In a village in the Gers, they cite Toulouse as an example to oppose the felling of trees
By Hugues-Olivier Dumez
Published on
The construction of a photovoltaic shade house controversial to Duran Primary and Kindergarten Schoola village of about 860 inhabitants nearAuchin the Gers.
Cut trees for photovoltaics
“The town hall has decided to replace the trees in the school car park with photovoltaic shade structures”, write delegates of parents of students in a press release. “We will repair the damage from cutting trees and installing the photovoltaic panels there”.
According to them, this project is “against the general trend towards greener cities and campaigns that try to become so again”. And cite the example of Toulouse “where the town hall revegetates the schools” and creates “oasis” courses.
In Duran, in the car park of this school which has 110 students, the parents of students highlight the many advantages of trees:
They provide better air quality by capturing CO2, nitrogen and sulfur oxide, fine particles and other pollutants. They form islands of natural coolness (1 to 5°C less around the trees) and a “real” shade unlike the shadehouses which create even warmer microclimates. They make it possible to fight against flooding: 25% infiltration of rainwater in depth in the presence of trees against 5% when there are none. They are supports for biodiversity as a habitat servant for fauna and flora.
Anxious to be constructive, they rather prefer the municipality to put these photovoltaic panels on the roof of the school or to create a courtyard in the courtyard.
Contacted by Actu.fr, Jean-Marc Dupuymayor of Duran, assumes this project “in coherence with the news”:
Our project is carefully thought out. We are going to have major power generation problems in the years to come. The State requires that 25% of the energy consumed in the municipality be produced locally by 2035. The future is photovoltaic. This shade house project is therefore an investment for the future. And we will also put panels on the roof of the school to reduce energy consumption bills.
Along the way, these shadehouses will provide “shelter for parents”, “in winter to protect against bad weather” and “in summer to protect against the sun’s rays”.
The local elected official also mentions another aspect, this time for safety: “I participated in the planting of these trees. The parking lot and the sidewalks are today becoming concerned. The species planted at the time were not suitable. Should we keep the trees or increase taxes by 20% because the road will have to be redone every five years? I prefer to opt for a controlled budget”.
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