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Non-profit association for the promotion of the cultural, natural, and landscape heritage represented by tree avenues

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Tree avenues

 

The French term ‘allée’ is used in many parts of Europe when referring to tree-lined ‘ways of passage’ in parks and gardens, in towns or in the country. In the context of landscapes, ‘avenue’ has the same meaning in English. ‘Avenues’ (or ‘tree avenues’) are thus ‘ways of passage’—paths, streets, and roads, but also canals—lined with rows of regularly spaced trees.

Avenues (in this sense) constitute an important cultural, natural, and landscape heritage in France, Europe, and beyond.

To know more about tree avenues, go to the "Quiz" and to the "Tree avenues and road safety" pages.

 

Our objectives

 

♦ To foster knowledge about  the cultural, natural, and landscape heritage that avenues represent ♦ Through information and education, to raise the awareness of the general public and professionals about the values of avenues ♦ To showcase the heritage of tree avenues and associated best practice ♦ To promote the economic activities and jobs avenues create ♦ To protect and renew existing avenues, and to develop new ones ♦ To support initiatives and protagonists helping to preserve tree avenues ♦

Who are we?

 

We are avenue lovers, determined to showcase this valuable heritage and convinced it is an asset for all of us. The board is made up of: Eric Mutschler, chair; Isabelle Kauffmann, secretary; Pierre Courbet, treasurer; Pierre Collin ; Qing Liu ; and Danièle Saget. Chantal Pradines, expert on avenues in France and in Europe, is executive director.

 

Our actions

ALLÉES-AVENUES /allées d'avenir/ is active at the local, national and international levels. Its actions are of an artistic, a technical and a scientific nature.

Three main actions :

Other important actionsderive from these main actiont :

They have already supported us in 2024:

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They talk about us...

 

Tree avenues: Nature and us - Listen to the interview in La nature et vous (Radio Grand Lac), dated 28.09.2023

Mémento - Look at the reference in Espace public et paysage de Juillet-août 2023

Mémento - Read the article in UP' Magazine du 30.06.2023

National meetings - Read the article in Le Moniteur, dated 25.10.2022

National meetings - Read the presentation in Le lien horticole, dated 5.10.2022

Artistic observatory - Watch the news report by Vosges Télévision, dated 9.08.2023

Artistic observatory - Read the article in Le Monde, dated 10.07.2022

Artistic observatory - Watch the news report by Vosges Télévision, dated 24.03.2022

Artistic observatory - Read the report in Vosges matin, dated 4.07.2021

Artistic observatory - Read the report in La Voix de la Haute-Marne, dated 2.07.2021

Artistic observatory - Watch the news report by France 3 Grand Est, dated 26.06.2021

Artistic observatory - Listen to the presentation in France Bleu Sud Lorraine's radio programme Embarquement immédiat pour la Lorraine, dated 26.06.2021 at 18’48

Artistic observatory - Read the article in Lettre de l'arboriculture n°97 . novembre 2020

Artistic observatory - Watch the news report by Vosges TV, dated 25.09.2020

Artistic observatory - Read the report in Vosges matin, dated 23.09.2020

Exhibition - Listen to the radio programme Durablement Vôtre du 25 septembre 2019

Symposium - Read the  report in Matériel et paysage n° 143. Décembre 2018

Symposium - Read a report in Paysage Actualités n° 414-415. Novembre-décembre 2018

Symposium - Read the report in La Nuova Provincia, dated 23.11.2018

Symposium - Read the article in Moniteur, dated 19.11.2018

Symposium - Watch the news report by Vosges TV, dated 13.11.2018

Symposium - Read a presentation in La Stampa, dated 11.11.2018

Symposium - Read a presentation in Gazzetta d’Asti, dated  9.11.18

Symposium - Read a presentation in La Garance Voyageuse n°123. Automne 2018

Symposium - Read a presentation in Sites & Monuments n°225. 2018

Symposium - Listen to the radio programme Durablement vôtre, dated 15.10.2018

 

Our press releases in French and in English ...

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - juin 2024

Download Press release French - The Carcassonne declaration about tree avenues and road safety - april 2024

Download Press release English - International symposium - october 2023

Download Press release French - Rencontres nationales - septembre 2023

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - juillet 2023

Download Press release French - Mémento sur la protection des allées - juin 2023

Download Press release French - Rencontres nationales - septembre 2022

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - juin 2022

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - mars 2022

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - juin 2021

Download Press release French - Observatoire artistique - septembre 2020

 

 

 

Nos objectifs

 

♦ Contribuer à la connaissance du patrimoine - culturel, naturel, paysager - des allées ♦ Sensibiliser, former et informer le grand public et les professionnels à ses valeurs ♦ Valoriser le patrimoine des allées d’arbres et les bonnes pratiques le concernant ♦ Promouvoir les activités économiques et l’emploi qui en découlent ♦ Protéger les allées existantes, les renouveler, les développer ♦ Soutenir les actions et acteurs contribuant à la préservation des allées d’arbres ♦
 
Par ses actions, ALLÉES - AVENUES / allées d’avenir / souhaite avant tout faire comprendre à tous (politiques, professionnels ou citoyens) la riche nature des allées d’arbres, pour conforter les aficionados ou en susciter de nouveaux et donner à tous les bonnes clés pour assurer durablement le maintien de ce patrimoine.

Qui sommes-nous ?

 

Des amoureux des allées, déterminés à valoriser ce patrimoine, et convaincus que sa richesse est une chance pour chacun. Le CA se compose de : Eric Mutschler, président ; Isabelle Kauffmann, secrétaire ; Pierre Courbet, trésorier ; Pierre Colin ; Qing Liu ; Danièle Saget. La déléguée générale de l'association est Chantal Pradines, spécialiste des allées en France et en Europe.

 

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Watch the short film by Thierry Passerat

The RD 427 avenue, a 3.3 km long ash tree avenue, is documented at least as of the early 19th century and was replanted in the 1950s. The County road is running through the village of Trampot (Vosges), close to Joan of Arc's birhtplace Domrémy la Pucelle.

It is a very special avenue : due to be felled in 2005, it lead to investigating avenue policies in Europe and drafting of a white book about tree avenues (Road infrastructures - Tree avenues in the landscape) that was published by the Council of Europe as part of the work around the European landscape convention. To ensure its preservation, a bill was drafted and a legal protection of tree avenues in general was eventually integrated into the French environmental code in 2016.

The ash tree avenue is under the pressure of Chalara fraxinea, a fungus causing ash dieback. 24 trees were felled in 2019, out of 271. Some others were felled in 2022 and 2023. But being situated in an open landscape, the trees still resist quite well. The preservation of this avenue is interesting to monitor the resistance to ash dieback. It is also important for the rich biodiversity associated with ash trees and as a corridor for bats linking the village to the forest.

In 2023, a row of young maples was planted along a path close to the road, on its westward section, to anticipate the future removal of trees.

The dynamics of the evolution of the trees and the avenue serves as a background for an artistic landscape observatory: we invite artists to follow this evolution over the years. The artworks produced will eventually showcase the avenue, for the benefit  of the village of Trampot.

In 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, we invited Constance Fulda, Ridha Dhib, Julie Ory. In 2024, the acoustic ensemble Angeli Primitivi, the French sculptor José Le Piez and the American photographer Wayne Gudmundson will in turn make their contribution.

For the 5th season of the Artistic Observatory of the ash tree avenue in Trampot, we welcome several artists from different disciplines.

American photographer Wayne Gudmundson will be in residence from May 31st to June 6th in Trampot. His work, exhibited notably at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or the Reykjavik Museum of Photography, explores the marks left by humans, nature and time in the landscape. Concerning trees, his black and white photographs seek to show how they interact with the landscape, creating it.

He will photograph the avenue in Trampot as well as other avenues in the surroundings. His editing and printing work will be done as part of another artistic residency, at the Tusen Takk Foundation, in Michigan (USA).

For the fifth year in a row, visual artist Constance Fulda (France) will continue making rubbings of the ash trees in the avenue. Each rubbing on a special Japanese paper, is unique, like the signature of the trees, made of the imprint due to the bark and former scars. Put together, they will represent a piece of about 125 meters long. Read more about Constance Fulda and her previous work in the avenue under 'Observatory 2020' to 'Observatory 2023'. Constance Fulda will be in residence from June 16th to June 23rd in Trampot. Come and see her perform her rubbings on Sunday, June 23rd from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

On the same day, at 3:30 pm, we will also welcome the French ensemble Angeli Primitivi (José Le Piez and Patricia Chatelain) for a concert of 'Arbrassons'. The Arbrassons are acoustic sculptures created by José. The sound is produced by simply carressing the wooden surface. This acoustic process was discovered and developed by José Le Piez. It has an amazing poetic force and seems to hold magic. Its only equivalent in the world is that of the livika, a sacred instrument used in funeral rites in Papua New Guinea.

José Le Piez will then remain in residence in Trampot to perform his art of sculpture, which he practices in the spirit of martial arts. José has worked in collaboration and exhibited with Ernest Pignon-Ernest or Giuseppe Penone, and his sculptures are exhibited e.g. at the Utopia Museum in Belgium, the Mona Museum in Australia, the Museum of Natural History of Rouen-Normandy, or the City of Sciences in Strasbourg. In Trampot, José will work on timber from ash trees in the avenue that had to be cut down in 2023.

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