January 21, 2025

More than just a cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris is an urban ecosystem. Its towering structure and countless hidden crevices offer a sanctuary to species that have adapted to the challenges of city life. The façade’s original openings, designed in the Middle Ages to accommodate construction beams, have become essential nesting sites for birds.

As Paris modernised, the cathedral became an important refuge, as other nesting and wildlife sites in the city diminished. The most common residents of the area include the Common Kestrel (Falco Tinnunculus) whose population across Paris has dwindled to fewer than 30 pairs and the House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), whose numbers plummeted by 75% in just two decades. But you can also find pipistrelle bats, a species of tiny, insectivorous bats.

The devastating fire on April 15, 2019, which destroyed a significant part of the cathedral, drove away much of the wildlife that had long inhabited its surroundings.

Fortunately, LPO was committed to ensuring Notre-Dame once again became a sanctuary for city wildlife. Since 2022, the organization has been working closely with the teams responsible for rebuilding Notre-Dame, integrating ecological considerations into the restoration efforts.

This collaboration included technical assessments to identify and evaluate potential nesting sites, along with proposals for habitat enhancements. Construction teams and artisans received training to recognise and protect wildlife during their work, while LPO naturalists conduct regular inventories of the species present on the site. Additionally, the Paris municipal government expressed its intention to designate the squares surrounding the cathedral as LPO Refuges, which is the largest network of in France. Thanks to six years of hard work with the LPO, the restoration has been carried out in a way that preserves access for birds and bats. Victor Hugo’s cathedral birds can now finally return home.

Notre-Dame’s restoration is part of a larger movement by the LPO to protect biodiversity in historic and cultural sites. In 2022, for instance, LPO PACA installed nesting boxes for swifts and swallows on the Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Arnoux Cathedral in Gap. The organisation also conducted ecological assessments for seven cathedrals in the region under the direction of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs. Meanwhile, LPO Occitanie has monitored a pair of peregrine falcons nesting on Albi Cathedral since 2001.

For over a decade, the LPO has also partnered with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux to enhance biodiversity in parks and gardens across France. Currently, nine sites, including the Château d’Angers and the Saint-Cloud National Estate, are part of the LPO Refuges network.

The efforts to restore Notre-Dame as both a cultural and ecological treasure highlight the potential for harmony between heritage preservation and biodiversity conservation. The restored cathedral not only stands as a testament to architectural resilience but also as a beacon of hope for urban wildlife, proving that even in the heart of a bustling city, nature can find a home.

You can learn more here: https://www.birdlife.org/news/2025/01/15/notre-dame-a-monument-of-biodiversity/