Toulouse. A chicken coop at the Patte d’Oie school
Marcelle, Rosette and Coquillette are residents of the educational henhouse of the primary school of Patte d’Oie, the prime minister of Toulouse. A beautiful project initiated in March 2019 by the director Lauren Péré and a team of 12 teachers. “We built it in our spare time, then we ordered the eggs and the first births came in April,” she says. Since then, each day and in turn, supervised by Driss and Lisa in civic service, all the children of the school feed the chickens, clean the henhouse and collect the eggs. On weekends and school holidays, parents take over. A formidable educational, ecological and fun tool, the henhouse is a means of teaching biology and respect for animal welfare. “Explaining why there is no chick in the egg leads us to talk about reproduction, for example. The chickens eat the leftovers from the canteen and the droppings are used as compost for the school garden, which allows you to discuss topics such as waste reduction or food waste, ”adds Lauren. By making the students actors and responsible, this project has had a very positive influence on the school climate. “For many of them it is a valve” confides Lauren Péré. The educational henhouse of the Patte d’Oie has also been emulated since three other establishments took advantage of the experience to set up their own project.