An exhibition to discover the history of the Eure ponds

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For its second event of the year, the Youth Home, home for all of Courcelles-sur-Seine associates with Solé laughs to set up an exhibition at the village hall of the town located between Gaillon and Les Andelys (Eure). The subject: the ponds of yesterday and today. To discover Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November 2024.

If the links between Courcelles and the Seine valley are the most obvious when we talk about geography, you just need to take the path between the village and Cléry to discover all the richness of the area and all its ponds. We think of the forest pond of Breuil, located in the forest of the same name, but also that of Hole in Crillon.

To the west of the town, walkers who survey the Nightingale Road between Courcelles et Bouafles can discover a new pond whose ecological richness is shown in a table.

Thousands of ponds in the Eure

In total, the technical sheet developed by the CEN Normandy and the Department reports about fifteen ponds in this area.

A small drop when we know that our department has several thousand ponds, but all the same…

Based on this observation, the members of the two associations wanted to set up an exhibition which has a double objective. First, retrace the history of these ponds by describing their numerous historical functions, some of which are still relevant today: watering animals, water reserves available in the event of fire, and a very sensitive subject, participating in the flood regulation…

Then, raise awareness among current generations (population, elected officials, etc.) of the urgent need to protect these wetlands that are ponds in order to effectively preserve biodiversity.

Postcards, workshops, legends of the ponds

In this dual perspective, the organizers rely on numerous supports such as the Planète Mare exhibition which includes a series of posters showing the fauna and flora of the ponds loaned by the Conservatory of Natural Spaces of Normandie.

Visitors will also be able to discover photos and comments from botanists from Évreux on inventory work carried out in and around ponds in the department. To enhance this exhibition, we will also find numerous postcards from Normandy Vexin dating from the 1920s compared with photos taken in July 2024.

The historical functions of the ponds will not be forgotten. Through numerous objects and documents, the exhibition traces the link between the ponds and the washerwomen, the artisanal trades, the making of cider, the raw distillers without forgetting either the watering trough or the fight against fires. The ancestral stories around the ponds will be highlighted such as the Andelysian legend of the washerwoman and the toad.

Local Mares exhibition of yesterday and today, organized by the Foyer des Jeunes, foyer pour tous and Le Solé rit, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Courcelles-sur-Seine village hall . FREE ENTRANCE.

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