Wildlife & Wine Conservation Holiday in Bordeaux, France

In the heart of France's picturesque and world-renowned wine growing region of Bordeaux, you’ll be introduced to the biodiversity associated with viticulture at Chateau Les Vergnes. After receiving an overview of viticulture and the science on which the biodiversity enhancement project is based from Dr Maarten Van Helden, you’ll monitor and assess the biodiversity of the vineyard. As a volunteer, you’ll also help test and improve current viticulture methods, and help researchers gather data to provide feedback to farmers on how farming practices in a working vineyard could be modified to benefit surrounding wildlife.

You'll stay at Domaine du Moulin des Sandaux, in wooden chalet style bungalows on either side of a small stream around an old mill house building. Each bungalow has several bedrooms, as well as bathrooms with hot showers and a small living room. You will meet in the main house for meals and presentations, and can enjoy afternoons by the pool. A cook will provide typical French cuisine, including local and homemade delicacies.

The Château is located to the south of the Dordogne River amid gently rolling hills. The vineyard, which covers 120 hectares, is bordered on one side by a low-lying stream known as la Gravouse. While the area is dominated by grape production, the landscape also includes small patches of woodland and plantations, meadows and arable fields. The meadows are notable for their floral richness including several orchid species.

The Château itself is typical of the area. Built in the 18th century and enclosing a large central courtyard, only a few rooms are in a usable condition at present. Several of these rooms will be used for lectures and discussions and a field laboratory will be also be set up at the Château.

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival, safety briefing, nature trail, and orientation

Day 2: Training on botany to prepare the monitoring on Day 3; Set up traps for arthropods

Day 3: Collecting data on botany on the experimental plot with different ground cover seed mixtures; Collecting soil samples and extraction of meso-fauna (takes two days)

Day 4: Collection of botany samples on the experiment two.

Day 5: Collecting samples from the traps set up on Tuesday, training on RBA insect identification and analyses of the samples; Collecting soil samples and extraction of meso-fauna (2^nd observation)

Day 6: OPTIONAL: Visit Saint Emilion

Day 7: Rest and relax at Moulin des Sandaux

Day 8: Work on collected arthropods

Day 9: One-day expedition to the vineyard of Saint Emilion to participate in the Landscape project

Day 10: Analyses of meso-fauna collected on Days 3 and 5; All data recording will be finished; Designing a mini-project protocol together with Earthwatch scientists

Day 11: Volunteers run their own mini research projects as a fun and scientific conclusion to the expedition; Selection of best photos to propose for the contest; Celebratory dinner at the Château

Day 12: Presentation of mini-project results; Photo-contest; Debriefing and departure for Bordeaux.

Is this trip for you?
At the start of each day, the Earthwatch Scientists and the student research assistants will provide basic practical training for participants to carry out field sampling for each of the main research topics: herbaceous plants and arthropods. Further practical training will be given by the project team as they accompany the groups in the field.

Volunteers should be prepared and able to hike up to five kilometers (three miles) each day carrying a daypack with everything needed for the day. There will not be a great deal of equipment to carry, but you should be able to carry your own personal items.