Born in Chamonix in 1996, CREA Mont-Blanc is a scientific NGO whose mission is to explore the evolution of mountain biodiversity, particularly in the context of climate change. Through a participatory, committed, and sensitive approach, this alpine hub shares its knowledge with researchers, local stakeholders, and citizens to inspire them to take better action.
In 2025, the Etrillard Foundation is partnering with CREA Mont-Blanc to support the creation of an alpine ecology center: the Obs Mont-Blanc project.
This new alpine ecology center driven by CREA Mont-Blanc aims to train, educate, and raise awareness among the general public about the evolution of mountain biodiversity induced by climate change and to help local stakeholders integrate the challenges of climate change.
It will emerge on the emblematic site of the Mont-Blanc Observatory in Chamonix, the premier hotspot for the scientific observation of alpine ecosystems in Chamonix, founded in the 1880s by Joseph Vallot, one of the founding fathers of science in the Mont-Blanc massif.
Bequeathed to the State upon Joseph Vallot’s death, with the obligation to maintain the scientific vocation of the place, the Mont-Blanc Observatory successively housed the Paris Observatory, the CNRS, the Astronomy Club, and then the Center for Research on High-Altitude Ecosystems (CREA Mont-Blanc), which has occupied the premises since 2002. In 2013, when the State put it up for auction, it was the scene of an unprecedented mobilization by the people of Chamonix, researchers from all over France, the press, and anonymous supporters of CREA Mont-Blanc, which led to it being bought by the Chamonix town hall in 2015.
The latter placed the site at the disposal of CREA Mont-Blanc in March 2023 via a 25-year Emphyteutic Lease, allowing it to carry out its renovation and transformation project in order to rehabilitate the place and make it accessible to everyone.
– The construction of a new eco-designed laboratory which will be a place of work and exchange for researchers with whom CREA cooperates;
– The renovation of the Vallot chalet into an establishment open to the public (exterior insulation, framework renovation, preservation of the original interior paneling) in order to welcome teachers, students, decision-makers, mountain professionals, and company employees for training and awareness-raising;
– And the creation of an educational and scientific garden to raise public awareness of mountain ecology and the participatory scientific approach.
Following renovation and extension work on the Observatory from March 2025 to June 2025, the site is inaugurated on July 18, 2025 during an official ceremony. A weekend of festivities is organized on July 19 and 20, featuring conferences paying tribute to Joseph Vallot, round tables on current research in the massif and scientific tourism, participatory science demonstrations, and field trips.
Then, from September 2025 to June 2026, the development work on the educational and scientific garden will take place, allowing for its inauguration for the 30th anniversary of the CREA Mont-Blanc association.
The Etrillard Foundation is proud to support this project, which brings back to life a historic heritage site in order to raise public awareness of the challenges surrounding the evolution of biodiversity. This project is among its first areas of support within its new philanthropy division dedicated to the preservation of natural heritage, along with the restoration of the Canal du Midi.
An expert in alpine ecology, CREA Mont-Blanc is a pioneer in its desire to share knowledge, which is manifested in particular by the production of popularized scientific content available online (https://atlasmontblanc.org) and through interventions with varied audiences. It is also a pioneer in participatory science, which it has placed at the heart of its approach, involving citizens for more than 20 years in the collection, processing, and dissemination of scientific data via innovative collaborative formats (https://spot.creamontblanc.org).
CREA Mont-Blanc is recognized by the United Nations, as a 2017 laureate of the Momentum for Change award, for its action for biodiversity as well as for its innovative collaborations between science and society.