Omnium Gatherum

‘A gentle calm’: France’s streets once again echo to sound of working horses

Towns say they are not driven by nostalgia as they opt for horsepowered bin collections and school runs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/25/france-streets-working-horses-bin-collection-schools

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‘A gentle calm’: France’s streets once again echo to sound of working horses

Towns say they are not driven by nostalgia as they opt for horsepowered bin collections and school runs

The Guardian
Dec 4, 2022 at 7:15pmWeb
Show threadOmnium GatherumDec 4, 2022
"Since the first trials to reintroduce draft horses for municipal tasks in the mid-1990s, the number of French towns and urban areas using them has multiplied by almost 20 and continues to rise. Up to 200 urban areas have used draft horses in recent years. The most frequent tasks are rubbish collection and horse-drawn carriages taking children to school."
Show threadOmnium GatherumDec 4, 2022
"In the southern town of Vendargues, where the horse-drawn school carts are so popular that waiting lists have been 100 families-long, a study found they had improved the children’s relationship to learning. Some children who could walk or cycle to school preferred travelling by horse-drawn cart, despite it taking longer, because they found it 'calming'."