We started our day with a walking tour focused on sustainable water practices in Rotterdam. Something we saw that stood out to me was that in one area that had mostly concrete, there were several basins that water would flow into. Then, it would be drained and stored in rain barrels, thus preventing flooding. Afterwards, we went to DakAkker, a rooftop garden. This was really interesting, because it utilized a space that typically isn’t used for much, and created a business out of it. In general, rooftop gardens make so much sense due to the space and the optimized sunlight. I feel like they should definitely be implemented more, especially in urban areas that lack traditional gardens.

Our next stop was a visit to the Watersnoodmuseum. This acted as a continuation of yesterday, because it’s a museum commemorating the 1953 flood. The museum had several parts to it that focused on different things. The first section was about the past- it explained the storm itself and had memories from people who passed away. The next section was focused on the present- it discussed what we are doing now to combat flooding and climate change, and it also explained other disasters that happened recently. The last section was about the future- it explained the possible approaches that the Netherlands could take towards climate change. Overall, this museum was devastating but also very fascinating. I hadn’t heard of this disaster until this trip, so it’s been interesting learning about something that affected the Dutch for generations.