It depends a bit on the weather, but for Into The Great Wide Open in Vlieland, it is normally "after two weeks to a month nothing more to see," says Annemieke op ‘t Hof, team leader of Staatsbosbeheer in Vlieland. The agreements are also based on this: "The principle is that the organization restores everything as it was." With her colleagues, Op ‘t Hof ensures that Into The Great Wide Open removes all traces, fills in all dug holes, and puts back the cleared pine cones. 

Since its first edition in 2016, Op ‘t Hof has experienced Into The Great Wide Open as a festival that "is truly innovative and constantly pushes its boundaries to see what can be improved." All adjustments – for example, to the festival grounds or the art route – are discussed with Staatsbosbeheer. 

"Because they are so creative, they constantly come up with new ideas. For us, that can sometimes be really annoying. Why something new again? It went well last year, didn’t it? We then have to reassess: is what they want feasible? Very often, we initially think not, but then they are resourceful enough to come up with a solution anyway." 

Now that the local emissions of Into The Great Wide Open are almost zero and the festival adheres to a 'Leave No Trace' policy during setup and teardown, we ask Op 't Hof in which areas nature is still vulnerable. 

How much impact does all the noise from such a festival have on nature?

"It makes a big difference that it doesn't take place during the breeding season. This way, no bird nests with young are disturbed, causing the parents to fly away and the eggs to cool down. Furthermore, it is a relatively busy part of the island and a very busy season is already underway when the festival begins. The habituation in young animals is already there."

What improvements are still needed? 

"Ultimately, the behavior of the visitors is of great importance. Colleague forest rangers from other parts of the Netherlands sometimes ask: how do you do this? In other places, perhaps barriers or meters-high fencing is needed. Here, sometimes a wooden stick with a piece of string suffices. That's great, but it's also necessary. Because if the public no longer respects that string, or the sign 'No bicycles here', and fencing has to be put up, then at some point it won’t be affordable anymore. This nature area is far too bumpy for that."

To what extent are you involved in this during the festival?

“During the festival, there is a meeting with the organization every day. We might say, for example: the entry and exit of the Vuurboetsduin didn’t go well. That is a very vulnerable spot, so more volunteers need to be stationed there. And then the organization must act quickly."

Smoking and burning ban

"That's something every festival-goer has a role in. It’s not just for show. We’ve never had a forest fire, but that is really a serious risk. We hold our breath every year. And that shouldn’t be a reason not to organize anything, but the behavior of the visitors is really crucial. So no smoking in areas where it’s not allowed."

How heavily does the festival weigh on the capabilities of Staatsbosbeheer?

"Quite heavily. But we can do all this because the organization takes us seriously and listens to us. And because we are really strict. If we say, 'Only driving is allowed here if there are driving plates', and there are no driving plates, we stop the setup. That sometimes causes friction – and I have no illusion that it will ever stop causing friction. When we walk in, we sometimes sense that the builders think: oh no, what is wrong now? But in the end, everyone knows that this is a very unique place and we mainly experience a lot of respect from the organization and from festival-goers. Our nature camping site De Lange Paal is also the festival camping during Into The Great Wide Open, and fortunately, volunteers from the mainland come to help us. Despite all the hustle and bustle, we can still really enjoy the festival ourselves."