Hi! My name is Elise Hornstra, I am an eighteen year old student from the Netherlands. I live near Amsterdam and just finished my secondary school, bilingual pre-university education. Next year I will start my bachelor’s degree forest and nature conservation at the University of Wageningen.
I enjoy being outside in my free time and try do so as much as possible. My friends and I often go hiking and, if the Dutch weather allows it, we really enjoy swimming. I also attend dance, theater and art classes and like to write. Being creative allows me to blow off some steam.
I am excited to meet new people, listen to their ideas and see what this competition has to bring.
Tell us what the water concern in your country is!The Netherlands is known for its continous struggle with and fight againt water. Due to a rising sea level, measures need to be taken in order to prevent the country from flooding. Since the vital part of the Netherlands is below sea level, it is a serious concern.
Biomimicry: Nature's blueprint
Biomimicry is an art that uses processes that are found in nature to solve human problems. Biomimicry can be used to clean water. During this research, the problem-driven approach is used. This approach starts with the essence of a problem and follows various research steps to find a solution. The filtration processes that were put in practice were filtration through sedimentation, soil and plants. These processes showed the most potential from processes that were researched. The filtered water was then tested on various components. The conclusion was that the design for a water filtration system that is broadly applicable and provides safe drinking water needs to be based on the filtration processes in the kidneys, soil and plants.
