The shovel goes deep into the ground. Literally. This spring, the municipality will plant 400 new trees. This achieves an important promise from the coalition agreement 2022 - 2026: expanding the number of trees under municipal management from 92,000 to 100,000.
The coalition agreement is the plan of the parties in the college of mayor and aldermen. It states what they will do. It says: add eight thousand trees. “That seems so simple, but in practice it is a huge operation,” says Wim Buchel, one of the municipality employees responsible for the management and maintenance of greenery at the Management and Maintenance cluster. “You cannot just plant a tree anywhere. Every spot must be examined. Above ground and underground.”
Four months of research
Together with Rene Stoop from Stoop Groenvoorziening, one of the contractors who must plant the trees, Wim toured the entire municipality. For four months, they looked at possible spots to plant the trees. From residential areas to dike edges. From Kaag to Spaarndam. The main roads, and all roads in between. Literally every street was examined. “We noted about 2,975 spots,” he says. “We know per spot which tree species is desired, whether there is still a tree stump. And whether the tree will be in grass or pavement. Really everything we need to plant responsibly.”
Gaps
Many new trees come to places where trees have died over the years. Where gaps have appeared in parks, green spaces, verges, watersides or rows of trees. The cause can be anything: disease, storm damage or root problems, for example.
Right tree in the right place
“Trees provide shade, cooling and biodiversity,” emphasizes Wim Buchel. “But they also require space and good management.” Not every tree can grow just anywhere. The municipality carefully looks at which species fits best in a spot. “One tree has deep roots, another grows wide. And some species tolerate drought or salt better than others,” Wim explains. “Along a busy road, for example, we prefer a maple that can tolerate air pollution. In a green park, a linden or an elm fits better, providing more shade and biodiversity.”
Street view
On the way to a possible planting spot, the car regularly stopped. “If we saw that one or two trees were missing in a row of trees, we noted it immediately,” says Wim. “This way we keep the tree stock complete and fill those spots later. That may seem like a detail. But it maintains the structure and street view in Haarlemmermeer.”
Traces of the storm
Some of the open spots in the greenery are still the result of the huge summer storm Poly that raged in the region two years ago. “Hundreds of trees were lost then,” Wim says. “Step by step we make up for that loss. Every new tree contributes to recovery. Both in number and in the appearance of the landscape.”
From 2,975 spots to 1,400 trees
Almost three thousand possible spots were examined above and below ground at the municipal office. Cables and pipelines were checked, but also future plans. “Sometimes a spot is needed in a few years for housing or road construction. Then it is excluded,” Wim says. Eventually, about 1,400 suitable planting spots remained for short-term planting.
Elm trees Geniedijk get a place
The total also includes the 360 elms originally intended for the Geniedijk. “Those trees now get a place elsewhere in the municipality,” Wim says. “It is important that they are planted, because every tree counts towards the total.”
Starting signal in Zwaanshoek
On November 10, alderman Marjolein Steffens - van de Water (Physical Environment) gave the official starting signal for the extra planting. She planted a tree herself in Zwaanshoek. “This moment marks more than just the start of the planting season,” says the alderman. “It shows that we also actually implement agreements from the policy in practice. From plan to plant. That is what it is all about.”
Strengthening green structures
At the same time, alderman Mariëtte Sedee (Large-scale Green and Recreation) is working on strengthening the green structures in the municipality, partly together with the recreation board and province. She does this by creating new nature areas and parks, restoring existing nature and expanding recreational opportunities.
Projects such as PARK21, the Abbenes village forest, the green zone along Zwanenburg-West and the expansion of Groene Carré Zuid contribute to wider green strips and better connections between nature areas. This makes the landscape more attractive for animals and residents, both inside and outside the built-up area.