The Loire's Natural Cathedral

The Loire hosts Western Europe's largest river-nesting bird populations. In summer, thousands of terns and plovers nest on the river's sandy islands. This natural spectacle draws not just scientists but also local communities who have become fierce protectors of "their" birds.

In La Charité-sur-Loire, a retired teacher named Colette Moreau organized what she calls the "United Nations of bird protection." Her volunteer group includes a Syrian refugee who was an ornithologist in Damascus, teenagers from the local housing projects, and elderly farmers who remember when the birds were far more numerous. "The birds don't see borders," Colette explains. "Neither should conservation."

The river's biodiversity extends beyond birds. The Loire is one of the last European strongholds for wild salmon, though their numbers have drastically declined. Restoration efforts have united unlikely allies—commercial fishermen work with environmentalists, hydroelectric companies collaborate with indigenous knowledge keepers invited from Canada's First Nations to share salmon restoration techniques.