VERNIER
In the city, I live in the municipality of Vernier, adjacent to the
city of Geneva, and not far from the airport. More than half the population is of foreign
origin, which makes for an interesting diversity which is well integrated into the community. The population of
Vernier of
over 32,000 makes it the 15th largest city in Switzerland. The Vernier Bahá'í community has its own web site at http://www.bahaivernier.ch/.
The city is very environmentally conscious, as is normal in
Switzerland. It has met an international gold standard for energy
economy, and has many parks and gardens (see below).
The city is made up of several neighbourhoods, the village of Vernier
to the west, two large housing estates of Les Avanchets to the north
and Le Lignon to the south by the river, some smaller neighbourhoods,
industrial areas and streets with single family homes, and Châtelaine
to the east along the limit with the city of Geneva. It takes about 40
munutes to walk from Châtelaine to Vernier Village (the bus is faster).
The village of Vernier has kept some of the charm of an eighteenth century village on a bluff overlooking the Rhone River.
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Entrance to Vernier Village, and the main street (Rue du Village)
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The Mairie (city hall) was a stately home set in a beatiful park on the Rue du Village
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The village school and kindergarden
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The centre of the village; the first house in the canton of
Geneva to meet the Minergie standard for energy economy; the Parc de
l'Esplanade and the Catholic church
From the Parc de l'Esplanade in the village, there are
beautiful views of the Rhone River as it loops along the south side of Vernier, nearly cutting it in two.
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Just behind the village are cow pastures and natural vegetation
along the Rhone River, an important nature conservation area and Ramsar
site for migratory birds.
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On the far side of the river, the apartment block of Le Lignon,
14 storeys high, extends for more than a kilometre. When it was built
in the 1970s, it was the world's longest apartment building.
Not all of Vernier is green
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Much of the fuel for western Switzerland is stored in tank farms in Vernier, at the end of a 600 km pipeline from Marseille
The city has traced a Green Way
(Voie Verte), a walking path connecting the parks, forests, river bank, green spaces
and quiet streets around the town.
Vernier is bordered on one side by the Rhone River with tree-shaded banks
My Baha'i friends the Stendardo's won third prize for their flowered balcony in 2010, and first prize in 2011
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There are still some farms in Vernier, but the city buildings are not very far away
PARKS AND NATURE IN VERNIER
During my convalescence after hip surgery in 2011, I finally had time
to walk around my neighbourhood (on crutches) and discover a surprising
amount of nature and beauty in the middle of the city, all within a
half-hour walk of where I live. The pictures below show what I
discovered.
BALEXERT PARK
When
I walk to the shopping centre (15 minutes), I go through Balexert Park,
a small park which has some old trees, a community centre (below
right), a youth centre, a recreation centre for children (Jardin
Robinson) with animals (goats, rabbits) and demonstration vegetable
garden, and a playground with an intermittent fountain area for
children to play in.
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Goats, playground and vegetable garden
PARC DES FRANCHISES
A five-minute walk towards Geneva takes me to a wonderful large park
mostly hidden behind houses and buildings. It used to be the
horticultural school founded in 1887 (right), so it has retained extensive rose gardens
with many varieties, an arboretum of unusual conifers, a half-abandoned
grotto with waterfalls and pools, large grassy areas, children's play
areas, a large wading pool with fountain, facilities for skateboarders,
a separate garden for walking dogs, and a hidden natural wetland fenced
from public access. It is a lovely place to sit and read, or take a sun
bath.
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The natural garden with grotto and pond
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Extensive rose gardens with many varieties of hybrid roses
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Splashes of colour
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Extensive lawns, and the arboretum of unusual conifers
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Sculpture commemorating the former horticulture school, and the wading pool
PARC DE L'ETANG
The Parc de l'Etang, a little way beyond Balexert, includes a long narrow pond with various species of
fowl, including some endangered varieties. It is another island of
green with industrial areas on one side and family gardens on the
other, as well as a children's playground and a separate park for dogs.
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Park entrance and the pond with shelters for various varieties of fowl
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Vegetation along the pond
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Path along the pond, and rare varieties of geese and Australian black swans, who came to visit when I sat on a bench to read
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There are large trees along the park and pond; a painted duck
The large separate park for dogs to run and play in
BOIS DES FRERES
Twenty-five minutes walk from my apartment is a large wooded area, the Bois
des Freres, crossed by several paths. It is mostly an oak forest, but
in one section the old oaks have been cut to encourage regeneration of
younger trees.
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The logs show the size of the trees that were cut to encourage forest regeneration
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Beyond the forest is a grassy slope and then the forest that grows on the banks of the Rhone River
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A road separates the Bois des Freres from the Bois de la Grille, with a stream running down one side.
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BOIS DE LA GRILLE
Just beyond the Bois des Freres, between busy highways, a tank farm and
the Rhone River, is a most unusual park, the Bois de la Grille. It
includes a high ridge with grasslands and pines adapted to dry
conditions, as well as broadleaved woodlands on the slopes.
Botanically, it is a very rich fragment of original native vegetation
that somehow survived in the middle of the urban area. Several steep
footpaths cross the woods and meadows, and provide a beautiful view of
the Rhone River. If it were not for the traffic noise, the airplanes
taking off, and the smell of petroleum from the tank farms next door,
you could really feel lost in nature.
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The park is bounded by the Rhone River at the top, the Bois des
Freres beyond the stream to the left, the autoroute and village of
Vernier on the right, and a tank farm and highway on the bottom (North)
The Rhone River borders the park on the south. An apartment tower (Le Lignon) can be seen in the background
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Meadows and woodlands alternate
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There are stairs for the steep slopes, and narrow paths through the forest
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The high grasslands have 14 varieties or orchids, and other rare plants
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From the ridge top, there is a good view of the Rhone River
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The native pine forest is a distinctive feature of the park
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The autoroute is just behind these trees, and beyond it the village centre of Vernier
JARDINS FAMILIAUX - FAMILY GARDENS
Quite large areas of Vernier are devoted to Family Gardens, where many
people have small plots for a vegetable garden, and perhaps a small
toolshed/cabin. These were an important result of social movements in
the 20th century, and are still very popular.
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Jardins familiaux by Parc de l'Etang
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Jardins familiaux across from the Bois des Freres
MY IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT IN CHATELAINE
My neighborhood is called
Châtelaine. It is
a working class area without banks or hotels, but a mix of apartment
buildings (many subsidied for low-income families) and single family
homes, a large area of family gardens,
schools and a few shops and restaurants. Some industrial areas
and fuel tank farms are not far away, as is the largest shopping centre
in the region, Balexert. The Geneva Airport is 10 minutes away by bus,
but since we are not in the flight path, the noise is not too bad.
Chemin de Maisonneuve, one of the main streets of Chatelaine
International Environment House, my former office, is only a 3-minute
walk from my apartment. It houses both the environmental activities of
United Nations Organizations (UNEP, UNITAR, UNDP, Convention
Secretariats) and environmental non-governmental organizations. There
are conference rooms and an environmental library.
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A second IEH has been added to the right
The other three sides of the block are low-income subsidized housing around an inner courtyard
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Children take the pedibus to school (they walk)
My tiny (29 square meter) studio apartment is in a small square
building built in the 1960s, presently 5 stories, but possibly to be
increased to seven, one of four similar buildings set well back from
any roads with traffic, and with grass all around. It is a very quiet neighbourhood by urban standards.
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The Ferme Golay, an old traditional farm house, is right next door.
My apartment faces
west, towards a small factory making parts for Rolex watches, with some
of the Jura mountains visible between the buildings. However most of
the view has now vanished (see below) as a 7-storey building was built
across the parking lot in 2008-2010. The pictures of its construction below were taken from
my
apartment window.
View from my apartment (as it used to be up to 2008), watch parts factory (left) and green field
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Moonset over the Jura mountains at dawn
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CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BUILDING OUTSIDE MY WINDOW 2008-2011
It is usually a very quiet neighborhood, but in September 2008,
construction began on a big low-income housing complex of over 100
apartments in a 7-storey bar in the beautiful green field just outside
my window.
Start of construction, September 2008
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The green field became a big hole by November 2008
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By January 2009, the excavation was nearly completed
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In February, the diggers departed and giant cranes were erected. They began pouring cement for the foundations
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In March, the cranes were busy almost continuously as basement levels rose
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By the end of June, the basement levels had been completed
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At the end of July, the ground floor was completed and the next floor started
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In mid-August, another floor was done. My view started to disappear
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By mid-September, I could hardly see the crest of the Jura mountains
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At the end of September, my mountain view was almost gone behind the scaffolding
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Last view of the mountains, early October 2009
By the end of November, the last storey was being added
By February 2010, one crane was removed
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In April, the entrance to the underground garage was nearly complete
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By May, the last crane was gone and most work was going on inside
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In September, the exterior was finished
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Interior work continued in October, and the garden was being laid out
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In November 2010, people were starting to move in, and by January 2011 the garden and entrance road were being finished.
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By April 2011, the grass was starting to grow in the garden
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June 2011, a playground was added, and the grass was being mowed
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The new building is now a settled part of the neighbourhood.
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Last updated 2 November 2011
Photos copyright © Arthur Lyon Dahl 2008-2011