Logo Le Roy tuin, de ecokathedraal van Heerenveen

Ecocathedralen: waar plant, dier en mens samenwerken...
... en waar ruimte de tijd krijgt, en tijd de ruimte

From bicycle shed to vegetable garden with dry stone wall and solar panels

From bicycle shed to vegetable garden with dry stone wall and solar panels
From bicycle shed to vegetable garden with dry stone wall and solar panels

At the De Compagnie vocational school in Heerenveen, a former bicycle shed has been transformed by students into a vegetable garden with a dry stone wall and solar panels.

Maarten Springer, Green Studies teacher at De Companie , talks about the wonderful project:

The dry stone wall we built in our garden actually has two important purposes.

  1. First of all, we wanted to increase biodiversity in and around our vegetable garden. By building a dry stone wall, we create a warm, sunny, and sheltered spot where all kinds of beneficial insects can settle. Think of wild bees, ladybugs, and other insects that help with crop pollination and the natural control of pests.
  2. The second goal was the reuse of materials. For the wall, we used old tiles that came from a former bicycle shed. In this way, we give existing material a new life and show that sustainable gardening and working circularly can be very practical.
    The wall was built together with the students. As a result, the project also had clear educational value: students learned about biodiversity, sustainability, collaboration, and practical building in the garden.
    We have deliberately left open spaces and holes in the wall. When the wall is completely finished, we will fill it with natural nesting material such as:
    1. cut bamboo stalks
    2. something twigs
    3. blocks of unprocessed hardwood

Holes of varying diameters (approximately 3–10 mm) are drilled into the wooden blocks so that diverse species of solitary bees and other insects can nest there. Through variation in material and hole size, an integrated insect hotel is created that becomes part of the wall itself.
The dry stone wall shows that you can create a functional, educational, and ecologically valuable element in the garden using simple means — good for insects, good for the vegetable garden, and good for raising awareness among students.

It is beautiful to see how tiles can be used to switch nature on instead of switching it off.

Also read the report on the practical lesson that students from De Compagnie took in the Le Roy garden in 2023.

Want to help out?

Would you like to work as a volunteer on the Heerenveen ecocathedral? You can!
Get in touch , and we'll see what you like and what you can do.
Or come by sometime on a Wednesday morning. We are often working there then.

Agenda

31 Oct 02026;
13:00 - 16:30
TIJD-symposium 02026

The stage is yours!

Located in the Le Roy Garden is a small, atmospheric open-air theatre with a capacity of approximately 80 visitors. It is ideal for staging small performances of singing, recitation, music, theatre... Email or call us and inquire about the possibilities.

thumb open-air theater le roy garden

Guided tour or lecture on ecocathedrals?

Would you like a guided tour of the Le Roy Garden, or a lecture on ecocathedrals? Please contact us. You can do so by email or by phone at 06-24573020 .

Donate stones?

Do you have any stones left over and would you like to donate them to the Le Roy garden? Please contact us first, so you can immediately find out whether (and if so, where) you can bring the stones. Bringing (or collecting) material without prior notice is therefore not permitted.

tiles NK tile removing in ecocathedral Heerenveen

 

See also:

Other long-term art projects

Various artists have been inspired in one way or another by the long term, also known as cathedral thinking. A number of interesting examples:

  1. The Letters of Utrecht (02000 - as long as there are Saturdays): a poem that is written letter by letter every Saturday in the city center of Utrecht using stones.
  2. The Time Pyramid of Manfred Laber in Wemdinge, Germany
  3. The Future Library (02014 - 02114) of Katie Paterson in Oslo, Denmark.
  4. The Longplayer at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London, a musical piece that lasts 100 years and has been playing since January 1, 2000.
  5. The Tropfenstein machine (01996–02496) with which a stalactite is made in a museum in Hamburg.

" For a proper understanding of what is written, it must always be borne in mind that when nature is mentioned, natural processes are *always* meant, but never nature in its temporary form ." Louis G. Le Roy ( 1924 - 2012 )

" When we build, let us remember that we are building for eternity. Let it not be for present pleasure, nor for present use only; let it be such a work that our descendants will be grateful to us for it ." John Ruskin (1819–1900)