Philippe Leonelli: 'The Maison de la nature, a fundamental pillar of education...'

Serving one's city means allowing each generation to live there serenely, that is to say the elderly as well as the youngest, insists the mayor. 'The population services division has worked hard on this through its various missions. With the CCAS, which multiplied recreational activities in 2024 (tea dances, Tuesday restaurants, seniors' afternoon teas, painting workshops, seniors' Christmas with 300 participants at the meal this year, which is a record, and 1,300 packages distributed, intergenerational outings, Semaine bleue, Octobre rose),' recalls the mayor.

16,000 MEALS DELIVERED

He continues: 'The CCAS is also, since November 2023, social assistance handling 650 cases, a strengthening of links with the mission locale for young people and the UPV for active people, a home help service benefiting around a hundred people and a meal delivery service (16,000 meals delivered in 2024), free legal consultations every two weeks, the (compulsory) analysis of social needs, the results of which will allow us to adapt our offer to the new needs of the inhabitants... Without forgetting a Maison sport santé certified in 2024 in partnership with the sports department, which has nearly 200 registered members. With its sports and community life department. Here too, the results speak for themselves. In 2024, the sports department also obtained the Ville active et sportive label from the Ministry of Sports, rewarding its offer and activities. And the Direction Enfance et Jeunesse which manages leisure centers, the Centre ados, the crèche, and the canteens,' lists Philippe Leonelli.

INNOVATIVE ACTION

For the Centre ados for example, the Ville set up an innovative action in 2024 that is already inspiring many other municipalities in Var. Concretely, this initiative entitled 'après l'exclusion, une solution' offers personalized support for young Cavalairois excluded for between 3 and 8 days from the Gassin college to maintain schoolwork while combining it with periods of responsibility and discovery in businesses or associations. However, the world is changing faster and faster in many areas, as the mayor also recalls: 'We may be captivated by the endless race for technological progress: artificial intelligence, digital technology, but the climate crisis that is having a lasting impact on us calls for a renewed commitment to the ecological transition and also for a form of cultural revolution. We must change our relationship with the living world, our relationship with consumption. In a world where the preservation of our planet is of paramount importance, we must integrate sustainable solutions into our projects. We also have the responsibility to raise awareness, educate, train, and transmit, particularly to young audiences and families.'

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Thus, the Maison de la nature, inaugurated in June 2024, goes in this direction according to the Municipalité. 'It is a fundamental pillar in environmental education, the development of biotechnology, green tourism throughout the year, and the creation of partnerships, notably with the Jardins du Rayol and the Conservatoire du littoral. This Maison de la nature was a waste treatment plant that stopped its activity in 1999. It had been decommissioned and then decontaminated in 2005, and the project to transform it into a virtuous building quickly became obvious at the time. It was an innovative idea, which above all took the ecological opposite of what had been done until then. But what would have been said if we had left things as they were? The building would have continued to deteriorate, to be squatted in, and to end up as an eyesore in the middle of natural areas... I do not believe that is what the Cavalairois wanted. Today, and after all the difficulties we encountered, I am proud to have been able to inaugurate it and I thank the État, the Département, and the Région for having supported us financially in this project, up to 50%, or about 2 million €, which will contradict the farfetched figures I have been able to hear or read on social networks.' 'Admittedly, the Maison de la nature has a cost and we hope in the coming years to achieve balance thanks to a diversified program and the many institutional or private partnerships we wish to establish to strengthen our attractiveness. But it is also a tool at the service of the Cavalairoises and Cavalairois in the same way as the Office municipal de la culture subsidized by the Ville or other services that you often enjoy for free in your daily life and which are not necessarily balanced... And yet, what haven't I heard on the subject,' concludes Philippe Leonelli.