Today we had the opportunity to visit not one, but TWO different companies for our last full day in the Netherlands. Our day began with a long shuttle ride to the Floating Farm, which is, you guessed it, a dairy farm that floats on water. The idea behind the business is to minimize the effects of rising lake water on milk production. Our time at the Floating Farm began with a presentation by a volunteer of the organization. During the presentation, we learned that the farm can float with the water level because it moves along two poles that stick through large holes in the base. We also learned about several sustainable practices used by the Floating Farm, including allowing the cows to graze and be milked as desired, reusing food waste to create the cows’ food, using large solar arrays beside the farm (shaped like a milk bottle!), and collecting the manure and urine to be used for various commercial products. These products include tables, fertilizer pellets/water, and holiday decorations (not including the smell).
After the presentation, we went to the top layer of the farm, which is where all of the cows are kept and given access to a ramp leading to a grassy field. Most of the cows were incredibly social, wanting to be touched and interacted with by us, showing just how happy lives they live. While on this layer, we could see cows waiting in line for and entering the automatic milking station off to the side. We then went to the middle layer of the farm, where the dairy products are processed. We only had access to a small hall with the machines that create the cows’ food and automatically distribute it to the top layer, but we could see people working in a room to the side, pasteurizing the milk in specialized machines (as featured in the very glare-y picture below). We then went to the basement of the farm, where we saw attempts to grow specialized seeds using LED black lights. The company plans to implement a floating vertical farm in the future.
Once we left the floating farm, we took a water taxi to RDM Rotterdam, an innovation hub and applied science building that is used by students of the Technical University of Rotterdam. Our tour guide explained how the location used to be the largest shipyard in the Netherlands, but the building that is now RDM was a hub for drug-related activity. The Holland port authority bought the building to prevent this initially, but they decided to create a large, multidisciplinary makerspace area in one part of the building. The students also played a part in the building’s design. For example, a group of students came up with an idea of how to relocate ceiling heat to the ground using vacuum tubes, as featured below. In the other section of the building, RDM rents out small spaces for sustainable start-ups at a very low price. It was reiterated multiple times that this area is intended to invest in the future, as opposed to making a profit. The port authority wants the shipyard to remain relevant, so as more successful businesses keep coming from the location, that will happen. While walking around the company area, we walked past several unique spaces. Some of these spaces included innovations such as 3D printed coral reefs, floating cars, small-scale hyperloop prototypes, and specialized locations to test certain designs (one of which focused on the water). My favorite innovation, and the last that we encountered, was a more efficient way to produce metal components through the use of 3D printing, as shown below.
Our final day in the Netherlands came to a close with a Turkish feast at Bazar. The dishes were full of delicious, large kebabs, salads, mounds of rice, vegetable sautés with gravy, meatballs, sauces, and more; everything in the dish was delicious. Even though I’m incredibly excited to sleep in my own bed, I will definitely miss this experience and the friends I’ve made along the way. Being able to experience such a high level of sustainability in the Netherlands has proven to me that if sustainability CAN be achieved, it just takes lots of effort and planning. This has given me hope that more sustainable practices can also be achieved in the US and other, less sustainable nations, and I know I will keep an open mind to bettering our world due to this.
To end my final blog post, I’d just like to say a heartfelt thank you to Pitt’s Global Experience Department for making this opportunity possible, and Dr. Kerzmann, Dr. Dukes, and our incredible chaperone, Brian, for making the trip an unforgettable, educational, and wonderful experience at all times.