On Sunday February 4th, the Tour du Valat exceptionally opened its doors to the public for a day of sharing within its nature reserve. With over 1,000 visitors, this record attendance proved once again the interest of the general public in our activities.
On a sunny winter’s day, we were delighted to welcome all generations to the Tour du Valat. To raise awareness of the need to preserve wetlands, this Open Day coincided with World Wetlands Day, whose theme this year was “Wetlands, a source of human well-being”. Our visitors were able to enjoy our trails, activities and conferences throughout the day.
Alongside a guided tour of the flora led by Hugo Fontes [1], and a visit to the Tour du Valat buildings with Nicolas Beck [2], the public was able to take part in an introductory basket-weaving workshop with Arsène Marquis-Soria [3],and discover the tools used to measure wetlands in the company of Columba Martinez-Espinosa [4].
This was followed by a round-table discussion on our professions, and a conference about our 70 years of commitment presented by Jean Jalbert [5], which provided an opportunity to exchange views on the concrete actions carried out day after day at the Tour du Valat.
Last but not least, visitors were able to take advantage of 2 free-access marked trails on the reserve, a treasure hunt to discover the flora and fauna of wetlands, the Adopt a Flamingo stand [6] where they could sponsor pink flamingos, a tasting of Domaine du Petit Saint-Jean [7] products, the discovery of our library’s documentary collection, and a book-signing session with Cyril Girard, author-draftsman, and Jean Emmanuel Roché, photographer.
