Schoolchildren, middle and high school students from Haute-Marne and elsewhere parade in tight ranks in the aisles of the different exhibition rooms. Workshops, conferences and specific shows have been set up to raise awareness among young audiences of various environmental issues.
“Each year, the festival aims to amaze, question and develop the awareness and reflections of younger generations through a program adapted to all ages.”
The meeting clearly arouses the interest of the teaching and educational teams of many educational establishments. “In total, 3,753 schoolchildren will be welcomed in the space of two days,” notes Mathilde Duchaine, in charge of welcoming young audiences. “We welcome many primary schools, the schoolchildren come from schools in the department but also from elsewhere. It is the same for middle and high school students, high school students from Troyes and Metz are notably present.” Many teenagers hosted in different rural family homes (MFR) also hit the streets at the stands and exhibition spaces on Thursday, November 21.
Many actors mobilized
“The objective is to adapt to different audiences, workshops, conferences or shows are specially intended for kindergarten students, others are aimed at older audiences. In total, 150 workshops were set up,” explains Mathilde Duchaine. This rich program is made possible by the involvement of numerous stakeholders. The Bird Protection League (LPO) presents times of discovery of birds, inevitably present at Lac du Der, the Maison de Courcelles invites many guests to walk from seed to plate, Bayard Jeunesse editions, the Park national forests, the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) are also mobilized. Shows have also been specially designed for students in cycles 2 and 3, by the Langres theater company Préface. Meetings with the sponsor of this 2024 edition, Alexis Rosenfeld, diver, photographer and explorer, were finally able to be organized.
Some schools are particularly aware of environmental issues thanks to lessons learned as part of the establishment of Educational Land Areas (ATE). Supervised by their teachers, students are entrusted with the management of small pieces of nature. In Montier-en-Der, schoolchildren took part in installing nest boxes and making apple juice, and a scientific study on lizards was also carried out. Schoolchildren working in three ATEs in Haut-Marne have this year the opportunity to discover the work of comrades from Reunion.
T. Bo.
