Part of the Rebel Garden (see Joke Webbink’s tip): Emilio Lopez-Menchero, Trying to be Waluliso, 2024. Photo Femke den Hollander Finally, the summer holiday we have all been looking forward to is here. A welcome break, whether lazing around at home or setting off on a distant adventure. If you are still at a loss what to do, we have asked students and members of staff for some tips. This is what they came up with. Happy holidays!
Sanne Kruikemeier, professor of Digital Media and Society
‘My recommendation for the summer is a book by Peter Hein van Mulligen [in Dutch] that busts eight negative myths about the Netherlands. The Dutch are often pessimistic about the state of their country. This book offers an alternative perspective. Van Mulligen uses statistics to show how this pessimism is often belied by the facts and he disproves various sombre myths. If you want an optimistic, realistic and down-to-earth book this summer that will help you understand why we are still doing well, I can certainly recommend this one.’
Alita Tithphit, Food Technology Bachelor’s student
‘One of my favourite books is Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is a self-improvement book that helps you develop sustainable habits by linking goals to your identity rather than focusing solely on results. This approach lets me align my goals with my passions, giving a feeling of fulfilment and gratitude. If you look into the background of certain ideas, that helps you absorb the key points and know how to utilise the cues. The summer is the perfect time for reflection and setting new goals. Once discipline becomes a habit, everything else flows naturally.’
Chris van Kreij, Omnia manager
‘My tip is the Hemelse Berg NS trail in Arnhem. I highly recommend this station-to-station sustainable route. You have an amazing trail through the woods, plus panoramic views of the floodplains. I find it very restful after a busy day in Omnia. The route has a lovely stream, English-style houses in Heveadorp, and the Duno and Westerbouwing country estates. When you pass Villa Hartenstein, once the headquarters of Operation Market Garden and now the main centre of the Airborne Museum, do look out for the UniversiTree. This tree was planted there to commemorate Wageningen University’s centenary!’
Sven Stremke, professor of Landscape Architecture
‘My tip is a regional destination: De Kwekerij Solar Park in Hengelo, Gelderland. This renewable energy project is a game changer and definitely worth a visit. It is both a solar farm and a nature park. In contrast to a monoculture, in one single location green energy is generated, nature is developed, with more biodiversity as a result, and it is a place for recreation. The combination of these functions makes De Kwekerij an example of the energy landscape of the future.’
Xiaoyong Zhang, WUR China coordinator
‘I don’t have to think long about my tip. I recommend Zhuangzi, a foundational text about Taoism published 2,400 years ago. It offers profound insights relevant to the modern world. The book is a plea for embracing simplicity, spontaneity and harmony with nature. Zhuangzi’s teachings on the relativity of perspectives encourage open-mindedness and tolerance, fostering a better understanding of one another. The emphasis on naturalness and non-action promotes mental well-being and resilience, a valuable antidote to the constant pressure to be productive and successful.’
Noor, student and pro-Palestinian activist
‘For me, like for many people, the summer holidays are an opportunity to read up on matters that might otherwise pass me by. Many readers may have seen the tents on campus but may not know why students have been sleeping there for months. That’s why I recommend Towers of Ivory and Steel by Maya Wind. In this book, the Jewish-Israeli author explains how truly every facet of Israeli universities is used to support the oppression of Palestinians. The book exposes the central role of the university in this oppression and sets out the rationale for a boycott.’
Joke Webbink, WUR Art and Culture Committee
‘’My tip is the Rebel Garden exhibition in Bruges. Three museums located close to one another have an exhibition on the climate crisis. Groeninge Museum, Gruuthuse Museum and Museum Sint-Janshospitaal are showing works by 50 contemporary artists. The Dutch artist Maartje Korstanje is one of them. A group of students from Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences also created guerrilla gardens. The exhibition is really well put together but you need to be very alert or else you might miss something. I was most impressed by the parrot Alex’s views on the development of life on Earth. The exhibition is on until 1 September. You should definitely go and see it.’
