Schothorst Park

Schothorst Park

The Amersfoort community is ambitious to be completely climate neutral by 2030. For this purpose diverse sustainability programs and projects have been set in motion. As part of this One Planet Foundation was instructed by the community in 2007 to compile a feasibility study for transforming the CNME Centre in Schothorst Park into an innovative information centre for sustainability. Schothorst Park lies in the middle of the large northern residential district of Amersfoort, with 60,000-70,000 inhabitants in the surrounds. To execute this assignment One Planet took project leaders and experts from its One Planet Network; in this case ORG-id and Eiffel. One Planet also organised a study tour for its project team to CAT in Wales (80,000 visitors per year) and the EDEN project in Cornwall (8 million visitors in 5 years). Here we learnt how some of the successful information centres for sustainability operate in practice. It was an informative and inspiring tour and we hope to see the effect thereof in Amersfoort and in the programs “Samen Duurzaam”.

The CNME feasibility study was completed and is now with the Amersfoort community for a decision regarding implementation. Owing to the present economic crisis and a decline in income from the newly built district Vathorst, the community is economising on all fronts. The decision whether the Schothorst Information Centre will go ahead or be postponed is therefore pending.

One Planet hopes that the community perseveres with their ambition. Experience has shown that sustainability initiatives have a way, if they are well executed, of recouping costs over and again. Peter Harper, for 30 years already a driving force at CAT in Wales, has travelled to many different eco-parks in the world and knows, as no other person does, what a favourable catalytic and innovative effect eco-centres have on their environment. We hope that Schothorst Park will one day become an inspiring source of information about sustainability.