Toulouse. At Bagatelle, the children donated winter vegetables to be sown at the foot of the buildings
In the Bagatelle district, the social landlord Toulouse Métropole Habitat has just developed its fourth urban agriculture project. This Wednesday the children of the Le Gard – Vestrepain residences planted their first winter vegetables.
In this Toulouse vegetable garden, created from scratch at the foot of the Le Gard and Vestrepain residences, in Bagatelle, at the beginning of September, little green hands are busy planting white onion plants for the winter. It is Bertrand Desgranges, the gardener of the Milpa, who leads the joyous operation. “We have just planted lettuces with the children. The previous weeks, it was chard, spinach, herbs, lamb’s lettuce…”, he explains, while trying to channel the little troop. “With them, things go very quickly if they don’t play around,” he laughs.
Among these children, on spot Miguel, 9 years old, in his fluorescent yellow t-shirt. This young gypsy has cousins in the residences, so he came to participate in this gardening operation with them. “It’s the first time I’ve planted vegetables,” he admits. On the other hand Noé, 12, lives “in this block there”, he says, pointing to a building on the right, for him too, it’s a first. “I like it, you just have to make a hole in the ground, put the plant and press it,” he sums up. The young boy would like to plant potatoes “to make fries” but for that, he will have to wait for spring.
Bertrand Desgranges is assisted by Sister Claude of the association of the Sisters of the Good News, who lives in Bagatelle. The nun, very dynamic, knows all these children by their first name because she has been organizing activities with them for 6 years on this site. “With this project, it’s very easy to get interested in working the land because the result is very concrete. Little by little, they will take a liking to it,” rejoices Sister Claude.
With the Le Gard-Vestrepain residences, this is the fourth collective urban agriculture project that Toulouse Métropole Habitat is developing at the foot of the buildings, with the residents. “It’s a way of enhancing common spaces in a different way by transforming them into arable land. In addition, tenants can harvest vegetables in the right season, it is a food supplement for them and a space of conviviality”, notes Luc Laventure, general manager of Toulouse Métropole Habitat. “This project represents nature in the city, eating well. It is intended for children, but we hope that parents will also use it to create social ties. This can only be a positive experience,” concludes Marine Lefèvre, the neighborhood mayor.