Committee members
Chair: Jean-Marie van Isacker
Jean-Marie moved to the Burgemeester van Woelderenlaan in 2018. He is an art and antiques appraiser. Since returning from New York City he has appraised the art collections belonging to Veere and Middelburg. His experience as a committee head is a relic of his committee membership at Round Table 1 N-Y and at the Kiwanis in Middelburg. As a committee member of the nature foundation Tuin van Zeeland he fought for the preservation of the typical hawthorn hedges and wind shaped trees along countryside roads. During these years he elaborated a strategy for sustainable caretaking of the ‘greenery’ belonging to the three towns in Walcheren, the Province of Zeeland, the water management corporation and the Dutch highway department. Jean-Marie always looks into solutions for out-of-balance and threatened landscapes. He went to court for the preservation of one of the two canal dikes that provided the entrance to the Middelburg harbour which was in use during the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) trading times with a successful verdict. He believes the parc should not become a ‘Build Back Better’ echo chamber but provide an example for an alternative ‘Grow Green Graciously’. He set up the foundation in 2019 to protect the parc indefinitely.
Secretary: Jan Dirk van Scheyen
Jan Dirk is a journalist and lives with his family in the Paauwenburgweg just steps away from the parc. According to him the nature area is inseparable from the Paauwenburg neighbourhood. So many inhabitants use it on a daily basis through walking, jogging, taking out the dog for a stroll or just simply by sitting on a parc bench enjoying the surroundings.
The VanWoelderenpark is the only real city parc in Flushing and for his reason only we should be frugal with it. On top of that it forms a lovely link between the town and the beach.
Jan Dirk became a committee member of the VanWoelderenpark foundation to chip in with its objectives: to protect this unique little piece of Flushing form large-scale residential recreation. Such developments would be the deathblow for this pristine oasis in our town.
Of course, in the future one has to think about giving the parc a substance but the preservation of tranquillity and nature should always have the upper hand according to Jan Dirk.
Treasurer: Kitty Holleman
Kitty calls herself a privileged person having been able to live roughly 30 years opposite the beautiful nature area.
Two passions: nature and languages. At young age she was already a member of the Dutch nature foundation IVN in order to determine various plants. She graduated in the Dutch language, literature and academic librarian. She is fond of languages and nature and she is also active in social work: for years she has been giving Dutch language lessons to new citizens and expats. Kitty runs her own company Sterk in Taal (‘Strong in Languages’).
Motto: no construction in the parc, this special area should be preserved for all the inhabitants of Flushing and recreational users!
Member: Guy van Thiel
Guy has been living on the Burgemeester van Woelderenlaan since 1978. Being one of the oldest inhabitants of the lane he has been active in the preservation of the park as a monumental green item. .
