2nd edition of the Ceïba Foundation Gala

On May 25, 2023, the Ceïba Foundation held its annual gala dinner to raise funds to continue the tree rescue actions at the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier initiated by the Foundation in 2022.

During a press conference at the Jardin des Plantes in the presence of Michaël Delafosse, Mayor and President of Montpellier-Métropole, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Thierry Lavabre-Bertrand, Director of the Jardin des Plantes, Françoise Panthène, President of the Garden’s Endowment Fund and the experts of the Ceïba Foundation, Mr. Chambon, President of the Ceïba Foundation and the Socri Reim group, detailed the actions carried out with the funds raised by the Foundation in 2022 and the action plan at the Jardin des Plantes for 2023 with donations from today’s gala.

THE CEÏBA FOUNDATION

The Ceïba Foundation, founded by the real estate group Socri Reim, takes its name from an emblematic tropical tree. This large and magnificent tree, the Ceïba, was considered sacred in Mayan culture, symbolizing the connection between humans and the spiritual world. The Ceïba’s foliage is remarkable, with its crown able to extend over 2,000 square meters on the ground, or half a football field. This image perfectly represents the Foundation’s objective: “Covering cities with nature.”

With the ambition of preserving and enhancing nature and biodiversity in 21st-century cities, the Ceïba Foundation is dedicated to implementing renaturation, greening, soil de-sealing and heat island reduction actions. It also aims to improve water cycles and biodiversity in urban environments, in France and internationally. These initiatives actively contribute to the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainable development.

The Foundation brings together a committee of five world-renowned experts:
Jean Mus, Landscape Architect
Jean-Paul Viguier, Architect
Léo Marguerit, Landscape designer and urban planner
Yann Fortunato, Industrialist in the forestry sector
Bruno Ricci, Landscape designer.

WHY THIS GALA?

The first edition in 2022 having raised €60,000 for the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier, the Ceïba Foundation decided to organize a second evening in 2023 to continue its tree preservation action at this garden, a historic and botanical emblem of the city where the SOCRI REIM group is headquartered.

A JARDIN DES PLANTES IN DANGER

The Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier, founded in 1595 by Pierre Richer De Belleval, was inspired by Italian gardens, the “paduas.” It became a reference for the gardens of Paris. From the 16th century, this garden stood out for its biodiversity, with the creation of various environments and the association of exotic and local species. Over time, the garden expanded through the acquisition of land and the addition of several greenhouses, an orangery, and a pond.

After more than four centuries of history, the Jardin des Plantes is now protected as a “Historic Site and Monument.” Nevertheless, this unique place is now weakened by several diseases and a lack of specific maintenance.
Among the endangered trees are the Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) and the message tree (Phillyrea latifolia) planted around 1604. These two trees will receive particular attention thanks to the funds raised by the Ceïba Foundation.

The Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier endowment fund was created to finance all enhancement and rehabilitation operations. Chaired by Françoise Panthène, this fund allows everyone, individuals and businesses, to contribute through their donations to this beautiful project. The Ceïba Foundation has therefore partnered with the endowment fund to save the trees of the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier.

AN EXCEPTIONAL GALA DINNER

To raise the necessary funds, the Ceïba Foundation held its second gala dinner on Wednesday, May 25, 2023 at the Orangery of the Jardin des Plantes. This evening welcomed, alongside representatives of the Montpellier city hall, the University of Montpellier and the Jardin des Plantes Management, 14 partners of the CEIBA Foundation and the SOCRI REIM group who decided to make a donation to the Jardin des Plantes endowment fund:

• A+ Architecture
• AEKO
• AURA
• CGCB Avocats
• Crédit Agricole du Languedoc
• Ernst & Young
• Haussmann Patrimoine
• Lexnot
• Muhan Invest
• Planet Indigo
• Pousse Clanet
• SVA Avocats
• Triomphe Sécurité
• Verspieren

These partners thus demonstrate their commitment to the development of nature in the city alongside the SOCRI REIM group. Several interventions by the Foundation’s experts enhanced this exceptional evening to better understand the challenges of nature in the city.

THE FOUNDATION’S FIRST ACTIONS

The first Ceïba Foundation gala helped fund a series of scientific diagnostics (pathology, physico-chemical and biological characterization of rhizospheric soil) carried out by the Dijon-based Research and Development company AGRENE.

Subsequently, the selected trees underwent a phytosanitary diagnosis by INFFE in Madrid to identify all the problems encountered at the Jardin des Plantes.
Finally, under the direction of two Foundation experts, Bruno Ricci and Léo Marguerit, a detailed rescue and maintenance booklet was compiled. This document identifies individual problems of each tree and their degrees of urgency, and recommends the most appropriate specific solution.
The implementation of these actions has already begun thanks to the Head of Cultivation at the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier, Emmanuel Spicq.

THE CEÏBA FOUNDATION’S ACTION PLAN WITH FUNDS RAISED IN 2023

Faced with the alarming report of the analyses carried out in 2022 and the risk of disappearance of trees that are, for some, more than 400 years old, the Ceïba Foundation is launching the second phase of its emergency action plan thanks to the €77,000 raised at the 2023 gala. Thus, the Foundation’s board of directors has decided on two new projects to save two historic trees in 2023.
The first major action consists of decompacting, replacing and enriching the soil around the Judas tree located in front of the Intendance building. This action must be preceded by the removal of the stone and bitumen base that is suffocating the tree. Finally, the Foundation will finance the installation of protection around the tree to protect the soil from further compaction.
The second project, even more ambitious, concerns the “message tree” which is one of the very symbols of the Jardin des Plantes. The latter suffers from compacted and impoverished soil as well as damage from visitors to the trunk. The Foundation therefore plans to design and install a footbridge around the tree to allow it to breathe and find more sustainable soil. This initiative aims to protect this historic tree while improving its living conditions and ensuring its preservation for future generations. This urgent action required many hours of study and footbridge design. The Ceïba Foundation then had to produce several validation files with the competent bodies to defend this project alongside the University of Montpellier. The Foundation is now awaiting the necessary authorizations for installation of this unique structure by the end of the year.
Nicolas Chambon, President of the Ceïba Foundation, is delighted: “I thank all our donors for their generosity. This second edition of the Foundation’s gala is necessary for the preservation of this exceptional heritage that is our Jardin des Plantes. We hope to have drawn the attention of the authorities and the general public to this unique garden which still needs all our efforts.”

Nature at the center of SOCRI REIM projects

All projects by the Socri Limited group (Parent Company of the French company SOCRI REIM) reflect the desire to develop nature in the city. Thus, the Polygone Béziers shopping center located in the heart of an urban block integrates about 150 planters and numerous exterior vegetated areas. Along a reinterpretation of the Canal du Midi, there are mulberry plane trees, cypresses, Aleppo pines, olive trees, lemon trees, orange trees, bamboos, bay laurels, roses and tin, pittosporums, sacred bamboos, jasmines, strawberry trees, agapanthuses, vines, sage, phillyreas, rosemary, white roses, Indian lilacs, germanders, abutilons, cassias, honey trees, cork oaks, Russian sages, Lamarck serviceberries, pistachios, myrtles, gauras, New Zealand flax, bindweeds, euphorbias…
Similarly, at Polygone Riviera in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the banks of the Malvan river that flows through the heart of the shopping center have been enhanced over nearly one kilometer to create a park of just under one hectare, a true green lung in the neighborhood. More than 1,000 trees (plane trees, maples, palm trees, poplars, weeping willows, privet, pepper trees, ginkgo biloba, olive trees…) accompany the vegetated facades and roofs of this exceptional site.
Finally, the restructuring of the Fontvieille shopping center in Monaco is an opportunity for Socri Reim to once again express its expertise in integrating landscaped spaces into its urban projects and to create the largest city-center retail landscaped park in the world: this exceptional 2-hectare park will notably welcome 30 “heritage trees” in a sanctuary housing rare and protected species while requalifying the UNESCO garden spaces.

Press release – Montpellier – December 1, 2022