Heritage Status and Perceptions on the Wadden Sea Area]. Podiumday Tourism in the Wadden Area. May 2016. Stenden University, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.