Feline Verbrugge

Background

Feline graduated after both a bachelor's and master's in landscape architecture in Wageningen. Her graduation project involved a landscape restoration design in a region in south-east Spain coping with desertification. During her master she did a specialisation in Ecological Planting Design in Sheffield where she gained a lot of planting knowledge. After studying, she worked independently on various projects and participated in competitions (including ‘Brood en Spelen’ and ‘Panorama Lokaal’). She then worked for the Rotterdam office OD205 for two years.

Focus

VIBRANT LANDSCAPES

She finds her passion in the combination of sustainable food production, drought and water challenges and nature development. She is committed to creating vibrant landscapes; where local ecology is given space, and where people can produce, experience and enjoy the landscape in multiple ways. She therefore strives to create diverse landscapes that are resilient and future-proof.

AGROFORESTRY

Feline aims to be practically involved. For example, she works as an intern at a Herenboeren farm one day a week and is active in the agroforestry and food forest movement. Since its founding in 2018, she has been involved in the development, maintenance and design of a food forest. She also regularly works as a freelancer on projects around this theme. She sees many opportunities to apply this on a bigger landscape scale.

STARTING THE CONVERSATION

She believes in the power of good communication, even if mindsets diverge. She has seen how landscape architects can play a mediating role in complex processes. For instance, she gained experience during several workshops with farmers as part of the ‘Eeuwige Bron’ project. In this region on the higher sandy soils, drought is an increasingly frequent problem. A complex issue, because what should the landscape look like in order to retain more water, and what would that mean for the future of the people living there, especially when everyone has their own vision on the matter?

Other activities

ADVENTURE

Feline likes her adventurous challenges. For instance, she made a solo bike trip from Spain to the Netherlands. During this trip, she worked on several farms. An very rich experience; now she can milk sheep and cows, make cheese, and harvest and process all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, she enjoys being in nature, for instance by going on long hikes.