Tuesday 19-11-2024: Lecture by professor Wals

On Tuesday we attended a lecture from professor Wals about how every social problem is connected. At first he asked us questions such as: is education preparing us for the world we’re living in and our future? Which made us think about the education system and it’ s limits.

He showed us a graphic about the possible evolution of climate change. Dependent on the policies they will implement, we could limit the temperature rise in the coming years.

We haven’t experienced the full effect of the climate changes, but other parts of the world have. They already live in the future we try to escape. People in Mumbai live in very polluted area, they’re air is so polluted you can’t really see. Later on he showed us another graphic about the evolution of the biodiversity compared to the evolution of the consumer- product diversity. The biodiversity is reducing badly, while the consumer- product diversity is rising rapidly. The use of resources to make so much product is polluting the environment and therefore causing the biodiversity decline.

Not only does that pollution have an impact on the biodiversity but also on local communities in the places they dump garbage. The amounts of plastic in the local rivers/ seas do not allow communities who rely on fishing to feed themselves and make a living. However, people found ways to compensate for the lack of income by trying to find valuable pieces of plastic.
If we want to limit the amount of plastic we put in the water, we have to start recycling our old product and reduce the production.

He also asked us a second question, If we thought that organic food is sustainable. The answer really depended on the type of criteria we use to define sustainability. So there is our next question what does sustainability actually mean. Well there is no right answer because it’ s meaning changes over time and places. What we thought was sustainable a hundred years ago, is today the opposite of sustainable. When it was first invented, plastic was thought of as a great sustainable material, but today its resistance is no longer an asset but an inconvenience since it prevents it from degrading naturally.

Picture 4 is a drawing of two paths, one that is simple but wrong and the other that is complex but right. Almost everyone went to first one and only a few people chose the other one.

We then explored the conditioning of the people in our societies to always want and buy more then we actually need. The generation you were born in defines your spacial awareness, because of your o exposure to modern technology. Nowadays we put so much effort and resources trying to find an alternative to living on earth instead of trying to find a way to save what we have left. As we see from the drawing he showed us. We value money more then human life. However, people still try to adapt and act on a local scale. For example the local children protesting for a cleaner air around their school in Belgium. Nonetheless, these are temporary solutions to a deeper problem, in order to actually solve the climate crisis, we would have to solve all societal problems/ inequalities.

In an effort to achieve that, the UN set 17 goals to reach, such as clean water and sustainable cities but also grow in economics and world peace. He wanted us to think about how we could improve the education system to prepare children for their future.
The average person spends about 4 hours and 37 minutes a day on their phones. This equals to 80 days a year. So when someone says they don’t have time, they probably spend a lot of it on their phone.
Which leads to the workshop. Where we had to see how sustainable a phone actually is. We had to figure out what the phones where made of. And half of the people could use their phones while the other half couldn’t. This was actually an experiment to let everyone see that the teams that could use their phones were a lot less engaged in a conversation. But the out come of the research was about the same on both sides.
We figured out that phones are not really sustainable because when a phone is broken most people keep them in a drawer instead of handing them in. This means that the materials can not be reused.  

These same materials are also extracted from all around the world. In this workshop we also had to figure out where the materials came from and draw a map.

What impact does your phone actually have on your life? Well, in a social aspect it can be an enabler for our avoidance because it allows us to escape uncomfortable situations. However, it could be useful when you live far away. It is a way to communicate on a international scale, but the connexions formed are often surfacelevel.

How much we depend on our phones could also be very dangerous because when we’re in a life threatening situation, the reflex is to document the event rather then trying save yourself.  
We grew so attached to our phones that we developed nomophobia, which is the irrational fear of not having access to your phone. Even people who can’t afford it value it more than basic human needs such as feeding their children.
However, new innovative ways to build sustainable phones have been discovered such as the FairPhone, which doesn’t rely on exploitation and whose goal isn’t simply to make profit by forcing people to either repair them at a high cost or replacing them.

Thuesday 20-11-2025: AEB waste management center Amsterdam

On Tuesday 19th of November, Beverwijk’s Castor College’s and Nancy’s Joan of the Arc Highschool’s ecoteams went to the AEB Waste Management Center. AEB is a waste processing company located in an industrial area in the north of Amsterdam, whose main goal is to recycle waste and extract raw materials out of it. A particularity of AEB is their energy production out of waste burnt in the most sustainable and clean way as possible.

The team was welcomed by the communication manager who introduced AEB as the oldest, largest and most efficient waste processing plant in Europe. She then explained how dealing with waste has always been a major issue in the entire world, since waste is a synonym for pollution and hygiene lacks, but also a financial opportunity with an ecological dimension. There are many ways to solve waste issues, a fact that has been theorized by Lansink.

The best solution would in fact be not to make any waste at all, but it is nowadays in our society almost impossible. Some other possibilities remain, such as reusing garbage or old objects that could still be used in some ways. Another potential way to handle large waste amounts is to burn it (and in some cases simultaneously produce energy). There’s no best way to deal with waste without polluting, but one way stays the worst: to bury waste deep underground, because it is on the one hand the most effortless, but on the other hand the most inefficient and harmful method to discard it. Recycling is maybe the least harming to the environnement and that is what’s currently being done in AEB Amsterdam.

AEB Amsterdam has developed an industrial process in order to handle Amsterdam’s waste, but also waste from other european countries such as Italy… The waste is first being processed to a separation system, where as much raw materials as possible are recovered. What remains is then brought to a collector where it dries, before being incinerated in six different ovens. After that, AEB cleans bottom ashes and incineration smoke in order to only release water and a bit of CO₂. It means that the whole process is divided into two parts: one third consists in burning waste, the remaining two third are entirely dedicated to cleaning the flue gases and bottom ash. The bottom ash can be recycled to bricks, which may be used to build permeable street pavements or houses.

After the presentation, the team was invited to observe the main steps of the waste treatment process and was divided into two groups, who first visited the collector and a control room from where a crane is piloted.

The team was then led to a so-called ‘bunker’ where household waste is stored. In fact, household waste constitutes barely the half of the whole waste amount which is brought to AEB’s site.

Finally, the ecoteam visited is the control room, where the entire plant is monitored thanks to screens.

What really surprised the ecoteam is how well-integrated to the international market AEB is, and how this company has managed to develop solutions to face everyday life problems related to global warming and climate change, which has now become the most challenging issue of our time.

Wednesday 21-11-2024: Adaptation walk through the Rivierenbuurt

On Wednesday we visited Amsterdam. Here we made a walk through ‘de Rivierenbuurt’. In this area they often experienced floodings after extreme rainfall. That is why the local authority decided to renovate the neighbourhood. The city of Amsterdam was busy renovating from 2018 to 2022.  

Now, in 2024, the city is significantly better resistant to rain. In preparation for this walk each Dutch student and their French correspondent investigated a certain point on our route. Thus, everybody dived into a possible adaptation to excessive rainfall.  

In this report we will talk about the the 9 points on our walk and therefore 9 adaptations. 

Watergraafsmeer

After an early train journey, our tour could take of. Our first point of interest was polder Watergraafsmeer. The Watergraafsmeer was dried in 1629, but had to be redried in 1951 after a flood. Drying the polder means that the water is pumped out of the lake and hence becomes a piece of land. This does mean that the polder is 5 meters below sea level. Consequently, we have to keep pumping water out of the polder every day.

Then they told us about the function of the land though the centuries. Firstly the ground was used for residences for wealthy merchants. In the 20^th century the area had an agricultural purpose. Horticulture and livestock farming activities were performed here. Currently, the polder stores a lot of houses for many residents of Amsterdam. Afterwards we had to look at a Dutch site called: https://overstroomik.nl/. On the site you can fill in a postcode and see if that area will be flooded in case of a dike breakage. We had to fill in the postcode: 1067CZ (the area of Watergraafsmeer). This site told us that the polder will have a maximum flood of 4,5 meters.Amsterdam. Afterwards we had to look at a Dutch site called: https://overstroomik.nl/. On the site you can fill in a postcode and see if that area will be flooded in case of a dike breakage. We had to fill in the postcode: 1067CZ (the area of Watergraafsmeer). This site told us that the polder will have a maximum flood of 4,5 meters.

Balgstuw Weespertrekvaart

Our second stop was the balgstuw in the Weespertrekvaart. The balgstuw was placed in 1969 as an emergency flood defence. It separates the river Amstel from the Weespertrekvaart when needed. It is part of a larger series of defences which is placed after the publishment of a new law in 1952. The balgstuw is practically invisible at normal water levels due to its placement on the bottom of the canal. The barrier is 30 meters long and 10 meters wide.

The balgstuw is an emergency barrier that can separate the Weespertrekvaart from the Amstel in the event of the breakage of a dike. The Weespertrekvaart contains way less water than the Amstel. When a dike breaks, water from the Weespertrekvaart pours into the Amstel. This can cause tremendous damage to the surrounding area, the Weespertrekvaartbuurt. If you separate the Amstel and the Weespertrekvaart the potential damage will be limited.

This barrier is a rubber casing that hangs between the sides of the canal. In case of a flooding or dike breach, it is filled with water. The rubber casing spreads over the entire width and sticks out of the water. This means the water no longer flows between the Weespertrekvaart and the Amstel. This protects the Weespertrekvaart from the mass amount of water from the much bigger Amstel River.

River the Amstel and green roofs on the boats

The third point of the tour was near the river The Amstel. The explanation started of with some information about the Amstel. The Amstel River is the most famous river of Amsterdam. Amsterdam got its name from the Amstel. In the Dutch golden age it was a busy place for traffic and a lot of cargo passed through. During the industrial revolution the river was widened. Now the Amstel is mainly used for transportation and tourism in addition to boat houses.

The explanation continued with information about green roofs on top of boats. The Amstel provides shelter to a tremendous amount of boats. Providing the boats with green roofs has many advantages

Green roofs are roofs covered with plants and grass instead of just traditional roofing materials like tiles or shingles. They are designed to reduce the impact of buildings on the environment and offer many benefits to cities and communities.

First of all, the green roofs improved the air quality. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. They can also filter dust and other pollutants, thus improving the air quality.

Second of all, they increase biodiversity. The greenery provides an accommodation for different plants, birds, insects and bees. This helps increase the variety of life in an urban area.

Third of all, the greenery reduces The heat island effect. Cities tend to be much hotter than surrounding areas, especially in summer. This is called the heat island effect. Green roofs help cool down cities by absorbing sunlight and allowing water to evaporate from plants.

Fourth of all, they provide more water management. Green roofs can collect and store rainwater, which reduces the risk of flooding. The water is slowly released into the drainage system, helping prevent water problems.

Finally, Green roofs add extra insulation to buildings, keeping them warmer in winter and cooler in summer. This can reduce the need for heating or air conditioning. This is especially important for steel ships. Steel can get extremely hot during the summer. When you don’t provide your steel ship with a green roof, the temperature will reach unliveable hights. That is why green roofs are particularly relevant for steel ships.

Kromme Mijdrechtstraat ZOAK 

The Kromme Mijdrechtstraat is paved with absorbing tiles called ZOAK (Very Open Waste Ceramics in Dutch). Their aim is to absorb water and gradually release it in case of hard rainfall, one of the consequences of climate change.

It allows water to be distributed for a long time after the rainfall, even when it doesn’t rain anymore, to ensure the city’s greenery’s water supply and that the old foundation remain wet, which is essential to their stability. Furthermore, it allows the sewage system to be relieved of some pressure, and it permits water evaporation, contributing to cooling the city down. They fulfil their goal through their permeable nature, allowing better infiltration and direct redistribution to the soil but also the stability of the road. The ZOAK paved road also includes sensors to measure the movements of water and its distribution in the sewage system. The material is sustainable, as the tiles are made from reused ceramic wastes and leftovers of burnt wastes. To see the effect of this adaptation, we poured some water directly on the road. The result was quite impressive ; even if the road was already wet the water was absorbed!

Meerhuizenplein:

The Meerhuizenplein is a very green square, it was useful for us to understand the importance of trees and plants in the city. Planting trees and plants are an efficient adaptation to heat stress and excessive rainfall. Greenery provides cleaner air, it acts as a filter, storing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen through the photosynthesis process. Then they cool the city, as they evaporate water and provide shade, counterbalancing the city’s heat island effect. In addition to that, trees help preserve biodiversity as they bring shelter for animals and pollen for insects. Furthermore, trees allow a better absorption of water, as they themselves absorb up to 500 litres/year/tree, and their roots make the ground more permeable to water. Finally, trees make us healthier and happier, as they reduce stress, and help us to be more productive at work. They even allow some people to heal faster from illness!

Boomspiegels Groene Vechtstraat -Rainproof

At this point of the walk, we first stopped at a tree which had a really small drip line which was too small for the tree to grow properly, where the tree roots couldn’t expand and where no other vegetation could grow. This also caused the tiles of the sidewalk to be pushed up. When we walked a bit further, we stopped at a tree drip line which was much larger, and which looked way healthier. This was accomplished by the residents of the Vechtstraat who decided to open a plan to renovate 21 tree drip lines with subsidies they received. Around the tree trunk they replaced about 60 tiles with plantation. This has a lot of benefits.

Because the drip lines are bigger, it enables more space for the tree and roots to grow. Also, because of the bigger area of soil and vegetation, more water can be absorbed into the ground in case of excessive rain falls. This is very helpful in case of heavy rain. The soil of these big drip lines can absorb up to 400 to 600 millimetres of water per metre of soil depth. The residents of the street also planted more flowers and plants around the trees that are helping to clean the air, and it makes the street greener and more pleasant.

Residents also contribute to making facade gardens. These are areas of plants that are directly next to houses. Residents remove tiles so they can plant more vegetation.

But today the facade gardens and drip lines are not well maintained. This is because the residents themself are responsible for maintaining the vegetation. Often when new people move into a house or new area, they aren’t as enthusiastic about these gardens and they get neglected. 

Wadi

The first adaptation is a wadi, which prevents heavy floods and heat stress in the city. A wadi is a lowered green strip with plants and it temporarily collects the water from the rain. Thanks to it, the water can be absorbed and redirects into some gardens nearby.  It functions as an additional water buffer.  

A wadi is a little ecosystem; some of them have trees and plants, which have a cooling effect, because of the shade that it makes. and they grow from the water they absorb. Furthermore, they improve biodiversity, because they can feed animals and insects that live there.  

  A solution against the problem would be to build wadis at strategic places, such as parking lots or gardens. It would be easy because the size of a wadi doesn’t matter, a wadi can be placed anywhere.  

In the summer the wadi is at its best, because the flowers are blooming and berries can attract birds and insects. Also, the mood of citizens can be improved, because of the aesthetic function of a wadi due to colorful flowers. During colder seasons wadi’s still function but the biodiversity is limited.  

In short, a wadi is a good solution to heat stress and excessive rainfall. Furthermore, it improves biodiversity and attracts citizens.  

Water storage

In the ‘Rivierenbuurt’ flooding regularly occured and systems had subsided. There was a lot of asphalt and tiles in this neighbourhood, which means that rainwater could not be absorbed into the ground. This causes the sewer to become overloaded and causes flooding on the streets. Therefore, the neighbourhood was redesigned by placing more greenery, water storage and replacing concrete with clinkers, which absorb water better. By Placing green stripes on the sidewalk, where water gets absorbed and then filtered through different layers of the soil, the water gets finally placed into a storage room underneath the tram track. The filtering prevents the storage from being dirty, because the different layers clean the rainwater. The water storage prevents water nuisance and keeps the groundwater level at the right level. The planting of the greenery took climate change into account, because the plants are resistant to longer periods of drought and heavy rainfall.  

School ‘De Wereldboom’

At the last stop we looked at different adaptations on the schoolyard of the primary school ‘De Wereldboom’. The schoolyard was delivered through a collaboration between the client, the project leader, the architect and the designers. It also involved residents, teachers, pupils and their parents. The idea was to transform the living environment into nature. They got money from the local authority of Amsterdam to make their yard weatherproof, especially for water management. They collect and reuse rainwater. A big part of the yards floor is made of shells and wood chips. The rainwater will go through that layer to an open gutter. Another source of the water in the gutter is the water pump in the middle of the yard. The gutter ends in a wadi, which has a gravel case where the water goes in the ground with ease.  

Another part of the water management is the Pluva system. This is a drainpipe that redirects rain from the roof directly to the plants on the side of the square. In the event of a heavy rainfall, the entire drainpipe fills with water. This creates a pressure, such as a siphon. In this way, the water of the roof is sucked away and the water then flows towards the plants.

Thursday 29-11-2025:Tu Delft

We made a mind map about the green village at school. We drew branches from the central idea and wrote some ideas that we can use in our school. In the green village we saw a wormhotel that we liked and maybe wanted to add to our school together with the birdnests. We also picked up ideas for our water storage system at school, as an example the water containing sidewalk bricks with water storages underneath it. To reduce the use of electricity in our school we had the idea of adding better insulation in our school to store more warmth. We want to put a basin to collect rainwater to use in the toilets and cafeteria. The wasted water is then used to fertilize plants on the playground. We also thought of adding geothermal pillars in the foundation to use the heat from the floor to heat the building.     

We designed the house of the future.  We got a paper with different kinds of solutions to choose from to reduce the energy consumption of the building. We had the choice between cheap but not very sustainable, and expensive and really sustainable. We calculated the money paid for 1 kWh saved. We opted for the most efficient choices, that is to say the lowest cost solutions possible for 1 kWh. That’s why we chose the cellulose insulation, the heat pump, the green roof, the solar panels and the triple glazing windows. In total we saved 1500 kWh with a cost of 15000€, so we had to pay 10€ to save 1 kWh annually. Our conclusion for this design was that it was not a usable design because it was way to expensive. 

In conclusion, our project not only helped us find ways to make our school and the house of the future more sustainable, but it also taught us a lot about the importance of energy conservation and environmental responsibility. Through this project, we learned how different solutions, like wormhotels, birdnests, and waterstorage systems, can make a real difference in reducing waste and saving resources at school. By designing the house of the future, we understood how choosing energy-efficient options, such as insulation and solar panels, can lower energy consumption and costs in the long run. This project showed us that sustainable practices are not only good for the environment but also important for educating us on how we can all make smarter, more responsible choices for a better future.