01/17/2013

"Wild in my street", "Sauvages de ma rue"

Sauvages de ma rue, who are you, where are you?

Sauvages de ma rue is a national participative science program, and also international (we have data from Belgium and Germany). It's goal is to give the occasion to anyone to study and follow urban flora in his neighbourhood.

Two partners created it: National Natural History Museum, for the scientific part (in Paris) and the association Tela Botanica (in Montpellier) for the animation of the website, program broadcasting and connection with local partners.

Our will is to associate to this program as much local initiatives as possible, to adapt it to partners and to ecological, political conditions of the cities where they take place. A website page is dedicated to local initiatives (beta version for the moment).

What is "Sauvages"?

Sauvages are spontaneous plants, growing without the Human will. If space is set free to their developemnt, thanks to no chimical treatment or just a place at a foot of a tree, species and biodiversity were not expected. Most of the time, this species grow in natural environment just around. But sometimes, species are specifically adapted to urban conditions or they are cultivated plants breakaway from gardens around.

How did this idea born?

One one hand, urban ecology is a quite new science and researchers face a lack of urban biodiversity data (except in Paris maybe), but before all, about its evolution, through pratical changes, like no chimical treatment, new urbanism forms and its way of functioning: plants association, genoa exchanges: a street with trees along can be an ecological corridor between two parks not connected.

One the other hand, our association wanted to make people aware of biodiversity issues and to initiate new persons to this quite forgotten science: botany.
It's a huge potential because the acknowledging of species in urban area is easy, given that there is only few species possible. The audience is large because urban population is important, but not enough aware of biodiversity issues, even if biodiversity is under their eyes, in each street.

Today, what's the state of the project?

In 2011, the project was experimented in the Paris region.
In 2012, it has been implemented in mainland France and a book is available in bookshop.

More than 10 000 observations have been collected (see the map). It's quite positive but scientists need more informations about cities to be able to capitalize statistics. Data analysis is in progress and the results should be published in springtime.

In 2013, do you have highlight?

In 2013, we want to start local programs, particularly in Méditerranée. We will try to help local initiatives to organize outings, to recruit people. In the same time, we are working to create a smartphone app to recognize species in the street and to send observations to scientists without the computer step.

The word "BiodiverCité', does it inspire you?

Biodiversity in city, city rich of plants, animals, inhabitants too and their personal initiatives. But also cities rich of their own biodiversity and of thier own way to undestand it.

Sauvages de ma rue are in seedbomb, here!