Rijkswaterstaat, Amstel Gooi en Vecht Water Board, TAUW and Waardenburg Ecology, in collaboration with NOVAMBER (Water Caravan initiator), want to investigate the multi-annual ecological impact of the Water Caravan. This is in line with local research in the Kleine Noorder IJplas, and research on other floating garden projects in Amsterdam.
We want to investigate the ecological value of the (various) floating gardens from the WFD (Water Framework Directive) 2027 goals. What is the impact on water quality and aquatic biodiversity? Think of plant growth above and below water, root development, attachment organisms, fish, insects, etc. This allows us to draw conclusions about the value of the gardens for aquatic nature.
It is important to see how the floating gardens cope with wind and weather through the seasons. The performance of various design modules and materials is tested. How do the main and substructures last over a longer period of time? How can we focus the design of floating gardens on location-specific objectives?
How much maintenance is desirable for the floating gardens? De Water Caravan wants to maintain the hulls with social firm Amsterdams Grachten hout BV, which has also built the Watercaravan hulls. We do not expect this to be necessary in the early years. However, the modules are designed in such a way that you can replace kespen. Plant maintenance (pruning, harvesting, replanting) can also be done with this company, in consultation with green management Municipality of Amsterdam.
