French students discover how to nurture nature for a better world

On a hot, sunny day in May at the Saline Royale in Arc-et-Senans, France, a group of about 20 primary schoolchildren, armed with a scrapbook about plants, flowers and nature, are getting hands-on experiences with the world of gardening and learning about the natural environment.

It's all part of the Manuterra program, a project for schools, launched by the Fondation d'entreprise Hermes to help fight climate change and teach the younger generation how to protect and appreciate biodiversity.

The children then explore the gardens of the Saline Royale, where each class is led by a professional horticulturalist. Students are able to dig, plant, use tools and develop specialist skills while learning about the flora and fauna around them.

Classes and outdoor workshops are also guided by gardeners and vegetable growers who are on site to teach topics such as the importance of water as a vital resource.

The Manuterra program began in September 2021, and invites students aged 6 to 18 from Arc-et-Senans to design, make, tend and develop a garden. Combining educational and environmental issues, the themes for each class will also be adapted to the children's ages and abilities.

Hermes said that Manuterra's primary aim is the collective installation of a permaculture garden, designed to introduce participants to a range of environmental topics and issues such as the life of the soil, biodiversity, biomimetics, propagation, the making and use of organic fertilizers and the impact of climate change.

The program also encourages young children to work together and maintain the precious ecological balance as well as become familiar with their everyday natural surroundings.

The foundation hopes that as the students learn from the gardens of the Saline Royale, they will be able to take away knowledge to cultivate a space of their own and preserve biodiversity for future generations.

Laurent Pejoux, director of Fondation d'entreprise Hermes, said there is a drive to pass on knowledge to preserve the planet.

He noted that the Foundation's Manuterra program is dedicated to young people and runs alongside another program named Manufacto.

Climate change makes us take responsibility, he said, and Manuterra is a response to this in order for the generation of tomorrow to protect the environment.

The project also works in partnership with the Besançon Board of Education in eastern France, the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, which is a national apprenticeship scheme, and the Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans, a UNESCO heritage site.

The program will extend to other boards of education in France from September this year.