About the organization

Founded 45 years ago, ENvironnement JEUnesse works in environmental education “by and for the environment.” The organization emphasizes outdoor learning and develops programs adapted to schools and colleges. Its mission is to foster eco-citizenship rooted in democratic participation around socio-ecological issues.

Context

Building on its experience with programs such as Cégep Vert du Québec, ENvironnement JEUnesse is reimagining its offer for college students. With the Campus de l’Engagement, the organization seeks to design a learning-by-doing pathway for young adults, in partnership with youth initiatives and environmental events. Its goal is to equip, motivate, and connect young people ready to take concrete climate action.

Project Description

Le Campus de l’Engagement is an annual program welcoming three cohorts of 18- to 30-year-olds, each following a personalized pathway in communication, facilitation, or mobilization. It combines workshops, field visits, networking events, and training sessions. At the end of the program, participants receive a skills certificate attesting to their learning.

Educational goals

At the heart of the Campus is the development of future-oriented skills: civic engagement, critical thinking, collective leadership, and communication. The program encourages questioning how environmental issues are presented in colleges and promotes positive action narratives rather than alarmist messages. Engagement is seen as a collective process, mobilizing a community around local, concrete projects.

Methodology and Approach

Grounded in the principles of Environmental Education (ÉRE)—which seeks to nurture the individual and collective capacity to understand, feel, imagine, and transform the world so it remains livable, fair, and joyful—the program emphasizes active learning, co-creation, and democratic participation. It embraces a transformative approach that values young people as agents of change.

Drawing on the experience of Cégep Vert, it also demonstrates the potential of educational partnerships to foster active participation from the entire college community (administrators, students, staff).

Type of curriculum:

• Three flexible courses: communication, facilitation, mobilization
• Experiential and localized: field trips, visits, citizen events
• Real attention to on-the-ground realities: how is the environment discussed in colleges?
• Targeted networking events for engaged youth
• Certificate recognizing the engagement and skills acquired

Types of projects developed by participants

1. Citizen mobilization campaigns

• Organizing a petition or an event around a local issue (e.g., protecting a green space, improving access to active transportation). Setting up an environmental committee within a college or municipality.

2. Educational or media content creation

• Producing podcasts, videos, or posters about local climate issues. Running an Instagram account or page dedicated to the environment

3. Collective and intergenerational events

• Organizing a youth climate forum. Setting up a citizen café or green agora for community dialogue

4. Intervention or space-transformation projects

• Creating a community garden, composting area, or ecological corridor
• Greening a schoolyard or underused parking lot

5. Peer training and workshop facilitation

• Designing and running workshops in schools, community centers, or youth spaces
• Training young peers in eco-responsible communication or climate leadership basics

Participants in the programs have shared feedback such as:

“I realized I’m not alone. Other young people are asking the same questions, and together we can make things happen.”

“Before, I didn’t know where to start. Now I have tools, contacts, and a project I can lead.”

Skills and competencies developed

Collective action skills

• Organizing events, mobilizing people, facilitating groups
• Practicing teamwork, dialogue, and shared decision‑making

Critical thinking and systemic understanding

• Gaining a deeper grasp of the structural causes of environmental issues
• Learning to distinguish false solutions from fair transition pathways

Communication skills

• Tailoring messages to different audiences (youth, elected officials, media)
• Speaking and writing confidently about complex issues

Sense of personal and collective efficacy

• Building confidence in one’s ability to create change
• Developing a positive, sustaining, and joyful relationship to engagement

Eco-citizenship knowledge

• Understanding democratic participation tools (public consultations, councils, community organizations)
• Learning about laws, policies, and institutions governing the environment in Québec

The Campus seeks to make environmental engagement a collective endeavor. It responds to an identified challenge: young people want to get involved but lack structured spaces to act. Environmental education offers a strong foundation for building critical, ethical, and political competencies in youth. Inspired by models such as Cégep Vert, the Campus promotes the idea of a responsible college community, animated by a network of actors and good practices, and embodies the move from intention to action.