As the days are getting noticeably shorter again, Blue Transition can look back on the first successful summer schools organized to engage the younger generation and heighten awareness for climate change challenges and water management issues in various sectors. Agricultural practice, for example, will be seriously effected and in Drenthe (The Netherlands) a group of students - the farmers of the future - were tasked with investigating more about prospective practices.
Educating the next generation
Geertje Enting, representing the Dutch pilot (NL1) explains more about her BT experience with these youngsters: ”We have a strong network that connects all aspects and layers of the farming community. Educating the next generation on current and potential climate-related issues (drought and flooding, new crop cultivation and variability etc.) is part and parcel of today’s curriculum. Through the Blue Transition project we were able to task a group of six students from Terra Vocational School Over Terra MBO - Terra MBO (mboterra.nl) with developing a survey to gather relevant data from farmers on the who, what, and why of catch crops on the sandy soils of Drenthe, closely cooperating with the teachers.
“It was great to see how the students approached this, each finding their individual role in the design and process management of a questionnaire to find the right information. They learned not just the importance of asking the right questions, but also that specific target groups require a certain approach.”
Digital survey & interviews
The digital survey was then expanded with individual face to face interviews with 15 farmers, including arable, dairy and mixed businesses. The information gathered has been collected in a report, providing valuable insight into the farmers’ motivations to make certain choices regarding catch crops and could support potential shifts to reduce the impact of climate change adaptation. These new insights have also been coupled to the field labs now being held in the same area to test crop rotation and how to include catch crops, stimulating the ‘ýear-round-green’ principal.
Sign up for next summer
There is lot more to come in terms of the Blue Transition summer schools. The next one is now being organized in Tiraholm by our Swedish partners from Lund University 7th – 11th April 2025. All partners can invite students (from different levels) to sign up. This intensive course will provide a deeper knowledge in terms of the challenges we face in drinking water production. Students can learn more about what is required to keep our water sources healthy while jointly exploring available monitoring methods and tools – and even developing a monitoring campaign.
Watch this space for further information about registration, accommodation and transport options. To be continued!