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The Ondaine valleys Priority Ecological Site

If there is one area where the urban character of Pilat is evident it has to be the Ondaine valleys. These small wooded valleys with steep slopes look out over the city of Saint-Etienne.

Nature and the City 

A urban municipal park

The Bois d'Avaize noted for its ecological heritage and vegetation, forms a natural haven in the heart of the urban district of Saint-Etienne
In this urban municipal park you can even find the remains of old mines.

Des influences altantiques

On the uplands, the large areas of moorland occupy the dry and rocky parts while the agricultural and wooded areas share the better quality soil. The rainfall from the north-west is abundant, especially in Spring, and brings a marked Atlantic influence; consider species such as Roth (dwarf) gorse and Welsh poppies.

This is the only places in Pilat in which this large solitary flower with sulphur-yellow petals is found. It is very rare to France and is therefore protected. It blooms in the beech woods which cover the slopes and the bottom of the valleys.

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