Raymond Mayné nature reserve in Torgny

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Presentation

Situated north of the village and facing south, the nature reserve stretches on a nearly-six-hectare surface; it belongs to the association "Ardenne et Gaume" and to the district of Rouvroy. It enjoys a warm and dry climate and consists of old quarries, limy lawns and thickets.The limy lawn is called "truche" by Gaume’s farmers. This word mentions the drought and aridity of the ground. It is characterized by the predominance of shot herbaceous plants. The limy lawn results from the deforestation, the three-year crop rotation, the pasture extensive on the fallows and from the burning of grasses by common fires at the end of winter. The giving up of those ancestral agro-pastorals practices leads inevitably the limy lawns to a natural bush-covering, which the reserve managers try to lessen.Nowadays still, we can discover a fauna and a flora similar to those we find in Mediterranean countries: cicadas, grasshoppers, praying mantises, butterflies, lizards, grass snakes, orchids and other rare plants.Its unique characteristic? This nature reserve has a warm and dry climate... almost Mediterranean!Covering an area of 6 hectares, this reserve features old quarries and calcareous grasslands. The flora and fauna are very specific and rather surprising as they have a Mediterranean character. You can therefore find, among other things, narrow-leaved flax, thyme, mother-of-thyme, orchids and various other rare plants. If you take a detour from the footpath you may also get the chance to meet a praying mantis, cicadas, grasshoppers, lizards, grass snakes and a variety of beautiful butterflies. Basically another world... Please note, orchids are a protected species, please do not pick them.

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