At this time, our project is finally finished. During the last few weeks, we have submitted our final reports, such as the Lab Report and the GIS Report. We have also taken our 
individual oral assessments to exhibit our information gained through this project. Last week we finalised the project with a poster presentation of the project at Avans, where our clients were invited to join and watch. Click here to view our conclusions.
Through this project we all learned better how to work as part of a team. We have also learned more specific skill through the roles we worked as on the project.
“Through the work I have done on the Loonse en Drunse Duinen project, I have further developed my skills in the lab and how to communicate them to my peers”
-Emese Orosz, Laboratory Specialist
With what we learned here, we will apply it to our next steps in life, following this project. Lars, Magdalena, and Emese will now finish their study at Avans with a work placement for the next semester. Lars will go to Seychelles for his internship, Magdalena will remain the the Netherlands, and Emese will go to Poland. Phillip will return to Ireland to complete his third year of college at University College Cork.
To see the project summary video click here.
vulnerable to excess plant growth and a full comparison to previous years. However, we do have a sample map to show. The map on the top left shows the sample area. This photograph is an image we have stitched together using over 100 aerial photographs taken with the drone. Below, this image shows a rough classification of the ground coverage. This was made by comparing the visible colour index of each pixel in the photograph then estimating the vegetation coverage. Each pixel was about 2cm on the ground, but the GIS software could not easily process this amount of information, and because this amount of detail was not needed, we made each pixel equal to 15cm of area on the ground.
beginning of last week. The points in green are locations where we have taken samples this year. The points in red are areas taken from 2016. We chose our locations based on ground coverage. This means that different samples were taken on a different types of vegetation coverage.
but then we received disastrous news. The drone had been used by another student group on a coastal setting, but as they were taking photographs, the weather quickly changed, and a light rain began. The group immediately manoeuvred the drone back home, but after only a few minutes the water had damaged the internal electronics of the drone, and control was lost. The drone then crashed into a sand dune and one propeller suffered a small chip. Although the chip was only the size of a large scratch, this would greatly offset the balance of the drone. This would make controlling the drone be near impossible, as well as waste battery power faster for stabilisation. Aerial photography will have to be postponed for about a week until a new propeller arrives.
Representatives from ANK (Atlas Natural Capital) also joined the meeting to discuss our lab and drone findings. ANK is a partner with RIVM that works to use the natural resources in a sustainable way. The meeting went well, with all parties voicing their questions and opinions about the project. We are now happy to say that we will create a vegetation succession map showing the rate of change in vegetation per year.
This past week we were finally able to process many of the photos taken with the drone. The photo shown here is a typical photo taken by the drone. The drone is a DJI Phantom 3 Standard, which has a camera attached to the bottom. Before flight, the drone is calibrated by two people in order to keep it balanced in the air. The calibration also allows it to withstand stronger winds above the tree line. We fly our drone at a set height of 80 metres to cover a larger area for each photo that the camera captures. The drone has a sensor within it to calculate its height, which then adjusts as it flies over a changing environment. This is important because the photographs that the drone takes needs to fit together at the correct proportions. In total, we aim to cover a total sampling area of about 340 hectares for our group. This area will be put together with the other team working on the project to create a larger map of the desert. You can also check on the other teams work at 
Nitrogen in our water samples. We did this by using the Kjeldahl method in the Avans labs. We first started by “digesting” all organic matter in a strong acid at high temperatures. After this, we moved our samples into a machine that distils our samples by adding a base to the solution, then boiling it to collect the nitrogen rich condensation. Finally, we end our process by titrating our samples to calculate the Total Nitrogen. This is a process in which an acid is added until a certain pH is reached. The amount of acid used to reach the desired pH determines the Total Nitrogen. After viewing our results, we discovered that the data was incomprehensible! Emese, our lab specialist, and Phill concluded that the concentrations of Nitrogen in the water were so low that the Kjeldahl method could not properly measure the samples. However, we hypothesised that the soil samples would contain more Nitrogen than the water samples.
We plan to continue using the Kjeldahl method for the soil samples, but we will switch to using Ion Chromatography for a more precise reading on the water samples for next week.
journey towards the centre of the park. On this sunny day it began to feel like an actual desert, especially with our thick layers of clothing. The warmer weather also brought in many more visitors too. Many people were curious about our equipment and the drone and asked questions. We are thrilled to see so many people who are interested in work done in the park.
Later in the week we made a quick trip to the lab at Avans University. There we tested for Total Nitrogen in the surface and ground water. We did this by first preparing the sample and adding indicators to the water. After heating the sample for about an hour, we then read the results using the Hach Lange Spectrophotometer. This is a device that sends a specific wavelength through a water sample, and reads the changes of the wavelength on the receiving end. These changes can then be translated into the amount of what you are testing for.
After we walked for a few minutes, we located our first sampling location and began drilling. While Phill and Lars were drilling, Magda and Emese began to set up the drone for aerial photographs. However, shortly after take-off, it was apparent that the drone would not be able to fly in the high winds that day. The drone returned just in time, because as it landed the rain began. If the drone is exposed to too much water, it could experience electrical problems.
the drone! The drone works for about 20 minutes with one battery to cover an area roughly 30 hectares. Before the battery is completely drained, we return the drone home to replace it with a new battery. While landing it, a curious dog came running over to see what the strange machine was. Dogs will often attack a drone, but thankfully this pupper only remained as a spectator.
Whenever someone is operating the drone, there is another counterpart drilling for soil and groundwater being done. If we are lucky, the water table is less than two metres deep. However, in some cases, we have to drill over three metres until we reach groundwater. Lars is our tallest member of the team, but even he needs help from someone else sometimes.
After our visitors continued through the park, we began our next task to collect the groundwater. To do this we inserted a hollow, sieved pole into the borehole we made. When the pole reached the water table, the water entered the centre of the pole but the sand could not fit through the sieves. We then inserted a pump that drew out the water for collection.
Dutch Dying Desert 