Core team update – Building a pleasant and vibrant park together

We’ll start with good news: the core team has expanded! Wouter van den Noort and Marie-Louise Knols have joined and are happy to introduce themselves. We’re thrilled with their arrival and the reinforcement they bring.

After years of dedication and hard work, the park’s construction phase is almost complete. This means our focus is increasingly shifting to its maintenance. We also want to establish an activities committee to help neighbourhood initiatives and organisations prepare activities in the park. We’re looking for enthusiastic people to contribute ideas and participate.

You can easily register via info@degroenepoortoost.nl.

Fortunately, nature has recovered well after the dry summer. Thanks to the rain in October, the playing field is once again a beautiful, full, and green lawn. We were able to mow it one last time in mid-November. During the last DIY day, we already replaced several trees and shrubs. We will assess which plants didn’t survive the drought in the spring, so that we can replace them.

To be better prepared for future dry spells, we are installing a water well in the natural forest in the western part of the park this winter. We are once again receiving help from students from UWCM: on 8 December, they will help dig the trench for the new water well. This will make watering the plants much easier in the future.

Our monthly DIY days remain incredibly important. We are grateful for the many volunteers who continue to come and help—and for the camaraderie that arises from them. The communal lunch certainly contributes to this. Until now, this lunch has been sponsored by Plus and Maison Culinair. Because this sponsorship ends next year, we have submitted an application to the 2026 Citizens’ Budget. We heard that our application would definitely receive funding on the 4th of December and that we therefore no longer need to participate in the voting process. We are thrilled about that.

There’s also good news about the sand play area: thanks to financial support from Boeken voor Mensen and several donations via the QR code, we were able to purchase a new water pump. Children will be able to play with sand and water again this spring.

We’ve placed pallets in the north-west corner of the park, the “Hut Forest,” so children can build to their heart’s content.

Finally, we’ve also been visible in the neighbourhood in recent months. We gave a presentation and workshop about the natural pond in the eastern part of the park while participating in activities in Heer and Scharn on the 5th of October. Our chair participated in a debate on citizen participation, hosted by the Sphinx debate center on the 24th of September.

Together, we make our park a little more beautiful and more vibrant every month. Thanks to everyone who contributes—in any way.

Finally, we would like to wish you very happy holidays and a happy New Year.

The core team.