Today, we started with a late breakfast, and then traveled on a bus (the first mode of private transportation we have taken in the Netherlands) to De Tulperij tulip farm. Here, we learned about how tulips and hyacinths are grown and harvested at this particular farm. The lead farmer avoids using pesticides, and instead he actually picks sick flowers by hand. Sick flowers are identifiable by characteristic stripes and mottled colors on their petals that do not follow a pattern.

However, many people find the ill-looking flowers to be more attractive, so farmers mix the seeds of different types of flowers together to achieve a similar appearance but a healthier plant. The irrigation system of the farm we visited was also unique–or at least it wasn’t something that I had seen in the states. The rows of tulips were surrounded by canals, and water soaking into the soil through the canals was the only method of water delivery to the plants. This saves time and money for the farmers, and also reduces the energy consumption of the farm! These canals also prevent the farm from flooding during storms, as they give the water a place to drain.

Next, we took our bus to Schoonschip, a little floating neighborhood. These 30 houses–some split into multiple households–float on one of the many Amsterdam canals and showcase the versatility of sustainable living. These houses were all built with a set of environmentally friendly standards in mind, but each used a slightly different path to achieve this. Many homes had green roofs, and some also had solar panels. One home even had solar panels on its sides because of its green roof, which actually ended up absorbing more light than expected because it caught the sun’s reflections off of the water!

There were also many friendly cats wandering around the houses. Last, we toured multiple buildings made by EDGE, and heard about how their company creates sustainable and pleasant buildings.