“I caught the weather bug when I was little”

Why did you engage in the operation?

I caught the weather bug when I was little. My father, a farmer, took readings every day with his rain gauge and mercury. My uncle was a correspondent for Météo France. As a result, we talked a lot about the color of the sky at family gatherings. My great-grandmother and my grandmother often talked about the tornado that hit Ille-et-Vilaine on May 8, 1923. I always listened attentively.

I would have loved to become a meteorologist, but you needed a very good level of physics and I’m a literary person. As soon as I started teaching, I tried to share my passion with my students. And, three years ago, I wanted to go further. As part of the program, I set up a vegetable garden and weather workshop with fourth and third grades. The establishment, for its part, financed the installation of a professional weather station within its walls.

How do you use data?

The objective is to use them to know what to plant at what time but also to support educational projects or certain courses. It can be used in mathematics to learn to read diagrams, or in physics to understand atmospheric pressure and, of course, in history and geography.

In my fourth grade class on the slave trade, I used them to explain to my students how the trade winds pushed boats to the Americas. When I talk about the French Revolution, I talk to them about the Little Ice Age which occurred between 1787 and 1789.

Some young people have absolutely nothing to do with these subjects, but if I manage to make at least a few aware of the environment and climate change, I will be happy.