Association CHENE

Association CHENE (Centre d’Hébergement et d’Etude sur la Nature et l’Environnement) began its work in 1980 as an environmental organization centered around a nature museum in Normandy, France. Shortly after its founding, CHENE expanded its mission to include hands-on wildlife rehabilitation, initially focusing on cleaning oiled seabirds and aiding stranded seals.

In the early years, rescued seal pups were transported to the renowned Zeehondencrèche in Pieterburen, Netherlands, until CHENE adopted similar techniques and began rehabilitating seals in-house. This led to the opening of their Centre de Sauvegarde in 1996: a fully equipped wildlife rescue facility that now treats hundreds of wild animals annually, including harbor seal and grey seal pups found along the northern French coast.

While the rehabilitation area is not open to the public to ensure a stress-free environment for the animals, visitors can explore CHENE’s educational exhibition and on-site shop, offering insights into the center’s work and local biodiversity.