It’s a Fact

Marie-Josée launched Projet sans Frontièrs, teaching children to be aware of their role as responsible green citizens.

A major accomplishment for Marie-Josée is Projet sans Frontières (Project without Borders). Promoting the six “Rs”--rethink, recycle, reduce, reuse, restructure and re-evaluate--Projet sans Frontières mobilized students in support of local environmental action. Taking part in group activities, students become aware of their role as responsible citizens and the importance of addressing local environmental issues. To complement their environmental education and action, students are exposed to a value system that inspires equity, justice, respect and empowerment.

Building on the success of Projet sans Frontières, Marie-Josée also developed partnerships with the community IGA and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. In cooperation with the school’s environmental committee, principal, staff and the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Forestry Association, the community-based partners developed a project focused on responsible consumption. Students

• Conducted research on local environmental issues
• Expressed these issues artistically on paper grocery bags from the local IGA store
• Gave the bags to IGA customers to carry their groceries.

The grocery bag project served as an important communications tool in the community, promoting responsible consumption and local environmental action.

Other accomplishments of Marie-Josée include

• Mentoring youth during Projet Intégrateur, a sustainable development project that gets students involved in the community
• Organizing field trips, such as to Urbaniain Quebec City, for students to attend eco-exhibitions on urban planning, overpopulation and overconsumption
• Developing a greeting card campaign where students created cards out of recycled materials, depicting natural scenes, and distributed them to senior residences
• Participating in the AQUÉSAP Eco-Conference
• Winning the regional Essor2007Award in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Partnership category.

For her part, Marie-Josée carries a message of hope. And this hope translates into action, creating positive change for her students and the community.