Word from the Chair
At the start of September, at the height of summer and outdoor living, the municipality of Amsterdam announced that they would start a campaign against private pots and plants on public pavement.* The argument for ‘Operation Plant Pot’ was that these pots block the access for mobility aid users and prams.
We have just experienced the warmest summer on record and urban areas with asphalt and paving have been particular hotspots for heat retention, making urban spaces even warmer than their surrounding areas. Specifically urban spaces are in need of more greenery to make them habitable during the warm summer months. The Amsterdam policy, also dubbed by local media a ‘potty policy’, seems contradictory, surely there must be a way to keep the pavements both accessible and green.
One of the things I managed to do during the summer break, after reclining on my garden chair became a bit boring, was to repot my house plants. It is important to create green spaces both outside as well as inside. There are lists of hardy house plants that can survive even the least green-fingered treatment.** I can attest to the survivability of the Dragon Tree, the African Spear Plant and the Snake Plant (Sansevieria), all in my personal office space. At this point a big shout out is necessary for Khalid Slimani, who keeps the house plants in our building watered and fed. Thanks for contributing to our indoor green space!
Everybody is also more than welcome in the new Schouwburgstraat living room, on the ground floor, which houses lots of lovely plants, next to comfy seats and a plant swap –take a plant / bring a plant. Of course, our Schouwburgstraat garden and patio at the back of the building are also open to all. There is more than enough evidence for a positive effects of greenery on mental and physical well-being. *** Please start enjoying.
All best wishes for a good start of the new academic year, also on behalf of the team, and: nurture nature!
* ‘”Potty Decision”; Amsterdam Centre Cracks Down on Pavement Plants’, Dutch News, 4 September 2024. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/09/potty-decision-amsterdam-centre-cracks-down-on-pavement-plants/ For the original memo: https://centrum.notubiz.nl/document/14454926/1/plantenbakken-memo+aan+sdc
** Gynelle Leon, ‘No Growing Pains; The 20 Houseplants That Are Hardest to Kill’, The Guardian, 24 July 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/24/no-growing-pains-the-20-houseplants-that-are-hardest-to-kill
*** Jo Barton and Mike Rogerson, ‘The Importance of Greenspace for Mental Health’, BJPsych International, Vol.14, No. 4 (2017), 79-91. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-international/article/importance-of-greenspace-for-mental-health/EEFD7077B5E3823086FB187FABE535C2