Diemerpark, Amsterdam

Diemerpark looks like rough grassland beside the IJmeer, yet the landscape rests on a concealed seal. This park was built over a former rubbish tip: polluted ground was enclosed underground, covered with watertight clay and plastic sheeting, and turned into a park that opened in 2003. The result is a place where visitors may not dig, while groundwater beneath the park is pumped away and purified; text on the well covers explains the site's story.

Across its 90 hectares, Diemerpark has Amsterdam’s highest park biodiversity. About sixty bird species breed here, including nightingales, cuckoos, kestrels, linnets and willow tits. Grass snakes and natterjack toads thrive here, with foxes, stoats and orchids such as the bee orchid adding to the wild character. Most of the park is protected roaming country, where nature takes priority.