As the Andance deposit is gradually being mined (for filter aid), « the CECA Saint Bauzile factory set itself the objective to refurbish the outer embankments by planting new trees on the verges » explains Claudia Bodin, Quarry Manager. Various species of trees have been chosen to restore a natural look to the former mined areas ».
As part of this tree-planting programme, CECA has been involved in a number of tree-planting campaigns.
Update on a project initiated in 2003 – « one pupil, one tree » :
During the February 2003 planting campaign, CECA involved pupils from CP and CE1 grades from the local Saint Bauzile school. In order to strengthen this relation with the school which is part of the schooling group of the three municipalities of Saint-Bauzile, Saint-Vincent de Barrès and Saint-Lager Bressac (municipalities concerned by the quarry), CECA initiated a project over a period of over twelve months whereby each pupil would plant a sapling grown under their care from a seed they had collected themselves.
2004 – seeds for the future:
On 15th November 2004, during a ramble in the forest of Barrès, downhill from the quarry, pupils collected various seeds from trees and shrubs typical of the area, such as oak, pine, broom and hawthorn. A few months later, on 31st March 2005, following a period of rest in a cold and dry place, the seeds were sowed in pots and kept in the school.
1 pupil – 1 tree: the culmination of a project spanning several years.
The planting of trees took place as part of the refurbishment of some of the embankments of the quarry by ONF, the French Forestry Commission, in January 2006.
« ONF staff planted 1,875 trees over an area of 1 ha » explains Jean Marc Fabre, General Manager of the Saint Bauzile Factory. « Meanwhile, pupils from Saint-Bauzile schools went up to the quarry in January 2006 to plant their trees themselves. This gave them the opportunity to see the saplings planted back in 2003, which are doing really well despite very dry spells over the last 3 summers. »
Final plantation at the Saint-Bauzile quarry
Throughout the partnership, both pupils and staff from the school were helped by ONF staff and the Manager of the CECA quarry.
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