Only a few kilometers away from the ocean's waves, in the “département” of Loire-Atlantique, smooth waters are sprawling far from busy beaches. “Black land” because of its peat bogs, but mostly greenery thanks to its lush vegetation, the quiet Brière is the second biggest marsh in France, just behind the Camargue. Covering 40000 hectares of low land, it is a genuine maze of canals and reedland adorn with rush and reed. Although it has been registered as a Natural Park in 1970, it still owns a peculiar legal status: the letters patent of the Duke of Brittany declared it to be the undivided  property of the 21 surrounding communes. Marshland covers more than half the surface of the park, and enjoys the utmost possible care in order to preserve the fragile natural heritage and protect  the extraordinary wealth of the local animal wildlife. Permanent humid areas, that are regularly flooded by fresh or salt water, feature an extremely various patchwork of environments, favorable for the development of rare animal and plant species. Therefore meadows play a crucial role in the maintenance of the biodiversity. Situated on a passage of migrating birds, the Brière Natural Park hosts  a great number of species: curlews, finches, purple herons, as well as tits and even storks...But it is also home to carnivorous animals, like otters, minks or stoats, as well as many rodents and batrachians. The flora stands out with aquatic plants like glasswort and water lilies.
To meander between the tiny islands,  land stretches rising to the surface of the marsh, there is no better way to get around than on a flat bottomed barge pointed at each end, that is pushed forwards with a pole. Fedrun, Mazun and Camerun are some of the typical small Brière iles. Surrounded by canals and ditches, they are yet attached to the dry land. The local traditional houses are thatched cottages.  About 3000 of them are still to be found in the park, mostly gathered in hamlets. In the past, the locals used to exploit the swamps, working the peat and picking the reed,  and therefore obviously shaped the landscape. Today, reedland is taking over to the detriment of water spots and prairies, which requires new agricultural solutions, focusing on sustainable development.