Why nature and the environment to accompany vulnerable groups ?

Environmental protection is often associated with privileged social groups and considered as a need or an interest one can have only if they have the means to live their life with dignity. With this project, we wanted to question that idea and develop tools to make nature and the environment an inclusive space that fosters intercultural dialogue. Can nature help us see each other in a more equal way ? Can we make people’s knowledge and experiences visible through their relationship to nature ? Can we use nature’s benefits to better learn and develop a language ? Can we create more social links and motivations by knowing eco-friendly initiatives around us ?

On this website you will find theoretical and practical tools to introduce the link to nature in social and intercultural work.

The project

Green Interculturality is a European project carried out by 5 associations (in Palermo (IT), Barcelona (SP), Fort-de-France (FR) and Paris (FR)) which aims to promote and encourage the inclusion of newcomers through intercultural dialogue and nature. The aim is to develop pedagogical tools for professionals and volunteers to better accompany vulnerable groups thanks to nature.

In this framework, we developed facilitation tools and activities to implement in workshops run by facilitators with and for vulnerable groups with a migration background.

Objectives of the project :

To foster inclusion of adult migrants by

Developing language skills
Increasing networking
Integrating the new environmental context
Valuing their knowledge and experience

To provide professionals and volunteers with facilitation tools

so they can implement inclusion workshops related to nature and the environment

The facilitation tools were developed within different sets of workshops :

1st set of workshops – Nature and theatre : participants share their perceptions of nature, the way they interact with the environment through techniques of theatre forum. Thus, we make visible the cultural difference in the relationship with nature and value the knowledge present in the group.

2nd set of workshop – Language and nature : teaching and learning the host language through contact with nature. How can we use nature’s benefits to deal with stress, foster motivation and create the conditions to learn a language ?

3rd set of workshops – Mapping a neighborhood with eco-friendly and social places : participants build a map from recycled materials ; a map of their new city or neighborhood that presents places that are useful, helpful and eco-friendly. This map helps them appropriate their new environment and exchange information about where they can find the resources they need.