This Tuesday, several representatives of the municipality, including the mayor Lionnel Lucas, along with some members of the Citizens Ecology Association for Villeneuve-Loubet, signed an agreement to launch the first collective and associative garden located on Chemin de l’Abreuvoir.
Under a gentle morning warmth, we were able to discover the 680m2 plot of land allocated for this collective garden project. The municipality, in partnership with the ECVL association, wants to provide residents with this educational space through the method of permaculture. This natural agriculture model is inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer. It is a systemic method that allows for designing crops in harmony with the functioning of natural ecology. It’s a mode of action that takes into account the biodiversity of each ecosystem. “This is what one might call permanent culture, which mobilizes the common sense of everyone,” explained Fabien Aubert, who organizes gardening workshops with students from a local school.
Villeneuve-Loubet has committed to sustainable food for some time now, allowing, for example, school canteens to serve local products cultivated by village farmers. This initiative of a collective garden aims to raise awareness among the population about healthier practices, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, using biological treatment of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. In a spirit of sharing, residents trying out permaculture can exchange and bring the learned information back home, along with the fruits of their labor.
The agreement signed this Tuesday grants the association the right to use the land for three years in exchange for rent that will serve to cover the municipality’s expenses for the work done (creation of a water point and a tool shed). ECVL will be responsible for organizing events around this garden with registered villagers. “This initiative is suited to the morphology of the commune, which has little land but many inhabitants,” declared Lionnel Lucas. Within the soil, one can already see the stems of squash plants planted recently. Perhaps a way to reconnect with the saying, “Nature is well done.”
