CSR

The construction of the Climbing & Adventure Forest explicitly took into account the basic idea that everyone (regardless of financial, physical or intellectual limitations) should be able to have a 'carefree day playing outside in nature'.

Climbing forest
The climbing forest deliberately takes into account people with disabilities. For example, one of the height courses has been made wheelchair-accessible. We work closely with the Spieren voor Spieren foundation. This foundation is dedicated to research into muscular diseases. The wheelchair-accessible tree trail is made available to this foundation twice a year free of charge. A unique opportunity for this target group (and their families) to undertake an activity that is not normally possible.

Daredevil Forest
In the venture forest, 'extreme' activities to do such as a free fall (from 12 metres) and a Big Swing (rope swing) from 10 metres high. The Big Swing has been made wheelchair accessible. This allows people in a wheelchair also experience this 'extreme' activity.

Adventure trail
In cooperation with Brabant Landscape the Adventure Trail 'Survival of the Fittest' has been developed. It is an educational walking route through the forest where, along the way, participants learn actively how plants and animals survive. There are also several challenging activities, such as tree bridges, rope bridges and a barefoot trail. It is free of charge to introduce the widest possible audience to life in nature.

Play forest
A large free-access play forest has been created with several tree bridges, rope swings and places to build huts. Here, children can play to their hearts' content.

In the realisation of the Climbing & Adventure Forest, sustainability was the starting point from the beginning.

Golden Green Key
Rocks 'n Rivers has a Golden Green Key. This has been taken into account in the construction of the sites. Sustainable use of materials and conservation of nature are pursued by the organisation. View our CSR statement.

Cooperation with sustainable partners
For the operation of the Klim & Avonturenbos, a conscious choice was made to combine commercial operation with a social component. There is cooperation with sustainable partners in several areas. This ensures the continuity of the Klim & Avonturenbos for the long term.

Maintenance and supervision of activities
Maintenance of all grounds is partly provided by the Eetsj Outdoor Foundation, which is committed to making outdoor activities accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, participants in their projects are used to supervise activities.

Making Klimbos available to third parties
The wheelchair-accessible tree course is selflessly made available to the Spieren voor Spieren foundation twice a year. They invite children with muscle diseases to come and spend a day doing activities in the Klimbos.

Construction expertise
During the construction, cooperation was established with Brabants Landschap and Landgoed Gorp & Roovert from the beginning. This brought in expertise on sustainable use and conservation.

Development expertise
The free Adventure Trail 'Survival of the Fittest' was developed in cooperation with Brabants Landschap. They filled in the educational part of the trail, creating added value.

In short, here is an outing with a solid foundation with which we can move forward for years to come.

Both organised and public, the Climbing & Adventure Forest creates many happy moments for everyone. The happy moments vary a lot. They may include, for example, a family walking the Adventure Trail on a Sunday afternoon, a muscle-sick child taking the wheelchair trail with his family, or employees of Eetsj Outdoor being able to give instruction to participants.

Some eye-catching examples of happy moments:

1. Official opening of wheelchair trail
The wheelchair-accessible height course was officially opened by Vigo Sevrijn, child ambassador of the Spieren voor Spieren foundation. Together with ex-skater Barbara de Loor, he was the first to ride a lap of the course. The delighted reaction of Vigo and his family is a perfect example of a lucky moment : "This is an activity that is normally not possible with a wheelchair. Fantastic that I can now experience it. Incredibly happy!"

2. Guus 71 years bad legged goes down a zip line in his wheelchair.
A great achievement that shows that outdoor activities need not be tied to age or disability.

Click here for the video.

3. Wellspect Outdo Day 2016
Patients at the Adelante rehabilitation centre were able to have a day of fun in the Climbing & Adventure Forest. The event was organised on behalf of Wellspect.

4. Sports Day VSO 2016
Pupils from Mytyl School Gabriel held a sports day at the Climbing & Adventure Forest. They had activities such as archery, mountain biking and did the wheelchair course.

The Climbing & Adventure Forest gives target groups with disabilities a chance to develop.

Cooperation with Eetsj Outdoor foundation
We cooperate on a structural basis with the Eetsj Outdoor foundation. The general aim of this foundation is to offer outdoor activities to people with disabilities (using employees, including people with disabilities).

At the Climbing & Adventure Forest, they try to make the objective a reality through:

• Day care for people with disabilities;
• Recreation/relaxation/exercise by people with disabilities;
• Training/education of people with disabilities in preparation for work (paid or unpaid) (labour market entry);
• The meeting between people with disabilities and other residents of Tilburg and the wider area;

Maintenance
Maintenance of the Klim & Avonturenbos (climbing forest, adventure trail and play forest) is partly taken care of by participants in their projects. They ensure that materials, the courses and the forests look neat and ready for use.

Activity support
Eetsj Outdoor's employees assist in carrying out activities. Here, they help put on climbing harnesses and, if possible, provide instructions to participants.

'Survival of the Fittest' adventure trail

In cooperation with Brabants Landschap, the 'Survival of the Fittest' Adventure Trail has been developed. It is a free-access, educational hiking trail through the forest where, along the way, participants learn actively how plants and animals survive. There are also several challenging activities, such as tree-trunk bridges, rope bridges and a barefoot trail. It is freely accessible to introduce the widest possible audience to life in nature.

The motto 'Healthy muscles commit to sick muscles' fits seamlessly with the activities we carry out.

This is why Rocks 'n Rivers has partnered with the Spieren voor Spieren Foundation. The foundation's proceeds benefit research into muscular diseases and the improvement of the diagnosis process. Every year, we selflessly organise the successful Spieren voor Spierendag (Muscles for Muscles Day), in which children with a muscular disease can participate free of charge.

Free climbing forest
The climbing forest deliberately takes into account people with disabilities. One of the height courses, for instance, has been made wheelchair-accessible. Here, we work closely with the Spieren voor Spieren foundation. This foundation is committed to research into muscular diseases. The wheelchair-accessible tree course is made available to this foundation twice a year free of charge. A unique opportunity for this target group (and their families) to undertake an activity that is normally not possible.

In the construction of the Klim & Avonturenbos, we worked with the owners of Landschap and Landgoed Gorp en Roovert from the beginning. This brought in expertise on sustainable use and conservation.

Gorp and Roovert estate
The "Gorp en Roovert" estate is located south of Tilburg along the Belgian border and falls under the Municipality of Hilvarenbeek and to a small extent under the Municipality of Goirle.
The estate consists of ± 800 ha of forest and 370 ha of agricultural land and is owned by the van Puijenbroek family. The core of the estate is formed by the two very old hamlets "Gorp" and "Roovert".