Around La Sapinière (Trail)

7 points of interest

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  Flora

  Leaf-Tree (Alain Bernegger)

  Leaf-Trees use a veined structure to create a visual resonance between the tree and the leaf. The change of scale works like an inverted echo of this fractal structure. And as winter comes, the eternal summer of the Leaf-Trees confronts the winter of the bare branches.

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  Pôle Nature 4 Saisons

  The Pôle Nature 4 Saisons of the Aigoual massif offers outdoor activities in all seasons in the central zone of the Cévennes National Park, overlooked by the legendary summit of Mont Aigoual (1,570 m). Discover our network of trails on foot, on horseback, by bike, or else by mountain-bike or with a donkey, as the fancy takes you!
  Children can explore the orienteering circuit or geocaching.
  For the sportier among you we have laid out trail running circuits!
  Prefer road biking? We have created circuits of varying difficulty levels so you can discover our villages and valleys.
  Try not to make any noise! Wildlife enthusiasts can spot mouflons and other animals.
  And if you would just like a gentle walk on the massif, the discovery trail “The cliffs of Mont Aigoual” is for you. There are various rest stops over its 4.5 km, with only 150 m in height difference.
  We look forward to seeing you on our paths.

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  Fauna

  The Nests (Céline Pialot)

  Little by little, the bird makes its nest, its cosy nest, baby cocoon, wasps’ nest…
  Like a bird, the artist has gathered materials offered by nature and has arranged them to build three nests, three refuges, three circles that reference perfection and invite meditation.

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  Catchment Area (Xavier Rèche)

  By its location and name, this installation evokes the nearby watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A vessel reduced to a suspended wooden framework, without strakes or gunwale, tilts in the direction of the runoff. It emphasises the first branches of a gigantic drainage system.

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  Flora

  Guardian of the Woods (Raphaël Daynié)

  The Guardian evokes a possible connection, a dream connection, in which humans consider themselves a part of nature, developing in close union with their environment. This Guardian of the Woods overlooking the Aigoual valley was built with natural materials found on site, and gently touches a tree that is still alive.

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  On the Verge (Yoann Crépin)

  A doorway to a circuit of art within the natural environment.
  To fuse and interact with the environment and play with the seasons, time, light and weightlessness. To let humanity express itself through nature and nature express itself through humanity – a necessary interaction, a symbiotic interaction that inspires us to discover another world.

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  River capture

  Violent precipitation and the steep gradient of Mediterranean torrents cause regressive (i.e. upstream) erosion of the valleys through which they flow. This erosion can invert the sense of flow and thus “capture” for the Mediterranean a waterway that had, until then, flowed into the Atlantic. One example is the Hérault with its waterfalls, the capture being located at the falls. The Hérault and the Dauphine brook used to flow via L'Espérou into the Dourbie... River pebbles found around the village by geologists attest to the existence of a waterway in the past.