News
On Sunday, April 16, Wester-Amstel was marked by the festive christening of the beautiful Wester-Amstel tulip. As many as 150 invited guests were present when Amstelveen mayor Tjapko Poppens performed the christening. After the christening, an official 'christening certificate' was signed. The ceremony concluded with a champagne toast.
With less than a week to go, all hands are on deck at Wester-Amstel preparing for this year’s Amstellanddag on Sunday 4 June from 10:00 - 16:30. Wester-Amstel will once again play a centre role during Amstelland Day.
Wester-Amstel’s first ‘Sunday Jazz at Wester-Amstel’ took place just over nine months ago and what a journey it has been. The concerts, which featured professional jazz ensembles, took place on the first Sunday of every monday and were organised by our volunteers, in close collaboration with the Professional Association of Improvising Musicians (BIM).
The year 2022 promised to be a harvest year, and it was. Our gates as well as our stable doors were once again open. Fast forward to 2023 and we can confidently say that we are well on our way to achieving the plans we set out for ourselves at the beginning of the year.
We are very excited to introduce you to Monique Lindeboom, the newest member of Wester-Amstel’s communication team. How Monique ended up Wester-Amstel is quite special. She was looking for new experiences and she just so happened to walk by our gate at the perfect moment.
For the last four months, Wester-Amstel has been hosting professional jazz ensembles for the concert series, "Sunday jazz at Wester-Amstel". The concerts were organised by our volunteers and in close collaboration with the Professional Association of Improvising Musicians (BIM).
Who better to get inspiration from as a Wester-Amstel volunteer than from a fellow volunteer at another country estate? A report of our visit to Calorama Country Estate in Noordwijk.
From new 'old' lanterns to torches being past in the garden group to an important date you do not want to miss - we cover it all in this edition of 'Behind the gates'.
The annual bird house inspection reveals nature’s true colours...
For this edition of Friends of Wester-Amstel, we sat down with our new Garden Group coordinator – Clasien Slebos. While she may be a fresh face around the country estate, Clasien is fully embracing her new role and ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible in our gardens.
After two years of Corona silence, indoor and outdoor events are up and running again at Wester-Amstel. Of course, we are still keeping a close eye on the latest government guidelines and will make adjustments if necessary. With that said, we proudly announce the following events...
A lot of things happened last year. Suffice to say that despite all of the turbulence caused by COVID-19, we had a good year. It was a year of building, in fact. We built outside, inside, and organisationally.
If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting Wester-Amstel on Amstellanddag or Open Monumentendag, then it’s likely you have either seen or been a part of one of our tours. Knowing that these tours are a great way for visitors to get to know Wester-Amstel (past and present), we recently enlisted the help of a brand new volunteer (and long time friend) to assist us in making them even better.
This time last year, we announced the major renovation of our former coach house and staircase. And we are now happy to say that all of the renovation work is finished and that the results have exceeded our expectations.
Wie wil dat niet! Aankomende maanden (mei, juni en juli) op dinsdag- en donderdagochtend van 10.00-13.00 uur kunt u een plantje of zaden kopen op Wester-Amstel. U bent van harte welkom. – De Tuingroep Foto door Markus Spiske on Unsplash Foto door Jael Rodriguez on …
Not so long ago, Aleid Röntgen, who is helping shape our kitchen garden, asked if she could plant a few bird-friendly bushes next to the garden. Her vision included beautiful flowering bushes and plenty of vantage points for insectivores to pick off the species that posed a threat to our beloved vegetable garden. Here's how that is going...
In our preview for 2021 we announced our desire to organise new public indoor-activities at Wester-Amstel. After three years of absence, we wanted to breathe new life in our rear hall, with a series of lectures, concerts and other indoor activities befitting a country estate.
It is tempting to use puns such as "behind the gate" or "behind the coach-stable doors". But we mainly want to tell you what has been going on at Wester-Amstel since the last newsletter.
In this edition of De Buitenplaats, we’re excited to introduce you to two of the Vrienden van Wester-Amstel Foundation’s board members: Frits Roest and Herma De Heer.
Last year’s missed volunteer outing was made up for in a big way this year.
'Wild Toddlers' was the first thing that we read when we received a very unexpected email from Emilie Zandvliet. And here's how we responded...
Of course, Bill and I were not surprised when we were asked to build a bridge to the former “studio island” on the other side of the pond. By this point, it was common for us to be plucked away from our regular task of protecting the orchard from eroding shores, aggressive rats, exotic lobsters, and nibbling sheep.
Wester-Amstel’s park and gardens produce a wide range of crops and goods throughout the year. We harvest vegetables, herbs, hard and soft fruits, and even firewood. We’re also really proud to say that we grow everything the old fashioned way, meaning there’s no fertilizers or pesticides involved! Here's what we're selling this year.
The time has come for the orchard lane to be replaced. It’s a bittersweet moment, but alas time waits for no tree. Here is a look at what went into our decision.
In each edition of De Buitenplaats, we like to introduce a new friend of Wester-Amstel. This time around, we could easily call it ‘meet our neighbours’. So without further ado, let’s meet this fantastic duo!