Students in the class "2nde3" at the Lycée Victor Duruy in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (France) have begun collecting traces of environmental change in the Haut-Adour region.
Since September 2024, at the Lycée Victor Duruy in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Hautes Pyrénées, France), Perrine Gourio and Lucile Landragin have been developing an educational project entitled ‘Transition’ as part of the geography, history and moral and civic education curriculum, with the class “2nde3”.
Over the past few months, the pupils have seen the play ‘Mort d'une montagne’ (Death of a Mountain), carried out an investigation into soft mobility in the area, received Laurence Guillermin, director of the media library and archives, to work on old documents relating to flooding in the valley, and also received François-Xavier Casanova and Matylda Benoist from the Centre Permanent d'Initiatives pour l'Environnement (CPIE 65).
Then, in December, they were given a prototype for an investigation booklet, with the task of looking for items (objects, personal photos from their personal or family archives) that they thought might evoke a change in the environment. The pupils looked for and unearthed photos and objects, and asked themselves what they had found. They also questioned members of their families, often their grandparents, and sometimes conducted interviews.
On 16 January, the students welcomed Aurélia Desplain, anthropologist and coordinator of ‘Changing Natures’ at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, to present the results of their work and their questions. Frédéric Labarbe, Principal of the Lycée, opened the session. Richard Sabatier, President of the Observatoire pour l'Archéologie et le Patrimoine en Haute-Bigorre, Christophe Herbas from the Stade Bagnérais Athlétisme, who has a race and documentary project linking the enduring glaciers, Matylda Benoist and François-Xavier Casanova from the CPIE joined Perrine Gourio and Aurélia Desplain to listen to the pupils' stories.
Several of them gave accounts of the disappearance of the snow and the melting of the Pyrenean glaciers, supported by old family photographs or more recent personal photographs. This led to discussions about the impact of these phenomena on economic activities and ecosystems, for example.
Others looked at the changes affecting different species living in the mountains: the wood pigeon and its migrations, the Bonnal lizard, now endemic, and the threatened Pyrenean Desman. A number of presentations focused on farming tools and activities, reflecting on both the impact of farming practices on the environment and, conversely, the impact of environmental changes on farming practices. Two budding branches were picked from home gardens and brought to class, as they raised questions among the pupils about the normality of budding in the middle of January.
This time of exchange was also an opportunity to highlight the difficulties of this collection: what could be meaningful, what could be shared, how could it be told?
Discover their contributions and stories:
“Perte de la neige” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/396
“Changement climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/397
“Changement climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/398
“Trace du passé” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/399
“Le glacier d'Ossoue” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/400
https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/401
“La grenouille pyrénéenne” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/402
“Impacte climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/403
“Ramondie des Pyérénées” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/404
“Impacte climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/405
“Le lézard du bonnal” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/406
“Branche de lilas” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/407
“La neige éternelle” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/408
“Fonte des neiges” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/409
“Le barage hydraulique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/410
“Impact climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/411
“Impacte climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/412
“Patrice de Bellefon” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/413
“La neige en plaine” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/414
“Le desman” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/415
“Transition climatique” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/416
“Evolution de l'agriculture” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/417
“La faune et la flore” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/418
“Cannons à neige” https://www.changing-natures.org/fr/contributions/419
A huge thank you and a big well done to each and every one of the students in 2nde3 for diving into this pilot project and taking on the role of scientists! Conducting an investigation, following documentation and clarification methods, multiplying and cross-referencing sources, then constructing their own narrative and sharing it - these are just some of the challenges that each pupil took up with brio!
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