The word ‘sustainable’ can sometimes make people sigh. Everything has to be green and sustainable – but what does sustainability actually mean, and what difference does it make to me?
Through this Green & Sustainable channel, we regularly share inspiring examples of initiatives that are already taking place in De Plantage and that others can adopt too. Want to know how? Get in touch with the organisation that is already doing it. That way, there’s no need to reinvent the green wheel…
Bring back the sparrow!
Dutch National Opera & Ballet has its stage at the Stopera, but in Amsterdam Noord it also has a large and busy Production Workshop. This is where costumes and sets are made before they are brought to De Plantage for operas and ballets.
The Production Workshop is located in a fairly industrial area, so there is plenty of room for measures that improve biodiversity and add more greenery. Meanwhile, the City of Amsterdam wants to bring sparrows back to the city. And so sparrows became an important target group for several of the measures taken around the Production Workshop.
Hedges, nesting boxes & flowering shrubs
So, what does a sparrow need? First of all, shelter from predators such as cats and birds of prey. That is why the municipality planted a mixed hedge with thorny and berry-bearing shrubs around the Production Workshop, providing sparrows with both food and shelter.
Secondly, they need a comfortable place to nest. The Production Workshop team promptly built fifty sparrow nesting boxes themselves (well, they are set builders after all!), allowing the birds to nest close to the rest of their colony.
And thirdly, of course, they need food. In the nearby new green strip, garden plants and flowering bulbs were planted to attract insects – which in turn provide food for the sparrows.
No need to reinvent the green wheel
Would you like to create a welcoming environment for sparrows too? Email Ellis at so she can put you in touch with the right people, or search Chainels for the contact persons at Dutch National Opera & Ballet.
Want to read the full article? Click here.
Image: the Production Workshop with its self-built nesting boxes. (Photo: Julie Fuchs)