2.1 The current institutes and activities on Texel

Leisure and Knowledge is an important sub-system responsible to highlight the character of Texel island. The nature and the activities on the island is what attracts tourists to the island. The main objective of leisure is fun and the main objective of knowledge is to gain knowledge and to educate. 

First of all, the activities that are held now on the island are listed, what their function is and how they already contribute to the zero energy level of Texel 2020, or not. A distinction is made between the institutes and activities related to Leisure, Knowledge or a combination Leisure&Knowledge.

Leisure Field 

The island is known of  its nature and beaches and is a perfect place for vacation or to get rest. In this field the leisure activities and institutes are listed. The main function of the activities is fun, relaxation and entertainment.  

Nature [1]

Texel is known in particular as a bird island. However, Texel's nature has much more to offer than just birds. Approximately one third of the surface on Texel is nature reserve. Many unusual plants and animals are also found outside of this area, while there are still things to be discovered in the nature on Texel. New species are reported practically every year. 

Activities [2]

1. Cycling
Texel offers 140 km of cycling paths and some beautiful routes along the dunes.

2. walking
Texel can best be discovered by foot or bicycle. In this way you'll find the most beautiful locations.

3. Going to the beach
With a length of 30 kilometres the beach has endless possibilities.

4. hayride
Trip with the covered wagon with horses on the beach.

5. Searching for oysters with the Texel Oyster Man, Treasure hunt at the beach area, Jutters-Experience
Different activities on the beach of Texel.

6. Wadd-excursion
During this nature excursion you will discover what takes place under your feet.

7. Kite surfing and windsurfing

8. Blo-karting and power kiting

9. Fishing

10. Golf and

11. Shopping
Den Burg is the 'capital' of the island with various unique shops. There's a market every monday morning in the centre of Den Burg.

Going out [3]

The area of Den Koog offers the best options for a great nightlife. The village houses 11 café’s with Café De Wijsneus and Toekomst Dance Factory as the place to be to have a good party. Also in Den Burg there are two café’s to go out (Café De Slock and Eetcafé de Twaalf Balcken) and in Oudeschild there are also two (Brasserie de Compagnie and Café 't Kombuis).

Restaurants and beach houses [4]

According to the website Zoover.nl there are 162 restaurants on Texel, including the beach houses. They are concentrated mostly in Den Burg, De Koog and along the beaches. There are 3 biological restaurants all situated in Den Burg: Restaurant de Luwte, restaurant de Kern and Drank & Spijslokaal Het Schoutenhuys.

Wellness [5]

1. beautysalons

2. Saunas

3. Workshops wellness

4. Massagesalons

Free of charge [6]

1. Sommeltjespad 
Nature track near De Koog in the Texel forest has been specifically designed for children

2. Indoor playground De Krim Holiday Park
Showing the trampolines as one of the attractions.

3. Pirate ship 
32 meter play ship that is waiting to be scrambled and climbed on.

4. Oudeschild’s marina
A mud-flat water play area, zip wire, giant swing, pirate ship, panna pitch for football and basketball, and a small mud-flat beach.

5. 'Leven van de vis'
Interactive exposition on modern fishery above De Oude Vismarkt in Oudeschild.

6. Viewing tower 
In the forest near Fonteinsnol, another one on the Molenlaan in De Cocksdorp, and one at the spoonbill colony in De Geul

7. Street Art project ‘t Skildermuurtje
A work of art covering 300 square metres of wall at the Waddenhaven estuary in Oudeschild.

Events and festivals [7]

1. Sarasani pop music festival, yearly 3 days in September.

2. Lange juni Cultuurmaand, yearly in June with divers program.

3. Struûn Texel culture event, yearly 2 days in November.

4. New Years dive, yearly on 1 January.

5. Texel Blues, yearly in October.

6. Texel culinair, yearly in September.

7. Ronde om Texel, biggest catamaran race in the world, June 2015.

8. Texel halve marathon, yearly in September.

9. Free events such as: Lifeboat day (open day at the boathouse in Oudeschild), National Park Day (acoustic performances in the forest), Bird Watching day (camp site by the lighthouse), Klifhanger (art exhibition in Den Hoorn), Sommeltjespop (free pop festival in De Waal), Horizontoer (street theatre and music in Den Burg), HavenVistijn (fishing festival), Sheep Breeding Day (sheep market and competitions in Den Burg), Open Monumentendag (free access to the Lighthouse, Kaap Skil( museum) , Luchtvaart- en oorlogsmuseum (War and Aviation Museum) , Walvisvaardershuisje (Whalers Cottage) , Cultuur- historisch museum (Antiquities and Cultural Historical Museum)). 

Knowledge Field

On the island there are also knowledge institutes such as the NIOZ. But also schools are included in the list. Knowledge institutes that also have a leisure factor are listed in the last field. The main function of the institutes and the schools are to educate and to gain knowledge. 

Research and knowledge institutes [8]

1. NIOZ 
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) is the national oceanographic institution for the Netherlands. NIOZ has its base at the south part of Texel and the researches, which are being carried out, include dust-collection of a buoy, tracking of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and many more. Students are involved in the research as interns or within special courses of Dutch Universities (Amsterdam University).

2. TexelEnergie
The energy company TexelEnergie is not from itself a knowledge institute, but the role they play in Texel you could argue that they are a link between the consumer and the knowledge about sustainable technology. They give information about different ways of production, mainly solar energy, but also Biodegesting, wind energy, biomassa, etc. 

Primary schools [9]

1. OBS Durperhonk Cocksdorp 

2. De Vlietkotter openbare basisschool (fusion of de Akker en Jacob Daalder)

3. Basisschool Timótheüs Oosterend

4. Vrije School Stella Maris Den Burg 

5. Jozefschool Den Burg

6. PCBS De Fontein Den Burg

7. OBS Jac. P. Thijsseschool Den Burg 

8. OBS De Bruinvis Oudeschild 

9. ABBS Lubertisschool De Koog 

 Secondary schools [10]

1. ROC Kop van Noord-Holland VAVO MBO 

2. OSG de Hogeberg 

Knowledge&Leisure Field

The combination of education and fun is listed below. Ecomare is a good example where fun and education about the nature and animals on the island come together. Ecomare is not only popular with tourists but also primary schools have every year excursions [11]. Next to that also museums and the famous Texel beer brewery are combinations of knowledge and leisure. The main goal of this field is fun and education. 

Education and museum [12]

1. Ecomare
At the west side of the island Ecomare is a nature museum, seal and bird sanctuary and sea aquarium in a dune park. The main goal of the park is to provide information and education in order to protect the Wadden and North Sea. The region of Wadden Sea is a meeting place for scientists from Netherlands and other countries, administrators, policy makers and management agencies. All together, they develop sustainable and innovative solutions based on interdisciplinary knowledge. By 2020, the area will be the best monitored and studied coastal area in the world.

2. Cape Skil museum 

3. Lighthouse 

4. House of antiques 

5. Cultural museum 

6. Shipwreck and Beachcombing Museum 

7. Museum of Aviation and War 

8. Whalers house 

9. Beer brewery Texel 

10. Life of a fish 

 Summary

Texel has a lot of activities and institutes to give the tourist and its inhabitants fun and also to educate and entertain them. Some activities take sustainability already into account and see it as impartant, such as Ecomare, NIOZ, Texel's beer brewery or activities as wadd-excursion, jutters-experience or nature excursions. Other activities or instittutes do not see it as very important, but do not harm the nature or do not have a negative influence on the goal of the island to become energy neutral, such as surfing, playing golf or hayrides. These activities and institutes should be empowered in what they do.

The most interesting field of activities and institutes for the researchquestion How leisure and knowledge contribute in making Texel 60% self-supported? are those who have a negative influence on this. For example the sauna's, restaurants, café's and actually all buildings that consume a lot of energy. This is the interesting target group. How can we make them more sustainable without losing its quality and the fun, how can we make them change? These questions will be discussed in chapter 3 and 4.

In the next subchapters the current Leisure and Knowledge activities and institutes are analyzed what the major unsustainable mechanisms are. Next the current trends and developments in the transition to Texel 60% self supported. And finaly the actors and its interests are analysed in chapter 2.3. 

 References

[1] http://www.texel.net/en/about-texel/nature/, visited on 03-03-2015
[2] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/, visited on 03-03-2015
http://www.zandbanktexel.nl/bedrijfsuitjesgroepsuitjesteambu/treasurehunt/, visited on 03-03-2015
[3] http://www.dekoogtexel.nl/ondernemers/uitgaan/, visited on 03-03-2015
http://www.taxitexel.nl/uitgaan-op-texel.html, visited on 03-03-2015
[4] http://www.zoover.nl, visited on 03-03-2015
http://www.iens.nl/restaurant/den-burg-texel/biologisch, visited on 03-03-2015
[5] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/wellness/, visited on 03-03-2015
[6] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/vrije-entree/, visited on 03-03-2015
[7] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/events/, visited on 03-03-2015
http://www.wadden.nl/texel/evenementen/, visited on 03-03-2015
[8] http://www.nioz.nl, visited on 03-03-2015
[9] www.durperhonk.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.vrijeschooltexel.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.thijsseschool-texel.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.bruinvistexel.com/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.lubertischool.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
[10] www.rockopnh.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.mwp.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
[11] interview by telephone with director of the Jozefschool on 10-12-2014
[12] www.ecomare.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.kaapskil.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.vuurtorentexel.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.oudheidkamertexel.nl/index.php?id=108, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.cultuurmuseumtexel.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.juttersflora.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.lomt.nl, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.walvisvaardershuisjetexel.nl/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.texels.nl/nl/bieren/, visited on 11-12-2014
http://www.deoudevismarkt.nl/expositie/4/, visited on 11-12-2014