It’s back to work for the association, which has been busy over the summer months. Several of our members travelled to Brest for the Fêtes Maritimes 2024.
From 12 to 17 July, the sea was in the spotlight, with festivities, conferences, dances and songs punctuating life in Brest. More than 500,000 people turned out to share in this UNFORGETTABLE event!
A talk by Stéphane Buord
On 15 July, Stéphane Buord, Scientific Director of International Activities at the Conservatoire Botanique de Brest, gave a talk for the Lapérouse Albi France association entitled “La Boussole and botanical science: the Noah’s Ark of our time”.
The Brest Botanical Conservatory is one of twelve botanical conservatories in mainland France and its overseas territories involved in studying, supporting, preserving and raising awareness of wild plant heritage. Set up in 1975, it has provided and continues to provide knowledge of wild plants and natural environments. Their conservation work involves supporting professionals, providing information and educating young people.
The Lapérouse expedition and the preservation of botanical species
In 1986, during an excavation expedition in Vanikoro, archaeologists collected banksia seeds and exhibited them in the Nouméa museum. Despite several efforts to conserve the plant, it was declared extinct in 1990. Jean-Yves Lesouëf, founder of the Conservatoire Botanique de Brest, and Stéphane Buord then undertook new work. Seeds were brought back to Brest in 2010. Their study led to the creation of “innovative processes and the pursuit of scientific research on other species”.
Stéphane Buord’s talk, which took place on board the ship Hydrograaph, focused on a fascinating and revolutionary story, in which we learned how the Lapérouse expedition led to the reintroduction of an extinct plant species.
But the adventure doesn’t stop there, because thanks to the work initially carried out on the Banskia, the CNB has succeeded in re-establishing another plant, Cylindrocline lorencei, which had disappeared in the wild, on its native island of Mauritius.
So it was at the instigation of the Lapérouse association that we met Stéphane Buord in Brest. We would like to thank him warmly for this highly instructive talk. The link between Albi and Brest is closer than ever. Jacques Picard, an eminent member, is also a perfect illustration of this. Born in Lesneven, he was a pupil at the Lapérouse-Kerichen college in Brest, then successively president of the Commercial Courts of Brest and Toulouse, where he was recently awarded the Légion d’honneur.
The association would also like to extend a special thank you to Mr Jean Martin, a friend of Jacques Picard, for welcoming us and sharing his knowledge of Brittany with us.
Some of the association’s members travelled from Brittany and all over France to attend the conference and enjoy the festive atmosphere in Brest.
For technical reasons, the conference could not be recorded. However, we are keen to share all this information with you, which is why we will be meeting Mr Buord again. He will give us a second conference, this time recorded, which we will pass on to you. We thank him in advance.
We’ll be in touch with you soon to let you know more about the event!
The Hydrograaf, from Rotterdam to Brest
The conference took place on the Hydrograaf, a ship built in the early 1910s in Rotterdam for the Royal Netherlands Navy. With its shallow draught, it can also navigate in the shallow coastal waters of the south-west of the Netherlands, in the IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea. In winter, she remains in port.
On several occasions, it was used for Queen Wilhelmine (1880 – 1962), Prince Consort Henri of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1876 – 1934) and Princess Juliana (1909 – 2004).
In June 1940, the ship left Vlissingen for England and was used for mine clearance. In 1943, she became a depot ship in the port of Harwich (south-west England). After the conquest of Zeeland Flanders in 1944, she anchored in the port of Antwerp.
After the Second World War, she returned to hydrographic service with the navy. In 1962, she was decommissioned and replaced by the more modern Zeefakkel.
It finally became a museum when it was bought by a private individual in 1985.
“Emblematic” visits
During the Brest Festival, representatives of the Lapérouse Association were able to visit the Musée de la Marine and meet its director Jean-Yves Besseliévre.
Then, before the departure of the big gathering, the team went to the Quai Lapérouse (the largest quay in Brest), from where the expedition set sail on 1 August 1785.
Upcoming conferences
We’re working hard to bring you more conferences on a range of subjects. We’ll be sure to keep you informed!