A national label distinguishes Alès schools that are virtuous for the environment

Le label Eco-Ecole, affiché devant l’école Calendreta, à Rochebelle. EBG

À chaque rentrée scolaire, les écoles peuvent obtenir le label Eco-Ecole, qui distingue des projets en lien avec l’écologie. Quatre écoles gardoises ont été retenues.

On the façade of some schools, the green flag, bearing the Eco-Ecole label, is proudly displayed. Four schools in Gard have obtained this certification introduced in France in 2005. This recognition is awarded to schools that are committed to a sustainable development and environmental education approach.

Grafting onto a theme

Among them, two concern the Alès basin and their track record is remarkable. The Artès-Les Olivettes Medical-Educational Institute (IME) in Saint-Privat-des-Vieux. Certified gold, holds six labels, one per year. The establishment files “each year a compensation file to participate in the Eco-School program. Participating in this project helps establish sustainable development education with young people”, explains Sabrina Giroult, technical manager at the establishment.

The concept is simple: schools participating in the program set up concrete projects to improve their environment and promote ecological behavior with students, educational staff, and sometimes even the local community. “It is on the theme of food that the IME chooses to focus its actions”,summarizes the manager. The topics covered can include waste, energy, biodiversity, solidarity, and water. It is on this last theme that the Calendreta school, in Rochebelle, has focused. The establishment obtained, for this new school year, seven labels, proof of everyone's commitment to the process.

A seven-step process

To obtain the Eco-School label, an establishment must follow an annual process in seven steps, with an environmental audit, the choice of an annual theme, the implementation of an action plan, the evaluation and the communication of the results. In France, nearly 800 establishments have been awarded the label.

To participate or renew their commitment, schools simply need to register on the website of the French Office of the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe (of-FEEE), which manages the program in France.

The Saint-Firmin college in Uzès and the Valsainte Institute in Nîmes also bear the Eco-Ecole label. I subscribe to read more