TEXTS AND NOTES

RASL project moving towards a prototype for the try-out

Life essentials
• Space
• Light (sources: e.g. sun, moon, human activity)
• Water (Sources: e.g. rain, tap/sewer, ground water, deteriorating other lifeforms)
• Food/energy (sources: e.g. sun, nutrients supplied for by (deteriorating) other life forms)
• Heat (sources: e.g. sun, human activity, deteriorating other life forms)
• Reproduction and sufficient genetical variety (provided by species outside their direct sphere of influence, beyond the reach of their own reproductive systems)
• Shelter
• Safety in numbers/companionship
• ..

Life-forms at or around Hillevliet (in no particular order, as they are all equally important)
• Plants
• Insects
• Soil life
• Humans
• Trees
• Birds and bats
• Feral mammals
• Pet mammals

Description of the courtyard at present:
Space: Limited.
The courtyard is a large area in the centre of the building that has no roof and is open to the outside environment. It is designed as an open-air space with plants, picknick areas and some play elements and is also used for storage and garbage disposal (20%). It is roughly 100 m2. Around half ot the area is covered with a ceiling. This consists of 2 separate parts on both ends of the courtyard. Those areas are completely tiled/paved, which makes them dry, dark and hostile to most life forms. But they are ideal for bats or pigeons..
The area in the middle is 1/3rd tiled and (2/3rd) open soil. The open soil is planted with a variety of plants, shrubs and trees. It resembles a bit of a food forest. There is also a wet area where rainwater from the roof is brought in and forms a pool (6m2, 10 cm deep mid October 2023). Finally there are 3 bee-hives on the terrace on the first floor above the garbage disposal area.

Access on ground level:
Human access is provided through several doors that enter the courtyard on ground level. Six rental spaces have direct access into the courtyard through private patio doors and small steps. Next tot hat there are 3 main entrances from the halls of the building. All accesses have doors that close. And can only be opened by humans.

Access from above:
Limited The access from above covers only 1/3rd of the courtyard and it is covered with a net that prevents larger animals (like birds or bats) to enter. (AG: Maybe the net is to prevent bats to create nests. The building is designated for renovation and will be turned into an elderly housing project. If bats occupy the courtyard these building activities are hindered and the renovation will be delayed. (http://www.eentien.nl/projecten/hillevliet/) en (https://architectenweb.nl/nieuws/artikel.aspx?id=55743)

Access for Water:
Limited. There is rainwater that comes directly from the sky and there is water from one side of the roof, that is directly funnelled into the courtyard and forms a wet area (mid October it was around 6 m2, 10 cm deep)

Ground cover:
An important element for water access is ground cover. This has to do with the fact that ground cover allows or prevents water from getting into the soil and is therefore essential for allowing plants to grow. Next to that it is also essential for the reverse process, the process that helps soil-life to break down plant remains back into nutrients that can be used by new plants to grow and thrive. The organic matter that exists during this process is called compost. It has excellent qualities for retaining water so it helps to keep the soil humid. This allows the soil-life to live and do their important work. So, it is important to investigate what ground cover is used and why so you can create as much open or semi open soil as possible so all life forms can develop and thrive.
So, what is the ground cover of the courtyard? The area of the courtyard is mostly paved (80%), partly open soil (20%). Part of the open soil is covered with wood chips 7% is wood chips and around 3% is partly covered with rainwater (but only when it rains).
The plant beds are filled with a mixture of weeds, perennials and shrubs and trees. The trees are still small but, in a few years, there are probably more trees than the area could allow for. The paved area is used for storage of education and project materials. And there are also 3 picknick tables, some lounge chairs, a pool table and 2 swings, so the area also seems to double as a space for human relaxation.
The whole courtyard area is non-smoking and there are no cigarette buds on the floor/ground. Which is good, as cigarette buts contain a lot of nicotine which is not just bad for humans, but is also highly toxic for many other life forms. And cigarette buts on the ground get into eco systems easily as the nicotine they contain is highly soluble in water, so it moves everywhere.

Access for fresh air:
Limited. It can only come from above and due to the 3 floors of the building there is not much wind, which limits the entering of fresh air even more.

Access for light:
Limited.
Direct sunlight is only available for a limited number of hours per day, less in winter than in summer. This is because of the 3-story building that surrounds the courtyard on all 4 sides.

Access for genetical material from outside:
Almost non-existent
Due to the outline of the courtyard and the mesh on top, new genetic material can only enter the through humans, or the accidental seed that may drop from an overflying bird.
This is a problem as it will make the community in the courtyard vulnerable for inbreeding and the effects of climate change.

Life forms:
Insects:
Only 20% of the courtyard soil is exposed to rain and air and can serve as natural foraging area. Food in this area will come from the plants (flowers, leaves, fruit and other nutrients the plants provide. Next to that there are the wood chips (assuming they are organic) and there is a space for garbage disposal, but that is put in bins with a sturdy lid on top, so it is not easily accessible for the insects. Humans may have done this on purpose in order to keep the nuisance to a minimum.
On the terrace on the first floor are 3 beehives. These are the housing of honeybees. Honeybees are quite dominant to other forms of bees, and 3 hives is rather a lot for the small garden, especially because there are not to many flowering plants in the courtyard.

Soil-life:
Soi-life can only live in soil that is moist and open to the air. It also needs to contain organic matter. That means that there is probably only soil-life in the 20% open soil area.
But due to the structure of the building, there will be only a limited amount of water entering as rain. There is also the rainwater pipe funnelling rainwater from the roof to the garden. But there is also competition for the water, as other life forms also need it.

Birds and bats:
At present they have no access due to the mesh that covers the courtyard. But if they would, they could contribute to bringing in new nutrients (guano). They could also bring seeds from outside and thus stimulate biodiversity.

Wild/feral mammals:
The mammals in residential areas, like mice and rats are often very well adapted to living in the vicinity of humans. They often prefer living indoors because of the ample amount of food and shelter and the nice indoor climate all year round. (Darwin comes to town, Menno Schildhuizen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kahNzNhfLgk). Therefore, there may probably not be many feral mammals actually living in the courtyard. Maybe you can spot one in summer when they are visiting because of the nice weather, or in autumn when they come too munch on some of the fresh fruits from the food forest. If they would live there, they would add nutrients (from their faeces) and help digest the harder parts of plants and trees to make them suitable for breakdown by smaller life forms, like the insects. Wild or feral mammals can pose a threat to humans by bringing in diseases, and damaging food supplies and building structures.

Pet mammals:
At present there are no pet mammals in the courtyard. The courtyard is only small and there may not be enough nutrients for e.g. a cat to live on its own in the courtyard.

If a cat or other predatory mammal would be introduced in the courtyard however, it could help keep the feral mammals at a sustainable level. But if this is done, it is important that the small animals it feeds on are not poisoned. Otherwise, the pet mammal will get sick or even die. The pet mammal would also add nutrients to the courtyard through their faeces and would help breakdown smaller life forms to nutrients. Pet mammals also offer companionship to humans.

Humans:
In summer they used the courtyard for outdoor activities, but it is only nice to sit out when there is sun which is only a limited hours in the day, due to the 3 story building structure around it. Humans also use the courtyard for collecting garbage and for storage of large project and educational tools. And they use it to get daylight and fresh air into their indoor spaces, but for this they only need limited access e.g. to clean the windows. Finally humans use the courtyard to grow cuttings of indoor plants (in pots). These plants will probably be moved inside when it gets colder and are expected to improve the indoor climate.

Plants:
Plants like perennials and annual plants occupy around 20% of the courtyard, together with the trees. Perennials and annual plants will get bigger over time through vegetative reproductive processes, (like rhizomes) and generative reproductive processes, (like seeds), but most of the part above ground will die of when it gets colder and can be returned to soil and nutrients for the next year.
There are also houseplants in the courtyard. Cuttings taken by humans from bigger plants and put in pots. They will probably be used to improve the indoor climate for humans as indoor plants are praised for this amongst humans.

Trees:
Trees occupy around 20% of the courtyard together with the plants, but they did not arrive on their own. Most of them were brought in by humans (you can still see the labels on some of them). There are way too many trees in the courtyard at present, so when they get just a little bigger, they are going to compete each other for living essentials like nutrients, light, water and space. And this will only get worse when the trees get bigger. And because trees last for decades, they store nutrients that are then taken out of the eco-system and are no longer available for the other life forms like plants and soil life. With trees in these vast numbers, this will remove quite a lot of nutrients out of the eco-system and make other life forms that depend on the same nutrients perish.

Conclusion (for after the game maybe? But definitely not as part of the game itself):
There is not just limited space, there is also a limited amount of water and light and due to the absence of mammals and birds, there is also a stable but limited amount of nutrients available. Planting trees may therefore not be a good idea as trees store nutrients over longer time, taking them out of the ecosystem for the other lifeforms to use.
All this combined results in a situation where there is not enough and even a diminishing amount of resources in the courtyard to sustain a healthy biodiverse habitat. Next to that, due to the confined design of the courtyard, there is also hardly any new genetic material entering the existing gene pool. Which will result in inbreed within the present lifeforms and a lack of power to adapt to changes in the climate that are sure to come.

Finally, due to the disbalance between life forms and even the absence of some species all together the ecosystem is not complete. As a result, the existing lifeforms are not able to form a self-containing community. So, they will always maintain dependent on humans for help. This gives humans a large responsibility, as their actions literally decide over life or death of the other life forms in the courtyard.