The Erasmus+ Hydroponics second learning event in Helsingborg, Sweden

The Erasmus+ project Hydroponics partnership organised its second learning event in Helsingborg, Sweden, from May 31 to June 2 with a rich agenda and new ideas to share.

The first day of the event the Hydroponics partners were welcomed by NTI Vetenskapsgymnasiet at the school premises where they could learn more about the school and the Swedish School System.

After the introduction of the teacher, NTI students held with the support of the teacher a workshop following the same style as past workshops organised along the year on hydroponics and programming sensors for younger students from another school. During this session we had the opportunity to listen to the students and try out some of the work ourselves in different tasks. We started with learning how a micro:bit works and we had the opportunity to start making and programming conductivity sensors by creating some inputs to them. The task was fun, and the students were very good in explaining and let us understand the very basics of this subject.

In the afternoon we had a presentation about the Internet of Things (IoT). This is a collective name for the technologies that enable things with built-in electronics and internet connection, to be controlled or exchange data over a network. We received a presentation and an example of how IoT is used by the park administration in Helsingborg and Mr Martin Sternberg, from Capillary Concrete who worked on the project.

On the following day we had a short stop to visit IKEA at H22 City Expo and listen to IKEA’s work with urban farming. Northeast of Helsingborg, the excavators are already making way for DM, the new Meeting place, marketplace, urban farm, food court and place to love in Helsingborg. DM means “do more” and is an area where the community aims at shaping such mission on how IKEA could become an active partner in developing cities, being a positive force in creating communities in local neighbourhoods. Here we could see how the project started and is developing thanks to the implementation of the Belgian Urban Crop Solutions. As part of its sustainability program, a FarmPro has been operating for IKEA’s restaurant division on the parking lot of its store in Malmö, Sweden. They grow fresh, healthy vegetables ‘from farm-to-plate’. Food-miles from the parking lot to the kitchen have been reduced from 2000 km (1243 mi.) down to 50 m (164 ft). For more information it’s possible to visit the Instagram account dm_odla

In the afternoon we visited the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), in particular the Cultivating City Bazaars. At the Alnarp campus, the main activities concern landscape architecture, horticulture, plant production, agriculture and silviculture. Cultivating city bazaars run innovation for sustainable urban development in Helsingborg, Landskrona and Stockholm. In unused underground spaces or disused industrial premises, cultivations are created for fresh spices, lettuce and mushrooms, the surplus from sales is reinvested in social activities and creates a local, circular economy. Cultivating city bazaars show how it is possible to combine technology and social commitment to create a sustainable future for the big city.

The last day we discussed the plan of the ongoing project and shared new ideas, inspiration, questions after our visit to Sweden in view of the new Erasmus project and partnership. In the afternoon we went to Malmö to Green Roof – Media Evolution City and Blue Green City Lab. Blue Green City Lab is a multifunctional test bed in Malmö, which aims to increase the use, stimulation and development of new blue-green solutions and products for the market. Products that can be tested are new types of green roofs, green facades, facilities for stormwater delay and / or treatment, biotopes with high diversity and low operating costs, innovative systems for urban cultivation and environments adapted for outdoor education.

We thank NTI Vetenskapsgymnasiet for organising this very interesting second learning event in Helsingborg, Sweden and we will meet again in Denmark in September hosted by Roskilde Tekniske Skole.

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