La Canopée des Oiseaux... Take off for a year 2023, full of new things!

The 2023 season is gearing up for new adventures! The Canopée des oiseaux, landart, new animals... it's time to unveil the first major new features for the coming year.

La Canopée des Oiseaux", a new 5,000 m² space in Terra Botanica's 5th universe, "Les Mystères de la Forêt", facing the "Natura 2000" classified Basses Vallées Angevines, arrives in June and promises to be the star attraction of the new season.

This new site is dedicated to the discovery of our region's birds and their importance for our forests and biodiversity, through an educational trail of almost one kilometer.

How do birds fly? Why are they so important to our forests? How do birds communicate with each other? How do they make plants travel? Birds and their interactions with plants will hold almost no secrets for visitors.

This new area showcases the diversity of France's 600 bird species, including the Bullfinch, the European Kingfisher, the European Goldfinch and the European Starling.

Augmented reality takes visitors on a journey above the trees

"The Canopée des oiseaux is a brand-new space where visitors can have fun discovering the biodiversity associated with birds, by mobilizing our skills and expertise.

It's all about the senses, thanks in particular to augmented reality," explains Pierre Watrelot, the park's director. Visitors can listen to the sounds of 3 birds thanks to a bone diffusion system. Augmented reality takes visitors on a journey above the trees, where they can put themselves in the shoes of a corncrake, a common tern and a bird of prey speeding down the Basses Vallées Angevines. A giant 6-metre-high owl will tower over the 300 m² "Nest of Fledglings", with 2 30-metre zip lines and a balancing course.

Adjacent to this, another 15-metre-high structure will offer observation areas with several platforms, and an oversized slide will enable visitors to take to the skies. Visitors can also discover a bird hotel comprising almost 100 nesting boxes. This work of land art informs visitors about which nesting box is suitable for which bird, so that they can adapt their own garden to accommodate these birds. Finally, a 2.50 m tall European starling will repeat word for word the phrases uttered by visitors a few minutes earlier...

When plants are transformed into animal forms and artistic creations

Ants, snails, snakes, monkeys, giraffe.... In all, a dozen new topiary animals will join Terra Botanica's bestiary when it opens on April 1.

Then in May, the three giant mosaic sculptures - the unicorn, the dragon and the octopus - return from their winter rest.

Also new this season, visitors will find several works of land art right from the opening. The first, entitled "Tree hugs", is by French artist Monsieur Plant, who has already held exhibitions in Europe. The work depicts hands embracing trees, a singular invitation to contemplate plants, but also to test the powers of sylvotherapy by "hugging" trees. Three other works by the Ubinam collective, from Segré (Maine-et-Loire), will also be exhibited in different parts of the park, featuring flying fish, a "Lombricapot" and giant acorns representing the birth process of oak trees.

"More broadly, we want to raise our visitors' awareness of the need to respect all living species, both plant and animal, by offering new works of art every year.

Throughout the season, other creations will appear, inspired by land art and focusing on natural resources such as wood, minerals and water.

"Our greatest reward is to see our visitors touched by the beauty of nature, in all its forms, and that they leave more aware of the need to respect our environment and our planet".

Book your ticket for 2023