NBSEduworld NbS Case Study: Vigie-Nature École – citizen science programme on biodiversity and associated actions

Montage of four images showing people in the landscape, including children playing and adults gathering leaves.

Area characterisation:

Paris region is an area of 12 012 km² and 12,21 millions inhabitants (2019) located in the northern middle of France. The centre of the region is characterized by a very dense urban area subject to heat-island effect, pollution (air, water and soil), noise pollution and lack of green spaces. The rest of the region (Peripheral area of the region) is composed of forests and agricultural areas where issues are different. In these areas, the lack of nature is mostly related to agricultural intensification and urbanisation.

The development of NbS in there area is crucial to deal with the various problems associated with urban development and agricultural transformations. Renaturation is one of the axis we focus the most on in our programs and a lot of improvement has to be noted in this field. It is however still the very beginning of the change we need to act toward the vital changes we need to implement in the region.

Objective:

Vigie-Nature École is a biodiversity monitoring program focused on multiple groups of organisms. The primary goals of this data collection is to provide data to researchers in urban ecology and provide education to children in all the subjects related to biodiversity that we can cover. Our last development focuses on actions that pupils or children can take in order to improve both biodiversity and well-being within the schools.

Financing:

Vigie-Nature École has been funded by a large variety of organisms and research grants.

MNHN

Fondation d’entreprise Hermès

French minitry of education

Office Français de la biodiversité

REGREEN project funded under Horizon H2020

NBSEduWorld project funded under Horizon Europe

Potential impacts/benefits:

Specific to educational impacts and benefits as a result of the case study actions

Having more habitats for biodiversity within a school is also beneficial to promote gender equality (better space sharing compare to full concrete courtyards that become sport field only and are often more used by boys).

More habitats means more materials and these materials can lead to a better motor development and sensitivity for younger children

De-paving courtyards improves water infiltration and contribute to the reduction of the heat-island effect

Observation of biodiversity improves the chances that children can imagine their own NbS

The monitoring of biodiversity can allow children to quantity the effect of the NbS and develop critical thinking

The 12 competencies are part of the GreenComp framework accessible here: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128040

GreenComp framework for Case study:-

-Embodying sustainability values, including the competences

☒valuing sustainability

☐supporting fairness

☒promoting nature

- Embracing complexity in sustainability, including the competences

☒systems thinking

☒critical thinking

☒problem framing

- Envisioning sustainable futures, including the competences

☒futures literacy

☒adaptability

☒exploratory thinking

- Acting for sustainability, including the competences

☐political agency

☒collective action

☒individual initiative

Transferability of result:

The project Vigie-Nature École can be directly transferred to neighbouring countries and with some modification of the protocols to the whole Europe. Translation of the specific part on NbS in the different country teaching languages is however mandatory.

Tools, results and data can help building NbS education programs and could allow us to extend the results in other region with other issues that NbS could help solve.

Lessons learnt:

Generic take-home messages referring to the objective e.g. related to the process of imparting education and awareness: the used process or the methods used.

Education with the Vigie-Nature École program has shown positive effects on the willingness of kid to increase the quantity and the diversity of natural elements within their schools or gardens. Multiple school are now implementing facilities that favour biodiversity at different scales with effect for example on gender equality (better sharing of the space in courtyards).