Today was our second to last day in Rotterdam. It was a pretty light day which was nice because we had a lot of time to wander the city and relax after our activities were done. The first thing we did was take a little walking tour around some places that show sustainability in Rotterdam. Our guide lived in Rotterdam in a small community of people who live sustainably. The first place we saw was the outside of a school with a basketball court. The area had three large basins for collection of rain water underground. Collecting rainwater was a big thing on this tour. Collecting rainwater is sustainable because it lessens the strain on municipal water supplies, saves energy involved in treating and distributing water, and helps reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. There were also some large letters that spelt out “ZOHO” which is the shorthand for the name of the area that we were walking around in. The letters doubled as large bins for collection of rainwater. The letters also had a computer connected to them which was able to, based on weather predictions, sense when a big storm was coming so they could drain the water in the letters into a larger basin so there could be more room for water in the letters. Another thing we saw was a playground area with sidewalk around it. Within the sidewalk around the playground were indentations in the ground that guide rainwater into the drain at the middle of the playground, thus saving more rainwater.

Another thing we saw was a reclaimed train station that had been turned into an entertainment and hang-out spot. There was greenery everywhere, and there were still train tracks in the ground, which I thought was very cool. It is also sustainable to re-use this abandoned area for something new. The train station is pictured below. The final stop on our tour was the Dakakker, which is a rooftop farm and restaurant in Rotterdam. The farm had many types of plants and flowers, and even had some chickens. It was very cool to see this space being used in the way that it was.

After the sustainability related tour, we went on a more historic walking tour led by our main tour guide, Brian. Brian showed us several things, like the main buildings of Rotterdam that weren’t burned down in 1940 when much of Rotterdam was destroyed in World War II. He also showed us the construction area of a building by Edge Construction, which is a construction company that is very focused on making buildings sustainably. Our last stop on his tour was the Markthal, or Market Hall of Rotterdam. It was a huge building with many restaurants and a couple stores. It had a very interesting ceiling that is pictured below. Overall, this was a good day, even though I am sad that it is one of the last ones we have in the Netherlands.