Laura Nijmeijer

De Bewaterde Fivel

 
Designing with Groningen’s saline memory  


My project De Bewaterde Fivel (The Rewatered Fivel) is a plea for a self-sustaining water system that creates more opportunities for nature and landscape. A system that anticipates a changing climate and is future-proof – precisely because it is rooted in the past.  

Since we drew a hard line between nature and agriculture, the province has changed dramatically. Farmers have been highly successful, but the increasing threat of salinisation now seems to put that success at risk.  

Centuries of interaction between sea and land have shaped former sea inlets and drainage channels, many of which remained influenced by tides for a long time. Traces of these are still visible today in the meandering creeks and remnant channels. In these places – where contact with the sea lasted longest – the freshwater lens has had less time to develop, and saline groundwater lies closer to the surface.  

If we begin to see saline seepage as an opportunity for a new, more varied water dynamic, an entirely new type of landscape can emerge. By combining strategies that both mitigate and embrace seepage – accepting salinisation and managing it in a controlled way – a distinctive landscape can be created.  

In this project, the meanders of the former river Fivel form a new ecological corridor that fits perfectly within the scale of Groningen. A network that fosters biodiversity, supports climate adaptation and creates a rich, dynamic landscape with a deep connection to the past – a landscape that offers much not only to animals, but also to people, through engaging and attractive recreational possibilities.  

  


Graduation date: 28 August 2025  
Graduation committee: Mirjam Koevoet (mentor), Lieke Jildou de Jong, Marlies Boterman  
Extra members: Roel Wolters, Brigitta van Weeren