Dio is Amsterdam’s first Greenery Mayor

Rapper Dio and Mooiwatplantendoen.nl will be working together to bring more greenery to grey streets.

There is a great need for green, blooming streets where neighbours can meet up. But how do you encourage residents to bring this about? Alongside existing initiatives, Amsterdam now has a Greenery Mayor, namely the rapper Dio. His special mayorship has been specifically created to help turn ‘his’ city green in these grey, individualistic and digital times. The appointment forms part of the From Grey to Green outdoor plant campaign.

What is Greenery Mayor Dio going to do? 
Dio will turn an Amsterdam street green, after first seeking out the greyest street. He will start initiatives, put forward green ideas and work with residents and greenery experts. This will bring neighbours together again, and they will see what outdoor plants can do. Not just in their own garden, but also in streets, parks and against front walls. Greenery creates calm and refreshes the neighbourhood, and neighbours meet up while maintaining their blooming street. Plants also promote biodiversity, disperse summer heat and capture surplus rainwater. Dio has been appointed with immediate effect, and also hopes to inspire other cities with these green plans and ideas. After a year Dio will pass the baton to the next Greenery Mayor.

Greenery as a uniting factor

Dio, Amsterdam’s first Greenery Mayor, says: “I think it’s a compliment and an enormous honour to be chosen as Amsterdam’s very first Greenery Mayor and to help make the city greener over the coming year. I am Amsterdam born and bred, and I have lived in various districts across the city. So I can think of a number of streets that could do with being made greener where the neighbourhood is also united again and different cultures can come together. I’m keen to work towards that over this year.”

Focus on From Grey to Green
The appointment of the Greenery Mayor also prompts the media and content parties to focus on the From Grey To Green outdoor plant campaign and Mooiwatplantendoen.nl. Isabel Groot of the Flower Council of Holland says: “Dio is a uniter, someone who has the power to inspire. He has been striving for a more sustainable society for a long time, and he is a great lover of nature. With his music he has already shown that he can bring people together and can create solidarity in these mad times. We believe that he is the ideal candidate to encourage his fellow Amsterdammers to make their neighbourhoods and streets greener.”

Want to find out more?
For more information please contact Isabel Groot, Campaign Manager Garden Plants, at igroot@bloemenbureauholland.nl or Country Manager Chanel de Kock at cdekock@flowercouncil.co.uk.

           
_{May 2021}