In May 2024, Jeanne Toinon decided to set off on a solo cycling journey across France to discover 17 remarkable trees. A trip of around 4,000 kilometers through the country, leading her to the shade of a stone pine planted in 1793, to ride beneath a giant pine tree forming a leafy bridge over a path, or simply to stand under the canopy of a weeping blue cedar in Orthez.
Inspired by the association A.R.B.R.E., founded in 1994 with the aim of “bringing together all those interested in remarkable trees” (among other missions of indexing, preserving, and fostering wonder), this journey is also fueled by an admiration for these living beings that began in childhood.
As a child, she drew the fruit trees of her native land in the Centre region, carefully sketching the bark and the fine veins of the leaves, as if building a personal herbarium. Today, she uses photography to convey the simple presence of these trees those growing amid stone towers, or those like the bald cypress (her favorite), whose roots plunge into ponds only to rise again to breathe at the surface.
Traveling alone is an invitation to contemplation. Though it may sound like a truism, discovering trees by bike also allows for a deeper understanding of territories with diverse soils and distinct natural fabrics; the encounter with trees weathered by the years, majestic or fragile, that require attentive observation. It is a practice of simple humility and a renewed relationship with beauty
Jeanne Toinon
Born in 1991, Jeanne Toinon is the cofounder of the Quiet Hiking Club, a hiking group founded in 2023 that connects participants with nature, mainly around Île-de-France. Her next journey, a bikerafting expedition, will span thirty days in exploration of aquatic fauna along the Allier River.
