2023-08-15 08:46:00
Climate change is causing the hottest summer on record. It is high time to make the garden or balcony climate-proof. By exchanging tiles for plants, you cool your garden and help biodiversity.
You may have seen it, the NK Tilewippen is underway. The idea is simple: tile out, plant in. “It’s a fun and positive way to get people to make sustainable choices, without raising a finger,” says co-initiator Eva Braaksma of creative agency Frank Lee. “You retain water in your garden, biodiversity increases, and green has a cooling effect.”
Frank Hoffmann, ecologist at Natuurmonumenten, can only agree: “The best thing you can do to make your garden more sustainable is to replace your tiles with plants.” You can also make a difference with plants on a balcony. “Plants attract insects and have a cooling effect on hot days.”
Natuurmonumenten has ten tips for people who want to make their garden climate-proof. Even if a green garden does not solve climate change directly, it can help to create a more pleasant place. Tiling is number one. Other tips Hoffmann recommends: place a rain barrel (that saves tap water), a drinking bowl for birds in a sheltered spot and make your own compost.
A mortar tub is also a pond
What not everyone will immediately think of, but which is good for life in your garden, is the construction of a pond. That seems complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. “Keep it simple,” says Hoffmann. “You can just dig in a bucket or a mortar tub. Water in it, add plants, done.” Don’t put fish in the pond, Hoffmann emphasizes: “Fish eat all the larvae of frogs and salamanders. Stick to plants. Before you know it, the dragonflies will be flying through your garden.”
Is your garden a large gravel pit? Then you are not doing much better than your neighbor with his tile paradise. “Gravel absorbs rainwater better than tiles,” explains Hoffmann. “But when it’s dry and hot, gravel reflects the sunlight as brightly as tiles.” And that is not really pleasant during a heat wave.
Moreover, the unavoidable root cloth, which often squeaks ugly through the gravel, is not a green stimulus. “Carrot cloth does allow air and water to pass through, but otherwise stops all life,” says the ecologist of Natuurmonumenten. “Earthworms, piss beds and other soil life don’t stand a chance, while they can keep the soil in good condition.”
So that will be tile lifting or gravel shovelling. Participating in the NK Tegelwippen can turn that into a sporting battle. In 2020, only Amsterdam and Rotterdam participated. In 2021, 81 municipalities already participated in the competition, and more than 1.5 million tiles were flipped. In 2022, this will increase to 135 municipalities and 2.8 million lifted tiles.
This year, 173 municipalities are participating, and the counter has already reached 1.3 million tiles, which corresponds to the surface of more than twenty football fields. Participants have until October 31, so the necessary football fields will be added. Especially if a municipality like Venlo gives it a bit more gas, because according to the online standings (end of July), only one tile has been removed there. Arnhem is at the forefront with more than 134,000 lifted tiles.
The bouncer of the month
The organization does everything it can to motivate participants. For example, there is an anthem (‘Wip, Holland, wip; don’t leave the shovel in your shed’). And the ‘wipper of the month’ should offer inspiration to the people who haven’t started yet. To make it easy, more than twenty of the participating municipalities – including Delft, Arnhem, Zwolle and Haarlem – offer a ’tile taxi’. “If you want to get rid of your heavy tiles, you can get help, so you don’t have to remove them yourself,” says co-initiator Braaksma.
If the tiles are out, Hoffmann advises not only to plant plants, but also to place a tree, if space permits. The shade of a tree provides a lot of cooling. “That can really make a difference of a few degrees.” Trees are best planted in the fall. “Then they root best.”
According to Hoffmann, it is important to cover the soil between the plants. He does not recommend the wood chips that are popular today. “Use your own pruning waste. This helps to retain moisture in the soil. That is good for the soil life. Hoe as little as possible, because then you stir things up unnecessarily.” In any case, do not use garden soil containing peat or peat. “The peat layers that were excavated for this purpose normally retain CO2, which is released when you use it in your garden.”
Do you want to make your garden climate proof, but don’t know where to start? Don’t set the bar too high, says Hoffmann. “Don’t make it too difficult. Start small, pop a few tiles, put in some plants, and see what happens. If you like it, you can always hatch a bigger green plan for your garden.”
The category Green guide answers practical questions regarding (more) environmentally conscious living. Read previous episodes here.
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