Exceptionally wet year with period of extreme drought highlights urgency Green Garden Week 2024

Milieu Centraal calls for: make gardens, balconies and streets more sustainable during Green Garden Week

2023 was the wettest and warmest year since the early 1900s. There was also a long period of drought. Due to climate change, the Netherlands is increasingly facing extreme precipitation and longer periods of drought and heat. For this reason, it is more important than ever that the Dutch are inspired during Green Garden Week to get to work making gardens, balconies and streets more sustainable. During the fifth edition of Week, this year from March 26 to April 1, Milieu Centraal shares easy tips on how to make the garden climate-proof. Various green actions are also organized throughout the country. This year's theme is climate adaptation. As part of Green Garden Week, Milieu Centraal is conducting research into the willingness of Dutch people to disconnect their drainpipes from the sewer system. The results will be announced during the start of the Week. For more information: www.weekvandegroenetuin.nl

Disconnect your downspout
A green garden is better prepared for the effects of climate change than a paved garden. First, it is recommended to replace tiles with living greenery. The next step is to recommend disconnecting the downspout. As rainfall increases, the sewage system can become overloaded during heavy rainfall, causing sewage to spill into the street or surface water. This is partly because most of the Dutch downspouts are connected to the sewer system. Thus, rainwater flows through our roof to our downspouts and flows into the sewer system. On top of that, this way rainwater flows away which in a period of drought is actually precious for the garden. So it is better to collect rain where it falls, in order to better bridge dry periods. Milieu Centraal helps with this by working with its partners to provide practical advice on disconnecting the drainpipe. A simple step-by-step plan explains how to measure, cut and install a disconnection stone or tile.

Sanne Janssen, spokesperson for Milieu Centraal, explains: "Disconnecting the downspout ensures that rainwater does not have to be unnecessarily treated. Instead of the rainwater flowing into the sewer, the water is collected in one's own garden where it can sink into the soil. This ensures that on the one hand the groundwater supply there is replenished and on the other hand the pressure on the sewer system is reduced. To disconnect the downspout, you only need to go through a few steps. This makes us all better prepared for the effects of climate change and you also save drinking water. I am pleased that a lot of green actions are being organized again during Green Garden Week and I hope that all of the Netherlands will be inspired to get started."