Zuid-Kennemerland National Park ( Dutch: ''Nationaal Park Zuid-Kennemerland'') is a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

on the west coast of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. It was established in 1995.

History

Dutch conservationist Jac. P. Thijsse first wrote about a possible

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

between Bloemendaal and the

North Sea Canal The North Sea Canal () is a Dutch ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, constructed between 1865 and 1876 to enable seafaring vessels to reach the port of Amsterdam. This man-made channel terminates at Amsterdam in the closed- ...

in 1944. As a result, the national park De Kennemerduinen was established in 1950.Hans Schmit,
Duingebied bij IJmuiden nu zevende nationale park
(in Dutch), ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). '' ...

'', 1995. Retrieved 29 November 2016. The Zuid-Kennemerland National Park was established in 1995. It comprised De Kennemerduinen, several nature reserves managed by Vereniging Natuurmonumenten and some other areas.

Geography

The park is situated west of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

in the province of

in the west of the Netherlands. It is located within the municipalities of Bloemendaal,

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known as ...

, and

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

. It includes the southern portion of the region known as Kennemerland. South Kennemerland is characterized by sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s. The park, about in size, also includes some estates, forests on the dune fringes, and coastal beaches. The dunes used to be a watershed for the city of

. Large amounts have been won for consumption. In 2003, these activities were ceased, allowing the groundwater-bubble to grow again. There is a small public swimming area open in the summer at a location called ''the Wed'' on the road between Bloemendaal and

. The train from Zandvoort to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

travels through the park. The park borders and is connected with the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes (''Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen'') another big reserve owned by Amsterdam. This reserve is about the same size, with a similar ecosystem and wildlife; together they form one big dune ecosystem.

Management

The park is owned and managed collectively by '' Vereniging Natuurmonumenten'' (Natural Monuments Association), ''

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

'' (State Forestry), ''PWN '' (Water Supply Company North Holland), ''Province of North Holland'', IVN, and the surrounding municipalities and private owners.

Visitors

In 2008, the park had 1.8 million visitors. The visitors centre is located in at Zeeweg 12 in Overveen, called ''De Kennemerduinen'', next to parking ''Koevlak''.

Biology

Flora

The dunes are rich in lime, allowing the growth of several plant species which are rare in the Netherlands. The inland dunes are covered with bacciferous shrubs attracting a variety of songbirds. About 800 different plant species that grow in the dune area of South Kennemerland are displayed in Thijsse's Hof (Garden of Thijsse), in Bloemendaal. This

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an Biophysical environment, environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater t ...

was founded in 1925, and is the oldest in the Netherlands.

Fauna

Over 100 bird species, as well as nearly 20 butterfly species, have been observed in the park. The mammals

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

, roe deer,

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

, West European hedgehog,

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Oryctolagus''. The European rab ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

live in the park. Besides Highland cattle,

Shetland pony The Shetland pony or Sheltie is a Scottish breed of pony originating in the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. It may stand up to at the withers. It has a heavy coat and short legs, is strong for its size, and is used for riding, dr ...

, and

Konik The Konik or Polish Konik, , is a Polish list of horse breeds, breed of small horse or pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually dun gene, mouse dun or primitive markings, striped dun. The Bilgoray, , of south-e ...

s, an experiment was started in spring 2007 by releasing a small number of

wisent The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

s. These European bison could be dangerous to people and therefore were released in an area not publicly accessible. The wisents may be observed from a purpose-built viewing platform, a walking path (closed between 1 March and 1 September and during excursions). Together with Amsterdamse Waterleiding Duinen reserve, this park could potentially be a suitable habitat for wolves (who can help tackle deer populations on a natural way) say multiple wolf experts including those of ark nature development, who work closely with the park and with the biggest wolf organization in the Netherlands: “wolven in Nederland”. The park also is interested in the possibility of a reintroduction of lynxes in the park to help the deer populations. The upcoming

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

also might find the park for the first time ever.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Protected areas established in 1995 1995 establishments in the Netherlands Dunes of the Netherlands Forests of the Netherlands National parks of the Netherlands Parks in North Holland Bloemendaal Velsen Zandvoort