Training ground

In 1863, a nursery was established in Bellefontaine, on the edge of the Haye forest, to accommodate the practical work of the students and the meteorological research of Auguste Mathieu. In the same year, the West Nancy cantonment was attached to the School, followed in 1873 by the East Nancy cantonment, thus forming Conservation No. 4bis. In 1878, the forests of Pont-à-Mousson and Vézelise were added to this group, giving the School a study area of 25,000 hectares of municipal and state-owned forests. In 1881, however, this organization was dissolved and the management of the forests was entrusted to the curator of Nancy.

Thanks to a ministerial decree dated February 27, 1882, a new forestry research and experimentation station was created to manage the neighboring forest areas and continue the studies at the Bellefontaine nursery, including meteorological observations. In March of the same year, several sectors were allocated to the School in the Haye and Amance forests, populated with oaks, beeches and hornbeams. In the Amance forest, a 16-hectare arboretum was planted, bringing together exotic tree species capable of adapting to French conditions. In the years that followed, new plots were added to the estate, such as parts of the Elieux forest in the Vosges and the Ban d’Étival forest, for the study of fir forests. After 1921, the School further expanded its land holdings, in particular through donations, such as the Contrôlerie in the Meuse, the Brin pond, the Bois Lapie in the Marne and several small estates, with the aim of ensuring their conservation.

Over the years, the Nancy Forestry School has thus developed a study area, combining training, research and preservation of natural areas.