Conference ‘Working together towards chemical-free greenery’
Details
Event: Samen naar chemievrij groen (Working towards chemical-free greenery)
Date: Tuesday 24 February 2026.
Times: 14.00- 17.00 o’clock.
Location: Paulus Borstraat 41, Amersfoort.
Cost: Participation fee €149.00 excluding VAT. Members of Steenbreek and subscribers to Groen magazine receive a €50 discount on the admission fee.
Participants: Policy makers, landscape architects, ecologists, project developers, housing associations, green organisations.
More information & applicationWorking towards chemical-free greenery
Pesticides do not belong in our gardens or public green spaces. They can harm bees and other pollinators, impoverish soil life, end up in our surface water and ultimately affect humans and animals. The transition to a chemical-free range is complex, but necessary. Policy choices, purchasing power and local practical examples determine whether progress is made. That is why the government, the market and knowledge holders are being brought together to take concrete steps and make agreements.
On Tuesday, 24 February 2026, Stichting Steenbreek and trade magazine Groen, in collaboration with Intratuin, PAN, Boomkwekerij Udenhout, Lageschaar Vaste Planten and bureau Velt, are organising a information meeting on toxin-free plants and flowers.
During the programme, experts will share insights from research and practice, and discuss the next steps towards a toxin-free living environment.
The fact that this topic is highly topical is evident from the RTL news item of 20 November 2025. So come to this meeting for more information; you are most welcome.
Programme
13:30 | Doors open
14:00 | Welcome by host Marcel Bayer
14:15 | Geert Gommers (Velt Samen Eco Actief)
Geert Gommers, pesticide expert at Velt, presents the results of the recent citizen science study SOS Slaapkamer (SOS Bedroom). In this study, dust from the bedrooms of 15 residents of the municipality of Buren in 2025 and 112 Flemish and Dutch people in 2024 was analysed for the presence of pesticides. Using a few examples, Geert shows the risks that pesticides pose to our health and the environment.
14.40 | Mattheus Bleijenberg (Pesticide Action Network Netherlands)
This presentation by PAN Netherlands briefly discusses the authorisation procedure for pesticides and their use in floriculture, both in EU and non-EU countries. It also shares research results on pesticide residues in garden plants and cut flowers, and the potential risks these substances pose to humans and nature.
15:00 | Elise Wieringa (Intratuin)
Intratuin aims to offer 70 per cent of its product range chemical-free by 2030. To this end, the organisation is already collaborating with CLM, the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn and the Rijnland Water Authority within the BeeDeals project. This is a commendable initiative that promotes nature-inclusive cultivation. The water board is also working with growers in the Boskoop area to create more nature (for example, through riparian planting) and thus contribute to a further reduction in the use of chemicals.
15:30 | Break
15:50 | Stefan Verbunt (Director, Boomkwekerij Udenhout)
Stefan shares his expertise on this subject from the green sector.
16.15 | Laurens Lageschaar (Director of Lageschaar Vaste Planten)
Laurens also shares his expertise from the green sector.
16.30 Feedback and reflection
What have we learned? What can we do differently tomorrow?
16.45 | Drinks
