High-stem orchards
Avesnois Regional Natural Park, Jolimetz, Nord, Hauts-de-France
Avesnois Park, dominated by farming activities, offers exceptional hedgerow landscapes. Fruit trees are sometimes still planted on grazed pastureland enclosed by hedges. 300 apple varieties are grown here! A continually evolving landscape, with 3,080 fruit trees planted since 2010.
© PNRA/Samuel Dhote
Created by early land-clearers between the 5th and the 13th centuries, the Avesnois bocage and its hedgerows have always been useful to breeders and farmers, both to enclose cattle and as a protection against the wind. Serving the Avesnois’s grassland and dairy vocation, it is a source of dairy products, beef, and orchard produce. A stroll through the Avesnois means walking through paths lined with hedgerows and orchards filled with apple trees, as well as cherry, plum, and pear trees. 300 varieties of apples also contribute to the wealth of the Avesnois’s plant and landscape heritage. To preserve this diversity along with the features of fruit that is adapted to this land, the National Park, working in close collaboration with the Regional Centre for Genetic Resources, supports a dozen farmers who are part of the “Vergers Haute-Tige de l’Avesnois” association.Together, they promote fruit juice that is transformed collectively and essentially sold in the Avesnois region under the brand name “Valeurs Parc.”A fine example of actions that bring together local economy and heritage preservation.