In times of Corona, we are increasingly working behind the screens. Behind computer screens that is, so still transparent. We now have a lot of meetings via Teams, Zoom and Skype, all from behind our own screen. Digital meetings offer a sufficient solution, of which we must hope that this will remain largely permanent, because it saves a lot of traffic movements. That is important, and thanks to the Corona we have discovered clean air and we have come to appreciate it enormously.

You may also wonder whether anyone who works behind the screens makes a constructive contribution. Because nowadays, a lot of senseless verbal violence is thrown into the world behind the screens. In the current digital world, many show off with their own true right and have an opinion about everything and an understanding of everything. The reaction to this: verbal abuse also ensures that an increasing number of people shield themselves from ‘all the hassle’ and start to live nice and small. 

Anyway, it is June and we are on our way to the longest day. Or perhaps the shortest night, it depends on how you look at it. In any case, we work long hours at the Phytorefinery, because behind the screens everything grows joyfully. This is of course mainly due to the fact that a greenhouse is a controlled environment, where in these times there is daily ‘rain’ for example. This is in contrast to the world outside, where nature sighs under the drought that plagues our country.

Despite the Corona troubles, our work has not stopped. In the context of Fiber2Fiber, we are working on a new round of tests aimed at the use of WWTP sludge as a substrate, together with the Drents Overijsselse Delta water board. And with the Knowledge Centre Paper and Cardboard (Kenniscentrum Papier en Karton), we started the tests aimed at removing PFAS with the help of mycorrhiza. 

With Natuurmonumenten, we are looking at residual flows from nature areas (scraped heather) that we could use as the basis for the Brickz in Overijssel. That is a nice extension of the project that we are running here together with, among others, Landscape Overijssel (Landschap Overijssel). With the same partners and with Bosbalans, we are also investigating which projects would be suitable to replant the trees in the province of Overijssel which have grown on residual flows from nature reserves in Overijssel. Overijssel has a task to plant 1.1 million trees, so with that in mind you would think there can be a place to be found for this.

Behind the (computer)screens, we are busy expanding our web shop activities for the Brickz, so that our products become even more visible on your screen. We are also busy preparing a database for all fungi in the mycoretum. Behind the screens, Tom Bade is also working on the monitoring of nitrogen. Literally in this case, because all conversations with stakeholders are currently conducted digitally. And of course we work on the reporting of this at night under the green light behind the screen.

In short, transparent as we are, with this newsletter we have shown that we work very hard behind the screens, which leads to growth and flowering of both our plants and the company. And that is quite a lot in these arid and harsh times.