Human Geography and Planning students win Citizen Climate Adaptation Awards

A team of students from the bachelor in Human Geography and Planning - Filip Jankowski, Paolo Parboni and Anthony Simpatico – won the 1st prize in the second age category (19-24) of the Citizen Climate Adaptation Awards. The winners were awarded 1000 euro on the 16th of April.

Their proposal was a multifaceted approach to renovating cycle paths in the Netherlands; replace the cycling part of the path with drivable solar panels, pave the sidewalks with absorbant concrete to mitigate heavier rainfalls in the future, and to have that water seep into underground storage tanks. The water would then be used to irrigate crop fields on either side of the cycle path to increase food security. The students felt that it was a nice way to take the expected “negatives" from climate change and use them to generate energy and food production. They drew on lessons learned over the past three years from their coursework in the bachelor programme, especially group projects, in how to setup their submission and presentation.

EIP students in 3rd place

Master Environmental and Infrastrure Planning students Hugo Mohr and Gijs Verkooijen received the 3rd prize for their suggestion to cover part of the Vismarkt in Groningen with a green roof to lower the temperature at the market in the summer.

About the award

The Citizen Climate Adaptation Award, in honor of the work of former dijkgraaf Paul van Erkelens, has been made possible by Wetterskip Fryslân and UG / Campus Fryslân. It is a citizen science prize that will be awarded every 2 years from 2021 to young people aged 15-24 who contribute innovative ideas about climate adaptation. With the aim of creating awareness around the theme of climate adaptation and encouraging young people to explore solutions.

This time, contestants could choose from two competitions: "the climate-proof city" for young people between the ages of 15-18, and "building a future-proof Netherlands" for people in the age category 19-24.

More information

• Original news item UG/Campus Fryslân