Natuurmonumenten Texel is committed to nature on Texel. Natuurmonumenten is located in the De Marel Nature Center in Waalenburg. Birds When you say Texel, you say bird paradise. On the island you will find many different species of birds in the nature reserves that are protected and created by Natuurmonumenten. Natuurmonumenten is committed to the nature that is there and the new nature that is yet to come. Cycling and walking Because experiencing nature is important and healthy for everyone, Natuurmonumenten has mapped out a number of walking and cycling routes through the various nature areas that Texel is rich in. There are routes over different parts of the island. So you can enjoy the diversity of Texel, the different plants and of course the animals that live there. Natuurmonumenten also offers the youth program OERR to inspire young people to go on an adventure in nature. History Four years after Jac. P. Thijsse Natuurmonumenten, the first purchase took place on Texel: 7ha of land was purchased in the Waalenburg polder (in the year 1909). It happened at a time when the birdlife of the polder was threatened, because people wanted to lower the water level. At the time, Thijsse wrote about Waalenburg: 'It was teeming with lapwings, clods, black-tailed godwits, redshanks, ruffs, common terns, black-headed gulls, black terns and a slate heron spawned in 1907'. In the course of the 20th century, the polder developed into an important nature reserve where many birds, such as black-tailed godwits, breed and the harlequin and broad orchid occur in large numbers.