Køge Bay Beach Park in Denmark is a shining example of climate resilience in action, seamlessly blending coastal protection with stunning recreational landscapes. Nestled along Denmark’s coast, this park is more than just a scenic view—it’s a smart, nature-driven solution to the challenges of a changing climate.
Jakob Riemer Helsbøl, who is working as a landscape- and forest engineer in the Beach Park, plays a key role in this effort, overseeing the maintenance of the beach park and its dunes while enhancing recreational spaces and liaising with municipalities and local communities.
The dunes and dikes aren’t just passive features—they’re actively monitored and maintained to stand strong against rising sea levels and storm surges, especially during the stormy autumn and winter months. Regular check-ups help spot any weak points, like low spots in the dikes, allowing Jakob and the team to jump into action and reinforce these natural defences, all while preserving the area’s stunning ecological balance.
Chosen as a case study for Regions4Climate, the park has become a living lab for coastal resilience. By sharing its wealth of local knowledge and engaging in workshops, the park’s team has given valuable insights to the local context. This allows for the project’s activities to become locally rooted rather than a parallel process. Through this collaboration, Køge Bay Beach Park continues to grow as a space for learning, community engagement, and climate action, ensuring that the results of the Regions4Climate project are being put into practice in real time.
Jakob Riemer Helsbøl, said:
“I really hope that people or companies who look at our area have the right amount of courage to visualise other things than just the coastal protection that they tend to. But, also to think about the other values like landscapes or nature or recreational. When you build facilities like this, you have an opportunity to do something bigger than just taking care of one main problem.”
The users of the beach park will soon be able to experience an immersive tour through an augmented reality (AR) app developed by the Regions4Climate project. By taking a high-tech turn to reconnect the community with the roots of the beach park as a coastal protector, the app will add local value by increasing climate awareness through citizen involvement within the region. This app brings the park’s history to life, showcasing its evolution and its ongoing role in defending the coastline. By visualising climate risks and the park’s design, it deepens visitors’ understanding of how this beloved green space balances recreational activities with climate resilience.
Not only that, but it can also be used as a tool for raising awareness and help politicians make informed decisions. Users can explore the beach’s design, learn about historical events, and even glimpse future changes like potential dike enhancements—all through the lens of local expertise.
In addition to the augmented reality app, another main focus in the Regions4Climate work in Køge Bay is the engagement of underrepresented citizen groups. This is done through developing and testing new methodologies for inclusion to improve future climate adaptation planning. Regions4Climate supports innovation and knowledge sharing with the mission of reaching a Just Transition where citizens are involved and represented in decision making processes.
Another focus of the pilot project in Køge Bay is to widen the perspectives of inhabitants living close by the coast on how one can learn to live with the water in a sustainable way. Many of the stakeholders in this region are already working towards climate resilience and coastal protection so combining these synergies through the Regions4Climate project has been extremely beneficial.