Like a bookmobile, a Naturo'bus will soon be crisscrossing the country roads in Charente

The Charente Departmental Hunters' Federation has created a mobile nature discovery site. Naturo'bus is a traveling biodiversity observatory, a project designed not for hunters but by them.

"We live in ordinary biodiversity, but we don't know it well, so we don't protect it well." Faced with this observation, the director of the Charente Departmental Hunters' Federation, Cyril Moreau, has come up with an innovative tool to raise awareness about nature among as many people as possible.

Approved for environmental protection, "the federations do not limit their actions to hunters alone, but participate in raising public awareness on issues of general environmental interest," recalls Cyril Moreau.

Like its counterparts, the FDC16 is well-versed in educational activities in schools, governed by a partnership agreement for education in sustainable development. It is not a question of promoting hunting – in fact, it is technicians from the federations who act as nature facilitators approved by the National Education system – but of encouraging the discovery and understanding of the local environment.

It is clear during these interventions that, while they "are at the top of their game when it comes to elephants and dinosaurs, schoolchildren have more difficulty recognizing blackbirds or roe deer," the director of the FDC16 has observed from experience.

Additionally, with budget cuts, schools can increasingly afford bus travel. "And, while there is a strong public interest in nearby nature, we lack educational tools and materials." So the Charentais created this tool. A mobile tool.

This will be the Naturo'bus, a traveling biodiversity observatory that should soon see the light of day. "We're not inventing anything," the director modestly explains. Inspired by the bookmobiles that crisscross the countryside, the FDC16 intends to bring nature directly to the population, where awareness-raising resources and materials (museums, exhibitions, educational bases) are lacking, particularly in villages, medium-sized towns in rural areas, or disadvantaged neighborhoods.

To reach as many people as possible, the Naturo'bus aims to travel to schoolyards or businesses, but also to be present "door to door" during local festivals or events related to nature.

Naturo'bus is actually a converted educational trailer. The central element of the project is an interactive model representing a watershed with a forest environment, agrosystem, soil, pond, etc., which allows for the discussion of a range of topics related to sustainable development and knowledge of ordinary biodiversity.

“From wonder will be born the desire to protect. We want to make the public an active participant.”

To make things fun, it will be possible to manipulate, add, remove, or rotate elements. "It's to show that everything is interconnected," Cyril Moreau enthuses. "A grassy strip or a hedge can have a direct impact on flooding in Angoulême."

Neither too technical nor too simplistic, the product, which adapts to its audience, is scalable. The Naturo'bus concept already includes a digital application for tablets. "Each click will open a page of information with images, text, sound, or video. For example, by clicking on the hedge, I open a page on the hedge's birds with their characteristics, photos, and songs," explains the director of FDC16.

The bookmobile encourages users to read. "We want to force those who have access to the Naturo'bus to read," emphasizes Cyril Moreau. "Our challenge is primarily local. We talk about what affects everyday life when we take our bikes and go out. Knowing how to put on boots and recognize a frog, a bat, and tree species."

“We need to rediscover the link or connection between what we learn at school and what we see around us. We need to reconnect people with nature, especially children,” insists the director of FDC16. “The erosion of biodiversity has never been greater. The goal is not to stigmatize or instill guilt, but to spark curiosity. From wonder will be born the desire to protect. We want to empower the public. How can we, young and old, take action on a daily basis?”

> This article is from the editorial supplement “Opening of the hunt: a life-size passion” published in the editions of “Sud Ouest” of September 12 and 13, 2025 and available on newsstands at sudouest.fr