DIJON METROPOLE: Hedge trimming scandalizes in Ouges
Anonymous signs were put up on the side of the road to protest against the hedge trimming carried out at the very beginning of autumn. According to an INRAE engineer, “hedges provide services to all of humanity”.
“Mutilated hedges”, “Stop bullshit”, the words are harsh. The message is anonymous but we can assume that the person or persons who took the time to make the signs are sensitive to environmental issues and that they were scandalized by hedges cut very low, the autumn having only just begun .
These signs were placed in the town of Ouges, south of Dijon, along the old D968 which has become a metropolitan road. The hedges in question appear between the roadway and the railway line leading to Louhans in particular.
Hedges cut in Ouges, replanted in Bretenière
On October 3, 2022 in particular, the situation contrasts with the presentation made by the national research institute for agriculture, food and the environment (INRAE).
That day, a few dozen meters from the signs, INRAE received at the Époisses estate, in Bretenière, Bruno Bonnell, Secretary General for Investment to the Prime Minister (read our article). Bruno Bonnell oversees the France 2030 investment plan, which aims to decarbonize the economy and support the innovation of SMEs and start-ups (read our article).
There, Nathalie Munnier-Jolain, president of the INRAE site in Dijon, presented in particular a hedge that had just been completed with new plantings. Indeed, the State and local authorities finance the replanting of hedges throughout France.
“Hedges provide services to all mankind”
After the war, during the period of remembrance, the hedges were interrupted as the enemies of agricultural machinery and were massively uprooted. Today, we study their contribution not only to the environment but also to cultural practices.
According to INRAE, hedges are a shelter for biodiversity, especially birds, insects and small mammals. They limit soil runoff which causes erosion, a drop in the quality of river water and a drop in the productivity of adjoining fields.
Hedges also help store atmospheric carbon in the soil, improving crop yields.
In terms of livestock, the foliage of small trees in hedgerows can serve as a relay for cattle feed when the meadows become too dry in summer.
“Hedges provide services to all of humanity,” summarizes Geoffrey Mesbahi, agronomy engineer for INRAE (read the article).
The practices of Dijon Métropole in question
The hedges concerned therefore occur between the road and the railway. Were they cut by SNCF Réseau for a question of railway safety? Contacted, the rail network operator assured not to have intervened.
During the visit of Bruno Bonnell, Nicolas Schoutith (without label), mayor of Bretenière, indicated that the management of the hedges of the commune had been appointed to a farmer. Is this also the case in the neighboring town? Contacted, the town hall of Ouges indicates that this falls under Dijon Métropole.
Asked on October 6, and relaunched several times, the Métropole did not wish to comment on this subject or give any indication of the methods which preside over the size of the hedges around metropolitan roads.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
On October 3, 2022, hedges cut in Ouges
On October 3, 2022, hedges replanted in Bretenière