At the De Wilgenhof children's farm in Rotterdam, visitors are introduced to a variety of farm animals. The farm also has school gardens and a lesson centre.
Various measures have been taken in recent years to make the city farm more sustainable. Solar panels have been installed for generating electricity and plants have been installed on the roof of the training centre for insulation and water storage.
The lofts of the animal shelters had small windows, so little daylight came in. However, direct sunlight should be avoided as this can cause heat stress. A suitable alternative was sought to keep the heat in and cold out of the shelters.
The Solatube daylight systems bring healthy diffused daylight into the living quarters of the animals. At the same time, the tubes have a high insulation value, which ensures minimal temperature differences. In addition, the farm saves on its energy bill, because the artificial lighting only comes on when visitors are in the shelters.
What I mainly noticed is that extra daylight is good for the welfare of the animals. An additional advantage is that the visitors also feels more comfortable in the living quarters of the animals.
