We started the day off by visiting one of Amsterdam’s many tulip farms. The farm can reduce excess water use by planting tulips in sandy soil with high groundwater levels. The amount of groundwater is monitored by the canal, which is the source of the water. The farm also practices sustainable methods of upkeep and harvesting by not using harsh chemicals on the plants. Tulips can develop viruses that cause wild streaks and “flames” throughout the petals. When this happens, the defective flowers must be removed immediately to prevent them from spreading to the other plants. The farm does this process by hand.

After leaving the farm, we stopped in a beach town where we walked down to the shoreline. While there, we also tried fried cod from one of the local restaurants.

We then traveled to Schoonschip, a sustainable floating neighborhood that sits upon the Johan van Hasselt Canal. This neighborhood houses 46 families in 30 homes. It promotes a circular economy focused on reducing waste, producing energy, and managing water. This project was built by a group of people who wished for a more sustainable way of living. They drafted different ideas to optimize the homes’ energy and built the homes with the most eco-friendly materials.

Our last stop of the day was a visit to EDGE. EDGE is a company that focuses on creating new buildings, specifically other company buildings, that feature the newest sustainable innovations and promote the well-being of the people who work or live in the building. Their designs feature obscure architecture, solar panels, green roofs, wooden structures, and accessibility. They also include technology to record data on the air, occupancy, and the movement patterns of some rooms.