My host family this week has been wonderful. Hans and Loes are so nice! Hans is the past District Governor of District 1550. He used to work for NATO in military logistics. Loes is retired as well and sings in the choir. We have wonderful conversations about politics and society. They live in the country with rolling hills. I have sheep righ outside my bedroom window that talk to me every morning. I leave for another family tomorrow.
We are almost at the half way point.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Back to Natural Areas
So the water authorities are very similar to our WMD. They even have a board comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders. Out of 12 the environment has 2 representatives......Maybe we can work on that.
When flooding occurs and damages or destroys a building or house there is no insurance to help rebuild. The burden is placed upon the owner of the building.
As we biked through the natural areas we learned quite a bit about their concept of restoring an area. They generally restore creek beds from a straight canal to a more meandering design. But when it comes to vegetation they do not do any plantings of native species. They just let it restore on its own, however it restores. Invasive species is not a big concern. it was almost an alien concept as we discussed our situation. As with the plants they have the same laid back "it will come" attitude with wildlife. With their large corridor that is 5km in width stretching from Germany and Belgium and other connections, they anticipate lynx, elk, moose and badgers starting to migrate in. We suggested wolves but they did not like that idea. (They have a huge problem with fox killing chickens) They already have Scottish Highland cattle, which are like our bison but so gentle. The cattle help control the vegetation. When we were biking they were on the trail and we were within inches of these gentle giants but they just kept chewing their food.
This particular connection that they are working on will cost 24 million Euro to acquire the parcels over the next 20 years.
When flooding occurs and damages or destroys a building or house there is no insurance to help rebuild. The burden is placed upon the owner of the building.
As we biked through the natural areas we learned quite a bit about their concept of restoring an area. They generally restore creek beds from a straight canal to a more meandering design. But when it comes to vegetation they do not do any plantings of native species. They just let it restore on its own, however it restores. Invasive species is not a big concern. it was almost an alien concept as we discussed our situation. As with the plants they have the same laid back "it will come" attitude with wildlife. With their large corridor that is 5km in width stretching from Germany and Belgium and other connections, they anticipate lynx, elk, moose and badgers starting to migrate in. We suggested wolves but they did not like that idea. (They have a huge problem with fox killing chickens) They already have Scottish Highland cattle, which are like our bison but so gentle. The cattle help control the vegetation. When we were biking they were on the trail and we were within inches of these gentle giants but they just kept chewing their food.
This particular connection that they are working on will cost 24 million Euro to acquire the parcels over the next 20 years.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
There is Nature
After being here for 10 days I thought we were never going to get out into the natural areas. Finally we had our chance...via bike. The Water Authority (Waterschap Roer en Overmass) manages the water in the province of Limburg. The water authorities are the oldest democratic organization (700 years is the oldest one) Their tasks are to manage water quality and water quantity. They have 4 guides planning, nature, cooperation and recreation.........I have to leave now for another day. I will try to get back to this tomorrow. SORRY! very busy schedule with little down time. I have lots to write about the natural areas. stay tuned.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Avantis and Hamsters
We traveled once again to the Netherlands/German Border to visit Avantis on Friday. Avantis is a 100 hectare (250 acres) commercial/industrial park. 40 % of the site is in the Netherlands and 60% in Germany. You can check out their website at www.avantis.org It is a World Trade Center site, which is an international brand. (I never knew this). As you can imagine being located in 2 countries has some tax implications. In Germany the businesses like to locate their high capital costs there because the depreciation is quicker. Taxes are based on where the managment of the company is located. If it is on the Netherlands side it is 25% and German side is 32%. The Solland Solar company is located here. We did not visit it like we were supposed to because it was a holiday, Ascencion Day. But we noticed that a solar panel company did not have solar panels.......because it was too expensive for the company. If the building was 100% in Germany, the government would have subisidized the panels. The Netherlands does not do this.
Terri and I kept asking about endangered species and habitat protection. There is a hamster, I know it sounds funny, that kept Avantis in the courts from 1997 to 2009 for a total of 23 times. In addition to the hamster, zoning challenges were made. This was clearly urban sprawl from our standards in the MIDDLE of farm land. Back to the hamster, they created wildlife crossings for them to connect up to the 30% green space the developer set-aside. They are very little tunnels that are about 6 feet below the ground with no sky lights. I aksed about flooding and they said oh yes these tunnels flood all the time ...YIKES. IN 2002, the Dutch changed their national law to not only protect the species but also the habitat.
Terri and I kept asking about endangered species and habitat protection. There is a hamster, I know it sounds funny, that kept Avantis in the courts from 1997 to 2009 for a total of 23 times. In addition to the hamster, zoning challenges were made. This was clearly urban sprawl from our standards in the MIDDLE of farm land. Back to the hamster, they created wildlife crossings for them to connect up to the 30% green space the developer set-aside. They are very little tunnels that are about 6 feet below the ground with no sky lights. I aksed about flooding and they said oh yes these tunnels flood all the time ...YIKES. IN 2002, the Dutch changed their national law to not only protect the species but also the habitat.
May 20 Activities
We went to the Herleen Musuem of Roman Baths. We had a cast of speakers talking to us about crime, planning, and art in the community. In one of our conversations we discovered that the President of the Netherlands will not meet with the Dali Lama (spell checker is in Dutch so I apologize for all the misspellings). He will not meet with him because of fear of retaliation from the Chinese Government. The Netherlands is such a small country that they can not gamble with China and all of the exporting. In fact the Netherlands is soo dependent on other countries because it is so small. The Dutch are very upset about this. I can understand.
We then traveled to Vaals (population 10,000) which is on the border of Germany. The town has 50 nationalities and 40% are German. In Aachen, a German town with a population of 270,000, the university is expanding and it will generate 10,000 jobs. Vaals is trying to partner with Aachen to build a vision for the future.
We briefly discussed the drug and sex policy of the Netherlands. The government looked at the drugs and prositution similiar to our sex education debate. They could have prohibited both and created more of a problem because it was never discussed or make it more open so that it wasn't a big deal.......they chose the open angle. The Dutch do not participate as much in the drugs and sex it is more of the other countries coming over for a "good time" and then leaving. So far our conversations with the Dutch people has indicated a great frustration with this issue.
We then traveled to Vaals (population 10,000) which is on the border of Germany. The town has 50 nationalities and 40% are German. In Aachen, a German town with a population of 270,000, the university is expanding and it will generate 10,000 jobs. Vaals is trying to partner with Aachen to build a vision for the future.
We briefly discussed the drug and sex policy of the Netherlands. The government looked at the drugs and prositution similiar to our sex education debate. They could have prohibited both and created more of a problem because it was never discussed or make it more open so that it wasn't a big deal.......they chose the open angle. The Dutch do not participate as much in the drugs and sex it is more of the other countries coming over for a "good time" and then leaving. So far our conversations with the Dutch people has indicated a great frustration with this issue.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Time for blogging
My time is very limited to blog. We flew in and hit the ground running. We have been pulling 15 hours days just with our programs and then spending time with our host families learning about the Dutch culture. My host family this week is wonderful. They have 3 kids 10, 13 & 16. Remo (husband) has an exhibit firm and his big client now is Exxon Mobile. He travels the globe setting up their exhibits to promote energy effic. Linda his wife works for DSM which is a HUGE chemical company that makes the raw materials to construct plastic. We all have breakfast together except when I left at 6:15 am. The kids are wonderful.
I move to another host family on Saturday and my schedule will be different but I will not know how much free time I will have.
Tot Ziens!
I move to another host family on Saturday and my schedule will be different but I will not know how much free time I will have.
Tot Ziens!
May 18, 2009
Today we went to the Kerkrade Industrial Museum. The museum is currently going through a change in exhibits but we were allowed a sneak preview. The new vision for the museum is to focus on 1) Science 2) Industry and 3) Human Beings ALL under the umbrella of sustainability. The government funds the museum at 60%.
The region that I am in developed around the coal mining industry. In 1964, the coal mines closed. They closed because 1) gas was more popular as an energy source and 2) ot was cheaper to import from Austria. In Austria the coal was only 100 meters deep whereas in the Netherlands it was 800 meters deep and the layers were shallow. They still do research because they want to have a Plan B in case the price of gas and oil goes too high. Keep in mind the coal mining industry employed 80,000 workers and 250,000 people were dependent upon the industry. This was very important because unemployment was a real issue.
The solution to the high rate of unemployment was "pre-retirement" similar to what we are seeing in the states now. The only problem with this solution was the psychological issues 1) men were coming home and getting more involved with the family which many women of the house had a problem with and 2) if they went back to work it was a factory job that was not specialized and carries no responsibility.
The Dutch talk about the restoration of the mines "black to green" however I hear green and I think a natural state but it really means green .....dollars i.e. buildings. Which nothing is wrong with building but to call it black to green sounds odd....to me. The slag piles have been converted to other uses like this huge indoor snow complex where you can ski and snow board all year round.
We visited the Gaia Park zoo and it was quite wonderful. They use natural barriers even with the Apes which they use water for since Apes hate water and can't swim in it. The rhino poop is very dense since they feed the rhinos so much grass and hay during the day. They have an agreement with the paper company and they print paper with it .....talk about reading s$%^.
The region that I am in developed around the coal mining industry. In 1964, the coal mines closed. They closed because 1) gas was more popular as an energy source and 2) ot was cheaper to import from Austria. In Austria the coal was only 100 meters deep whereas in the Netherlands it was 800 meters deep and the layers were shallow. They still do research because they want to have a Plan B in case the price of gas and oil goes too high. Keep in mind the coal mining industry employed 80,000 workers and 250,000 people were dependent upon the industry. This was very important because unemployment was a real issue.
The solution to the high rate of unemployment was "pre-retirement" similar to what we are seeing in the states now. The only problem with this solution was the psychological issues 1) men were coming home and getting more involved with the family which many women of the house had a problem with and 2) if they went back to work it was a factory job that was not specialized and carries no responsibility.
The Dutch talk about the restoration of the mines "black to green" however I hear green and I think a natural state but it really means green .....dollars i.e. buildings. Which nothing is wrong with building but to call it black to green sounds odd....to me. The slag piles have been converted to other uses like this huge indoor snow complex where you can ski and snow board all year round.
We visited the Gaia Park zoo and it was quite wonderful. They use natural barriers even with the Apes which they use water for since Apes hate water and can't swim in it. The rhino poop is very dense since they feed the rhinos so much grass and hay during the day. They have an agreement with the paper company and they print paper with it .....talk about reading s$%^.
May 17, 2009
We arrived and after staying up for 36 hours straight and jumping right into the program I managed to learn quite a bit in the little time I have been here. As an American I thought ranking of energy uses would be very different. In order the energy sources used in the Netherlands are 1) Gas 2) Oil 3) Coal 4) Nuclear and then 5) Solar and Wind. The wind turbines in the Netherlands face quite a bit of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard). Everyone wants it but no one wants to look at them. I personally think it would be great to look at wind turbines. We keep seeing a row of wind turbines and those are on the Germany border where no one lives in the country except cows. The Dutch in the area are very upset that the Germans did not take into consideration their neighboring country. I look forward to learning more about the energy policies over the next few weeks.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Our Itinerary is Here!
A month in the Netherlands examining urban regional planning is pretty jammed pack. We have our itinerary in hands. It is 95% complete. When I first printed it off I realized I didn't know what all we were doing because most of it is written in Dutch. Many of the places we will visit do not have an English translation....which is part of the cultural experience.
Some of the programs we will participate in:
-Excursion Park "De Graven"
-Excursion Polder Roer and Overmass ("governments" below sea-level who work together despite differences)
- Solland Solar at Avantis Heerleen (manufacturer of solar cells)
- Energy storage by using old mining facility in Heerlen
- Water Management in Nature Reserve "Terworm" Heerleen
- 6 different road/highway projects
- Reconstruction of country land in Beekjes project
- Water purification plant
- Delta works
- New developments in Amsterdam
- 3 co-operations between cities and regions
There will be ample opportunity to visit restoration areas, alternative energy projects/businesses, sea level rise adaptation practices and natural linkages. Besides the actual visits to the sites, I will be living with 4 different host families. This affords me the opportunity to talk with them candidly about growth, environmental protection, climate change and alternative energy sources.
Tot Ziens, Sarah
Some of the programs we will participate in:
-Excursion Park "De Graven"
-Excursion Polder Roer and Overmass ("governments" below sea-level who work together despite differences)
- Solland Solar at Avantis Heerleen (manufacturer of solar cells)
- Energy storage by using old mining facility in Heerlen
- Water Management in Nature Reserve "Terworm" Heerleen
- 6 different road/highway projects
- Reconstruction of country land in Beekjes project
- Water purification plant
- Delta works
- New developments in Amsterdam
- 3 co-operations between cities and regions
There will be ample opportunity to visit restoration areas, alternative energy projects/businesses, sea level rise adaptation practices and natural linkages. Besides the actual visits to the sites, I will be living with 4 different host families. This affords me the opportunity to talk with them candidly about growth, environmental protection, climate change and alternative energy sources.
Tot Ziens, Sarah
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
What?
I am sure some of you are wondering why the Florida Wildlife Federation has set up a blog about a trip the Netherlands. Well as some of you may know I am a Rotarian in the St Augustine Sunrise club. Part of Rotary Internationals efforts to promote goodwill peace and understanding is to host group study exchanges across the world. My Rotary area, District 6970, is hosting an exchange with the Netherlands. Of uniqueness to this exchange is the vocational emphasis. This exchange focuses on urban and regional planning, so the whole team consists of professionals in community planning, environmental planning and law enforcement.
I was selected, after an intense interview process, as the Team Leader. Even though I am one of the youngest I have the opportunity to support and coordinate a wonderful experience for the 4 chosen team members.
The Rotarian team leader is Sarah Owen Gledhill from the St. Augustine Sunrise Club. She is a Planning Advocate for the Florida Wildlife Federation. The non-Rotarians team members are: Terri Mashour, Land Resources Planner for St. Johns River Water Management District, sponsored by the St. Augustine Sunrise Club; Sean McLendon, Sustainability Program Manager for Alachua County Board of Commissioners, sponsored by the Gainesville Club; Jason Shaw, Sergeant with the Palatka Police Department and coordinator of the Weed and Seed Program, sponsored by the Palatka Club; and Dr. Shane Williams, Stormwater Project Manager for Marion County, sponsored by the Ocala Southwest Club.
We fly out of Jacksonville May 16 to embark upon a month of experiencing an amazing culture while examining urbanization, water policy, alternative energy sources and adaptation to sea level rise. This blog will report upon my vocational exchange so that I may catalog my experience and new found knowledge. I will also add the fun cultural experiences for you to enjoy. My posts may not be every day since we will be traveling and reaching Internet access is not a 100% guarantee. I hope you enjoy my adventures through the Netherlands and feel free to post comments or write me any questions you may have about Dutch policies.
Tot Ziens, Sarah
I was selected, after an intense interview process, as the Team Leader. Even though I am one of the youngest I have the opportunity to support and coordinate a wonderful experience for the 4 chosen team members.
The Rotarian team leader is Sarah Owen Gledhill from the St. Augustine Sunrise Club. She is a Planning Advocate for the Florida Wildlife Federation. The non-Rotarians team members are: Terri Mashour, Land Resources Planner for St. Johns River Water Management District, sponsored by the St. Augustine Sunrise Club; Sean McLendon, Sustainability Program Manager for Alachua County Board of Commissioners, sponsored by the Gainesville Club; Jason Shaw, Sergeant with the Palatka Police Department and coordinator of the Weed and Seed Program, sponsored by the Palatka Club; and Dr. Shane Williams, Stormwater Project Manager for Marion County, sponsored by the Ocala Southwest Club.
We fly out of Jacksonville May 16 to embark upon a month of experiencing an amazing culture while examining urbanization, water policy, alternative energy sources and adaptation to sea level rise. This blog will report upon my vocational exchange so that I may catalog my experience and new found knowledge. I will also add the fun cultural experiences for you to enjoy. My posts may not be every day since we will be traveling and reaching Internet access is not a 100% guarantee. I hope you enjoy my adventures through the Netherlands and feel free to post comments or write me any questions you may have about Dutch policies.
Tot Ziens, Sarah
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