The International Agricultural Fair Země živitelka will transform the South Bohemian metropolis into the capital of the agricultural sector with everything imaginable from 21 to 26 August 2025. The 51-year-old tradition brings new impulses to experts and the general public every year. The Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague has a permanent place here, which will once again offer several innovations in the spirit of the subtitle of the agricultural fair, The New Era. Among other things, a unique interactive model simulating the possibilities of adapting to climate change in urban settlements. Země živitelka Fair is the first place where the blue-green infrastructure model will be presented. You can see it from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 August at the CZU exhibition in Pavilion T2. We talked about this artifact with Tereza Hnátková, a researcher and project manager at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences.
In previous years, your model, which demonstrated water retention in the landscape, attracted visitors´ attention. Now we have a completely new model, illustrating the same issue in urban conditions. What does a model of water retention in the city look like, and what does it say?
The model we want to present at Země živitelka arose as part of the European project TransformAr, which addresses the transformation of cities and agricultural landscapes to climate change. It focuses on the details of an urbanized area, specifically one house unit, which is presented in two halves. The first is in a gray design regarding color and technical solution, i.e., how it should not be in the future. Some surfaces form heat islands because they function as a heat collector and cause the undesirable effect of overheating cities. The second half, on the other hand, is the optimal option. It is beautifully greened and brings benefits such as creating shade and retaining water where it falls. At the same time, it ensures the purification of rainwater through green areas before it reaches groundwater.
As you mention, this model results from a four-year European project TransformAr, which included six demonstration sites. What was happening here?
TransformAr was supposed to present adaptation measures across different types of sites. Most of the demonstration sites faced challenges arising from climate change, although the measures we applied in the individual sites differed. For example, we implemented nature-based measures such as blue-green infrastructure in the Finnish city of Lappeenranta. It was about runoff, rainwater, precipitation, and water quality. Runoff was also addressed in the Devon region of Great Britain, but this time in an agricultural landscape. It concerned the load from erosion, runoff from uneven precipitation, and eutrophication of waters due to relatively intensive cattle production. In Sardinia, discharges into the coastal lagoon affected water temperature, oxygen availability, and sediment abundance, affecting fish farming and sediment washing out into the sea. We also addressed mussel production sites in Galicia, for example.
Let's hold water where it rains! The interactive model of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the CZU was created as part of the TransformAr project and shows how blue-green infrastructure helps cities cope with intense rain and heat waves. During a live rain simulation, you will see the difference in water runoff and surface temperature between green and impervious areas of the built-up urban environment. You will experience how vegetation in the city works as an innovative solution for our future.
Every day from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 August at the CZU stand.
