Bomen als Bouwstenen (Trees as Building Blocks)

On October 23, 2025, as Storm Benjamin battered Belgium outside, 170 tree professionals gathered indoors in Asse for "Bomen als Bouwstenen" (Trees as Building Blocks). I opened the day with a keynote on technology and emotion — how "talking trees" in Hamilton, textable trees in Halifax, and funerals held for felled trees in Amsterdam show that we protect what we love, and that digital tools can bring us closer to nature rather than pull us away. The day continued with Tom Joye making the financial case for mature trees as smart investments, Kathleen Vandeputte pushing for earlier involvement and stronger legal protections, and Stefaan Vandist weaving together emotion, economics, and protection in a panel discussion — plus a workshop generating ideas like "TreeCraft" and the "Golden Tree of the Year," and a closing podcast conversation with Joost Verhagen (De Boominee). By the end of the day, the storm still raged outside, but inside we'd built a shared vision: don't build a city without trees.