Icade finalizes the extension of the urban forest of its Portes de Paris park

The green lung of the Portes de Paris park, this urban forest, work on which began in 2020, now covers 15.000 m2 and brings together around 1.500 trees, constituting a cooling and rainwater management zone.

Upstream, landscape studies were carried out by Icade with the support of the Michel Desvigne agency and CDC Biodiversité. They made it possible to identify the principles of organization of green spaces within the Parc des Portes de Paris and the creation of a landscape figure organized as an “archipelago” set comprising both a preserved secondary core and relay spaces . A landscape network made up of valleys ensures the management of rainwater and guarantees ecological continuity between these different green spaces.

The heart of the system is a 15.000 m2 space organized into 2 distinct areas:

• Accessible lawns, such as clearings, which invite relaxation and contemplation.
• Undergrowth, framing all of these grassy areas, made up of different plant strata and different species capable of resisting temperature variations. They constitute a favorable base for biodiversity. Inaccessible, these undergrowths are crossed by a few paths which allow you to observe the flora and fauna which develop on these areas. Several observation workshops, in conjunction with the National Museum of Natural History, have already been organized in this forest.

This urban forest is a soil renaturation and carbon storage project. It makes it possible to reconcile urbanization, environmental and societal issues. Ultimately, this forest will allow the storage of around 200 tonnes of CO2 over a period of 30 years, half of which would come from the re-naturalization of the soil to change it from a carbon-free and totally mineral soil to a more forested soil. . The other part of storage will be provided by the 1.500 planted plants and the associated wood production.

For park users, this new space allows them to actively observe biodiversity thanks to the participatory science program “Pause Nature”, in partnership with the National Museum of Natural History and CDC Biodiversité, which allows data to be collected on pollinators. , nesting birds and hedgehogs in urban areas.

The extension of the Urban Forest is part of a vast renaturation project for the Portes de Paris park undertaken for several years as part of Icade's biodiversity commitments.