Good news! Hanze researcher Allard Roest has been nominated for the Klokhuis Science Prize thanks to his research into how people can make a difference in extreme weather conditions with their own gardens; Hanze highlights this in the article below.
Researcher Allard Roest from the Climate Adaptation research group has been nominated for the Klokhuis Science Prize 2026. As a child, he always watched Het Klokhuis, and now he is one of the ten finalists in the running for the prize.
Allard has been nominated for his project Dry feet, cool heads: extreme weather in your garden & street. Part of the project was the Measure the Rain experiment. A total of 850 families discovered during the experiment which gardens are better able to withstand heat or rain. The insights help to make gardens and houses weatherproof, liveable and playable - with the garden as a laboratory. Tiled gardens cause flooding, bubbling drains and scorching hot stones; green gardens do exactly the opposite. 'Now that we know this, we can work together to ensure that you can sleep well or play outside in extreme weather, both now and tomorrow!'
Climate change does not stop at the fence. Heat, flooding and extreme rainfall directly affect residents. And you can make a difference and actively participate! That is why Allard enjoys working with residents and young people. Through citizen science, he investigates heat in bedrooms, rainfall patterns and the influence of gardens on nuisance, among other things.
Allard gives guest lectures at schools and to resident groups, showing people that climate adaptation is not just a task for local authorities, but for everyone. Because ultimately, it is not the local authority that ends up with wet feet or sleepless hot nights... but the residents themselves.
Allard is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences (University of Groningen). For years, Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen have been researching how cities deal with extreme weather. We test measures, flood streets in a controlled manner and develop tools for municipalities. But one thing keeps becoming clear: real climate adaptation only works if residents participate.
Voting for the Klokhuis Science Prize 2026 is now open. The winner will be announced on 8 March during the Science Festival in Nijmegen.
Source text: Hanze
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