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

Heimans and Thijsse Prize 2025 for Heilien Tonckens

Heilein Tonckes visits the Le Roy Garden every year with a group of students from the ecological gardening program.
Heilein Tonckes visits the Le Roy Garden every year with a group of students from the ecological gardening program.

The Heimans and Thijsse Foundation awards the Heimans and Thijsse Prize 2025 to nature inspirator Heilien Tonckens for her decades-long, groundbreaking commitment to nature, green heritage, natural play, and ecological green management.

The award ceremony will take place on November 22 during the Heimans and Thijsse Symposium in Wageningen.

The TIJD Foundation, which manages the Le Roy Garden, congratulates its chairperson on this wonderful award! Tonckens is a co-founder of leading green initiatives such as Wilde Weelde, the Oase Network, and the Springzaad Foundation. She was instrumental in establishing the training program for ecological landscapers and guided a new generation of professionals who now widely promote ecological practices. Additionally, for decades, she has been a go-to resource for anyone dedicated to nature-friendly gardens, nature playgrounds, farmyards, or green schoolyards.

Read more on the website of the Heimans and Thijsse Foundation .

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)