Manuterra: Educating children about the living world

Manuterra is an environmental education scheme launched in 2021 by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. Through a series of fun sessions introducing the students to gardening, they learn to understand, respect, cultivate and protect the natural world.

Plots are created, planted and maintained, and are passed down to new classes the following September. The Manuterra scheme creates a virtuous cycle of gardens cultivated by students aged 7 to 15 during school hours. By immersing children and young people in nature, this project aims to raise their awareness of environmental issues through the implementation of basic permaculture techniques.

Over twelve sessions, each class, supported by a gardening professional (gardener, landscaper, fruit and vegetable grower, horticulturist, etc.) and a mediator, is taught to work the land while learning about essential issues such as water management, the cycle of plants, the life of the soil, the consequences of global warming, natural fertilizers, and so on. Manuterra also enables students to study traditional subjects differently in outdoor classes that are both practical and stimulating.

As part of its efforts to protect biodiversity, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès launched this new scheme in the Fall of 2021 in partnership with the Saline Royale d’Arc-et-Senans, the Besançon education department, and the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France association, which provides vocational training.
Manuterra will be rolled out in new schools from September 2023 in an effort to enable more of the citizens of the future to take responsibility for protecting our planet through an understanding of the cycles of nature and gardening skills.

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