Yn petear mei.... Local Interest Beetsterzwaag/Olterterterp

A new feature of this newsletter is the interview with a local interest. To know and learn from each other and above all: do! The kickoff of 'Yn petear mei' is with Liesbeth de Boer of Plaatselijk Belang Beetsterzwaag/Olterterp.

A brief round of introductions. What does the board look like?
Our board consists of five people We have just distributed the latest version of our newsletter that we have delivered door-to-door in Beetsterzwaag and Olterterp. This also contains the composition of the board. We have about 400 members. What is unfortunate is that two board members are stepping down from the board. So we are looking for new board members.

What does the Local Interest mainly concern itself with?
We have a good and fine board that enthusiastically and with a lot of energy tackles things for the village. For example, we send out a newsletter three times a year and since last year we have organized a New Year's Meeting to which we invite everyone, including those who are not members. We also conducted a survey that serves as input for our village vision. What is an important item, and I think this applies to every village, is "housing. We want people to enjoy living in our villages, but it is also important to have housing.

What is also nice to mention, and we are proud of it: the experience day we organized together with our entrepreneurs. For example, we arranged a walk for our residents through the village with a number of stops at entrepreneurs. People could have a drink there, talk to each other and get to know the entrepreneurs. This was a great success!

What we have recently become very active with is the "bloom zone"; an area where residents together provide an environment where people can continue to live longer in good health. And this is going well. We have also contacted Bakkeveen about this. A working group has started in the village and on May 25 there will be a meeting at the sports hall of the rehabilitation center for all residents. This is a nice cooperation with a number of associations in the village.

Furthermore, we support neighborhood associations. For example, last year we supported a neighborhood with an AED in a neighborhood and we also help with the fire festival.

What does the local interest encounter/are there things that could be better?
It is and remains difficult to connect young people. I was walking through the village one evening the other day and I saw a group of young people standing around; going towards them, maybe that's a way to engage with young people. Also, there is always a need for volunteers. There are so many opportunities and great things we can take on, but there is often a lack of volunteers. And so recruiting board members is also an area of concern.

Can the municipality support this, and how?
I find this a difficult question. As far as involving young people; do you have any tips? It might be an idea to have another conversation with a youth worker about this.

What is going well?
I can be brief about that: a lot is going well. We have good consultations with the municipality several times a year. And there is now a village alderman, Marcel van Opzeeland. The lines of communication are short. That has sometimes been different. What could be better, in my view, is that there could sometimes be more proactive communication. Two charging stations have recently been installed in the village. And that's very nice, of course, but they are in a location where I think it would have been better if they had been placed differently. And then I think it's a pity that this was not communicated beforehand. Then we could have looked for a nice spot together. There was a good article in the NRC recently about involving the mienskip. The point is that the process of new initiatives starts with residents. So start with the residents and build on that.

Where are there still challenges?
What we find worrisome for the village is the Tolman site. This is common knowledge. 

Do you have any tips for the other PBs and boards?
There is only one basic foundation. And that is: talk to each other and listen to each other. Then great things can come about.