Eco Expedition

“Het is een mooie en laagdrempelige manier om bewoners, bezoekers en collega’s kennis te laten maken met stadsnatuur. De stad heeft een enorme rijkdom aan natuur, je moet het alleen wel weten én zien.”

The Eco Expedition through The Hague's urban nature is a walk of 5 kilometers in which you will discover many new things. You will learn more about the surprising nature of The Hague.

The Eco Expedition is the winning idea of the challenge 'People and nature in the city' organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. During the challenge, startups were challenged to bring residents into direct contact with nature. Jessica Wijsenbeek and Loes Potgieter have won this challenge. They developed this expedition based on the motivation to create more awareness and appreciation for the biodiversity in the city. Together with Martin van den Hoorn (urban ecologist at the municipality of The Hague), they have designed a versatile and interactive route.

So what exactly does this walk entail?
At 10 places in the city there are colorful paving stones with a QR code. If you scan the QR code, you can read interesting background information about where you are. This can include photos, videos or audio messages. After this information you will then be guided to the next discovery.

The discovery of the nature during this expedition takes place in three steps: 1) take a good look around, 2) receive information and 3) make impact yourself! Of course you don't have to walk this entire expedition in one go. Also good to know; there isn’t necessarily one starting point, so you can start the walk anywhere. For example: it’s nice to walk (part of) the route during your lunchtime. Or on a Sunday afternoon with family, children or friends.
 

In addition to the first Eco Expedition, a second is available from May 1st. This walk will lead you through The Hague Mariahoeve where you will learn everything about chattering storks, mammals and orchids.

“It is a nice and accessible way to get acquainted with urban nature for residents, visitors, colleagues and other people who work in the center”.
“The city has an enormous wealth of nature, you just have to know and see it.”
 

For the complete experience you can use the app Spacetime Layers.

Take a look at the website (Dutch only) and discover more information!

Bewustzijn creëren

De Eco Expeditie is het winnende idee van de challenge ‘Mens en natuur in de stad’ georganiseerd door het Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat. Tijdens de challenge werden startups uitgedaagd om bewoners weer in direct contact te brengen met de natuur. Jessica Wijsenbeek en Loes Potgieter hebben deze challenge gewonnen. Ze hebben de expeditie opgezet vanuit de motivatie om meer bewustzijn te creëren voor de biodiversiteit in de stad. Samen met Martin van den Hoorn (stadsecoloog bij Stadsbeheer gemeente Den Haag) hebben zij een veelzijdige en interactieve route vormgegeven.