Protection of nature....and man in Seine-Saint-Denis

«  Seine-Saint-Denis is a department with a high unemployment rate and steadily rising numbers on income support: against this backdrop, the project to provide training to six income support recipients can only be seen as a step forward. Furthermore, the partnership established with the ANPE should help ensure the project's success. »

Pierre Poinsignon

With almost 6,000 inhabitants per square kilometre, Seine-Saint-Denis is one of the most built-up departments in France (national average: 110 inhabitants/km²) Needless to say, the few green areas which exists have become extremely precious and over-used, to the extent that they need to be carefully maintained to prevent deterioration. In addition, the department's unemployment rate is higher than the national average and there has been a steady rise in the number of income support recipients in recent years.
The "Amis naturalistes des coteaux d’Avron" association (ANCA), was founded in 1985 to protect the environment at disused gypsum quarries and has since specialised in conducting ecological studies and awareness programmes. ANCA recently decided to develop a project fulfilling a two-fold remit: preservation of the local natural heritage and helping people back into work.

"Integration contracts" for instructors

In partnership with the ANPE (French national employment agency), bodies charged with overseeing school-to-work transition and other associations active in this field, it plans to employ and train income support recipients under "integration contracts" on projects to restore the department's natural environments which are under threat. The first worksites will be in the national park of Poudrerie (communes of Sevran and Villepinte) and in the forest of Bondy. Supervised by a site manager hired by ANCA, staff will be given specialised training in the various tasks to be undertaken: land clearance, selection and protection of plants to be preserved, planting of shrubbery, trail marking, etc. as well as maintenance of the equipment used. At the end of their "social integration" contract, the experience acquired will give them the confidence to apply for positions maintaining green areas and parkland, or as river maintenance workers, environmental officers, compost workers, etc.
The Veolia foundation has decided to provide 30,000 euros in funding for this project which will be used to purchase a vehicle to transport staff and equipment to the various work sites.