Every day this summer, four million people will use the VINCI Autoroutes network.
Taking a break being an absolute necessity, motorists will discover on 18 giant panels of 150 x 150 cm and a cube of 220 x 220 cm photos of the fauna and flora of the Mediterranean.
“
It's about showing original aspects of the fish and their habitat,
testifies Nicolas Barraqué, photographer at Turtle Prod, author of the images and director of the publication of the magazine
Plongez!.
An introductory panel explains our goal: to introduce holidaymakers to the underwater Mediterranean who have sometimes never put their head under water.
But in a few centimeters, there is already life.
".
To discover
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"
We protect what we love
", used to say Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
But to love, you have to know, understand, learn.
With a photo of grouper or corb, with an image of feeding red coral polyps or that of the agglomerate of interlocking filaments of the incredible gorgonocephalus, the organizers hope that the awareness message will get through.
Produced in partnership with Galathéa, an international festival of the marine world which takes place every year in Hyères, the exhibition is also endorsed by the Rhône Méditerranée Corse Water Agency, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), the Ministry of the Sea and the French Federation for Underwater Studies and Sports (FFESSM).
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Without Posidonia, the public will no longer have a beach.
If there are no more fish, there will be no more fishermen.
If there are no more sea fans, there will be no more divers.
Pierre Boissery, sea expert at the Water Agency
To love, one must know, understand, learn.
Here, a common moray eel.
Nicolas Barraque / Turtle Prod
“
We can love ecology for ecology's sake,
testifies Pierre Boissery, sea expert at the Water Agency.
But we can also love ecology for the economy.
Posidonia (seagrass) prevents beach erosion.
Without Posidonia, the public will no longer have a beach.
If there are no more fish, there will be no more fishermen.
If there are no more sea fans, there will be no more divers.
Everything is connected.
The message is also to say that the Mediterranean is alive, beautiful, accessible with a mask and a snorkel and that to keep it healthy, every gesture counts
”.
Every day, VINCI Autoroutes departments collect 25,000 tonnes of waste across the entire network.
"Surprising Mediterranean" wants to attract the attention of holidaymakers through the aesthetics of the images.
Hoping that this beauty will make them think about when to put their towel on the beach, but also about everyday habits, including sorting waste.
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A first “zero waste” motorway service area
The organizers hope that the beauty of the photos will make holidaymakers think about putting their towels on the beach... or picking up their cups.
Nicolas Barraque / Turtle Prod
This is the aim of the nudge devices (playful covers for bins) tested at the Rousset and Cambarette rest areas (A8), towards Aix-en-Provence, L'Esterel (A8) towards Italy before Cannes and at the Barcelona rest area (A8) in the direction of Italy, before Saint-Maximin: "
The nudges will guide customers from the picnic tables to the containers,
explains Bertrand Wipf-Scheibel, communications director of the Escotal network
.
The containers are dressed as robots whose insides can be seen.
Communication is engaging, inciting.
The sorting instructions are clarified and made fun.
»
On July 4, the Esterel (A8) “zero waste” area will be inaugurated, in partnership with the Leclerc brand.
The idea is to encourage customers to adopt new consumption habits.
The watchwords: avoid, reduce, recycle waste.
Fifteen actions will be offered on the site to develop new mobility habits: liquid bulk, B-BOT recycling machine that transforms plastic bottles into flakes, tray sorting station, fountain to fill containers held by customers, recovery of coffee grounds to make potting soil, sale of durable containers, elimination of plastic gloves at pumps, ashtray for collecting cigarette butts to promote them, corners of local products, recovery of packaging at the checkout to promote them,
Where to find “Surprising Mediterranean”
Beausoleil area (A8), which overlooks Monaco, Arc area (A8), after Aix-en-Provence, towards Italy, Liouquet area (A50), before Toulon, Ambrussum area north ( A9) towards Spain, before Montpellier.