Tiny Forest Kristalbos

This Tiny Forest is located in a newly built district, the Harnaschpolder in Delft. The forest is within walking distance of a childcare centre and school and part of a polder landscape, where kids can play and people can enjoy nature.

On March 16 2017, about 40 students from the Het Kristal school in Delft planted a Tiny Forest in the Harnaschpolder. The third of it’s kind in the Netherlands. The students received help from IVN Delft, Hoek Hoveniers and urban ecologist Diny Tubbing and IVN Zuid-Holland. This forest connect innercity children to nature, and gives young and old the opportunity to discover the wilderness in their own neighbourhood. Alderman Stephan Brandligt gave the go-ahead by planting the first tree himself.

Funded by: Provincie Zuid-Holland

Planted by

Primary schools, Hoek landscaping, municipality of Delft, IVN Zuid-Holland, IVN Delft

Plant date

16 March 2017

Surface planted

225 m2

Number of trees

600 trees

Biodiversity, education and community

In the first few year the forest was used for outdoor lessons. Volunteers from IVN organized educational activitities for children of the daycare centre. The forest is now part of the innercity polder landscape, and maintained by the municipality of Delft.

This forest was monitored by Wageningen University between 2018 and 2022. The scientists discovered 125 different species of animals and 25 species in 2019, 2020 and 2021. This is less than the average of 271 different species, but this is also due to the fact that we did not have any volunteers in the first couple of years.

This forest sequestered 295 kg/co2 in 2020, which is more than double of the average of 127,5 kg/CO2 per year.

Plant list

Alder (alnus glutinosa)
Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
Almond willow (Salix triandra
Aspen (Populus tremula)
Basket willow (Salix viminalis)
Black poplar (Populus nigra)
Common buckthorne (Rhamnus catharticus)
Common medlar (Mespilus germanica)
Common pear (Pyrus communis)
Common yew (Taxus baccatu)
Crab apple (Malus sylvestris)
Crack willow (Salix fragilis)

Downy birch (Betula pubescens)
Eared willow (Salix aurita)
English hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata)
European ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
European beech (Fagus sylvatica)
European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
European violet willow (Salix daphnoides)
European white elm (Ulmus laevis)
Field maple (Acer campestre)

Goat willow (salix caprea)
Gray willow (salix cinerea)
Grey alder (Alnusindicana)
Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Large-leafed lime (Tilia platyphyllos)
Laurel willow (Salix pentandra)
Purple willow (Salix purpurea)
Scotch elm (Ulmus glabra)
Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Small leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
White willow (Salix alba)
Wild cherry (Prunus Avium)