On Friday, July 12, Alderman Zeegers officially opened the new park where the ebb and flow of tides have free play.
Tidal terraces
The water rises and falls – due to the open connection to the sea – about one and a half meters twice a day. The tidal park consists of nine tidal terraces that increase in size and scale from the head of the Keilehaven towards the mouth. The terraces are laid out at different heights, which may or may not be submerged, or partially submerged, by the tide. This creates various living environments and a diversity of plants and other organisms. Think of special plants that can withstand brackish water and the alternation of dry and wet conditions. At the head of the Keilehaven, there is a staircase – allowing visitors to walk down to the water.
More green and variety
Due to the action of ebb and flow, the new tidal nature attracts special plants, fish, small water creatures, and birds that live at the boundary of fresh and salt water. Birds, such as spoonbills and common terns, and fish, such as eel and stickleback, find rest and food here. Underwater, two trees that fell during a storm elsewhere have been placed. This restores the original underwater nature of rivers and the ecosystem for fish. Before the 20th century, many more fallen trees and branches lay in the river.
Reuse of materials
Rotterdam is building a circular city. They do this by using less, better, longer, and reusing materials. For the construction of this tidal park, materials that became available elsewhere in the city were reused. For example, the natural stone quay stones come from the Noordereiland, 10,000 tons of surplus sand from the Museumpark was used to fill the harbor, and thousands of discarded concrete paving stones from the Agniessebuurt were moved to the Keilehaven to fill the gabions.
Waste catching system in the water
In the water lies a CirCleaner. This is one of the innovative waste-catching systems from the YES!Delft scale-up Noria, which captures plastic and other waste from the surface water. This prevents the waste from breaking into small pieces, being eaten by aquatic animals, and flowing to the sea. This waste-catching system is part of a larger approach in Rotterdam for cleaner waters and a cleaner sea with less waste.
Noria is a tech scale-up from Delft that offers solutions for solving the Urban Plastic Soup based on factual insights. Noria provides sustainable, cost-effective solutions that address the problem as close to the source as possible.
M4H Embraces the harbor
The municipality and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are developing Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H) from a former port and industrial area into a lively place to live, work, and learn. This transformation also requires an adjustment of public space. The hard stone quays, where general cargo was once transshipped, are becoming green places to relax by the water. To bring people closer to the water and give more space to biodiversity and nature, the tidal park was developed.
Collaboration
The municipality of Rotterdam is transforming the Keilehaven into a sustainable tidal park, fitting within the municipal program ‘Rivieroevers’ and the regional program ‘Rivier als Getijdenpark’. The tidal park was designed by the Urbanists and made possible by LIFE funding from the European Union, the Harbor Environment Fund, the Landscape Table Hof van Delfland, Rotterdam’s Resilience Strategy, GO fund, Riverbanks, RIM, BRG, Green Fund, and RR Inner City Rotte.
