The company and the environment
Action No.1:
Encourage tits to settle in — natural predators of aphids and other insects — so as to keep the use of plant protection products to a minimum.
Results: By designing and installing some fifteen tit nest boxes across our three sites since 2007, we have been able to study how these birds work in symbiosis with the ecosystem of our crops. Tits feed their broods on caterpillars and aphids — pests of a great many of our crops. A pair of tits makes up to 600 trips a day to feed its young.
Action No.2:
Optimise the natural immunity of plants in order to limit the use of inputs and plant protection treatments.
Results:
To strengthen our plants' natural defences, we apply various types of mulch that encourage mycorrhizae to develop (fungi that naturally help plants to grow). A brief explanation: by associating with the plants' root systems, mycorrhizal fungi create a network in the soil that increases the uptake of water and of nutrients such as phosphorus, copper and zinc.
This improves growth and ensures rapid development of both roots and plants. The mulch has also cut weed growth by 40% by acting as a protective screen around the plant.
Action No.3:
Use every scientific and computing tool available to assess as precisely as possible the measured application of plant protection products.
Results:
Since 2008 we have used a computer system to optimise plant protection treatments, which has allowed us to cut our input consumption by 8% while treating the same number of plants. It is an intuitive preparation aid that works out the exact volume of spray mix and of undiluted product to use, based on several criteria: area to be treated, products in stock, type of attack, previous treatment, and so on. Once all of this has been entered, a summary sheet is printed and displayed to keep all staff informed.
Action No.4:
Optimise the use of water by installing sprinkler systems in our polytunnels and glasshouses and by using mulch.
Results:
Water is a scarce natural resource without which life cannot develop. At Les Trois Chênes our efforts focus on the measured use of water resources through the widespread use of sprinkler irrigation and of various mulches on our plants (spruce, cocoa and hemp), which has allowed us to cut our water consumption by 10%, a saving of 10,000 m³ a year.
Action No.5:
Preserve the richness of our plant heritage.
Results:
Preserving biodiversity is a vital fight for the future of our planet. It underpins our struggle against disease, it guarantees the pollination of flowers and the transmission of life, and it maintains the balance of ecosystems, which involves both fauna and flora. The role of our form of agriculture, embedded in natural processes, is to maintain and preserve horticultural biodiversity. Through its very wide range of plants (over 1,700 varieties), Les Trois Chênes is closely involved in the fight for biodiversity, avoiding uniformity in our gardens and green spaces and making the most of our plant heritage.
In 2009 our nursery reintroduced an old AZALEA variety from the city of Orléans that had been lost for more than 10 years. We also work with several arboretums to reintroduce old varieties (holly, box, and others).
Action No.6:
Establish ecosystems that encourage fauna and flora to thrive in symbiosis with the nursery's production activity.
Results:
In 2010, with the help of the CDHRC Centre, we began planting insect-friendly hedges made up of a range of suitable plant species — such as Sambucus nigra, Euonymus europaeus, Corylus avellana, Viburnum tinus, Amelanchier canadensis and Sorbus aucuparia — to keep protective wildlife on site all year round.
We have also planted up our three water collection basins in order to recreate a natural filtration ecosystem.
Finally, to avoid chemical weed control in the areas around these basins, geese were introduced in 2010.
Action No.7:
Like all tree plantations, the Les Trois Chênes nursery acts as a carbon sink and so helps to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Results:
Through their natural activity, our young plant crops and our stock-plant areas represent a positive footprint of
1,800 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere, the equivalent of 700 return passenger flights between Paris and New York. We are also working to increase this contribution steadily by maintaining and renewing our planted areas.
Action No.8:
Extend waste sorting (green waste, plastic, soil) and encourage the processing of that waste.
Results:
Limiting our use of plastics and recycling waste is a priority for us. Systematic recycling across our three sites is an effective way of reducing this environmental cost. Plastics are petroleum derivatives. They have a twofold impact on our future: they use up a non-renewable fossil energy resource, and both their manufacture and their incineration release CO2, which drives global warming.
100% of our plastic waste is sorted and recycled through various recycling channels.
100% of our green waste is sorted and 20% is reused on site to improve the soil.
Jeune Plant de France
