Hi, my name is Stijn Wiersma, I am 18 years old and I come from the Netherlands. As we speak I am preparing for my exams which will take place next month, after which I will study Chemical Engineering at the university in Groningen. In winter I am working as a ski- and snowboardinstructor at the local indoor ski school, which did not go as expected this season because of the coronavirus so I am really looking forward to being on the slopes again. Furthermore, I really enjoy playing sports outside, going out with friends and cooking for my family. Although the SJWP contest is online this year, I am really looking forward to hearing everyone’s ideas:)
Tell us what the water concern in your country is!As a big part of the Netherlands is below sea level, we don’t really like rising sea levels here. Also low inland water levels in summer are a big problem because a lot of plants dry out too much and eventually die.
This is what I think is one of the solutions for a sustainable future:Increase the effectiveness of water usage by reducing the amount of water needed. A lot of agricultural grounds have enough room for improvement when looking at the amount of water is being used per square kilometer.
Why size matters
As the world’s population grows, the demand for food is growing as well. Therefore we need to handle our agricultural grounds with all love and care it needs. Fertilizers are essential in the optimization of the soils. In this project the effect of particle size in fertilizers was researched, especially in dried organic compounds like hay. Firstly the concentration of soluble content out of dead organic material in various particle sizes was looked at. After the first experiment the influence of particle size on water absorption and retainment was researched. In this manner water can be used as efficiently as possible, which leads to less water needs and higher yields. This shows why size matters.
