Life Elia

LIFE Elia project works closely with RTE (operator of the French electricity transmission network) on 8 sites of French territory. This news is illustrated by a video available at https://vimeo.com/96673901.

During the Festival of Nature, four team members went in Brittany (France, Britain, Department of Finistere, Saint-Michel de Brasparts. RTE (operator of the French electricity transmission network) is involved in these festivities to show the public the efforts made by the company to integrate biodiversity under the power lines.

The event was also an opportunity to sign agreements binding RTE and local partners : the Regional Natural Park of Brittany, the Departmental Hunters Federation of Finistere and the High School of Agriculture & Forestry Nivot.

Field inventories and presentation at RTE

The morning of May 22 was first chosen to do some vegetation mapping on the high-tension line Brennilis-Rumengol, one of our site in Brittany.

The team then splits to be on all fronts. Part of the team went under the Brennilis-La Martyre HT-line for a botanical inventory while two other team members presented the LIFE project to 20 members of RTE staff in the Quimper headquarters.

Educational workshops on site

During all the day of May 23, 3 schools attended different workshops on butterflies ans birds observation, landscape reading, botany and vegetation under the HT lines. In total, more than 250 children have learnt things on nature issues on two sites of the LIFE project : Le Nivot and  Brasparts.

Signing of agreements

In the morning, two agreements were signed between RTE, the Regional Natural Park of Brittany, the school Nivot and the Departmental Hunters Federation of Hunters (FDC29) fixing the commitment of these structures in the long-term management (10 years) of the sites worked by the LIFE team. A nice result, an open mind and a good example of local partnership which were celebrated with a cocktail composed of Belgian-Britain products !

This moment was chosen to inaugurate the educational panel that illustrates the actions of LIFE on the site of Brasparts, as well as the diffusion of the brochure (http://www.life-elia.eu/fr/Depliant-Finistere) designed for our Brittany sites. 

Educational workshops on Nature and mapping actions

Following the actions done of Friday, educational workshops were undertaken on Saturday 22 May  for the general public on the training site of the Hunting Federation of Finistère in Ty Blaise.

In the afternoon, the team was able to go under the Brennilis-Rumengol line to complete the mapping of vegetation and set up a list of actions to be taken for a future grazing. Close to the power line, a former water reservoir was also checked for its nice assets for biodiversity.

Field inventories on May 25

Following a meeting with RTE staff and an inquiry into the appropriateness of action on sites close to those of ty Blaise, the team investigated a new line in order to assess the biodiversity potential and the possibility of new management actions.

The nice weather allowed nice observations of reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects.