The aim of the « Au Pré de Mes Arbres » (Near my trees) project is to support the development of sustainable and resilient agroforestry systems, while at the same time enhancing wild and domestic biodiversity in the Tarn and Hérault regions, with the Haut Languedoc Regional Nature Park at its heart.
To reach these goals, the association has chosen to support groups of farmers in setting up agroforestry systems and ponds to promote biodiversity, and to raise awareness and mobilise people throughout the region.
Collective training and technical support enable 15 to 20 agroforestry projects to be supported each year. 8 days of training and 2 days of planting enable each participant in the project to develop a personalised agroforestry system incorporating fruit and edges adapted to current and future local conditions.
System fertility, erosion control, fruit, fodder or firewood production, melliferous species or species that attract crop auxiliaries, buffering against extreme heat or limiting frosts, restoring biodiversity, managing water resources…. each project has its own specific aims, and trees are at the heart of all of them! The project is aimed at both small-scale and large-scale production models. The selection of over ninety possible tree varieties to be installed means that a wide variety of agronomic and biodiversity issues can be addressed. The second goal of the project is to restore or create ponds to encourage biodiversity, particularly with a view to preserving amphibian populations impacted by human activities. 6 to 10 ponds are created or restored each year.
The also involves local stakeholders and citizens in raising awareness and taking part in the planting work. Every year, educational projects are set up with schools, colleges and secondary schools in pockets of agroforestry plots. Pupils learn in class about forest conservation, deforestation and agroforestry, and then take action in the field by supporting the planting of agroforestry systems.
Lastly, the project encourages reflection on agroforestry models and tree production by animating several exchange and think tank groups, in particular on the issues of self-production of seedlings at local level, integration of natural regeneration into agroforestry systems, and the challenges of the agroforestry model of edible forestry.
Launched in 2019, the project has enabled the following in 4 years:
- Support for 83 agroforestry projects
- The planting of 15,600 trees of 90 different species
- 150 hectares converted to agroforestry
- The creation or restoration of 24 ponds
- Involvement of 1,500 inhabitants in the seeding activities
- Working with 4 schools on educational projects
Immersion in the “Au Pré de Mes Arbres” Project
Discover in pictures the project “Au Pré de Mes Arbres”
Our partners talk about the project – The planting experience of Ariane Construction group employees (2023)
Click on the interactive map to find out more about the Tarn county agroforestry projects Envol Vert is involved in
Newsfeed
Interviews
The actors of the project, participating farmers but also salaried or voluntary workers talk about the project.
[Feature coming soon!]
