Blijdag, a nature playground in Amsteldorp that opened less than a year ago, has more than twenty play areas and a clubhouse among trees, flowers and grass.
Its quartermaster, Roel Simons, recently organised a gardening day, and eight volunteers came to help look after the greenery.
Managing growth and reusing materials
Landscape architect Mark van der Bij told the volunteers that brambles, nettles, thistles and bindweed are pulled out when they crowd out other plants.
Children playing along the water have worn away the planting there, so the team will put in sturdier rosemary willow.
The playground also reuses materials, including a bridge from a Zaandam marina and boulders that once protected De Nederlandsche Bank from ram raids.
More volunteers wanted
Besides play, Blijdag hosts film, theatre and music, birthday parties and a monthly session where neighbours make and eat soup together using vegetables from Jumbo.
Simons would like to hold a gardening day every week but is unsure how realistic that is, and Blijdag is looking for volunteers to help with gardening, communications, activities and the clubhouse.
If you would like to pitch in, our guide to volunteering around Amsterdam is a good place to start.