We can get a good overview of the 'before' situation of the project site from these photos of the last few years, taken in different seasons.
September 2021
October 2021
November 2021, project sign and poles added
May 2022, vegetation at it's highest
December 2022, light frost
The progress on executing the Living Innovation Lab (LILa) has been slow due to the presence of a clay layer in the subsurface. You may know that that means there is a higher chance of artifacts being preserved. Today a larger scale survey with digging trenches for archaeological findings has been conducted. Once the results of this exploration are in, we can know if construction of the subsurface utilities can start, or if there are significant findings are discovered and more archeological research is needed.
There are two events in May giving international attention to plants.
One is the International Day of Plant Health, 12 May, designated by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization. The other is the Fascination of Plants Day, May 18, organized by the European Plant Science Organization. This is organized every two years, so we can prepare for next year. As they write:
"The goal of this activity is to get as many people as possible around
the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for
agriculture and sustainable production of nutritious food, as well as for horticulture,
forestry and the production of plant-based non-food products such as paper, timber,
chemicals, energy and pharmaceuticals. The role of plants in environmental conservation
is also a key message."
For LILa Green Infrastructure it is crucial to consider which plant species to apply, and there are several requirements.
Luckily, we may have already found a supplier specialized in specifically taking these considerations into account. Dakbloemenweide has 5 years experience developing green roofs with endemic species, experimenting with different mixtures of species and aiming at higher biodiversity of both flora and fauna. We hope to apply their principles and services on site once construction is allowed.
Alternatively, the IVN provides a 'Tuiny Forest' mixture of endemic species of which some might fulfill our other requirements. These consist of the following (Dutch/Latin species names):
Trees
Shrubs:
Herbs:
We hope this information inspires you to think of what species you might plant in your next project.
Today the first Climate Cafe was held at the UT's Design Lab to introduce the new plans for a Climate Centre at the UT. Albert van den Berg, Cheryl de Boer and Miriam Luizink showed the goals of this new Centre and how it can help connect researchers and educators on the topic of climate. This included the LILa! There is also separate funding up to 30k per project, for climate related projects that cover all three aimed aspects of geo, techno, and socio. We are hoping this can help materialize our project at the UT.
While discussing sensors and how to protect them against vandalism or theft for our experimental setup at the University Twente, my colleague mentioned the sensors also face damages by birds. Now I have been familiar with this from my previous research on a micro-grid in Japan, where birds were attracted to the tree like structure of solar irradiation measurement and satellite dish devices on the roof next to solar panels. Imagine my surprise when this is also the case for her setup, which is mobile!
Pictures from the National Institute for Materials Science NANO-Green Building in Tsukuba, Japan (my own photos).
My colleague's setup is on a bicycle! See the full paper by Monica Pena Costa here and the bicycle with measurement equipment below. Birds like this despite it being a bicycle.
This part has a local cas e studies of spatial management in river areas, showcasing how the different policies translate to implementation...
