Day 3: After a much needed nights rest, I woke up to such a beautiful sunny day outside. I met the group for breakfast around 9:00 a.m. followed by departing for our first adventure via charter bus. At around 11:00 a.m. we arrived at “de Tulperij,” a tulip farm near Voorhout. This farm was just breath taking, and our sustainability lesson taught me so much! As most farmers do, this farm utilizes the rotation of fields for certain crops. They have three main fields which house the bulbs of daffodils and tulips in the spring and dahlias in the summer. Every year, these flowers get rotated between the three fields to ensure a healthy growing condition within the soil without using chemicals. Certain flowers can deplete or restore nutrients in the soil, and cycling through the fields allows plentiful bounties each year. They “soil” these bulbs are grown in is actually sand from the local beaches! This sand stores water better than normal soil, allowing the bulbs to take in water as needed. Furthermore, using sand reduces the amount of clean water these plants may need. There are also canals throughout the farm which are used to water the bulbs, and the canals fill up with rainwater promoting a circular economy.
After the tulip fields, we had two extra hours of time which we spent at the beach! On our way to and at the beach, we got to see lots of wind turbines harnessing the energy of the normally windy Dutch weather. The wind turbines offshore at the beach can capture more wind coming off the waves which leads to higher and more consistent power. The onshore wind turbine (shown in the picture below) has a capacity of 3.0 to 3.8 MW and can power approximately 2.4 – 4.4k Dutch households per year. For offshore wind turbines, they can supply about 6,600 houses with electricity. At the beach, we got to look for seashells, visit the local shops including a toy store, and grab a bite to eat at a surinamese restaurant.
After the beach, we left for our next destination on the quietest bus ride as everyone fell asleep. We made it to Schoonschip, Amsterdam’s Floating Neighborhood. One of the home owners gave us a tour around, and this community was so eye opening. There are around 140 residents with 75 adults and the rest being kids. Of the 46 houses, most are split in two, with one being a “generational boat” split into three with relatives occupying all three. There are certain requirements for these houses to be allowed in this neighborhood. One of which was the roofs need to be 30% green providing diversity, and they are water hardy. There are also floating islands throughout the neighborhood which help improve the biodiversity of the water, and one of them has since been occupied by a duck nesting on her eggs. The neighborhood has strong senses of community as they have annual gatherings in their community room, the bottom half of one of the floating houses.
Afterwards, we went to EDGE, a company specializing in the construction of sustainable buildings. This company was neat to see how they can renovate old buildings to be more eco-friendly, see their prototypes, and learn about what makes a building sustainable. Out of all of the visits today, the tulip farm and the floating neighborhood were my favorite. I hope I can bring some of these ideas back with me, especially as I prepare to start my garden this year. We also saw lots of cats today as well as dogs playing at the beach and in the floating neighborhoods. I cannot wait for today’s visits especially to the Anne Frank Huis.
