Day 4 sure was one of the days of all time!
We started our day with a train to Zaanse Schans, which is home to the Henri Willig cheese farm. We were given a brief explanation on how Henri Willig cheese is made, and after we were able to try a variety of unique cheeses. We also learned that the Henri Willig factories are covered in solar panels and their cows are treated properly, which both contribute to Henri Willig’s impressive sustainability. Additionally, the Zaanse Schans farm has multiple windmills, which are a sustainable energy harvesting alternative to burning fossil fuels. The surrounding area is also lined with a number of wind turbines that take advantage of the costal winds of the Zaanse Schans region.
After our cheese adventure, we took a bus to the Zuiderzee museum where we spent a large chunk of the day. The Zuiderzee museum explores the maritime and cultural heritage of the Zuiderzee region. Our tour guide, Ida, walked us through the outside portion of the museum, which is a recreation of a Zuiderzee village with houses, actors, and live demonstrations. We learned that Zuiderzee villages were traditional fishing communities that thrived off of their saltwater surroundings. Due to a history of flooding, the Dutch government sealed off the surrounding sea with a dyke, turning it into a freshwater lake. This switch greatly affected the village’s fishing industries, causing them to fade away. It was interesting to think about how the Dutch’s sustainable efforts to prevent flooding and reclaim land ultimately disrupted the fishing and trading systems of the Zuiderzee communities, highlighting the trade-offs involved in environmental decision-making.
Another aspect of sustainability I noticed during this visit was in the reenacted maritime village, which once was a completely self-sustained community. Our group had a lot of fun comparing the practices and living conditions during this time to our current ones. Compared to the automated machines we use today, most tasks were done by hand in the maritime village, which is ultimately more sustainable.