Bird Park Avifauna has been established for 70 years in the recreational landscape of the Green Heart, a typical Dutch nature area with windmills, cows, cheese, farms and traditional crafts. Avifauna, located in the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, receives more than 375,000 visitors every year who come to view special birds and other animals.
To continue surprise visitors, Avifauna has developed a master plan for the period up to 2035 about the future development of the park. The realisation of this plan will start immediately with the implementation of the first projects:The African Savannah and the Green Heart Theme Entrance Area.
Avifauna heeft Vista landschapsarchitecten gevraagd mee te denken over deze projecten en hiervan realistische driedimensionale verbeeldingen te maken.
LOCATIONAlphen aan de RijnCLIENTVogelpark AvifaunaCATEGORYVisualisationPERIOD2019STATUSPublishedCOLLABORATIONKempe Zoo Design
entrance area with theme green heart
The renovated park will be optimally accessible, both by bicycle and car, as well as by coach and public transport. The spacious, improved car park has been laid out in such a way that visitors are automatically guided towards the new entrance area. Visitors arrive at the welcome square via a safe walking route, which leads, among other things, over a characteristic ditch with bridges such as those that are common in the Green Heart.
The reception in Avifauna will takes place in the new Green Heart square. The first part of this square is freely accessible. This is where the cash register, ticket control and toilets are located. The souvenir shop is also accessible without an entrance ticket.
The Green Heart promotional shop is also located here, which includes traditional regional products. Attention is also paid to tourism and recreation in the Green Heart and nature conservation projects in this region.
At the Green Heart square, there will also be a rest, shelter and play area for children in the form of a haystack with a view of the green landscape of the park, a gathering place for larger groups and for guided tours. Aviaries for meadow birds are also located here, as a shelter and knowledge center for these critically endangered birds. The Green Heart square will be the starting point for all walking routes through the park.
african savannah
A huge aviary of more than 11,000 m2 is being built for the African bird species over the new enclosure for ostriches, giraffes and zebras. This will be the largest aviary in Europe. Part of this plan is a wooded riverbank on the edge of the savanna, where visitors walk among prosimians, meerkats, pink pelicans and dwarf flamingos.
The center of the plan is a large savannah. The North African ostriches are given a more spacious and modern home here. Avifauna is one of the few zoos with this endangered, rare ostrich species in its collection. The new enclosure will be so spacious and true to nature that the ostriches can live together
with other animals from their natural habitat, such as vulture guinea fowl and an impressive group of giraffes and zebras. An adventurous route leads to a watchtower with a view over the savannah.
The large African aviary will cover the savannah. Birds are given all the space they need to fly freely. These include pelicans, crowned cranes, saddle-billed storks, vultures, secretary birds and dwarf flamingos. There are also birds that can be seen more often in aviaries in zoos, such as ibises, horn bills and hammerheads. The large aviary contributes to animal welfare. The animals get more living space, which also creates more interaction between the different species.
