2022 Miyawaki Planting in Villiers-sur-Orge

Before

After

Planting period: November 2022 to present (still in progress)

m²

plants

volunteers

A very citizen-driven plantation that thinks big! On the municipality’s “Coulée verte”, several citizen consultations were held to co-construct the new development of this natural space. The installation of beehives, benches, orchards and the enhancement of biodiversity through the planting of a mini-forest were all proposed and implemented by the municipality, together with Cœur d’Essonne Agglomération. This is how the green corridor officially became the “Coulée Douce”!

Every year since 2022, no less than 2,000m², or some 6,000 trees and shrubs, have been planted collectively, with the lively participation of local students and other local establishments, from schools to colleges. It’s a convivial planting, full of energies that cross and enrich each other.

Planting location: La Coulée Douce de Villiers-sur-Orge, Essonne

The plantation is located in the green corridor of Villiers-sur-Orge, at the Z.A. de la Pointe à l’abbé, south of the Route de Chasse, along the Chemin des Mulets. The site is classified as a “Espace Naturel Sensible” and consists of former farmland that has been abandoned for several years. The ecological succession of the site is already underway in certain areas, where shrubs and trees have already begun to recolonize the environment: the aim of the planting is to accompany and reinforce this dynamic.

The soil, which is essentially clay and still contains a large amount of gravel from past use (stones, debris probably from the surrounding activity), has not been overworked or heavily amended, in order to respect the existing balance of the environment as much as possible.

Precise GPS coordinates : 48.66264844392321, 2.295292161753838

The planting in pictures

Site situation before planting

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The planted area will be located against the small industrial zone on the left, lengthwise towards the bottom.

The meadow here consists of small pioneer grasses, which will quickly recolonize the site after planting. In the background and to the right, trees and shrubs are growing: some are spontaneous, others are remnants of previous use (the conifer has been planted, for example).

Panoramic view of the site, with the artisanal zone in the background. In time, the trees will form a beautiful green barrier in front of these buildings

Planting

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For such a large-scale planting, one of the major challenges was to mobilize local residents to come and plant over two weekends. Among other things, the town and the agglomeration put up these posters in strategic locations. A successful mobilization!

Here we go! Photo © Angelina Lee

Tree nurserywoman Adeline LeFranc, aka l'Enracineuse, supplied some of the plants with seeds from nearby forests, grown just a few kilometers from the site. And best of all, she's coming to plant with us!

Photo © Angelina Lee

Straw (or an alternative mulch, such as shredded plant material) is essential: you can never have too much of it, and it keeps the soil moist, protects against frost and slows the growth of weeds in spring. It then gradually nourishes the soil as it decomposes.

To welcome each group of planters every hour and monitor the planting progress, corresponding zones have been defined on the ground. Each group of around 15 people will fill one zone per hour. A bit of straw may suffice to delimit the zones.

A mixture of water, soil and manure (if already incorporated into the soil, simply mix soil from the site with water) forms pralin: a sort of "pancake batter" in which the plant roots are dipped, to protect them and give them a boost before planting.

One of the residents who came up with the idea of a participatory planting of a micro-forest: Jean-Charles is involved from start to finish!

During the week separating the two planting weekends for the general public, the town's technical services supervised and trained several hundred children from nearby schools. Their energy and clear materials made a lasting impression!

The plantation is the scene of many exchanges between planters, who meet each other for the first time.

Planting progresses. Good space management is essential to ensure that plants, straw and tools are always accessible, and that volunteers can plant without getting in each other's way.

The planting was an opportunity to unite a great deal of energy, in a warm and purposeful atmosphere. The inauguration by the mayor and many of those involved, young and old, made it official!

And this is how the plantation progresses, year after year, in waves of 2,000m².