It may not look like there are many green spaces in central Paris, but the city is green nonetheless: combine the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes and you’ve got a space over five times bigger than Central Park! Add all the various squares, gardens and parks and there’s something to amaze and surprise in every part of the city… and this festival intends to show them to you!

Over the weekend of 16th/17th May you’ll be able to discover a different side to Paris’ green spaces (in fact, there are events organised all over the country) and the rich diversity of plant and fauna. Launched two years ago by the International League for the Conservation of Nature ( l’Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature) and “Wild Earth” magazine (Terre Sauvage), the aim is to make people realise how important it is to defend and preserve these spaces.

With 300,000 participants last year and an ever-growing number of events, the festival is an obvious success.

Here’s a taste of what’s on in Paris:

– several events involving birds  (birds in the city, in the jardin des Plantes, in Père Lachaise, the parc Montsouris…, the trees and birds of the Buttes-Chaumont (pictured right), bird and birdsong of the Bois de Boulogne…)

– The Saint-Vincent wild garden (18th arrondissement)

– Ecological discovery walks of the two ‘Bois’

– Getting started with nature drawing

– The Aqueduc allotments (14th arrondissement)

– La petite ceintue Auteil – Passy (an old railway line that circled the city)

– The butterfly garden at the Parc Floral

– Bees and friends at the Parc Floral (Yay! Sounds good…)

– From garden to garden by bike (ooh! Like the sound of this too!)

etc. etc.

The full list can be found on the official site (in French) fetedelanature.com, but just glancing at the map below shows that there’s plenty on all over. Should whet our appetite for the Fête des Jardins garden festival in September!

Click here to download a PDF file of the full programme of the Fête de la Nature for the Paris area, or here to go to the official site with lots more info (unfortunately all in French).