Planting trees in the city Yquelon

Tree planting in the town of Yquelon (50)

Landscape and Educational Project

Project description

Planting trees in a landscaped and educational town

The project involves the planting of a variety of local tree species on an plot of land in the commune of Yquelon (Manche), located in the heart of the town between urban and natural areas. 

Local residents will be able to come and watch the trees grow along the educational trail set up on the site, and learn to recognise the species planted at each season. 

Map

Click here to find the project on Google maps

Total number of trees to be planted

50 trees and shrubs

Species selected

The trees : Alder, Goat Willow, Aspen, Silver Birch, Ulmus Lutece, Sessile oak, Beech

The shrubs : Dogwood, Elder, Hazel

Project location

Yquelon, Manche (50), near the Boscq stream

Planted area

0.36 ha planted

Map
IGN data - distributio of tree species in forests, PRFB Normandie 2020-2030 plan
Density of hedged farmland in La Manche. Source : PRFB Normandie 2020-2030
Location of the project and hydrographic network
Bocage Normand and Pays de Fougères

A landscape project at the heart of the Granville Terre et Mer conurbation

The project is located in La Manche, the least wooded department in France (5% of its territory). The soil and climate conditions are very favourable for the growth of trees of various species, due to good rainfall, although the region is not immune to the effects of climate change. These rare forests are predominantly deciduous and diverse, with oak being the dominant species, followed by beech. 

Trees are very much present "outside the forest", associated with meadows and livestock farming, and therefore with hedges and groves.

According to the IGN (2019), there are around 129,000 km of hedgerows, 8,800 km of wooded strips and 3,800 km of avenue trees in Normandy. However, the length of hedgerows has been steadily decreasing since the 1950's (5 linear metres of hedgerows were lost every year between 2006 and 2012), as a result of changes in the agricultural sector. 

To restore the ecosystem services provided by trees and hedgerows, hedge planting and restoration projects have been launched, in particular by the Granville Terre et Mer community of Communes.

Trees must also regain their rightful place in the heart of the city, pursuing the ecological continuity that already exists and maintaining landscaped areas and reservoirs of biodiversity within urban areas.

A collaborative project

Project players

Yquelon

Yquelon

The project is located on land belonging to the Commune of  Yquelon

E. Leclerc Granville

E. Leclerc Granville

The project is financed by the E. Leclerc centre in Granville

Yquelon elementary school

An educational project

The project was carried out with the participation of CM1/CM2 pupils from Yquelon School. They were given a presentation of the project in class and were given a forest booklet, outlining the stages of the project and describing the species and benefits of the trees. They were then able to tale part in the planting and plant the trees themselves!

classroom
Forest notebook
Choice of species and landscaping

A local project

A soil and climate study was carried out to select the species best suited to the project. The choice fell on 10 local species, adapted to the proximity of a watercourse. The species closest to the site are Alder and Goat willow, which can withsand very wet or waterlogged soils. 

Operational project

Timetable for completion

  • Start of soils surveys: summer 2021
  • Soil preparation: December 2021
  • Planting: january 2022
A project with multiple benefits

Carbon, environmental and socio-economic benefits

Ecosystem services Yquelon
The specifics of the project

Planting trees in the city

Diversity of species adapted to their context

The diversity of species makes it possible to combine more types of habitat and food for biodiversity. It also makes this natural space more resilient to parasitic attacks, which are sometimes specific to certain species.

Above all, the species have been chosen with the terrain in mind: the proximity of the watercourse has led us to plant a majority of Black Alder and Goat Willow. This choice will be very useful for reinforcing the riparian zone (woodland formation close to watercourses) and encouraging water filtration in the soil. 

A landscape and educational project

This project will create a highly attractive wooded landscape area in the town of Yquelon, with an educational trail to pass on knowledge to the general public. 

In addition, the diversity of species planted in a mixture from foot to foot will help to improve the landscape, and thus develop a beautiful natural setting for the well-being of local residents and visitors to the region. 

Ecological continuity

To ensure that the various natural environments are accessible and connected by species, they must be as unfragmented as possible. The continuity of the same type of natural area, such as our plantation, will encourage the movement of species over a larger surface area. 

A positive impact on society and the economy

The project was carried out by a local landscaping company, which produced a large proportion of the plants itself. Other plants are produced by a nursery also located in La Manche, which has been established for over 40 years. 

Plant production, site preparation and planting are essential to the success of the plantation

In the field

The Live Project

Planting with pupils
Hard at work
Still a few dozen to plant
Phew, it's almost over!
Let's go and see the results!

To develop new tree plantations in the city

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