Discovery and science

This distinction follows on from the Grand Prix de la Fondation Louis de Polignac award in 2007.

It honors the Lautaret Garden team, as well as all the enthusiasts who, for 110 years, have worked in the same spirit of combining public outreach with research on alpine plants and ecosystems.

This medal is also an opportunity to measure how far we have come since the early 2000s, when the Garden's fate almost slipped from the University's grasp. Now a joint service unit of the University of Grenoble and the CNRS, the Lautaret site is a national and international benchmark.

Finally, this medal represents tremendous encouragement from the University as part of a major project to expand the site, which has become a victim of its own success.

The "Galerie de l'Alpe" project, already supported by €0.5 million from the University, will expand the reception areas for researchers (nine theses in progress), the public (exhibition hall for the 20,000 visitors who visit the garden each year), and students (teaching room, auditorium that will also be used for scientific meetings and conferences for the general public).