Ecolotheque

"Discover, be moved, understand. As its motto suggests, the Écolothèque is a little green paradise dedicated to environmental education for the children of the Metropole.
Temps de lecture : 4 minutes

Since its opening in 1992, it has given youngsters a playful way of discovering wild and tamed nature, agricultural practices (cultivation, breeding...) and urban ecology, as part of a drive to raise awareness of environmental issues. More than a million children have enjoyed the site since it opened!

Its history is linked to the Domaine du Mas de Grille, a former agricultural property on the outskirts of Saint-Jean-de-Védas. In 1987, the local authority built an educational farm there. The project expanded in 1990, when a leisure center was created alongside it. Montpellier District then imagined a center unique in France, combining the educational farm, the leisure center and a resource area around the environment and nature.

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A multi-purpose space

Ecolothèque

Located on a 4.5-hectare site, the Ecolothèque boasts numerous facilities:

  • an agricultural estate (orchard, greenhouses, gardens, farm animals...),
  • an educational pond,
  • a yurt,
  • beehives and an insect garden,
  • an interpretation trail,
  • rooms with scientific equipment (astronomy, meteorology, geology, biology.......),
  • a media library dedicated to nature and the environment...

The animation and extension team (over 20 people) offer a variety of activities: caring for farm animals (chickens, horses, donkeys, pigs, goats, sheep...), tending the vegetable garden and gardens, identifying insects, discovering the challenges of climate change. And even cooking with farm produce!

Online tools

To develop its awareness-raising mission, the Ecolothèque has set up a Pédagothèque, a digital catalog of free educational tools:

Educational library

Target groups

  • Children aged 4 to 12 taking part in leisure activities, on Wednesdays and during school holidays
  • Schoolchildren, as part of scientific awakening
  • Groups from medical-social centers and crèches
  • Metropole childcare professionals for training.

FAQ

The Ecolothèque opens its doors to the general public twice a year: on European Heritage Days (September), and during the Fête de la Nature (May). Apart from these exceptional openings, the Ecolothèque is not open to free visitors, its access is reserved for the public listed above.

The Ecolothèque website offers a catalog of free educational tools. www.ecolotheque.montpellier3m.fr/pedagotheque


The Nature en Jeux platform is specifically designed to list educational resources developed by the Metropole's EEDD partners around environmental themes that concern the Mediterranean basin.
www.nature-en-jeux.montpellier3m.fr

Download a registration form and fill in a "family file", before the registration period. They generally open 6 to 8 weeks before the vacation period concerned, or at the end of June for registration for Wednesdays in the following school year. A calendar of registration periods is posted in advance on the Ecolothèque website.

The Écolothèque rates, voted by the elected representatives of the Métropole, are based on the family quotient. A rate simulator is available on the site in the Accueil de loisirs / inscriptions tab.

All cycles 1 to 3 classes in Metropolitan France schools, subject to availability.

The registration campaign kicks off in mid-May, and lasts until the end of July.

The EcoMétropole program is a training offer for children's professionals working in the Montpellier Metropolitan area, committed to the Environment. It also aims to create a network of committed players. Together, supported by Ecolothèque animators, they train, create educational tools and help each other implement environmental projects aimed at children.

Childcare workers, educational coordinators, teachers, media librarians...: the program is open to children's professionals from the Metropole, within the framework of an agreement between the local authority and their commune.

The EcoMétropole program offers three ways to get involved:

  • Training courses: welcoming biodiversity, introducing children to ornithology, zero-waste cooking...: express 2h30 workshops to get to grips with new teaching tools;
  • Network projects: co-creation of games around the environment
  • coaching: garden appointments, follow-up on a specific project: coaching is adapted to needs, according to our availability
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Groups under agreement with the Metropole are welcomed during slots of 1 to 4h/week, from October to June.

The Ecolothèque rents out its spaces: outside and/or room, by the day or half-day (contact the Ecolothèque for rates).