2021 – Miyawaki Planting in Colombes – Z Tower

Before

After 1 year

Planting period: November 2021

m²

plants

volounteers

Note: a (very) urban plantation! The Miyawaki plantation in Colombes was initiated by the new municipal team to convey the vision of the district’s new urbanism: at the foot of the Z tower, a symbol of historically very mineral urbanism, a mini-forest is being planted solely with local residents: residents of the tower, children from the nearby Langevin-Wallon recreation center, passers-by, and even a few brave volunteers from the nearby retirement home!

Planting location: intersection of allée Robespierre and rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Colombes (92)

The plantation is located on a former spit of land sandwiched between two roads, often used as an unauthorized parking lot, according to the locals (who are clearly not very happy with this situation). The site is located at the foot of a very tall residential tower, “Tower Z”, so named because it was to be the last of its kind in the city. There was therefore a desire on the part of the municipality to mark a turning point in the urban planning projects undertaken under the new mandate, and the participatory nature of the method offered a perfect opportunity to invite residents to take an active part in creating a new landscape right down the road from their homes.

GPS coordinates : 4.901457131966713, 45.724079873145115

The planting in pictures

Planting in November 2021

Click on the pictures to reveal the captions

The ground has been prepared with compost and turned over by the municipal green space agents. Everything is ready to go!

Before the planting, we held a workshop with children from the neighboring school, to explain the process and ask questions about nature in the city. The workshop was very well received, with great enthusiasm! We created this poster together.

And off we went! The children had to get their hands in the dirt after talking about it in class!

It's definitely a new way of looking at your neighborhood!

As always, we progress by zone: each group of children advances over a well-defined area, in which all operations are carried out sequentially: digging, planting, mulching. If one group takes longer than another, it can continue at its own pace, while a supervisor starts on another area with the next group.

Adults also joined us, often at random during their day's strolls: all in a very convivial atmosphere where the local residents got together... around a tree!

Just a few more months of waiting to see the leaves grow on the new neighbors in the neighborhood!

In addition to the poster designed by the children, the municipality has produced large panels for display on a wall next to the plantation. Communication is all the more essential in such a busy location.

Second poster produced by the town

Évolution du site au fil du temps

6 mois plus tard : la zone est plus verte, mais on voit surtout le blé qui a germé de la paille, qui en contenait manifestement beaucoup... Anecdote amusante : quand les agents des espaces verts prennent l'initiative de désherber, ils se font prendre à parti par les riverains qui leur disent de laisser la forêt pousser : appropriation réussie !

8 mois après la plantation : dégagés des hautes herbes, les jeunes arbres ont la forme !

Un an plus tard, nous revenons sur site avec notre groupe scolaire : surprise, les arbres les dépassent déjà !

Nous revenons sur le site pour faire une dernière opération de désherbage avant l'hiver avec les enfants : ils sont très motivés et efficaces et n'hésitent pas à ramasser les déchets qu'ils trouvent !

Quand on prévoit une intervention avec des enfants : bien s'assurer d'avoir des gants à la bonne taille !

Pour les opérations de désherbage, il vaut mieux prévoir de petits groupes pour garder l'attention de chacun concentrée. Les arbres sont très denses et encore très jeunes, la priorité absolue et d'éviter d'en écraser par mégarde en étant trop nombreux sur le site.

Un an après, la plantation est vraiment prometteuse et a déjà complètement changé l'allure de cette petite place !