In a highly rural département that attracts many tourists, where each bend in the road or country path reserves a little surprise, such as a magnificent vista or an unusually well preserved hamlet, maintaining the natural and architectural heritage is extremely important. Tremplin Insertion Environnement, an organization devoted to increasing employment in the Ardèche, understood this local need and decided to provide its own solution and at the same time respond to the need of its job-seeking clients.
Its green brigades—small groups of from five to seven people experiencing difficulty in finding a job, supported by a team manager—offer the region’s municipalities and individuals services in complete environment maintenance. They clear the sides of the lanes and roads, cut down dead trees, maintain the river banks, create hiking trails and can even repair stairs and dry-stone walls. In 1999, the green brigades had eight employees. In 2005, there were more than 60.

Enlarging the field of action

With this increase in personnel, and in demand, the green brigades are now in need of additional resources. The six existing teams work in a geographic area of close to 1,200 square kilometers that covers more than 70 municipalities. The financial assistance granted by the Veolia Environnement Foundation will go toward the purchase of an additional vehicle to transport team members to their work sites and will also enable the organization to buy hedge trimmers and chainsaws.