Building with Nature exhibition in National Dredging Museum Sliedrecht

On Thursday 5 October the director of Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, Marc van den Tweel, opened the Building with Nature exhibition in the National Dredging Museum in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands.

Visitors can see how hydraulic engineers all around the globe have come up with sustainable and flexible solutions for the development of deltas and coastal areas. The pressure on these areas is increasing. In 2050 almost 70% of the world’s population will work and live here, while climate change and sea level rise endanger the safety of humans and animals alike.

Building with Nature is a relatively new concept in hydraulic engineering. Natural processes like wind, waves, currents and the deposit of sediment help combat sea level rise and the erosion of coastlines. At the same time the Building with Nature concept stimulates the development of nature and enables multifunctional use of space in delta and coastal areas.

Using five projects as example, the visitor submerges in the world of ‘Building with Nature’. Featured projects in the Netherlands are the Sandmotor at Kijkduin, the Marker Wadden in the Markermeer lake and the Tidal Park in Dordrecht. Nature development and recreation play a major role here. The projects create a better living environment for birds, fish, mammals, insects and amphibians while also creating possibilities for leisure and recreation. Besides these projects, the exhibition includes an Indonesian and an American project.

North Java suffers significant erosion problems and therefore aims to restore the mangrove forests to protect the coast line. The Mordecai island project south of New York shows how Building with Nature can help with nature restoration to counteract the effects of erosion.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers contributed to this exhibition providing information about Mordecai Island.

Read more below the picture.

Would you like to discover more about Building with Nature? Come to the National Dredging museum and expand your knowledge.

This special exhibition has been made in close collaboration with EcoShape in Dordrecht. They are a foundation financed by companies and NGO’s in the water sector and the government. EcoShape’s primary goal is to develop and disseminate knowledge about Building with Nature. Large Dutch water management companies, engineering firms, nature organisations and the government are part of the EcoShape network.

The director of Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, Marc van den Tweel, opened the exhibition on Thursday 5 October. Prior to the opening the director of EcoShape, Henk Nieboer, explained more about how Building with Nature works. Landscape architect Marit Janse demonstrated how she designed a tidal park in the city.