Are you a teacher from nursery school to secondary school or a leisure centre leader?
We can help you discover the Normandy-Maine Park and Geopark area: visit the Maison du Parc and the Geopark, take a workshop at the Musée du Poirée, go on a nature outing to one of the educational geosites or discover the area's museums, etc.
The Park and Geopark and its partners in the education network can also help you define an interdisciplinary project in the region.
EDUCATIONAL GEOSITES
THE GEOPARK CENTRE
1. The Park and Geopark Centre [61. Carrouges - France]
The Maison du Parc et du Géoparc is open all year round by reservation.
Visit the museum area: the museum area is a showcase for the area and invites you to discover its natural and cultural riches. A discovery booklet specially designed for pupils at different levels (cycle 3 - cycle 4) enables your pupils to explore the exhibition independently. Guided tours can be organised on request for secondary schools.
Self-guided nature workshop with the Lily trunk: this trunk for children aged 3 to 7 is designed to help children discover their surroundings (ordinary nature) by using their senses. They will explore the natural world by learning about nature. They will discover insects, and more specifically the ant, which uses its antennae as sensory sensors. The Lily trunk is available at the Maison du Parc in Carrouges. It can be used on site or borrowed free of charge for a period. The activities are designed for groups of 5 children maximum.
Visit to the educational garden: inspired by the Middle Ages, this garden is made up of 4 squares that recreate the gardens of the canons who lived on the site in the Middle Ages. It features plants that were useful at the time for their medicinal and dyeing virtues, as well as for food and decorative purposes. A discovery booklet (cycle 2, cycle 3 and collège) enables pupils to understand the role of the garden at the time and to explore it through fun activities. You can also discover the Maison du Parc's seed library, and why not take some seeds with you to plant at school?
2. The Perry Museum [50. Barenton - France]
The Perry Museum is open all year round by prior arrangement.
Visit the museum area: the Musée du Poiré, housed in an old farmhouse in the Normandy bocage, displays astonishing collections on the development of cider-making products and techniques. The museum showcases the know-how of the past and present, as well as the natural riches of the region, thanks to its conservatory orchard, where your pupils can discover no fewer than a hundred varieties of apples and pears. Guided tours for secondary schools are available on request.
Juice workshops: as autumn sets in, the apple and pear trees in the museum orchard are bursting with fruit, which falls to the ground ready to be picked. The museum team invites you to make your own juice from A to Z and discover all the stages involved in producing apple and pear juice. From picking the fruit in the orchard to bottling it, crushing it and pressing it, there's not a single step missing. All levels. From September to November, on request.
Special one-day visit: to discover the richness of our region, its specific features and the variety of local products it offers, a specially adapted one-day programme can be offered to technical or vocational high schools. Divided into two distinct parts, the day will include a guided tour of the museum followed by a meeting with a producer of Domfront Poiré (PDO). These two complementary activities will enable you to explore certain themes in greater depth and see how farming techniques and machinery have evolved.
LOCAL MUSEUMS
3. Maison des dentelles [61. Argentan - France]
Maison des Dentelles is a museum dedicated to Norman lace, in particular needlepoint lace from Argentan and Alençon, renowned for its finesse. The educational programme is tailored to school groups, from nursery to high school. We offer a range of activities for school groups, from nursery school to high school, enabling them to discover the collections through hands-on activities, games and creative projects.
4. Iron Museum [61. Dompierre - France]
From the Middle Ages until the middle of the 19th century, iron ore was mined in open-cast mines in the Orne department. It was transformed into metal locally in forges with low furnaces, then in large forges with high furnaces. This mining heritage is highlighted by the iron trail (a discovery trail of the main mining heritage sites in the Bocage Ornais: mines, pitheads, calcination furnaces, towns, etc.) and the iron house (museum).
5. Lace Museum [61. Alençon - France]
The craft of Alençon needlepoint lace was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 16 November 2010.
6. Museum of ceramics - creation centre [50. Ger - France]
Take a tour of this typical hamlet in the Mortainais bocage and discover the life and work of the Ger potters from the 15th to the early 20th century. Using local natural resources and an exceptional clay, more than 700 workers made stoneware pots in industrial quantities, mainly for preserving and transporting foodstuffs, such as the famous Isigny butter.
7. Archéoferme de l'Etinbulle [53. Pré-en-Pail-Saint-Samson - France]
This archaeo-farm traces the development of farming know-how from prehistoric times through to mechanisation. Elements of historical or archaeological reconstructions - such as dwellings or pieces of handicraft - are fitted out to highlight a technique or practice. There are constant references to ancient historical periods, from prehistory to the present day. This allows us to take a step back and place ourselves in a shared past.
8. Prehistory Museum [61. Rânes - France]
This museum tells the story of ancient occupation of the Orne department, and in particular the importance of Neanderthal man and the exceptional site of Saint-Brice-sur-Rânes (the largest flint-cutting workshop in northern France).
9. Château de Carrouges [61. Carrouges - France]
The Château de Carrouges is considered to be one of the two jewels of Normandy's heritage. For seven centuries, the same family built, furnished and enriched it, shaping the landscape, the economy and the artistic and cultural life in the heart of the Orne region.
SENSITIVE NATURAL SITES
10. The Perron Pond [61. Saint-Gervais-du-Perron - France]
This pond near Alençon is one of the Orne's sensitive natural areas. Wetlands, meadows and woodland provide an opportunity to discover biodiversity through the seasons.
11. The Lande-Forêt pond [61. Le Grais - France]
At the heart of the departmental forest of Le Grais, the pond hides a great diversity. On its wild, undisturbed north bank, there is a peat bog and a marshy wood where willows intertwine in a magical atmosphere. In fine weather, a large number of dragonflies occupy the site and Droseras (carnivorous plants) flower on the peat bog.
GEOLOGICAL SITES
The region is home to a rich geological heritage of international significance. Some sites are animated, while others are freely accessible and self-guided.
If you'd like to find out more about the region's significance, we invite you to retrace the 600 millions years of its history.
12. The Carrière des Vaux Regional Nature Reserve [61]
A unique geological feature of the Armorican Massif. In its green setting, this small quarry from which grey marble was extracted, which has not been exploited since the end of the 19th century, bears witness to a rare very hard limestone dating back 445 million years. This limestone deposit, the only one of its kind in the Presqu'île de Crozon, is also remarkable for containing tiny fossils of conodonts, an extinct species of animal and the first known fossil vertebrate. Invisible to the naked eye, these fossils make it possible to date the rock and reconstruct the geography and living environments of those distant times. At just 0.32 hectares, it's the smallest nature reserve in France.
13. Bagnoles de l'Orne Regional Nature Reserve [61]
Between scree slopes and fossil remains, the commune of Bagnoles de l'Orne in Normandy is home to a formidable geological heritage, part of which has been classified as a Regional Nature Reserve since 2018. The Roc au chien is a scree quarry (Armorican sandstone scree) that bears witness to the cold periods of glaciation that have succeeded one another over the last 2 million years. In addition to its geological interest, this area is also of interest for its particular biodiversity, with certain species of spiders and lichens such as liver mosses.
Another geological feature is the Béatrix slab and the flat stone slab. These outcrops of Armorican sandstone contain numerous fossil remains, including Rusophycus, Skolithos and lingulid burrows, enabling us to reconstruct ancient sedimentation environments.
14. The Iron Route [61]
Open-pit mining between the 14th and mid-19th centuries, the ore was used to fuel furnaces and forges in the surrounding area, producing iron for blacksmiths, nail makers and farriers in the bocage. Between 1901 and 1970, the ore was extracted from shafts and galleries sunk more than 400 m underground, and calcined to enrich its iron content before being shipped by train to the Denain-Anzain ironworks in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. This tour takes in some surprising mining remains: iron mine shafts, calcination furnaces from before and after 1938, and a mining town.
15. Rouperroux quarry [61]
This open-air quarry occasionally opens its doors to institutions wishing to find out more about the geological history and exploitation of ignimbrites, the characteristic rocks of this part of the region. A tour (by bus) of the quarry provides an insight into how it works and how it is organised. Ignimbrites are formed from the debris of acidic lava produced by volcanic eruptions in the region several million years ago. The extraction method as well as the manufacture of the different materials will be presented.
SENSITIVE NATURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SITES
16. The Petits Riaux peat bog [61. La lande-de-Goult - France]
For a long time, peat bogs had a bad image and were devoid of any interest. However, this is not the case - quite the contrary... A real reservoir of water and an important part of our natural heritage, where carnivorous plants, amphibians and many other species live side by side, they deserve to be studied!
17. Les Gorges de Villiers [61. Saint-Georges-de-Rouelley - France]
A site combining a mosaic of natural environments that make this majestic site so characteristic of our region. On this walk, you'll discover woodland, moorland, scree, peat bogs and a river that is home to some exceptional flora and fauna.
18. La Fosse-Arthour [61. Domfront-en-Poiraie]
Located on the border between the departments of Orne and Manche, La Fosse Arthour is an exceptionally rich site from both a natural and cultural point of view. Between the geological fault known as the "cluse" and the summit of the sandstone ridges, wetlands and dry moorland exist side by side. The wild and mysterious character of the area is the stuff of legends...
19. The Domfront Cluse [61]
Domfront is located on the edge of the Armorican Massif. It is famous for its cluse, which cuts into the Armorican sandstone, and its torrential streams. Domfront offers a narrow landscape, dominated by its ruined castle.
20. The Valley of Misère [72]
Narrowed in the heart of the Alpes Mancelles, this steep-sided valley overlooked on either side by rocky bars and scree dating from the Quaternary Armorican sandstone, forms a very picturesque site of remarkable interest, not only geologically but also in terms of landscape, unique in the Pays de la Loire region. A sensitive natural area in the Sarthe department, this scree is made up of moorland, dry grassland and woodland, home to an abundance and diversity of pioneer vegetation (mosses and lichens), including several species that are rare in the region.
21. La Corniche de Pail [53]
In the north-east of the département, the Corniche de Pail is a remarkable natural site, unique in Europe. It stretches along an 8km Armorican sandstone ridge that rises to a height of 383m. Situated as an extension of Mont des Avaloirs, it is one of the most important migratory routes for birds in the département. The wild character of the heather moors, emblematic of the Armorican Massif, reveals a unique atmosphere that changes with the seasons.
22. The Mortain waterfalls [50]
The geosite of the Mortain waterfalls allows you to observe the cluses of the Cance and Cançon rivers, carved into the Armorican Sandstone formation of Middle to Lower Ordovician age. There are 2 waterfalls on the site, but the Grande Cascade, with its 25-metre drop, is the more impressive of the two, with a substantial flow in its unique rocky setting, carved out by the passage of the Cance through the Armorican sandstone.
THEY BRING LIFE TO THE AREA: THE SPECIALIST PLAYERS
CPIE Collines Normandes
From nursery school to secondary school, or for leisure centres, the CPIE team can adapt to your projects to offer participative activities or events that bring pupils into contact with nature. These activities offer sensory, experimental or imaginary approaches, while respecting the natural environment, the values of sustainable development and scientific rigour.
Type of support : educational project, nature activities, workshops, participative science, equipment loan
Themes: biodiversity- geology/sciences- sustainable development- landscapes/natural environments- food - water-energy/housing
France nature environnement
Together with our staff and volunteers, we take practical action to improve respect for the environment by everyone in Sarthe. Our skills: leading groups, advising associations and individuals, nature outings and workshops, legal action, etc. With FNE Sarthe, let's become eco-citizens!
Type of support: educational projects, nature activities, workshops, equipment loans.
Topics: nature/biodiversity, sustainable development, food, water, energy and housing.
Interlude
Guided tours and educational workshops for classes, in museums or on site, to discover geology, prehistory or the heritage of forges and mines. We can provide support for educational projects on these or other local cultural heritage themes.
Type of support: educational project - guided tour - workshops
Subjects covered: - geology/science - prehistory - mining heritage
CPIE Mayenne-Bas-Maine
The CPIE aims to help improve the quality of the environment and enhance its value. The aim of the association is to ensure that every citizen and every player in the region is informed, concerned and acts with respect for natural resources and for sustainable development.
Type of support: educational project- nature activity- guided tour- guide- workshop- participative science- equipment loan
Topics covered: nature/biodiversity - geology/sciences - sustainable development - landscapes - natural environments - food/water
Synergies
The Synergies association mobilises the people of Mayenne in the fight against climate change. It is campaigning for an ecological transition based on solidarity and fairness, one that saves energy and natural resources and preserves the future of people and ecosystems.
Synergies draws on the motivation and desire to act of its members, the NégaWatt concept and the objectives of Sustainable Development.
Type of support: educational project, workshops
Topics covered: Sustainable development, energy and housing
Brindibulle
Brindibulle is a micro-company specialising in environmental education, as well as a CPN (Knowledge and Protection of Nature) club called "Les lutins des bois". It works with schools, leisure centres, social centres, the general public, etc.
Type of support: nature activities - educational project
Themes: nature/biodiversity - water - sustainable development
D'Ecouves Verte
D'Ecouves Verte is an association for popular, civic and environmental education. It was founded in 1992, and since then we've all been working to set up projects that combine encounters, exchanges and sharing. We have two main areas of activity: local events and youth work.
Type of suppor : Nature activities - Workshops
Themes: Nature/ Biodiversity- Sustainable development- know-how and traditions