Birds discovery trip on the old salt marshes of Hyères

As far back as he can remember, Norbert Chardon was already dreaming of nature:

When I was very young, I collected animal pictures when my friends collected marbles. In fact, I always wanted to work in nature.

After studying biology and geography, the young man from Valentines took on a series of different jobs: "I was the director of vacation centers, I worked with children in the sports world ...". As a mid-mountain guide, he supervises canoeing, canyoning, caving, hiking, mountaineering... " But I was always looking for a job in the environment".

He then joined several environmental protection associations as a guide, built wooden houses, performed acrobatic work and then, just after the 2004 tsunami, he went abroad to an NGO in India to carry out projects with children: "We recreated links between fishing villages that had been destroyed by organizing sporting events He stayed there for 4 years.

On his return in 2008, he saw an advertisement from the LPO for a position as head of the League for the Protection of Birds program in the Hyères salt flats.

I didn't know much about Hyères and birds, but I had the experience of managing teams, and that of a naturalist guide.

Today, he says he is happy to have made this choice:

I am very well here, the area of Hyères is quite fabulous; at the naturalist level it is very rich, and it is one of the most beautiful coastlines of the area. There is an extraordinary diversity in the same commune, with the richest area in birds in the region after the Camargue. At the Pesquiers salt marsh, there are 350 species on only 900 hectares, including 140 species of migratory birds.

Now responsible for the Var for the LPO, Norbert coordinates several programs in the department:

But I'm still in the field, and have been for over 13 years. It is very pleasant and enriching. I like to pass on knowledge, if you don't pass it on, it's not much use. 15,000 people take part each year in our visits to the two sites of the Salins d'Hyères and we welcome about 130 classes from the metropolis, i.e. 5,000 children who come back year after year. It is very encouraging because they will inevitably be sensitive to natural environments and ecology.

Of a reserved nature, but with something in her eyes that translates a deep conviction, Élise Cougnenc comes from a family "that has lived in nature for generations. A small village in the Hérault region near the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park

After a Baccalaureate S, she started a degree in biology in Montpellier, followed by a master's degree in "Biodiversity Management" in Toulouse.

But university is very theoretical, I had to go into the field!

From 2007 to 2009, the young graduate went on several eco-volunteer experiences:

That's how I joined the LPO in Vendée for migration monitoring. Then, I was in charge of welcoming the public on the island of Ré and I went to Guadeloupe to study marine turtles.

She also stopped over in the Var at Soptom* to monitor Hermann's turtles "before getting a fixed-term contract at the CNRS in Chizé, near Niort, for a participative science mission on nesting boxes".

Hired in 2010 at the LPO for a position of nature coordinator on the salt flats of Hyères*, she discovers the two sites and her mission... which she speaks about with the same conviction:

It's varied, interesting. Each outing is different, you never know what species you'll see. And I like the variety of the public: the locals who discover their territory as well as the vacationers who come to meet a new environment. We try to raise awareness, because we only protect what we know, and that starts at a very young age! It is important to give keys of understanding to apprehend an environment. But it's an exchange because we don't have an infused science.

For her, the National Park of Port-Cros is "an essential partner " of the LPO:

We have the same objectives, the same approach, we work on the territory of the Park, so it's important to associate through the brand Esprit parc national. It allows us to support our discourse.

The Vieux Salins site, the oldest in Hyères, "the wildest" according to her, welcomes the public all year round for birdwatching tours.

You can't get enough of it; I particularly like the site in the early hours of the day when everything is quiet, when everyone is sleeping... except the birds!

*Turtle village located at the time in Gonfaron, today in Carnoules
*Property of the Conservatoire du Littoral and managed by the Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolis