Saturday, November 28: Geopark Annual Conference

On Saturday, November 28, 2026, the Michel Canoville Cultural Center in Beaumont-Hague welcomes you to the second edition of the La Hague Geopark Scientific Conference. The morning will be devoted to four presentations focusing on the highly topical issue of climate change and its consequences for coastal erosion, agriculture, and biodiversity, with insights from various specialists. In the afternoon, a film screening and discussion on the theme of "maritime life" will be offered, featuring two documentaries.

Morning: Conferences:

• 9:00 am : Welcome

• 9:30 a.m .: Claire Marion from Intechmer will present the citizen observatory of the Manche coastline and its two participatory science tools: CoastSnap and Alti'Plage. In 2024, the Manche Department, in partnership with Cnam Intechmer, developed a citizen observatory of the Manche coastline based on two participatory science tools: CoastSnap (17 stations) and Alti'Plage (136 stations). A review of the operation of these two tools will be presented, covering the period from July 29, 2024, to January 13, 2026, during which more than 8,000 photos were collected along our coastline. These tools allow for monitoring of the coastline (seasonal, interannual) and in the context of events such as storms. This initial assessment encourages the creation of a community of observers to further refine the characterization of the temporal and even instantaneous evolution of our coastlines.

• 10:10 AM : Chloé Mesnage will present her doctoral research on the vulnerability of coastal agriculture in the Manche region to the risks of groundwater flooding and saltwater intrusion in the context of climate change. These two phenomena will be addressed through four components: hazards, challenges, management methods, and social perceptions of risk. This research aims to improve understanding of saltwater intrusion and groundwater rise, identify the most vulnerable farms, and collaboratively develop realistic and appropriate adaptation strategies with local stakeholders.

• 10:50 a.m .: Jean-François Dufaux, from the Normandy Regional Nature Reserve, will present the invasive alien species that are now establishing themselves in Normandy, some due to climate change. The financial, health, and environmental impacts of these invasive alien species will be discussed. He will also present the regulatory aspects, the regional strategy, and the various possible methods for managing and utilizing plant species in terrestrial and aquatic environments.

• 11:30 a.m .: Mickaël Barrioz, scientific director of the Normandy Batraco-Herpetological Observatory, will present the consequences of climate change on Normandy's biodiversity. Normandy has recorded a temperature increase of approximately 1.80°C since the 1970s. By 2100, if greenhouse gas emissions are not controlled, the average temperature could increase by another 3.5 to 4°C. The "Climate Sentinels" action-research program aims to better understand the local effects of climate change on biodiversity in 60 protected sites in the region, with a view to conservation. Mickaël Barrioz will present the most vulnerable species (amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, etc.) as well as initial avenues for action aimed at anticipating and mitigating the ongoing harmful consequences.

• 12:30 pm: Presentation by Benoît Raoulx, University of Caen-Normandie, outlining the afternoon's program (10 min) and closing remarks

Afternoon: Screening and discussion of documentary films: sensitive perspectives on "maritime life"

Participatory workshops, bringing together residents and students from various disciplines, will take place in 2027 in the region with the support of the municipality of La Hague (Geopark, L'Archipel, Department of Culture). The title of these workshops, "A gravage" (Engraving), refers to the collection of poems by Cotis-Capel and designates the gathering of objects washed up on the coast; it is also a metaphor for the documentary act of observing and collecting fragments of reality in order to arrange them and share a perspective on the world. Throughout 2027, the workshops will explore documentary filmmaking techniques, focusing on the sensitive, multifaceted, intimate, and collective connections with the coastline and the sea—"maritimeness"—on the La Hague peninsula, with a possible extension to the island of Alderney.

As part of these filmmaking workshops, two screenings of documentary films on the theme of the coastline, the sea and the islands are offered in order to encourage everyone to look at the coastal landscapes of La Hague differently:

• 2:30 p.m.: Benoît Raoulx, geographer and lecturer at the University of Caen-Normandy, Eso Caen team and FRESH program, will present a talk on documentary film and the theme of islands. From the films of Robert Flaherty at the beginning of documentary cinema to Jacquelyn Mills, islands have held a unique place in documentary film and research in the humanities and social sciences, particularly in geography. The focus will be on the evolution of perspectives on these "microcosms."
• 3:00 PM: "Crab Season" – A film written and directed by Martin Benoist – France – 2020 – Running time: 52 minutes. Behind the cliffs of Étretat, Christophe, who is severely visually impaired, fishes for crabs and lobsters by feel in an almost lunar landscape where no one else ventures. Alongside him, we experience what Christophe feels, beginning with the beauty of this landscape.
• 4:00 PM: "Geography of Solitude" – A film by Jacqueline Mills – English with French subtitles – 2022 – 102 min. Ecologist Zoe Lucas first came to Sable Island, an isolated island off the coast of Nova Scotia, in the 1970s and has lived on this remote strip of land for decades, almost entirely alone. Her studies of the island's biodiversity have made this self-taught scientist a respected expert. Filmmaker Jacqueline Mills offers a poetic, immersive, and sensory perspective, exploring an intimate and lyrical connection with nature. The film had its world premiere in the Forum section of the Berlinale, winning three awards. It has since won 19 awards worldwide, including Best Canadian Feature Film and Best Emerging Director at Hot Docs.

The "engraving" workshops are offered by the Film and Research in Human Sciences program (FRESH, Maison de la Recherche en Sciences humaines -MRSH- of the University of Caen Normandy and Maison de la Recherche des Sciences Humaines de Bretagne -MSHB, Sensivir program) in partnership with Normandie Images, the L'Archipel social center and the Hague Geopark.

This initiative is part of the "Millennium, 2027 European Year of the Normans".

The screening of "Geography of Solitude" also benefited from the support of the maritime division of the MRSH Caen.

Free entry from 9:00 am – Booking recommended

Michel Canoville cultural center, 6, rue des Tohagues, Beaumont-Hague, 50440 LA HAGUE