---
title: "Small lawns: a thorn in the side of Louis Le Roy!"
date: 2026-09-26
description: "They can be found everywhere in the Netherlands: small patches of grass with a solitary tree here and there. A thorn in the side of Louis Le Roy!"
author: "Bouwmeester"
intro_image: "https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/gras-doorn-in-het-oog-van-louis-le-roy-1.jpg"
fulltext_image: "https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/gras-doorn-in-het-oog-van-louis-le-roy-1.jpg"
categories:
  - name: "news"
    url: "https://leroytuin.nl/news.md"
---

# Small lawns: a thorn in the side of Louis Le Roy!

![Small lawns: a thorn in the side of Louis Le Roy!](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/gras-doorn-in-het-oog-van-louis-le-roy-1.jpg)

They can be found everywhere in the Netherlands: small patches of grass with a solitary tree here and there. A thorn in the side of Louis Le Roy!

 Such small fields are mowed several times a year, causing nature to be 'switched off' time and again. Le Roy advocated for nature to be 'activated' in 1% of such monocultural public spaces. In 1966, he had the opportunity to realize this in a one-kilometer strip in Heerenveen. To a large extent, this was successful, but in a number of places, the land was still managed traditionally. Until 2005.

 
## Hundred-year contract

 For example, near Sporthal De Telle (now demolished), a large patch of lawn could still be seen until 2005—the year in which the [TIJD Foundation](https://stichtingtijd.nl) signed a centenary agreement with the municipality regarding the management of the Le Roy Garden—which has been developed in an ecocathedral manner since that year.

 The difference in both photos is clear: by adding stacked elements and then giving nature the chance to respond, a biodiverse habitat has been created and maintenance is limited to keeping the walking path clear.

 ![](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/louis-le-roy-2005.jpg) Louis Le Roy at the site where there was still a grass field in 2005.

  ![Grass a thorn in the side of Louis le Roy](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/gras-doorn-in_-het-oog-van-louis-le-roy.jpg) Ecocathedral structures emerged on the former lawn in the years after 2005. (photo: Peter Wouda)

 ![stacking Le Roy garden 2007](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/stapelen-le-roy-tuin-2007.jpg) The delivered tiles and kerbstones are immediately processed by cathedral builders, here in 2007. (photo: Peter Wouda)

  ![Le Roy Garden 2007](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/le-roy-tuin-2007.jpg) What starts in 2007 with a few piles on the lawn..... (photo: Peter Wouda)

 ![20260508 201003](https://leroytuin.nl/images/nieuws/2026/20260508_201003.jpg) .... is an exciting entrance to the Heerenveen ecocathedral after almost 20 years! (photo: Peter Wouda)