About us | 8 vies

The association

8 vies pour la planète is a technical innovation association dedicated to the environment. In our development laboratory, we design high-tech devices for scientific research. Our goal is also to make this world accessible to everyone, so that each person can develop a critical view of future challenges.

We invite participants in our civic workshops to deepen their knowledge of the interactions between humans and the world around us, in a playful and artistic way. Several aspects are explored: renewable energy, pollution, ecosystem biodiversity — and for this we have several tools.

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5182

Participants in 2024

welcomed across all our projects, including 3,891 people at our awareness-raising workshops

270

Workshops in 2024

132 awareness workshops, 62 Café Vélo openings, 6 mobile bike repair workshops, 36 appliance repair workshops, 22 lagoon action days, 9 escape game training sessions, 3 association presentations at public events

Our actions take several forms:

Running educational workshops, games and escape games on different themes (biodiversity, plastics, renewable energy, air quality, etc.) to raise awareness of our relationship with the environment and convey a more positive, proactive vision of ecology

Repair workshops (electrical appliances, bicycles and more) and technical training

Nature outings (marine seagrass transplanting, waste collection, wild plant foraging)

Research and experimentation on the reintroduction of marine species in the Berre lagoon (sea eelgrass and flat oyster) and the transformation of a floating observation reef

Development of laboratories for seagrass cultivation and citizen air and water quality monitoring installations

The educational tools we have created are used to run quality workshops for the public: around ten educational game kits (games, boards, creative activities), 2 full-scale escape games and 2 mobile repair workshops (electrical repair and bicycle repair).

Our premises

Our offices and Fablab are housed in premises at the Parc de la Poudrerie, made available by the town of Saint-Chamas. In 2023, we designed two research laboratories for the health of the lagoon: a caravan called the Nautile, and a small shed at the Port de Beaurivage in Saint-Chamas. These laboratories contain pumps, a seawater circulation system and seed maturation tanks, considerably improving our seagrass transplanting technique and output.

Our audience

The audience welcomed by the 8 Vies pour la planète association is very diverse. During our workshops we work in schools, social centres and after-school programmes, addressing a young audience (5 to 18 years old). At events organised by local authorities, we reach a very wide audience: children, adults, seniors, families. We also regularly work in priority neighbourhoods (QPV) where we address a more socially excluded population less accustomed to environmental topics.
With the Café Vélo, we reach families as well as two-wheel enthusiasts. On Wednesdays, we welcome people with disabilities.

Finally, we welcome volunteers interested in our seagrass actions (ZoRRO project) for collection, monitoring and replanting, as well as during waste clean-ups. A particularly dedicated group of volunteers helps greatly with the Café Vélo and repair workshops (bikes and electrical appliances).

Who are we?