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On this winter morning, a kindergarten child is piling up wood shavings into small heaps.
A few meters further on, seated on logs, schoolchildren are talking quietly on their logs.
Welcome to one of the new “ reinvented
” playgrounds
, in the words of the Nantes town hall, which describes in particular
“inclusive lessons that promote equality between girls and boys”
and
“climatically adapted”
.
Since these redevelopments, “
there is a real difference.
Before, ball games took up all the space and the other students were around
“, shares Marilys Hurel, director of the Nantes elementary school Chêne d’Aron, remembering the two former playgrounds which occupied the entire surface.
From now on, the students are scattered all over the place.
In this establishment in the city center, work took place this summer.
Due to problems of tree branches falling on students, it was necessary to think quickly about their safety, while preserving the five hundred-year-old lime trees located in the middle.
It is in this context that the elementary and nursery schools benefited from a partial restructuring of their exterior, to the tune of €17,000 and €33,000 respectively.
Read alsoSkipping rope against football field: the school targeted by left-wing mayors
At the beginning of February, during the last city council, a deliberation was voted concerning the construction of the future Joséphine Baker school on the island of Nantes.
"
A specific treatment of these outdoor spaces has been planned, to help fight against high heat (light floor coverings, water points, shade and more greenery) and to offer facilities promoting equality between girls and boys, l universal accessibility and children's relationship to nature
", it is specified.
In total, during Johanna Rolland's second term, 51 courses (out of 157) must be "
reinvented
".
At least six are already, others are in the process of being.
Education is one of the priorities of the City, which devotes the bulk of its expenditure to it.
It is difficult to know the precise part dedicated to the layout of its outdoor spaces because often this is integrated into the general budget (buildings included) of construction or renovation.
For example, at Joséphine Baker, the total cost of the operation represents 15.8 million euros.
The numbers also vary from project to project.
While some only undergo occasional interventions, others undergo more extensive work.
However, the City was able to account for approximately 5 million
Children give their opinion
Assistant to the city of Nantes in charge of Education, Ghislaine Rodriguez details the philosophy of these new features:
“the project combines three things
”.
First, “
ecological transition
” to “
adapt the city to climate change
”.
This goes through trees, bushes, permeable soils... Then, it is part of a logic of "
equality
": "
the inequality between girls and boys is the most glaring axis
", details the chosen one, which indicates that these open-air places were designed with the geographer of the genre Édith Maruejouls.
Sports areas, often used by boys, are intended to be reduced:
"It's important that the girls can feel entitled to occupy the central space of the court"
.
The integration of people with reduced mobility is also taken into account with, for example, small islands on the wood chips to facilitate the passage of children with motor difficulties.
Finally, “
citizen dialogue
” and “
consultation
” are omnipresent: staff, parents and children are consulted.
As part of the restoration of the Châtaigniers school, an association intervened and worked with “drawings
that make the court speak
”.
The students expressed their desires and ideas in this way.
Read alsoWhen playgrounds become the theater of drama
Thanks to the testimonies collected, Ghislaine Rodriguez can affirm, while passing in front of wooden tepees, that “
the cabins are in great demand
” by schoolchildren.
Opposite, a large brand new play structure of the Chêne d'Aron kindergarten attracts many children.
It is not intended to be duplicated: "
we try to put games less formatted than that
", continues the assistant, who visited playgrounds in Paris and Rennes before piloting the Nantes project.
Several huts have been inserted in the nursery courtyard of the Chêne d'Aron school.
DR
“We try to put games less formatted than that”, explains Ghislaine Rodriguez, about this “game catalog”.
DR
The new courses are also intended to “
learn outside
”.
This allows teachers
to "use natural elements
", such as "
making piles of ten with the shavings to learn to count
".
A reflection on the location of the toilets is also being studied, with the possibility of integrating them in the middle of the courtyard to better monitor them.
Over time, these relaxation areas will also be
“integrated into the neighbourhoods”
: they can be used by other people outside of school hours.
In Loire-Atlantique, the department is also carrying out a reflection on the development of college courses, for which it is in charge, for "
better living together
" and "
allowing nature to take back its place
".
