Sponge
Garden
Rotterdam
Location | Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Year | 2018-2019
Sponsors and Support | Water Sensitive Rotterdam, Stichting Voedseltuin Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, Hoogheemraadschap Delfland, Provincie Zuid-Holland, EFL Stichting, Binder Groenprojecten, Kim Kogelman, Lapinus
Collaboration | Stichting Voedseltuin Rotterdam, Municipality of Rotterdam
Status | Own initiative, realized
Extra Links | An explanatory flyer (PDF) can be found here.
The Sponge City report can be found here.
The Sponge Garden started as a living laboratory showing how rainwater can be collected, retained and returned to the natural environment. The garden evolved into an exploration of how water, soils, plants, maintenance and biodiversity interact, revealing how conditions shape the behavior of organisms and the resilience of urban nature.
Weather extremes
The climate is changing: rain events become heavier and the dry periods in between are lasting longer. How can we moderate these two extremes? Currently, much of the rainwater in cities is quickly drained through sewers to prevent flooding. But this strategy doesn’t always work and it worsens drought by preventing water from infiltrating into the soil.
The municipality of Rotterdam is already tackling these problems by applying smart measures like water squares, swales (also known as wadis) and more open water. However, a lot still remains to be done; the city is predominantly paved and the greenery that has been planted is hardly able to mitigate the two extremes of rain and drought.
Sponge capacity
One way to deal with this; is to have our urban environment function like a sponge. A sponge can moderate these extremes; it can absorb water quickly, hold it temporarily and gradually return the water to the subsoil. The capacity to behave as a sponge is a matter of balance between soil-type, earthworms and other soils life, robust planting, rainwater and groundwater.
De Urbanisten initiated the Sponge Garden to demonstrate how the interplay between environmental conditions and design choices can contribute to more resilient urban ecosystems. Rather than testing isolated elements, the garden showcases how thoughtful combinations of soil composition, vegetation and sponge techniques influence the performance of urban green space under changing climate conditions.
Inviting
Besides the planted vegetation, the Sponge Garden invites spontaneous seedlings to settle. These plants add not only to the experience and esthetics, but also to the understanding of the conditions we provide for them to survive.
Fauna also found it’s way into the garden which provides all sources of food. Spiders hunt for insects while many different insects like bees, butterflies and hoverflies search for nectar and a place to reproduce. Birds are attracted by the fruits in the summer and seeds during winter. Some hedgehogs even hibernated within the garden. Maintenance of the garden, done by De Urbanisten, takes the demands of flora and fauna into acount in order to establish a garden which is both esthetically pleasing and ecologically in balance. So far, over 35 bee species, 12 butterfly species, wasps, flies, spiders, snails, birds, beetles and humans have been observed enjoying the space. The garden is open to the public, so feel free to visit!
De Urbanisten initiated this unique experiment in collaboration with the Voedseltuin and the municipality of Rotterdam. We have collected the research, story and first results of Rotterdam as a Sponge city in a book. The Sponge City report can be found here . The Sponge Garden has kindly been supported by the sponsors listed on the cover.
