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'Make sure you are listened to'

Naturally Tanthof for Geert van Poelgeest

"Over five hundred local residents and nature lovers ensured that no construction took place in Abtswoudsepark in 2019". Geert van Poelgeest calls it one of the finest examples of neighbourhood togetherness and nature conservation in the Tanthof neighbourhood. "The Municipality of Delft had a plan to merge the six primary schools in Tanthof into one mega-school. This was to be built in Abtswoudsepark. We avoided that by acting together."

By 'we', Van Poelgeest means the residents' association Heel Tanthof Delft, the Kinderboerderij en Waterspeeltuin Tanthof, together with ' his' Natuurlijk Delfland. The nature association that stands up for nature in the region. That he is recalling the joint action now is partly because current alderman Frank van Vliet will festively unveil the Wall of Trees in Abtswoudsepark on 5 July. "A tree wall, made from the trees cleared from the neighbourhood during sewer renovation. Built to give bird life in the park an extra boost. "On the spot where the school building fortunately didn't get there," says a satisfied Van Poelgeest. "We were listened to."

Say nature and you say Geert van Poelgeest. He has just turned 73 and came to Delft with his family in 1977 to work at nature education centre De Papaver. "We were one of the first residents of Tanthof Oost. There were only a few houses left in our Wezelstraat," says van Poelgeest. He still finds it a nice neighbourhood to live in. "The special thing is that the greenery in the neighbourhood was planted decades before housing was built. Partly because of this, Tanthof Oost is an oasis in the city."

In 1985, Van Poelgeest was one of the founders of the association now called Natuurlijk Delfland, of which he was chairman until recently. He is handing over that baton but he is certainly not becoming less active. Over the years, he initiated countless activities and actions with the association, in his neighbourhood and the entire region.

One of the examples: "With Natuurlijk Delfland, we organised 'The Caverns of Tanthof' for residents. That may sound somewhat ominous but it certainly isn't," he laughs. "They were night tours where you could discover how much light there is in the city when it should be dark. The route went behind houses and between buildings. We used buildings in this way to allow people to experience natural darkness."

Discover

"Discovering together and getting to know each other." For Van Poelgeest, that is the way to really connect. He says that also applies to connecting neighbourhoods and residents across the city. "My wife and I like to walk. The other day we were walking back from the city centre and for the first time we took the route via Voorhof through the Multatuli neighbourhood. We were struck by how surprising we found it. High-rise buildings are interspersed with lots of low houses and greenery."

"How nice it would be, for example, to organise walks around the theme 'Voorhof meets Tanthof' and have people tell you at certain points what makes that place so special to them. If it's already the first surprising introduction to a neighbourhood for us, that obviously applies to many more people."

A native of Amsterdam, Van Poelgeest is literally rooted in Delft after more than 50 years and he still enjoys it with his family. "Our daughter grew up here and now lives in Belgium but still loves it here. When she visits, we always do a tour of the historic city centre. Then we just have to walk along the canals and soak up the atmosphere. Have a drink in the old post office and walk back to Tanthof. How lovely is that."