The stay

Like science Science La science est désormais l’affaire de tous. Découvrez la science d’une manière ludique et active. Nous vous proposons d’en découvrir plus sur nos expéditions à la voile, découverte du plancton. explorers from the Amazon, but in Drôme instead, you will be hooked to a rope, which will allow you to climb through the trees with astonishing ease.

But to do what exactly? It is by participating in the research program Research Program Collaborate with scientific organizations. Actively take part in participative science research programs. All this is possible with our plankton discovery sailing expedition. and by mastering the different climbing techniques, that you will familiarize yourself with the observation techniques of flora and fauna and to participate in the development of true scientific protocols.
This year we will realize our new study subject: the impact of climate change on the study of processionary caterpillars and their predators!
The treetops will not only be an area used to study science Science La science est désormais l’affaire de tous. Découvrez la science d’une manière ludique et active. Nous vous proposons d’en découvrir plus sur nos expéditions à la voile, découverte du plancton. , but during the stay, it will also become our dining area and our bedroom…

France Report 2 :

Holidays 2015 :

Equipment used

Harness, microscope, magnifying binoculars, laboratory glassware, petri dishes, binoculars, fauna and flora identification keys, dendrometer made with the help of a 3D printer, entomologist equipment (sweep nets, Japanese umbrellas, insect vacuum cleaner), topographic map, GPS, vivarium, camera traps, decametre, temperature sensor, anemometer, hammocks.

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Concepts learned during your stay

Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Recognize the trees, study their development, discovery of galls and lichens, study the state of health of a forest, classify and identify the insects, observe birds, contribute to the development of the fauna and flora inventory. Study the impacts by tracking the natural spaces and look for hints regarding the quality of the ecosystem. The observation of plant cells, take part in splitting the tissue (leaf, stem…) and analyze biodiversity.

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Your stay will take place in a canopy. How long will you be able to stay in the air without putting a single foot on the floor? It will be up to you to tell us!
Your project will allow you to spend most of your time in the trees, which will allow you to distinguish and differentiate them, but also to study their state of health and their evolution. What types of trees live in what areas, at which altitudes and why? Show me a tree and I will tell you which subsoil they are protecting and why they are there!

However, a forest is also a place of life where many species are hiding, eating and flourishing. Therefore, we will search for them in order to observe them! But how?
Maybe by building lookouts, wooden cabins, or even platforms in the trees…. although have you ever climbed trees? Is climbing trees a familiar feeling to you? This works out then, as this stay may lead to an activity framed around tree climbing.
You will learn how to mold foot prints that were left by the wild animals, and how to use binoculars and camera traps to obtain visual observations.
Our studies will allow us to travel from the big to microscopic, deer to mushrooms, lichens to xylophagous insects (wood eaters), tree tops to roots (or the reverse!) and we will get to discover, with a magnifying glass in hand, the symbiosis of certain mushrooms.
The field, which is rich in sampling and observations, will allow us to take part in laboratory sessions to try some experiments with plants (photosynthesis, the greenhouse effect) and take our time identifying and learning to use the tools of identification.

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The research

The Up Amongst the Trees holiday is part of the PERCEPTION Research Program Research Program Collaborate with scientific organizations. Actively take part in participative science research programs. All this is possible with our plankton discovery sailing expedition. , which seeks to better understand the relationships between all living things in an ecosystem, in order to propose innovative and ecological solutions for agricultural production and the management of forests.
As a matter of fact, the forest is also a resource for mankind. If it is well managed, it provides us with the materials required for construction and energy… however, can it also feed and heal us?
In many countries, the trees compete with farmland and sometimes they barely survive deforestation…therefore, can we grow a forest? Why are we seeing farmers planting trees in their fields to increase the quantity of their crops? Can rich ecosystems and food resources cohabit?
This is what the project wishes to highlight by making us actors to our own answers… experiment to understand, explore to know…

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The Location

The Musiflore holiday centre is located in the Provence of Drôme, between the small town of Dieulefit and the village of Bordeaux. This part of Drôme is renowned for being part of the municipalities of the biovalley, who’s aim is to develop and arrange a European rural territory for a sustainable development (http://www.biovallee.fr). Also, it is a dynamic and preserved area, where the risk of contamination by pesticides are low and the rivers are more likely to be healthy. Speaking of rivers, Drôme is also known for unintentional, but also festive, swimming. Near the centre, we will have access to a beautiful place where it’s possible to go swimming in one of the tributary streams of Drôme: Roubion.

The agricultural, cultural, and artistic context of this part of France makes it a privileged location. As a matter of fact, we are able to go by foot and visit agricultural farms, particularly the goat farms who produce the famous Picodon, a renowned cheese, in a family-friendly environment. Twenty minutes from Musiflore’s centre, there is a small town of Dieulefit, which is made up of an old city centre, offering us, on a weekly basis, a large market where artists and craftsmen are alongside local producers. On the other side, Bourdeaux is a small town which possesses ruins of an old castle and a medieval centre that hosts once a summer, a great medieval festival that ends with a magnificent display of fireworks. All these activities, which are done in accordance to the summer schedule and the desires of participants, brings about more culture to our scientific activities and allows us to have a more integrated approach to the territory.

Vue aérienne de la forêt de Saou, et de cette formation géologique particulière : le synclinal perché.

In regards to fauna and flora, this region has not been left behind. Griffon vultures pass over the centre. We can also find many species of orchids and it is also not uncommon to cross a deer or protected insects.

The hiking trails in this region offer beautiful landscapes, for instance, just behind the centre about 500 m above sea level (approximately 3 hour walk at a leisurely pace), the views are striking!
A little further away, just a few miles by bike behind the small village of Saou, is a forest of the same name, nestled in an inverted syncline (geological formation that is very unique). In short, the landscape is more than pleasant.
Our activities in Drôme are integrated into an ecological approach, which means it is where science and manual activities, culture and nature, are associated to the daily life and allow the participants to grow… and our team!

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Notre spot de baignade, le Picodon est l’occasion de visiter des fermes productrices de ce fromage local à succès, la faune et la flore sont très riches, ici une orchidée (Ophrys insectifera).

The daily life on site

During your stay, your role will be to catch insects and identify them, collect leaves and flowers and identify their names.
And if you have the chance during your many ballads to discover a footprint, you will be able to mold it and try to identify which animal it belongs to.

You will have the chance to meet the local actors who deal with biodiversity. From community leaders or by passing the guards of the NOF or forest land owners, the sessions promise to be rich in information.
The goal will be to unlock the secrets of the forest. To discover the fauna and flora found in the forest and to understand the interest; to understand the biodiversity as well as the ecosystems.

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The team

After completing a Master’s degree in Biology of Organisms and Populations from the University of Burgundy in 2011, she joined the NGO Objective Sciences International NGO in June 2012 ,and became a scientific Educator at the Biotech Connection camp.
In 2013, she accepted a position as Manager of the PERCEPTION research program.
Since then, she has coordinated various camps, such as “Up Amongst the Trees”, “Along the River”, and even “The Soil and its Secrets”.
Solène also coordinates the PERCEPTION programs’ expedition in the Amazon. (discover it on this website) : Please note that spaces are limited!

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Accommodation

De verts et vastes espaces pour de folles activités.

The Musiflore holiday centre is surrounded by nature, with approximately 48 ha of land, shared with forests and prairies. The local land owners welcome us, provided that we respect their work (ex. do not go in the fields prior to mowing) and inform them. We will find ourselves in a immense field of discoveries and adventures, where the size of our strides is our only limit.

The centre, which has recently been renovated, has many rooms for activities, small or large.

On this stay, it is in the hanging tree tents that you will sleep, and all this will be done with greatest measurements of safety!

The meals will sometimes be eaten at the Centre, located in the immediate vicinity, and sometimes in the campgrounds of the Tree Climbers! Often outside and always in the shade due to hot weather, which is always pleasant.

Showers are taken at the Holiday Centre on a daily basis.

The Holiday Centre also possesses an auditorium equipped with all the required material to produce shows of all types. Other buildings, a little bit further, consisting of an old farm, which has also been recently renovated, has a bread oven that is still in operation. Therefore, we will often make bread, or maybe even …. some pizza!

This fits into our goals that are linked to the impact on ecology. In this centre, we have focused our approach around nourishment. This location is ideal due to local production being important and a number of farmers being respectful towards the environment (the centre is located in a community called a biovalley, which is committed to an environmentally friendly agriculture). Also, participants consume the bread that they produce (two to three days per week, for the time being) and they also make their own snacks. The menus are lighter in terms of meat products and are well thought out in order to provide all the nutrients required in terms of energy, which will be found in fresh produce. This is possible due to the close collaboration with the whole Musiflore Centre’s team.

As a matter of fact, the Musiflore centre is also integrated into an ecological approach (wood boiler, numerous awareness signs, concerns with the energy balance, healthy nourishment, etc…).
We also try to reduce the amount of movements, our consumption on printing, purchasing of recyclable products in terms of food, etc…
In and around the centre, we have everything that we will need for our activities: open fields for great games and for the take-off of drones, extensive forests to explore and study, prairie fringed orchids, large and impressive trees, rivers to study or to swim in…
The Musiflore centre is therefore perfect in order to have fun inside or outside!

During this vacation, you will live in the heart of your research project. As a matter of fact, this stay will be 100% nature! It is in the middle of the trees that you will have the chance to wake up every morning. Afterwards, you will put in place various protocols in the forest and you will familiarize yourself with the different techniques of climbing trees.
No worries, sanitation (toilets and showers), hot water, and hot meals will be guaranteed!
On the occasion of evenings consisting of campfires, you will learn how to master a fire (efficiency and heat) and to manage it in complete safety. However, a grilled marshmallows contest is not excluded !

Log Book

http://www.prog-perception.com/Au-f...

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For those interested in following the adventures of the PERCEPTION Research Program, you can like and share the " OSI PERCEPTION” page via facebook.

Access and Discoveries

Provence, Lavender, and Oak Forests :

Click on this link if you would like to preview all the stays that are provided by the Scientific Stay Centre OSI Provence.

Location of the Holiday Centre

At the heart of the preserved area, 49 hectares of prairies and forests :
The youth will be accommodated in nicely equipped rooms with 2 to 6 spots, in the Musiflore centre located in Crupies, the heart of Provences’s Prealps since 1966.
Entirely renovated, this building is used for activities like music, artistic expression, and the discovery of nature, which is also well suited for science and culture activities of the NGO.

It is via Lyon and Valence that we will organize the accompanied transfers from all cities. If you come by your own means, there are different access points offered depending on your point of origin or your final destination, if you are bringing your children for a larger trip.
Paris - Crupies is done in 3 hours and a half from door to door by the Mediterranean LGV.

Access to the Musiflore Centre :

When arriving from Lyon or Grenoble from Highway A7: Exit at 15 Valence South. Take the D111 in the direction of Die / Gap. Bypass Crest and go towards Nyons / Bourdeaux (D538) all the way to Bourdeaux. Continue on the D70 towards Nyons all the way to Crupies. Pass Crupies and go towards Vesc / Nyons. The Musiflore Centre is located 2 km from Crupies, on the left.

When arriving from Avignon - Marseille on highway A7: take exit 18 Montélimar south. Follow D540 towards Dieulefit. At Dieulefit, take Nyons and La Paillette. Continue towards Vesc and Crupies. The Musiflore Centre is 3 km from Vesc on the right, just before the Crupies village.

To arrive on site you may :

• Arrive on site by your own means (you will received the time of the appointment by email)
• Organize a departure from all cities of the world: Contact-us for more information
  • Or come by train or minibus from your city
  • Or come by plane : Contact us for more information

The Centres address :
Musiflore Centre
Combe de Garaux
26460 Crupies
Tel. at the local rate from France : 09 72 21 57 59
Tel. at the normal rate from Canada and the USA : 011 33 9 72 21 57 59
Tel. at the normal rate from other countries : 00 33 9 72 21 57 59

This Centre allows us to experience the stays immersed in nature, and we will benefit from many activity rooms based on the infrastructure of the property. A large room will allow the organization of big bangs and the retransmissions of your children, where Saturday afternoons will also be used.

We must warn you that the region is filled with all kinds of activities, streams to discover, prairies to explore, forests to walk through…

And all of this in the sun !

Vue aérienne de la forêt de Saou, et de cette formation géologique particulière : le synclinal perché.

The country of BOURDEAUX, is the Saoû forest, which is the most exceptional natural site of the department! However, it is also a land filled with light contrasts, thirsty stones, marls, wood undergrowth and scrubland with thyme and lavender. A little piece of paradise of Drômes Prealps between Vercors and Provence.

The village of Crupies is a small town characterized by its absence of a village centre, but whose fame is assured by Musiflore and by the St Jean Chapel (XIth Century). From the top of the hill, it dominates and monitors the Roubion river, which shines in the sun.

Crupies is a village where life is good. It perpetuates a good tradition of conviviality.

Parents may also decide to take advantage of a hotel in the region, whether it is the day prior to their arrival or to attend the Retransmission of their children on the Saturday afternoon (eve of the departure on Sunday). The parents can also profit from the region during the whole length of the stay.
In addition to the many hotels and inns available in the area, the Musiflore Vacation Centre, where the stay will take place, is also at your disposal for the Saturday and Sunday night.