New playground in Nieuw-Vennep: Every child can now join in at Jeugdland

A paved go-kart track, a hut-building area, a club house, playground equipment, a large outdoor space, a wheelchair-friendly mud kitchen, a fountain, and – the icing on the cake – a special water feature: Jeugdland Nieuw-Vennep, which opened in 2010, guarantees an afternoon of fun for many children.

Inclusive playground

For many children, but not for all children. Something had to be done about that, explains treasurer Femke Hoogweg. 'We always had this idea to do something for children in special education and children with a disability. When the Haarlemmermeer municipality signed a covenant in 2020 that determined that every municipality had to have an inclusive playground, we said: let's get to work!'

Modified sand pit

And so we got a designer involved and a participatory process was started. Funding was secured through the Schiphol Fund. 'Partly thanks to the Schiphol Fund's donation we were able to modify the sand pit next to the clubhouse so that it's now a playground suitable for young children with a disability. There used to be water play equipment right in the sand. It's now partly on top of paving stones so that wheelchairs can also access it. There's also now a fence around it, which is something a lot of kids and parents wanted. And there's a wheelchair-friendly mud kitchen, a fountain, and we've built a climbing route across the small hill.'

Playing together

A substantial modification, but one that quickly proved effective. 'The nice thing is that all kids are now playing a lot more with the water play equipment. It's a lot more conducive to playing together. And there's more space for the children, but also for parents and grandparents with a disability. Everyone can join in.'

A great result, but the organisation isn't done yet. 'We receive more and more visitors each year and we want to keep it that way. That's why we're going to keep on modifying the site. Some equipment has been there since the opening in 2010 and needs replacing. While doing this, we will of course be thinking about how everyone can participate.'

Really great

It's great that the Schiphol Fund has been able to (financially) help out. 'Everyone was really happy of course, and also surprised by the amount. We get subsidies, but we use that to maintain the equipment. If we want something new, we always need to depend on donations. It's really great to have a regional fund that supports your goals.'

In April 2023, Jeugdland Nieuw-Vennep received a special donation of € 28.779,41 to create an inclusive playground.