Support for the production and sale of local plants.
About this good practice
Residents in the area of regional nature parks as well as the majority of the population, for the most part, buy their plants, fruit trees, and vegetable seeds in garden centres. The plants offered are for the most part products from beyond the regional territory and sometimes little adapted to the region's soil and climate. Purchases in large garden centres does not support the local economy specifically the producers in the region.
Resources needed
ENRx identified solutions :
•Establishment of lists of trees and shrubs adapted to the region's soil.
•Building awareness with the target audience on the relevance of sowing and planting local plants.
•Sale of indigenous plants.
•Design of a system which allows economies of scale
Evidence of success
In 15 years, the number of partner communities has grown from 6 to 24. Two French departments (Nord and Pas-de-Calais) are covered by Plantons le Décor.
Orders have increased from xx in 2003 to xx in 2016.
The number of indigenous trees and shrubs planted will reach one million in 2018!
The turnover generated by Plantons le Décor is €200,000/year distributed across 7 producers.
Potential for learning or transfer
The deployment of a system with a regional scope requires
• taking into account the needs of interested users and parties
• the association and commitment of all interested parties, in the definition and implementation of the organisational and logistic process
• a well-established, planned, and methodical organisation
To envision a solution with several parties takes time.
It is preferable to test practices, to develop them and to adapt them rather than to envision large-scale solutions.
Our structure's flexibility allowed us to deploy this system.