Where would we be without pavement gardens? Ponder that and come up with your best anwer. And another question: Where can we plant them in Rotterdam Central District? We turned to Berend van Zanten (left on the photo) and Raymond Landegent for the answer.
Green ideas
From their Delftseplein-side office in the heart of RCD, these two born organizers run Groenemorgen, an outfit that launches projects and events to make Rotterdam more sustainable, social and pleasant to live in. “We’re a campaign agency for green ideas and come up with playful, positive and fresh ways to broach tricky topics. Take our pavement planting project for example. Our goal was to plant up to a thousand strips of pavement last year. We made it to 959. That adds up to just short of an extra acre of planting in Rotterdam, which is so important now, given the fact of climate change. This planting project provides rainwater drainage, while the flowers attract bees”, Berend, explains with infectious enthusiasm. “But gardens like these are important for another reason, too. It makes neighbourhoods friendlier and encourages neighbours to get to know each other. Pavement planting makes Rotterdam a bit more social.”
‘Rotterdam in Bloom’
To ‘cultivate’ that social impact, the two have kicked off a contest (Rotterdam Bloeit Op – ‘Rotterdam in Bloom’) to grow the biggest sunflower in Rotterdam. Teaming up with Kongsi and VoorGrijs Seniorenservice, Groenemorgen has given a thousand Maasstad inhabitants seeds of Helianthus annuus giganteus, aka giant sunflower. The tallest of them all will win at summer’s end. “This is a way to inject some colour into the city and connect inhabitants of all ages, while also teaching people something about biodiversity in a fun way.”
From their Delftseplein-side office in the heart of RCD, these two born organizers run Groenemorgen, an outfit that launches projects and events to make Rotterdam more sustainable, social and pleasant to live in. “We’re a campaign agency for green ideas and come up with playful, positive and fresh ways to broach tricky topics. Take our pavement planting project for example. Our goal was to plant up to a thousand strips of pavement last year. We made it to 959. That adds up to just short of an extra acre of planting in Rotterdam, which is so important now, given the fact of climate change. This planting project provides rainwater drainage, while the flowers attract bees”, Berend, explains with infectious enthusiasm. “But gardens like these are important for another reason, too. It makes neighbourhoods friendlier and encourages neighbours to get to know each other. Pavement planting makes Rotterdam a bit more social.”
‘Rotterdam in Bloom’
To ‘cultivate’ that social impact, the two have kicked off a contest (Rotterdam Bloeit Op – ‘Rotterdam in Bloom’) to grow the biggest sunflower in Rotterdam. Teaming up with Kongsi and VoorGrijs Seniorenservice, Groenemorgen has given a thousand Maasstad inhabitants seeds of Helianthus annuus giganteus, aka giant sunflower. The tallest of them all will win at summer’s end. “This is a way to inject some colour into the city and connect inhabitants of all ages, while also teaching people something about biodiversity in a fun way.”
“Weena has the potential to be an urban park”
The duo are itching to plant up more pavements and sow sunflowers across RCD, and in the process connect the people who live and work there. It won’t be easy, given all the brick and broad roadways, but with Hofplein to be redeveloped one of these years, time is on their side – even if the pace isn’t as brisk as Berend would like. “We’ve worked on the Weena before, with our project ‘Happy Streets’. So, how could the street be done differently? Weena has the potential to be an urban park. We need that for more fresh air and places to skate and play ping-pong. If you’re working in one of the offices along the Weena, wouldn’t you want to be able to go outside on your lunch break? Take the ZOHO park at the edge of RCD – that used to be a busy road. Now it’s a park. Combined with the streetside commercial development by MONO, it’s become a great spot in the city.”
The duo are itching to plant up more pavements and sow sunflowers across RCD, and in the process connect the people who live and work there. It won’t be easy, given all the brick and broad roadways, but with Hofplein to be redeveloped one of these years, time is on their side – even if the pace isn’t as brisk as Berend would like. “We’ve worked on the Weena before, with our project ‘Happy Streets’. So, how could the street be done differently? Weena has the potential to be an urban park. We need that for more fresh air and places to skate and play ping-pong. If you’re working in one of the offices along the Weena, wouldn’t you want to be able to go outside on your lunch break? Take the ZOHO park at the edge of RCD – that used to be a busy road. Now it’s a park. Combined with the streetside commercial development by MONO, it’s become a great spot in the city.”
8 juni 2023
– Mobiliteitsbijeenkomst 7 maart – RCD Magazine #9 – Vacature alert (2x)! – Afscheid Rob Ittmann – De of het Weena? – Geopend: Jiu Jitsu Gym – Mededeling van het bestuur: […]
5 april 2023
Het is lente! En dus hét startsein om weer massaal naar buiten te gaan. Rotterdam roept alle inwoners, ondernemers en bedrijven op om te kijken waar er in ieders omgeving nog tegels verruild kunnen worden voor groen.
5 april 2023
Rotterdam Central District (RCD) is in ontwikkeling. Voor dit gebied rondom het Weena zijn veel plannen. Zo komen er meer woningen, extra levendigheid en groen.
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