In a time of climate disruption, questioning the future of living beings, and the place of nature in the city, as well as societal movements, the city of Quimper, in Bretagne, France is organizing the 5th edition of the festival “The Time of the Tree” from 01 until 31 October 2024.

Present for millennia, fascinating for its components, shapes, and behaviours, the tree represents a vital resource for society and has always been closely linked to human evolution. Talking about the tree is also about what surrounds it: plants, animals, insects, water. It’s talking about the world. How can we root our knowledge of the living to take a higher perspective and decipher the evolution of our relationship with nature?

The Department of Landscapes, Greening, and Biodiversity of the city of Quimper, the event’s coordinator, aimed to create highlights around the tree and biodiversity, by mobilizing local actors and hosting recognized personalities.

The festival program combines nature and culture, science and art, sensitivity and knowledge, reflection and action. The moments of this festival take place in various forms: conferences, meetings, interventions in school and extracurricular settings, guided tours, knowledge exchanges, book presentations, exhibitions, and cinema. The objective is to offer a wide range of forms of evocation and contact with trees.

CONFERENCES (Free Admission)

UNDER THE TREES… A RELAXED WALK THROUGH ART HISTORY
by Pol Guézennec, artist
Through a projection of images, Pol Guézennec invites you to explore the theme of the tree in art history. He presents and situates different works over time, highlighting the differences and tracing the evolution through the arts up to its persistence in recent times.
In connection with the exhibition “The Museum of Beautiful Trees in the Garden!”
Thursday, October 3, 7 PM

WHAT TREE SPECIES TO PLANT FOR TOMORROW?
By Juliet Abadie, PhD in forest ecology, and Mickaël Jézégou, arboriculture expert
The tree is a valuable ally that contributes to the well-being, resilience, and re-enchantment of our environment. In the face of climatic, social, and economic changes, developing new alliances with trees and planting more of them in our cities and countryside contribute to the progress of living beings and better living together. The choice of species often raises questions among owners and managers.
Through the combined perspectives of Juliet Abadie, PhD in forest ecology and local plant nurseryman, and Mickaël Jézégou, an expert in ornamental arboriculture and author of the book “The Remarkable Trees of Brittany,” a reflection on the choice of trees for tomorrow is proposed.
Friday, October 4, 7 PM

CROSSING THE FORESTS
Meeting with writer Caroline Hinault
Today in Europe, Bialowieza is the last primary forest. It is located in Poland and is threatened by a 187 km long, 5 m high barbed wire fence on the Belarusian border. A deadly barrier for animals attempting to cross it, endangering the migration of certain species. Inspired by events from 2012, Caroline Hinault’s story unfolds in this forest with her three female characters: Véra, a Belarusian journalist forced into exile, Nina, who has returned to settle on the family forest farm, and Alma, who attempts to cross the border. “Crossing the Forests” is both an ode to wild nature, a theatre of dramas and rebirths, and a requiem for a world disappearing under human pressure. (Crossing the Forests, Editions du Rouergue 2024)
Saturday, October 5, 4 PM

THE TREE AND THE INSECT
By Pierre Zagatti, entomologist
Forests harbour numerous insect species of astonishing biological diversity, playing a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. For hundreds of millions of years, trees and insects have cohabited; one serves as food, support, refuge, and shelter, and the other is sometimes harmful but also decomposer and recycler, thus participating in the fertilization of forest soil. Pierre Zagatti, entomologist and PhD in biology, offers to tell you more.
Monday, October 7, 6:30 PM

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND WISDOM: HOW TO RECONCILE WITH THE LIVING?
By Sabah Rhamani, journalist, and anthropologist
What if thinking about the world of tomorrow drew from the roots of humanity? Not as a nostalgic return to distant origins but as a source of inspiration for new societal models more respectful of nature and humans. Papuans, Maasai, Maori, Pygmies, Peul, Tuareg, Sami, Kanak, Kayapo, Kogi, Mapuche… For millennia, these root peoples have offered a prominent place to the living in constant search for social and ecological harmony. For 27 years, Sabah Rhamani has travelled the world to meet them. In her book “Words of Root Peoples, a Plea for the Earth” (Actes Sud), she gathered the voices and testimonies of nineteen of their representatives.
Sabah Rahmani is a journalist, anthropologist, director of the “Voices of the Earth” collection (Actes Sud), and editorial advisor for the magazine Natives of Root Peoples.
Tuesday, October 8, 6:30 PM

AGROFORESTRY… WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
By Emmanuel Torquebiau, graduate in ecology and tropical agroforestry, Annie Bras-Denis, mayor of Plouaret, and Lionel Calvez, bocage technician
Combining trees with crops or livestock is an alternative to industrial agriculture. It regenerates soils, preserves water, safeguards biodiversity, mitigates climate change, and guarantees agricultural and tree production. To discover or discuss this practice, three people will share their experiences with the public: Emmanuel Torquebiau, graduate in ecology and tropical agroforestry, emeritus researcher at CIRAD in Montpellier, Annie Bras-Denis, mayor of Plouaret and vice-president of Lannion Trégor community in charge of the environment, and Lionel Calvez, bocage technician at Sivalodet.
Thursday, October 10, 7 PM

THE REMARKABLE TREES OF BRITTANY
By Mickaël Jézégou
Walking through the Breton countryside, who hasn’t marvelled at a beautiful tree? An inventory of the most remarkable trees of Brittany has been made, and Mickaël Jézégou offers to discover some of them: unusual, exotic, sacred, among the oldest in Europe. A journey through stories of trees and men, testifying to a rich plant and cultural heritage.
Sunday, October 20, 10 AM

RETURNS ON CIARAN… AND AFTER?
By The city of Quimper and local businesses
Almost a year ago, the storm Ciaran hit the Great West. The damage was significant. For several months, the city of Quimper’s tree surgeons, local businesses, the ONF, Enedis, and Orange carried out repair work. This phenomenon is likely to recur, so how can we prepare, anticipate, and intervene better? Through image feedback, we will discuss safety, proposals, and knowledge of trees.
Wednesday, October 23, 6:30 PM

EXHIBITIONS (Free Admission, Self-Guided or Guided Visits)

READING BETWEEN THE TREE RINGS
Produced by the Department of Landscapes, City of Quimper
The tree is elegant in both the city and the countryside, simple and beautiful in every season. It marks space and time. Often we pass by without noticing this living being. Thanks to slices and totems made from trees felled several years ago, the city of Quimper’s tree surgeons present an overview of the plant range of Quimper’s trees. This exhibition will also allow you to discover the construction of trees, their functioning, their evolution, and their reaction to predation.

ROOTS AND TREES
Produced by the Department of Landscapes, City of Quimper
In recent decades, science has made amazing discoveries about trees and their root systems. These giant plants hide incredibly complex machinery and fabulous capabilities that allow them to adapt, sense their environment, and form close interactions with the living organisms around them. The city of Quimper’s tree surgeons created this exhibition, allowing you to enter this fantastic universe.

THE MUSEUM OF BEAUTIFUL TREES IN THE GARDEN!
Produced by the city of Quimper
The Museum of Fine Arts moves to the garden! Reproductions of paintings await you in the Garden of Cultures near the Penhars media library: landscapes from here and elsewhere, seasons, legends, and mythology. The tree is at the heart of paintings throughout the centuries.
(In connection with the conference on Thursday, October 3)

[ART]BORESCENCES
By Tristan Dilosquer, artist
Inspiring and accompanying, the tree is part of Tristan Dilosquer’s life and universe. Form, hue, thickness, sensation, and imagination are represented and worked on with ballpoint pens and pyrography.

ROOTS IMPRINTS
By Sheilla Laclusse, plastic artist and engraver
Nature, plants, and roots are at the heart of Quimper artist Sheilla Laclusse’s work. Nourishing extremities of plants and trees, roots traverse the soil, touch it lightly, and fix themselves in the depths of the earth. The artist researches materials, patterns, graphics, shapes, colours, and techniques, which she crosses and intertwines, thus creating links. Roots mix, help to grow, and allow stability in times of strong turmoil.

CINEMA

OUTSIDE, EVERYONE!
Directed by Anne Jochum
“Outside, Everyone!” is a documentary that offers an immersion into the world of childhood through observational sequences of children in their wanderings, their free-play explorations, their interactions, and their experiences with the living world and nature. Alternating with these sequences, professionals alert us to the issues of children’s construction and development, which are compromised by too much sedentary lifestyle, and also question the longer-term impacts on social cohesion. (In the presence of the director Anne Jochum)
Wednesday, October 2, 7 PM

GUIDED TOURS

The Adventurers of the Woods
Create the original scent of the forest, listen to the songs and calls of birds, take a photo of a leaf without a camera, find a tree while blindfolded, and look at the forest differently with a mirror. Come and experience a sensory adventure in the Keradennec woods.

Among the Great Trees of the Kerbernez Estate
Stéphanie Le Borgne is a landscaper. At the Kerbernez estate where she teaches, there are majestic and centuries-old trees. She offers to introduce you to them in a contemplative walk and answer questions you may have never asked about them…

Quimper, a History of Land and Sea
Quimper and the Sea is a story of water. Combining history, heritage, and reflections on past and present floods, a Sivalodet flood project manager and a guide-lecturer offer a walk along the Odet River to discuss the city’s relationship with the sea.

Wood Memories
Religious statuary, construction elements, printing wood, furniture, and household objects… Wood is the main guest of this visit through the museum’s collections, which honour this ubiquitous plant material in the daily life of the Bretons.

“Roots and Gusts: Urban Trees Facing Climate Hazards”
A time shared with the head of the tree heritage of the city of Quimper and a guide-lecturer from the House of Heritage to discover the impact of climate disruption and hazards on Quimper’s trees and their environment. (In connection with the conference on October 23 “Returns on Ciaran…and after?”)

Tell Me, This Tree… Native or Introduced Species?
Many species of trees and plants line the banks of the Steir River. What are their names, and how to identify them? What are their origins, histories, and journeys? To answer these questions, a naturalist guide from Bretagne Vivante invites you to walk with him.

Quimper, a History of Confluences
Quimper is traversed by three rivers of unequal importance: the Odet, the Steïr, and the Frout. The city’s development and the canalization of the river network, combined with meteorological phenomena amplified by tides, have caused historic floods in the 20th century. During a walk, a Sivalodet flood project manager and a guide-lecturer will tell you water stories from past and present.

Discovering Animal Tracks and Signs
Wild animals are difficult to see but are very much present around us! They leave signs of their passage along a path, by a tree, or at the base of a stump… Let’s learn to find and identify them to understand the lives of these elusive animals. And if we’re lucky, we can make casts of their tracks.

The Birds of Kermabeuzen
A walk with a naturalist guide from the LPO to learn or perfect your knowledge of birds. With ears listening, eyes alert, and binoculars for better viewing: woodpeckers, nuthatch, treecreepers, and others will soon hold no secrets for you!

Le Frugy, a Forest in the City, Family Explorers
With family, in boots or sneakers, and accompanied by a guide, we invite you to a fun climb of Mont Frugy. Discover the history and trees of our Quimper Mountain, a natural area listed as a historic monument in 1911. An opportunity to read the landscape from above.

Trees in All Senses, Family Outing
In the Penhars neighbourhood, there are many trees: tall, small, beautiful, strange, fragrant, and scentless but all unique. During a walk, through sensory games, guides offer to help you (re)discover them.

AUTUMN FLOWER MARKET (Free Admission)
An unmissable autumn event: the city of Quimper and around sixty exhibitors, producers, nurserymen, associations, and artisans will be present to offer you a range of trees, plants, bulbs, seeds, garden decorations, products derived from algae or plants, and advice, lunch on-site included.
Sunday, October 13