Ruud Streefkerk

The recreational area Twiske was laid out from1964 until 1968 between the municipalities of Landsmeer, Oostzaan, Purmerend and Ilpendam in the Netherlands. Originally the area consisted mainly of peat meadows along the river Twiske, that flows from the North towards the river IJ. Probably the name used to be Twixt-A, the small river ‘A’ that formed the border between Landsmeer and Oostzaan. The West-Friesian village of Twisk near Hoorn was also named after such a boundary-river. For centuries peat was won around these villages on a small scale. Around 1930 land- reclamation was executed, but the reclaimed farmland turned out to be of a rather poor quality, so these plans were abandoned in the late 50’s. In the 60 's lots of sand was dug out for the construction of the Coentunnel-road, creating a more than 30 meter deep lake. Afterwards it was decided to destine the lake and its surroundings to become a recreation area. Gradually a natural balance is arising: a diverse population of birds settled here, such as the bittern, shoveller, widgeon, bearded tit, sand-martin, kingfisher, nightingale, great spotted woodpecker, kestrel, hawk and buzzard.