Assignment
Designing and realising an information panel and children’s route to tempt children from the residential area of Overvecht (Utrecht) to play outdoors in the nearby Gagelbos.
Created
The Gagel route: a children’s route for children aged between 4 and 12. A colourful route that connects city and countryside and challenges them to play and go outside. It also playfully highlights the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, of which the Gagelbos is a part.
The Gagel route starts at the information panel at Stadsboerderij Gagelsteede in the Overvecht district. Children can take a Challenge Card from the storage box. They can use it to walk from the centre of Overvecht into the Gagelbos. On the way and in the forest, they are challenged to do challenges. This way, they discover the Gagelbos and learn about the history of this special piece of nature.
The children’s route runs through the landscape of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, the largest national monument in the Netherlands. This unique primal Dutch defence system was built between 1815 and 1940. The line runs from Muiden to the Biesbosch and has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Furthermore, at one of the bunkers in the Gagelbos, there is an information panel for children explaining the forest, nature and the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. The panel is designed in the house style of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie.
The children’s route consists of:
- route using coloured dots on paving stones and coloured posts in the Gagelbos
- tasks on the route (walk backwards and follow the line, jump, sundial – what time is it? etc.)
- labyrinth consisting of coloured poles
- information panel on Speelbos Gagelbos
- information panel on the Gagel route with storage box for the challenge cards
- various ‘specials’ in combination with the Challenge card, such as bird silhouettes and silhouettes of soldier attributes
- wooden poles with pictures of animal tracks
- signs with various directions
Customer
Province of Utrecht and Staatsbosbeheer