This excursion covers parts of Groningen and Drente provinces in the northeastern part of the country. The excursion has several notable features:

• Large peat moors once dominated this landscape. We begin by visiting one of the few remaining natural peat moors of any size in this area or anywhere for that matter—the Amsterdamse veld, which is part of Bargerveen, a nature reserve.
• The peat moors were later drained for fuel. After the peat was extracted, these areas turned to agriculture with linear farming villages.
• The Esch villages were settled by farmers who used cattle and sheep to fertilize the sandy soil and produce arable fields.