Throughout the summer, discover the beauty of the Mediterranean coastline and the importance of preserving it even before you can set eyes on the Big Blue. Vinci Autoroutes, in partnership with the festival Galathea and the CPIE of the Îles de Lérins and Pays d’Azur, is organizing an exhibition and workshops to raise awareness among holidaymakers, at the Arc rest area on the A8 motorway (approximately 20 km after Aix-en-Provence towards Nice).
Admire marine species and the richness of the Mediterranean seabed, adopt the right actions to protect and preserve this coastline during vacations… Tourists on the holiday route and motorists passing through the Arc rest area will have the chance to discover the Mediterranean differently thanks to the summer events #BienArriver.An exhibition that comes to lifeOn the shaded path of the rest area, an exhibition of 18 panels presents emblematic species of flora and fauna from the Mediterranean Sea. Learn the actions to protect this fragile ecosystem, avoid those that might harm it… this exhibition highlights the importance of preserving this underwater wealth. Thanks to the « Discover Differently-Mediterranean » app, visitors bring the photographed species to life. This augmented reality app indeed makes turtles, dolphins, or wrasses appear in 3D on their smartphones. This exhibition is organized in partnership with Galathea, the international marine world festival in Hyères and was realized by Declic Bleu Méditerranée, Turtle Prod andSub Oceana.
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Fun workshopsIn parallel to this exhibition, several educational workshops will be organized on Fridays and Saturdays this summer by the Permanent Center for Environmental Initiatives (CPIE) of the Îles de Lérins and Pays d’Azur. The focus is on the presence of waste on the coastline and these workshops will raise awareness among holidaymakers to adopt eco-responsible behavior:
- A sieving workshop to highlight the presence of microplastics in the sand.
- A garland creation workshop to engage in a concrete action for environmental protection.
- A play and reading corner for a quiet moment with books and board games on the theme of nature and the sea.
- A plastic bottle picked up 800 meters deep to understand that some waste will take a long time to decompose.
- Samples of Posidonia observed under a microscope to understand the importance of flora in the marine ecosystem.
To go further, solutions are offered to vacationers to limit their daily waste production and to remind them of the importance of quality sorting, a guarantee of optimized recycling.
A freediving champion engaged in the fight against wasteSaturday, July 13th, the launch of these summer events will take place at the Arc rest area. The partner associations will be present, as well as Stéphane Mifsud. The record holder and double world champion of freediving is particularly committed to protection and the environment and the fight against marine waste. Through his project « The Blue Odyssey, » he organizes expeditions, conferences, courses, and cleanup campaigns to share his knowledge of the marine environment and preserve the environment.
Margot Harty