Three HABITATS have been created in Taissy. NILS-UDO used vines and shoots that Ruinart's teams had removed from the vineyard to fragment large unitary plots and encourage biodiversity. The oak trunks that support the sculptures were found in the immediate vicinity during maintenance operations by the French National Forests Office. The young pine trees used for the branches came from regenerative work carried out in the Forest of Montbré overlooking the vineyard. Set in trunks three metres above the ground and arranged in a fan shape, the conifers form an umbrella lined with a nest of shoots. Solidly anchored in the earth, these HABITATS do not contain any nails or metal fixations.
BORROWED FROM NATURE
" When I start a project, I don t have any preconceived ideas. I react to the new vegetation or topographies I discover. Natural phenomena attract and inspire me. I have worked with the tides in the North Sea and sand dunes in Namibia. In Ireland, I took the peat used to build stone walls. In North America, while walking around a village, I collected feathers. This is what gave me the idea to make my first Nest. In Reims, I found vine shoots and tree trunks to design these HABITATS." NILS-UDO
Above the vineyard, the Forest of Montbré grows on sandy deposits from the Thanethian period. It offers hiding places and lodgings for rabbits which can easily dig burrows and bats. As part of a regenerative project led by Ruinart, in partnership with the local councils of Taissy and Montbré and the Grand Est region, 10% of the black pines will be removed to allow this wooded area to breathe and help restore biodiversity.
The Forest of Montbré