The Yon valley is the city's green lung, running through La Roche-sur-Yon from the Place des Frères Batiot in the centre of town to Rue Georges Mazurelle.
It is the nurturing mother of the private and family vegetable gardens that dot its banks. Littered with cattails, irises, rushes, phragmites, mint and watercress, the banks of the Yon are managed in such a way as to minimise the impact of mankind and preserve the biodiversity of important species. Each plant is important, such as the bramble, which provides shelter and food for many birds and insects...