All field-trips are proposed on a first-come, first-served basis, with a minimum (variable) number of participants by field-trip. The organizers reserve the right of cancelling a field-trip in the case of insufficient attendance or for any other reason (refund guaranteed). Some options are still to be confirmed (tbc). Please note that after 17 March 2019, options 1 to 3 will be charged € 70.

For all field-trips, we may have places left due to last minute cancellations. Check at the welcome desk upon arrival.

 1-day field trips, Thursday 23 May - € 70 - Fully booked

1. Fully booked - Mediterranean agroforestry at Restinclières farm.
Schedule: 9.15 am to 6.45 pm
Departure place: Tramway stop 'Occitanie' - line 1 direction Mosson

Warning: This field trip includes a total walking distance of 5.7 km (1h10 walk), essentially flat. Bring comfortable shoes, appropriate head cover and clothes against the sun, rain gear in case the weather is rainy, and a water bottle.

Visit the oldest European agroforestry experimental site at Restinclières (11 km North of Montpellier), featuring 25 years of research in collaboration with farmers.  This farm Estate of 50 ha belongs to the Hérault Department Council. In the lowlands, cereals (durum wheat in rotation with protein pea) are cultivated in silvo-arable agroforestry with walnut and other trees (sorb, ash, hackberry, wild cherry…). In the more stony soils, grapevine is associated with sorb, pine and cypress. The day will be shared between gentle walk, scientific presentations and discussions with farmers.

The lunch will be organized outdoors near the Restinclières castle, a Montpellier ‘follies’ style from the XVII^th century surrounded by 200 ha of fields, orchards, and "garrigue" (Mediterranean scrubland).

To end the day (and the walk), you will enjoy a wine tasting with local products (soft drinks available).

2. Fully booked - Vegetable gardening agroforestry area and wood valorization

Schedule: 9.30 am to 6.30 pm
Departure place: Tramway stop 'Occitanie' - line 1 direction Mosson

The first visit will take place near Vézenobres, a village at 70 km North of Montpellier.
You will visit the farm “Terres de Roumassouze “ where we conduct research on vegetable/tree association: microclimate, productivity and biodiversity. The farm produces organic vegetables (potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, tomatoes…) but also cereals, oil and firewood.Lunch will take place at the farm.
Then, you will head to the Centre of materials of the Institut Mines-Télécom at Ales. This research centre is specialized in the processing and characterization of polymer composite materials based on biomass resources.  It is partner of the “Agrobranche” project leadered by Agroof SCOP. The objective of “Agrobranche” is to study the potential of the branches valorization for the production of bio-sourced materials or chemical products. Thus, after the morning visit on the field, you will discover in the afternoon one of the next step of the biomass valorization from a research point of view. In the course of the visit, you will have a demonstration of the main processing tools used for the development of innovative plant based composites. Instruments used for the characterization of their mechanical and fire properties will be also shown through trials on real specimens.

3. Fully booked - Silvopasture, alley cropping and vegetable agroforestry : the west triangle.
Schedule: 8 am to 6.30 pm
Departure place: Tramway stop 'Occitanie' - line 1 direction Mosson

The tour will start at Le Coulet, 60 km West of Montpellier on the Causse du Larzac, listed in the  Unesco World heritage and  a region famous for the production of the Roquefort cheese. There, you will observe a silvopastoral management exploitation. The farmers have designed a very innovative management of the box tree (Buxus sempervirens) garrigue. The system includes sheep and pig rising in the forest, mechanical harvesting of the box tree, transformation of the ground biomass by xylophagous insects which are also used to feed pigs, and the use of the resulting compost for legume growing.

The lunch will take place at the Domaine de Perdiguier, next to Beziers, south of Montpellier. On about 700 hectares, the estate has diversified its production with cereals and cultures of seeds and 20 ha of alley-cropping agroforestry with hybrid walnut trees next to a 34 hectare vineyard. You will have also the opportunity to visit the winery before leaving.

On the way back to Montpellier, we will stop to visit an organic vegetable farm mixed with fruit trees as windbreak system.

2-day field trips, Thursday 23 May 9 am to Friday 24 May 6 pm - € 290 - Fully booked

4. Fully booked - Agroforestry farms in the Gers Department (250 km West of Montpellier), one of the most advanced areas for agroforestry in France, just North of the Pyrénées mountains.

Departure: 8 am  – Thursday 23 May
Departure place: Next to Tramway stop 'Place de l'Europe' - lines 1 (direction Odysseum) and 2 (direction Sabines / St Jean de Védas).
Return: 7 pm – Friday 24 May

During this field trip, you will visit 4 farms that have all adopted agroforestry systems.

You will arrive at the first one La Ferme à Naroques for lunch. Here, the British owner produces organic bread and meat, locally sold.
The second visit of the afternoon will drive you nearby to La Ferme de Loran where they breed suckler and dairy cows. They have planted 2km of hedge over the years and mulberry trees for forage and poplars for shade and wood production.
After this busy day, it will be time then to join your comfortable cottage in a 4* campsite, in the heart of a wonderful natural landscape, for rest and dinner.

On the second day, after an early breakfast, you will visit a nearby farm where the owner, Vincent Blagny, has 4 poultry housings. Each has its own wooded free range area where trees provide shade, protection against wind and recycle effluents. Over the years, he also planted hedges in other parts of his farm and has adopted agroforestry in a 5-hectare area of land under crops.
Then, the tour will end nearby at La Ferme en Coton where you will have lunch. Here the owners planted 6 km of hedge, 20 hectares of agroforestry (in poultry ranges and crop fields), poplars and pollard trees. “La Ferme en Coton” is a top example of an agroforestry system.
The bus will leave after lunch to arrive in Montpellier around 6.30 / 7 pm.

 
5. Fully booked - Agroforestry in Languedoc and Provence.

Departure: 9 am – Thursday 23 May
Departure place: Next to Tramway stop 'Place de l'Europe' - lines 1 (direction Odysseum) and 2 (direction Sabines / St Jean de Védas).
Return: 6 pm – Friday 24 May

The tour will start with a stop at the Domain Enclos de la Croix, at Lansargues near Montpellier, where you will visit agroforestry vineyards under agroecological management and taste farm products. Then, you will head to Avignon (100 km East of Montpellier) for lunch at the Ferme de la Durette where you will learn about a long-term research project with organic vegetables growing in fruit agroforestry.

After the visit, you will join the hotel downtown Avignon where a guide from the tourist office will come to pick you up for a 2-hour guided tour in the famous old Papal City, ending at a charming restaurant to savor a Provençal dinner. Everything being at walking distance, you will be free after dinner to go back directly to the hotel or stroll around the old center, have a drink at a terrace before going back to the hotel.

On Friday morning, you will visit Chateau Beaulieu (80 km East, near Aix-en-Provence), a wine farm where agroforestry with many broadleaved tree species has been introduced to diversify productions and favor landscape heterogeneity.

Leaving Beaulieu, you will stop nearby for lunch in a restaurant in a lovely Provençal setting, before heading for the last visit at a new agroforestry site launched by INRA located in Mauguio, a few km before Corum where the tour will end. This agroforestry experiment has been set up in 2016 and is dedicated to Carbon and nutrient balance with a focus on belowground interactions between tree and crop. This visit will also be the opportunity to visit a unique orchard of grafted Honeylocust fodder trees (Gleditsia triacanthos) planted 25 years ago.

6. Cancelled - Agroforestry in the Pyrenean piedmont. Due to a low number of registrations, we had to cancel this field trip. We apologize for the inconvenience.

3-day and 4-day field trips - Cancelled

Due to a low number of registrations, we had to cancel those field trips. We apologize for the inconvenience.