How better to illustrate the city’s ambition to “reclaim plants” than by planting trees at Place Pey-Berland, “emblem of mineral Bordeaux”, as Pierre Hurmic has pointed out? The mayor of Bordeaux presented act 2 of his “Grandeur Nature” plan on Wednesday.
On this town hall square, about twenty trees, melias, pecan trees, a ginkgo, are thus being planted. “The objective in this square is the fight against global warming,” explains the deputy in charge of nature in the city, Didier Jeanjean. It is a dark place, where it is very hot in summer, and these trees will provide a lot of shade. Let’s be honest, it is not a forest that will grow in this place tomorrow either. “There were a lot of constraints on this square, especially the presence of the cathedral, admits the deputy, but we did not back down. “
“Go from an embellishment greening to a greening for well-being and health”
“We are very proud to plant on this square, insists Pierre Hurmic. But behind Place Pey-Berland, there is a whole method that we are deploying. It is a re-conquest of the city, which seems to us more essential than ever. It is a question of moving from an embellishment greening to a revegetation for the well-being and health of the inhabitants. There is a demand for health, even nourishment, from the inhabitants, and too often, trees in urban projects have been despised, we want to rehabilitate it through our urban policy. Pierre Hurmic has thus signed the declaration of tree rights, the regulations of which will be distributed to the owners of works in the city.
A little over 1,600 trees have also been planted over the past twelve months, including 130 fruit trees. Two urban forests, or microforests, have emerged, in Place Billaudel and in Bühler Park. And some 182 remarkable trees are now protected (compared to 42 previously). “The idea is above all to offer a diversified vegetation, like what we are going to do in Mériadeck, and” to do with “, insists Didier Jeanjean. We are not there to bring back ornamental vegetation with a lot of soil that would arrive by trucks. We have to plant with the soils we have. “
New park behind the submarine base
The city has also announced the creation of a new park, of three to four hectares, behind the submarine base, in the Bassins à Flot district. “This is a project that will be carried out in partnership with the port of Bordeaux, with the aim of offering residents a space for relaxation and refreshment,” explains the deputy.
The policy of the new green municipality, however, is not limited to plantations. “We are not in the quantitative, which in itself does not really make sense” insists Didier Jeanjean.
A depolluting algae tree device in experimentation
The idea is in particular to anticipate the next heat waves. “To do this, we are doing a lot of work on misting: we have to offer people, in all neighborhoods, spaces where we can cool off. The reflecting pool is a success, but you have to think about all the neighborhoods, ”continues the nature assistant. “On air pollution, we are going to test a new method, depolluting algae trees. This device would be capable of absorbing as much carbon dioxide as a hundred trees, of absorbing fine particles and nitrogen oxides thanks to microalgae. “We are going to test this new method on a school that remains to be identified, in order to measure its effectiveness. “
Reclaiming nature is also going “on a higher scale throughout the city, with the creation of a green network. This ecological framework project, which starts from the Garonne and which will go up to Lake Bordeaux via the back of the submarine base, is progressing. “When we have finished all this work, we will then have to tackle the Place Ravezies, by the end of our mandate” adds Didier Jeanjean.
Finally, the city intends to develop the participatory aspect, by continuing the greening permits for inhabitants and traders, so that residents can green their doorsteps.