Category Archive: Non classé

Welcome Home – Insect Hotels

There is new housing being erected around the campus. Tiny buildings hung from trees, balanced on bricks and suspended from fence posts appeared this week. The English for GCC/Arch students in Caroline Preller’s class researched insect hotel design and then raided the Jardin pontanique’s storage space and upcycled wood from old compost boxes, discarded Design Week projects and even leftover building materials to create housing for pollinators, creepy crawlies and other small folks who make their homes in straw, pine cones and other organic material in order to promote biodiversity on campus.

We are happy to welcome our little friends to their new abodes. Even if we call them insect hotels, we hope they will make themselves at home.

Buds

First buds of rose hip. It is used to produce a very valued jam called « confiture d’englantine » which is also called « confiture de gratte-cul » in French. Text and photo by Titouan

Valentine’s reflection

The pond with the shadow of Jeanne and Juliette making a heart. And because today is Valentine’s day, this picture perfectly represents love. Text and photo by Louna

Rosehips



I decided to take this picture because we can easily see rosehips. I found them really interesting because I never realized that roses could grow fruit (even if it is obvious when you think about it now). This fruit is edible: you need to open them up and take out the spiky fur inside, as it can be itchy on the skin. Then you can actually eat the thin orange layer remaining. Text and photo by Maywenn

Green and gritty

How appalling it is to see all that garbage spread across this little corner of the garden since behind my camera is such a cared-for space and since it is the maybe greenest space of the campus. Text and photo by Pierre-Emmanuel

Alien Egg

This tiny sprout of rhubarb catches our eye because of the bright red of its stem. With its two leaves which resemble antennas, it looks like a little alien egg buried in the soil. Text and photo by Clémence

Invisible gardeners

I took this photo to remind us that behind a garden there are always invisible men and women that struggle against nature to transform it into their own image. Text and photo by Nicolas

Salad burnet

My favorite edible thing during the tour – salad burnet (Pimprenelle in French).  A surprising savor of cucumber and a lovely form! Text and photo by Lamia

Hazel

A catkin of a hazel: a funny and cute name for the « flower ». Spring is coming in the garden of Ecole des Ponts! Text and photo by Eline

Bees

A rare capture of one of the 4 domesticated bees that were in the garden. The crocus it’s on spreads colorful wavelengths, recreating the métaphore of life. One should be aware that bees and flowers are the root of human life. Text and photo by Camille