Grace sufficient

Been wondering what I’ve been doing at A Rocha France, lately?  

Throughout February, under the leadership of our scientific director, Timothee Schwartz, A Rocha France moblized all available volunteers (me included) to take daily topographic measurements on two properties in the Vallee de Baux.  Daily, two ‘topo’ shifts of 2-3 people walked, boated, and waded the marshes and fields of Joyeuse Garde and l’Illon, properties sized 247 and 100 acres, respectively.  The owners of these two properties would like to improve their management of the fragile ‘zone humide,’ or marshland, that extends through their properties.  Much of the Vallee de Baux is below sea level, requiring constant electric pumping to limit to flooding of agricultural fields.  Detailed topographic measurements of Joyeuse Garde and l’Illon will help A Rocha France work more effectively in developing marshland management strategies with these property owners. 

After a month of daily fieldwork, muddy galoshes, and tipped boats, A Rocha France overlaid 2,800 topographic points on a map of the Vallee de Baux.  Through the miracle of GIS technology and the brute labor of A Rocha France volunteers, we can now look at a 3 dimension analysis of nearly 400 acres and better strategize marshland conservation with property stakeholders.