The Traversine is the educational garden built on the roof of Bercy nursery school in Paris. This urban garden awakens the curiosity of children on the themes of gardening, ecology and sustainable farming techniques. Culture trays, composting systems, mulching and many other techniques are taught on La Traversine.
First raspberries of the season in the Traversine Bercy garden
Children from the Bercy kindergarten had the pleasure of picking the very first raspberries of the season in the Traversine Bercy garden. Thanks to generous sunshine from the roof terrace, the fruit ripened two to three weeks ahead of schedule. … Read More
Herbarium game in the Traversine Bercy garden
At the Jardin de la Traversine Bercy, nursery school children took part in a fun and educational activity designed by the Designing Hope around vegetable plants. A large illustrated board featuring 25 leaves of fruit and vegetables grown in the … Read More
Maintenance of the Traversine Villiot mandala
At the Traversine Villiot garden, 12 children from the Paris Anim’ Annie Fratellini center gathered to work on the petals of the vegetable mandala. The children worked enthusiastically together, under the guidance of the Designing Hope educational team. They began … Read More
Slug and snail hunting
(without chemicals…)
The Traversine Villiot garden, surrounded by apartment buildings, benefits from an open-ground layout, which is an advantage compared to the Bercy roof terrace, but suffers from a lack of sunlight, especially during the winter period.This makes the garden a breeding … Read More
La Saison des Fraises : A year’s work rewarded for the children of Bercy
At the Traversine Bercy garden, school children are actively involved in growing strawberries on the roof terrace. After transplanting the runners into new trays in the autumn and helping with weeding, maintenance and watering throughout the year, they were able … Read More
Spring metamorphoses the Traversine Bercy garden!
The Traversine Bercy garden celebrates the first year of its reinstallation on the roof terrace of the Bercy school in its new configuration. The vegetated structures are now all planted, and the plants are in full growth, offering a verdant, … Read More
From seed to fruit: tomatoes from Bercy school
The children at Bercy school are proud to have grown their own tomato plants ! Back in February, they sowed seeds in cups set up in the school playground. At the end of March, the young shoots were transplanted to the … Read More
Designing Hope invited to celebrate 10 years of Parisculteurs
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Parisculteurs project, the association Designing Hope was invited to present its educational garden, La Traversine, at an event organized by the DEVE on the Jardin des Traverses. La Traversine garden, installed on the … Read More
Leek planting at the Traversine garden in Bercy
Today, children from the Bercy school took part in a leek planting activity at the Traversine garden, supervised by animators from the Designing Hope association. Before getting started, the organizers explained the essential steps for ensuring good leek growth: cutting … Read More
Transplanting seedlings to the Traversine Villiot garden
It’s time to transfer the young plants produced in the greenhouse to the Traversine Villiot garden. Zucchinis, broccoli, cauliflower and leeks take their place on the first petals of the garden’s mandala. The soil has been cleared of weeds, loosened … Read More
Building a composter for the Traversine Bercy garden
La Traversine organizers have built a double-bin composter for the Bercy garden. Specially designed for this above-ground garden, it will enable biomass from vegetable garden maintenance to be recycled. The first bin will receive compostable waste to produce rich compost, … Read More
Design of the Traversine Bercy garden pergola
The Traversine Bercy garden pergola consists of a 3.5m-wide metal structure, surrounded by wooden containers for growing aromatical herbs. In the center of the pergola, Dessine l’Espoir team has just installed a large clover-shaped table, surrounded by 12 metal and … Read More
Dessine l’Espoir at Paris Sème
Dessine L’Espoir association took part in Paris Sème alongside the Parisculteurs. We led fun workshops to raise awareness of sustainable agriculture among young and old alike, presenting educational games used by the association in various schools, whether in Rufisque, Paris … Read More
Outdoor painting workshop
To accompany the decorated wooden birds hanging from the pergola, children from Bercy school and CLAJE painted wooden flowers to embellish the garden at La Traversine Bercy. The two sides of each flower were painted by two different children, an … Read More
Strawberries and onions : The winning combo!
The strawberry plants harvested in September had time to develop over the winter, and were replanted by the kindergarteners in the Bercy school garden, alongside kiwis, vines and other climbers. Elementary school children also helped enrich the garden by planting … Read More
Creation of a memory game with children from the Bercy nursery school
As the weather did not allow us to work in the vegetable garden, we decided to create a memory game with the children. We printed black and white drawings of fruit and vegetables in vegetable gardens or baskets on sheets … Read More
Transplanting and gardening
Children from the CLAJE, a community center in the Villiot-rapée area of the 12th arrondissement of Paris, joined the Designing Hope team for an afternoon of gardening in the Traversine Villiot garden, where they transplanted seedlings collected on the roof … Read More
A new generation in the garden: discovery and games with our young gardeners!
We’re delighted to welcome new groups to the Bercy garden. Curious and full of energy, they were able to explore the garden despite the cold and get a first taste of the plantations and tools they’ll be using in future … Read More
Miniature paper birdhouses
To help birds overwinter in the garden, children from école de Bercy and CLAJE made wooden bird nesting boxes and installed them in both gardens.It’s important for children to become aware of the different species that a garden can be … Read More
Hanging decorated birds in the Traversine Bercy pergola
To complete the construction and installation of the bird nesting boxes, children from the Bercy school decorated small wooden birds. Once painted and varnished, the children hung them under the garden’s pergola, where aromatic herbs and climbing beans grow alongside … Read More
Building birdhouses with children from Bercy school
With the help of our animators, the elementary school students made bird nesting boxes. A nesting box is a small wooden house where birds can safely nest, rest or raise their offspring. The children took it in turns to assemble … Read More
Decorative signs with CLAJE
During this creative activity, CLAJE children had the opportunity to express themselves and personalize their own signs by writing their names on them and adding motifs with stencils in the shape of flowers and vegetables. They decorated their signs with … Read More
Greetings cards with Bercy kindergarten
In the run-up to Christmas, the children at Bercy kindergarten took part in a creative workshop to make their own greetings cards.We started by cutting out pieces of cardboard to obtain blank cards the size of stencils. Using the stencils, … Read More
Decorating the Traversine Villiot Christmas teepee
All set! All the elements are ready to be hung on the Christmas Teepee in the Traversine Villiot garden! Plant balls, stars decorated with fir branches and pine cones, colored bamboo snowflakes, wooden snowmen… Despite the cold, the children enjoyed … Read More
Star decoration for the Christmas teepee
Children from the Bercy elementary school played an active role in decorating the Christmas Tipi in the Traversine Villiot garden.Among their creations, based exclusively on plants, they decorated stars made from strings wrapped around a wire, using Christmas tree branches … Read More
Decorating the tipi in the Villiot garden
Christmas is approaching, and the garden teepee is being transformed into a festive Christmas tree! Several workshops were organized to bring this metamorphosis to life…Children from CLAJE (Centre Paris Anim de Villiot) made little snowmen from 2 wooden washers for … Read More
Bercy pupils create stars for the Villiot garden tepee
Every year, the tipi in the Villiot vegetable garden is transformed into a Christmas tree, adorned with plant-based Christmas decorations! As part of this animation, pupils from Bercy elementary school made stars by assembling bamboo branches with raffia. After painting … Read More
Maracas recycled with children from the Bercy kindergarten
Children from the Bercy kindergarten made unique, colorful maracas by reusing applesauce containers. To begin with, they applied a coat of varnish to the packaging to make it easier for the paint to adhere. They then chose a solid color … Read More
Land Art under the pergola of the Traversine Bercy garden
This afternoon, elementary school pupils created a magnificent piece of Land Art in their school garden. Using dried leaves, chestnuts and small sticks, they imagined and assembled a collective work of art. Everyone contributed in their own way, exchanging ideas … Read More
Bercy children create leaf collage paintings
Children from Bercy elementary school drew inspiration from their own interests to create their own paintings. After gluing the dried leaves to the paper, they drew around them to imagine unique shapes. One, for example, formed a soccer player, while … Read More
Amazing beans at Traversine Bercy!
If there’s one vegetable that amazes children in the Traversine Bercy vegetable garden, it’s the Blauhilde bean from our seed partner : Agrosemens.And yes, this pole bean, which looks so good on our pergola, isn’t green, it’s purple!Its long pods … Read More
Taste week – Stage 3 – Tasting
After harvesting and preparing the vegetables, we gave them to the kindergarten children at Bercy school to taste, under the garden’s pergola, which was still covered with our climbing beans… They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with some children preferring the tomato … Read More
Shapari Behzadi workshop
Today, children from the school and CLAJE had the opportunity to meet Shapari Behzadi, a visual artist and teacher from Tehran. She organized a creative activity based on natural elements such as branches, leaves, straw and bundles. The activity involved … Read More
Taste week – Stage 2 – Cooking vegetables from the Bercy garden
We brought back the harvest from the Bercy school garden to cook all the vegetables. We used the tomatoes to make delicious little tarts topped with cheese. Leeks also found their place in our dishes, cooked with onions and olive … Read More
Taste Week – Stage 1 – Harvesting vegetables from the Traversine Bercy garden
At the start of this mild, sunny autumn, we harvested the last of the vegetables from the Bercy school garden!Leeks, tomatoes, chard, butternut, beans… We harvested a generous basket to cook them for the Semaine du Goût (Taste Week).It was … Read More
A very productive summer on the Garden of Traversine Bercy!
Despite a gloomy summer, growing on a roof terrace has the great advantage of capturing 100% of the sun’s rays.So, even if the sun only shows its nose for an hour a day, or plays hide-and-seek with the clouds, its … Read More
Traversine Bercy – Sowing in the greenhouse
Sowing day at Traversine Bercy!As part of our extracurricular activities with the kindergarten, we got 10 children involved in sowing vegetables adapted to the season.Beans, spinach and chard were on the agenda…To sow the seeds with the right spacing between … Read More
Decorating terracotta pots
In Villiot garden, children from Bercy school and CLAJE had the opportunity to decorate terracotta pots. Using brushes and brightly-colored paints, their creativity was given free rein. Some chose to decorate their pots with floral motifs, while others preferred abstract … Read More
Samosa party in the Villiot garden
To mark the annual party at the Villiot residence, the Designing Hope association organised a cooking workshop in the garden to make the most of the produce from the garden.Freshly harvested spinach was cooked with onions to make the main … Read More
Observing the life cycle of the artichoke in the Traversine Bercy garden !
To enable schoolchildren to observe vegetables throughout their life cycle,we resist the pleasure of tasting them, to let them go to seed…The artichoke in the center of the vegetable garden’s large star-shaped tub revealed a magnificent blue flower, attracting bees … Read More
A cauliflower’s life
At the Traversine Bercy garden, we focus on observing the life cycle of the vegetable from seed to seed.Our pretty cauliflower was magnificent during summer ! After forming a beautiful white head over 20cm in diameter, it began to change … Read More
Planting celery in the Traversine Bercy planters
On the roof terrace of the Bercy school, space is limited… As a result, the planters are never empty!After removing the tomato plants, they were replaced by celery plants grown in the greenhouse.They will finish growing before winter arrives…
Traversine Bercy : Vegetables memory game
Today, the children at Bercy school took part in a fun activity : a Memory game about fruits and vegetables! Our warmest thanks go to the Garden of Skills sewing workshop in Eswatini for making this lovely fabric game, which … Read More
Discovery of the Traversine Bercy Garden
On their first day at Traversine Bercy, the kindergarteners from the Bercy School had the opportunity to visit the garden and discover the different fruits and vegetables that grow there: beans, strawberries, squash, cherry tomatoes… By observing the inside of … Read More
La Traversine Bercy tomatoes
The tomatoes sown by the children of the Bercy school before the arrival of spring have blossomed in the Traversine kitchen garden!Elongated tomatoes, beef hearts, cherry tomatoes – we chose a variety of varieties, and they all flourished during the … Read More
Bridging snack with the children of the Bercy kindergarten and the Villiot crèche in the Jardin de la Traversine-Villiot, Paris
The children of the nursery school of Bercy and the crèche of Villiot met in the garden of Traversine-Villiot. They composted their vegetable waste (mainly peelings) and visited the garden together. Then, in the kiosk around the clover tables, the … Read More
Making pickles with the last tomatoes of the Traversine Villiot garden thanks to the civic services hosted for a training day by Unis-Cité
Within the framework of a day of training organized by Unis-Cité and bearing on the topic of the environment, the young people in Civic service were able to put the hand to the paste and to collect the last green … Read More
The Residence Villiot Festival, Paris
On Saturday, September 24th, 2022, we took part in the Festival of the Residence Villiot. We welcomed children and adults of the Residence Villiot in the shared garden of the residence. The children were able to enjoy the board games … Read More
Pedagogical tools at the Traversine garden
During the Mayor of the 12th arrondissement’s of Paris visit to the Traversine garden, we displayed the pedagogical tools which were conceptualized by Dessine l’Espoir, such as the nutrition games. The children of the Bercy school had the opportunity to … Read More
Track game around the garden and initiation to bird calls at the Traversine garden
The children of the Bercy schools have taken part in a treasure hunt in the Traversine garden. During the journey, they discovered different parts of the garden: the mandala, the pergola’s herbs, the insect houses and even the vegetal teepee. … Read More
Launching of “tracking game” at la Traversine garden
This week at the Traversine, the treasure hunt was happily inaugurated by the children. For about 1 hour, they were able to discover the garden and its components (mandala, keyhole, wall, pergola of herbs etc. …) through a fun and … Read More
Inauguration of the Traversine
On April 29, 2019, the garden of la Traversine was inaugurated by Pénélope Komitès, Deputy Mayor of Paris, responsible for green spaces, nature in the city, biodiversity, urban agriculture and funeral affairs, and by Mrs. Catherine Baratti-Elbaz, Mayor of the … Read More
La Traversine From the sky!
The garden of La Traversine seen from the sky! On this 300m2 terrace on the roof of the Bercy nursery school, Designing Hope has set up an educational garden as part of the Parisculteurs project. This film offers a great … Read More
L’Oreal Citizen Day at La Traversine
Designing Hope has received the support of a team of 18 L’Oréal employees for the Citizen Day. A day dedicated to the maintenance of the garden, and animation of workshops with the preschool and elementary children from bercy school.