The course will begin on Saturday 24 November 2012 in Versailles, at the École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage (Higher National School of Landscaping). Aline Rutily provides a summary of the course contents and an outline of its theme, The Vegetal. Myths and languages in Europe, connecting this theme to the aims of the European project. Véronique Laulier presents the School, its work and its role in the course on offer.

On 3 December 2012, the journey of plants is the subject of an in-depth course by Alain Durnerin, horticultural engineer, agronomist, and head engineer of the Génie rural et des Eaux et forêts (a French public body in charge of rivers and forests); the history of gardens is constructed through the journey of plants, from Antiquity to the present day through the discovery of the New World, the parks and gardens of the 17th century, the scientific expeditions of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the birth of the French school of gardening.

On 12 December 2012, Yves Marie Allain, horticultural engineer and landscape gardener, addresses several concepts: collection, conservation, biological diversity and several definitions of indigenous, introduced and acclimatised vegetal species.

This course will be complemented by sessions focussing on the herbarium in April, June and September 2013: harvesting, identification, classification, creation of pages for the herbarium, a virtual herbarium, artistic herbarium and a tour of the National Herbarium at the National Museum of Natural History.

These activities are also in keeping with current events in 2013, the year of Le Nôtre, Landscape Year.

See the programme http://www.ecole-paysage.fr/site/annee_lenotre_fr/index.htm

Aline Rutily, the designer of the Grundtvig project, Paysage et patrimoine sans frontière association.