An Intergenerational Education Project Aiming at the Improvement of People's Relationship with their Environment

Abstract

Abstract To improve people's relationship with their biophysical environment and their community, an educational model was created and an experiment carried out with an intergenerational group in the coastal village of Cap-Pele, Canada. The model consisted of inviting the participants to visit their environment in order to know, appreciate and criticise it, share their impressions, project a future vision of it, and take environmental action. The model, as applied, contributed to augmenting the young students' knowledge of their bioregion, their desire to act to protect their surroundings, their sense of belonging, the frequency of their visits to their natural environment and their critical observation abilities. Senior citizens became more attached to their environment, perfected their sensory abilities, and increased their participation in the quality of their environment. The intergenerational dimension of the project constituted an important motivational and mobilising factor for both social groups.