Heike Odermatt's Image

In July 2010, a week-long wildfire destroyed 200 hectares of heathland in the Netherlands.

Curious to see how nature was recovering, Heike returned two years later. ‘I found this beautiful grey heather, still quite dead,’ she says, ‘and I started to look for new life and some colour’. The young pine against the dead weave captures the resilience of nature. Fire, while damaging, also allows for regeneration. The heat can bring buried seeds out of dormancy, while the ash increases soil fertility. Pioneer plants, such as this pine, then capitalise on the reduced competition and abundance of space and light that such destruction brings.