Music to our ears: Festival Central Park is planting trees

With headliners such as Anouk, Goldband and De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, our partner Central Park is the biggest pop festival in central Netherlands. But also the greenest! When ordering their tickets, visitors can choose to donate one or two trees to Trees for All. What’s the current status of the tree counter? And in which other ways is Central Park reducing its environmental impact?

Greenest pop festival in the middle of the Netherlands

This is the second year that Central Park takes place in Park Transwijk. The first time was a great success. Couldn’t they give something back to the park, the organization wondered during the evaluation last year. In practice, that turned out to be difficult. So they started to brainstorm more broadly: what if they did something back for the world? Jitske: “If we profile ourselves as the greenest pop festival in central Netherlands, we have to provide proof of that.”

Through a colleague of Jitske’s, the festival organization came across Trees for All. “A great match with our festival. Because of the many trees we integrate into our decor, but also because we recognize that trees are super important for life on earth. Planting trees ourselves, through Trees for All, was a great next step.”

Planting trees in Brabant en Borneo

The festival organization decided to donate 400 trees: 200 in het Groene Woud in Brabant and 200 on the Indonesian island of Borneo. In addition, visitors can choose to donate one tree for €5 or two trees for €10 when purchasing their ticket. “We’ve had a lot of nice responses to that. Many people let us know that it is an easy and concrete way to contribute to a greener world.”

More than 1.000 trees (and the counter keeps on going)

“By now, the tree counter on our website is already at more than 1,000 trees”, Jitske says proudly. “That’s more than I expected. Of course I did know that our visitors are socially and environmentally engaged; most of them are from Utrecht, a progressive city. But with the current high inflation, I could have also imagined that people would not spend that extra money. Very cool. And don’t forget that we still have a month until the festival starts.”

During the festival, the organization will announce what the final tally has become. Visitors will also be able to donate trees those days. Trees for All can be found on the grounds with a booth, where we organize fun activities. And of course enjoy great Dutch acts like Anouk, Maan or Son Mieux.

Vegan food trucks

In addition to planting trees, Central Park reduces its climate impact in more ways. For example, waste is separated, there are vegetarian and vegan food trucks, and decor items are used multiple times. Furthermore, the organization combines transports, to avoid half-empty trailers on the road. 

“In the past, we also had fireworks”, Jitske says, winking. “Hard to imagine, right? By now, we know that LED lighting works perfectly fine for a light show as well. Sustainability doesn’t have to be that difficult.”