On day 9, we traveled to TU Delft, one of the best universities in the world for engineering, to tour their Green Village and participate in a climate frisk.
The Green Village is a community on campus dedicated to letting people test sustainable startups and new ideas. Their first building we visited on our tour included a climate tower full of small radiators. The radiators contained a part liquid and solid salt mix, that when reacted, creates energy and cools the inside of the building. It was really cool to connect properties I learned in my chemistry classes at Pitt to a real engineering project. Next, we saw a few structures students built without the use of concrete, such as the bridge to the community. Students used sustainable materials and relied on creative design to keep the bridge together, Specifically, they used S shaped blocks that fit into one another in a way that prevents vertical sliding, which is what would cause the bridge to collapse. Lastly, our tour guide showed us the Van plas naar gewas, which is a system that uses the ammonia in urine to fertilize plants. Replanting fields using waste water gives food back to both us and farm animals sustainably. This project is still in its early stages, but it has a promising, impactful future. The Green Village was the perfect blend of innovation, sustainability, and engineering, which is what this trip is all about.
We had a few hours of free time to explore the campus. The dorms were beautiful, there were thousands of bikes, and TU Delft offered a lot of recreational spaces, such as tennis courts and soccer fields. I’m very tempted to transfer here and start my Dutch life.
To wrap up our visit, we took part in a “climate frisk,” which is an interactive activity that uses collage to explore climate change. We were given cards representing climate contributors, affected lifeforms, and the impacts of climate change. It was eye opening to visualize how interconnected life on Earth is, and how the choices we make as a society trigger chain reactions of environmental consequences. After making our collages in groups, we came back together and discussed ways that we can improve our personal and professional environmental footprints and handprints. For my personal footprint goal, I committed to giving up red meat. I think this action
will be easy for me and it will have a solid impact. For my professional/academic goal, I’m aiming to create a club at Pitt about ways to improve environmental and professional footprints and handprints. What I learned from this climate frisk was very impactful, and I hope I can use what I’ve learned to inspire others back home and at school.
