Commissioned by De Enk Groen en Golf and the municipality of Bergen (BUCH), Buro Mien Ruys designed a green, challenging playground with attention for children and nature. The playground contains natural elements such as wooden play equipment, trees, shrubs and flowers. The green strip has a climate-adaptive character and the design focuses on native and regionally related planting. An attractive playground for playing children and residents!

The location of the green strip between a primary school De Windhoek and directly adjacent to the back gardens of residential homes made it a challenge for various target groups. In addition to playing children, the wishes and ideas of local residents were also taken into account. Participation therefore played an important role in the design process. In the first phase, Buro Mien Ruys, together with De Enk, organised an online questionnaire in which residents of Egmond-Binnen were given the opportunity to think along. This formed the basis for two designs for which visitors could indicate their preference during a residents' evening. The winning design was further elaborated by designer Ilona Dekker into the final design for the playground.

The new playground is divided into three play areas, creating a challenging and varied terrain for children to play. Play forests provide access to the next area and a path runs through the entire terrain along the various play areas. This path is made of recycled tiles. The design takes into account different ages and inclusivity as much as possible. Each play area is aimed at a specific age group and offers sufficient and diverse play opportunities. Natural objects such as stepping stones, boulders and balance beams made of tree trunks have been chosen. Specific objects have been chosen for the very youngest that are suitable for this age, the next area offers play opportunities for older children such as balance beams and climbing and scrambling routes. The playground is equipped with various types of plants that promote creativity and playing and learning with and about nature. The play forests consist of groups of woody shrubs with a wandering path in between.

Biodiversity and education
The area has been enclosed by planting areas, making it more difficult for dogs to run onto the area. In addition to play forests, new green areas have also been created with an assortment of flowering and colorful plants, shrubs and trees. This not only provides a representative image but can also be used for educational purposes, from displaying the seasons to learning about, for example, flower colors and leaf textures. The renovation of the playground and green strip falls within the municipality's playground policy plan. Greening playgrounds is an important spearhead in this. The planting consists as much as possible of native and regionally related plants to improve biodiversity.