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based not only on ideas and concepts, but just as much in
a concrete physical practice in relation to the natural foun-
dation on which we base our existence. In the case of the
Outer Dyke, two fundamentally different ways of relating
to the specific location were thus seen. Where one approach
interacted with nature as a subject (as one would do with a
sparring partner), the other related to nature as an object.
The first approach, typically represented by a local farmer,
represents a life embedded in the local area. The person in
question is directly dependant economically on the relation-
ship with nature, and often sees the location concerned as
his place. The second approach, represented, for example,
by the scientist, seeks via detailed descriptions of a specific
location to position it in relation to universal systematic ca-
tegories which, like data, can then act as a basis for actual
management of the location as one among others.
Focusing on the production of the significance of the
Outer Dyke reveals the many players who take part in this
process. The dyke and the Margrethe Polder behind it were
originally material evidence of man's victory over the forces
of nature, and a symbol which promised progress and wel-
fare in the area, but this understanding changed in step with
changed demographic and production-related conditions,
so that the dyke complex, today more than anything else,
stands as a material expression of the idea of mankind's ob-
ligation to protect the nature which surrounds us.
Klyde med unger. Klyden er én af de fugle, der har nydt godt af Saltvandssøens oprettelse. Foto: John Frikke.