Nature discovery workshops: understanding nature in our neighbourhood
As part of a voluntary awareness-raising initiative, the University of Montpellier has set up free botany and entomology workshops open to all staff. They are led by teacher-researchers from the Faculty of Science and a botanist-gardener from the Jardin des Plantes.
Fun workshops open to all employees
Protecting nature means first and foremost understanding it, and realizing that it's everywhere, all the time, with us. Equipped with magnifying glasses for the botanical workshops and landing nets for the entomology workshops, staff from the University of Montpellier spent an hour strolling through the Jardin des Plantes, discovering the biodiversity hidden right in the heart of Montpellier. This environmentally-friendly adventure was also an opportunity for the speakers to explain the various interactions between environments and animal and plant species such as bees.
Wild and domestic bees
France is home to over 900 species of wild bee, the majority of which live underground in very small communities and in very small hives. Contrary to popular belief, it is now inadvisable to install hives of honeybees to save biodiversity. In fact, their hive lifestyle, involving several thousand individuals, represents strong competition for access to pollen and resources, and therefore threatens wild species.
Another problem for wild bees is the disappearance of local plant species in favor of exotic species chosen to flower our towns and villages. A large number of bee species have a very specific diet based on pollen from only certain plants. If these plants disappear, so do the bees.
Promoting biodiversity
With this in mind, it's important to think about the layout of natural areas so that they meet the needs of local biodiversity. In particular, we can multiply the number of environments: sunny rocks, tall grasses, flowery and shady areas, wetlands, bare earth. Varying environments means multiplying natural habitats for all types of species, and improving the health of ecosystems that function thanks to the relationships that living things forge. There are also specific ways of caring for natural spaces to promote their ecological health. Late mowing, for example, encourages the development of biodiversity and the appearance of wildflower species, which in turn provide food and habitat for insects. In this way, the entire ecosystem is strengthened, enriched and restored to health.
What's next?
This is the second year running that the University has organized these workshops. Buoyed by their success with an increasingly heterogeneous public, and influenced by the positive feedback received, the University of Montpellier, as part of the actions of the Master Plan for Ecological Transition (SDTE), is making these workshops permanent, with biannual sessions in autumn and spring. Access to future workshops will be identical to the previous ones: they will be free and open to all University staff.