Climate adaptation VUB campus

Help Brussels in the fight against climate change through The Rain Water Resource! 

Are you someone who studies, works or lives at the VUB campus in Etterbeek? Do you think climate is a very important topic? Would you like to help fight against climate changes such as the heavy floods of last summer? Then The Rain Water Resource is for you! 

Last summer brought a lot of misery to a large number of Belgians. Floods caused by heavy rainfall in Wallonia left many without a roof over their heads and caused them to lose all their possessions. Scientists predict that climate warming will make such floods more frequent, interspersed with severe droughts. Brussels is a European city that drains its water mainly through sewers. This causes many problems, such as pollution of the environment and an increased risk of flooding. This means that our city will be at risk in the near future. That is why the VUB decided to actively do something about this problem! By World Water Day on 22 March, the research group HYDR wants to install free public water reservoirs which regulate the use of water properly. In this way, they can prevent flooding in our city and provide Brussels with sufficient water during periods of drought. To get a good picture of rainwater consumption on the Etterbeek campus, HYDR is researching rainwater storage and reuse by students, staff, neighbors, etc. People like you, in other words!  

How can you help? Concretely, as a participant in the project, you attend 2 workshops. The first one is the exploration workshop. Via a walk on the campus, you and the other participants try to map out the possibilities of improving the water storage on and around the campus. You also assess the possibilities for better rainwater use in the form of collaborative mapping. This helps the HYDR researchers to map out where there are shortcomings in terms of storage and reuse of rainwater. During the second workshop, together with the other volunteers from the group, you think about a possible strategy to reach the largest possible audience. This is necessary so that the initiative can spread well beyond Etterbeek throughout Brussels. During the two workshops, you can count on the support and guidance of the people of HYDR. Moreover, they publish all input of the 2 workshops within the VUB and integrate it into the BlueGreenVision Project. Finally, they convert all this into the installation of free public rainwater tanks for World Water Day on 22 March. As a closely involved VUB student, resident, researcher,... your ideas, remarks, and questions can give an important new perspective on the water issue. So don't hesitate and join us!