“Generation Yann Arthus-Bertrand. ” This is what an agricultural school manager called his students ten years ago. With this formula, he revealed, among these young people, a somewhat romantic approach to environmental issues. Today, things have changed. At AgroParisTech, the leading Parisian school in the sector, General Manager Gilles Trystram observes: “In agro school, students are often more committed to these issues than those from other grandes écoles. But now, this commitment is not only stronger than ten years ago, but also more expressed. ” And more anchored. With a father working in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Marlène, a student at AgroParisTech, has been immersed in ecological issues since her adolescence. Even before pushing the doors of this same school, from which she is now a graduate, Adèle had been marked by the books of Pierre Rabhi but also of Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer, the founders of the Bec-Hellouin permaculture school ( Eure).
Societal changes are obviously not for nothing. As summarized by Marie Lummerzheim, director of UniLaSalle Rouen school, “Reality hits harder, these young people have lost the ‘save the little birds’ side”. Unlike their elders, since their childhood, they have witnessed climatic upheavals, health crises, questions about “eating well”. So many episodes that “Participate in their awakening”, analysis Pascal Laffaille, director of Toulouse INP-Ensat. “Their profile has increased, confirms Séverine Cavret, educational manager at Isara-Lyon. They need to have a role in the world of tomorrow. “ And some do not wait until tomorrow to hold it.
For some, “the bundle of cakes wrapped in cardboard and plastic, which are cheap and keep a long time, is a living comfort. To renounce it would be to regress. “
If the associative network is generally very dynamic in higher education, in agro schools, it takes on a particular color. In second year at Agrocampus Ouest, Camille talks about the gardening club or the compost set up in her establishment. At Ensaia in Nancy, William takes advantage of an association for the maintenance of peasant agriculture (AMAP) created by the students. While at Montpellier SupAgro, the students sent a letter to the candidates for the management of the establishment to demand more actions in this area. “We talk a lot about sustainable development and the social and solidarity economy in our lessons, justifies Charlotte, in her last year, but this was not necessarily found in the operation of our establishments. “
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