In the middle of the Netherlands, an unusual experiment in conservation began with an unlikely raw material: mud. Instead of treating the vast quantities of sediment accumulating on the floor of Markermeer as waste, Dutch engineers used it to create a new landscape. They built a chain of islands from sand, clay, silt and other material dredged from the lake, creating beaches, shallow waters, marshes and sheltered habitats where very little suitable habitat had existed before.
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