“It’s an open-air laboratory”: in the Gironde estuary, on Nouvelle Island, nature is reclaiming its rights

In the Gironde estuary, Nouvelle Island is home to a wealth of flora and fauna. A haven of biodiversity presented to the curious, orchestrated thanks to the renaturation and depolderization program of the land bank

It 's a green haven nestled in the heart of the Gironde estuary, opposite the citadel of Blaye. New Island, which is occasionally open to the public during the summer, welcomed around twenty visitors on Tuesday, July 22. Guided along the paths and dikes, they discovered a discreet but very present fauna.

Grey herons, spoonbills, otters, and coypus now populate this small piece of land, once the domain of vineyard workers known as "îloutes." This diversity of species is the result of an ambitious renaturation program led by the Gironde Departmental Council. No more grape and corn harvests. For the past fifteen years, the Department has changed its approach: rather than containing nature with dikes, it now lets alluvium, mudflats, and reed beds reclaim the island's 300 hectares, thus promoting the restoration of ecosystems essential to biodiversity.

Île Nouvelle has become an "open-air laboratory" for Sébastien Fourcade, head of development and management of sensitive natural areas for the Department. Wearing a parka and blue-rimmed glasses, the man in charge of the renaturation work on the northern part of the island is pleased to see this work bearing fruit. With photos to back it up, he shows visitors the various stages of the site's reconfiguration.

“Protecting biodiversity also means protecting human beings”

"We had to reconnect the island to the estuary, letting the tides flood the areas protected by dikes." A de-polderization process made possible thanks to two locks "and a little help from nature," he smiles. In 2010, Storm Xynthia opened a breach in the northern part, formerly called Bouchaud Island. As the tides changed, the brackish waters carried silt, creating mudflats and reed beds: veritable "nurseries for eels, sea bass, and even mullet."

"Protecting biodiversity also means protecting human beings. Without claiming to change the world, here we are trying to compensate for the general loss of biodiversity," summarizes Sébastien Fourcade. The result is there: 90 species of birds breed on the island, and 180 species have been observed there. Nouvelle Island has become the primary breeding ground in Gironde for the Eurasian spoonbill, a bird recognizable by its long, flat beak. 75 pairs have now been identified.

The small group of curious visitors will discover just as many birds during the guided tour. Wearing an apple-green T-shirt and a jacket emblazoned with the name of the Conservatoire du Littoral, Suzie sets about explaining the workings of this unique ecosystem. "The island is a landscape in motion. Some species come and others go," she emphasizes. "Last week, there were dragonflies galore, for example," pointing to the teasel flowers now devoid of their occupants.

A few meters further on, wingbeats, clicks, and croaks echoed. "Look, it's a purple heron, and it's putting on a show!" exclaimed the guide, amused by the bird. While the more seasoned visitors whipped out their cameras, others, like Pascaline Prion, simply watched the bird trace an arc across the sky.

"You have to be quick to book a visit , " as only two are scheduled by the Department this summer (see below). "Once there, you discover a unique and protected place where nature reclaims its rights," reports the Blayaise.

"On the island, two fellow managers are busy pulling up the baccharis," explains guide Suzie, pointing to a specimen in the alluvial forest. This white, downy, invasive plant forms thickets so dense that it smothers other plant species, disrupting the natural habitats of amphibians and insects. There's a cracking sound, and then a reed disappears under the teeth of a nutria. "As cute as they are, nutria have little naturalistic interest; in fact, we trap them," warns the guide. This vigilance also extends to wild boars, "excellent swimmers," she adds. Keep this in mind for future visits.