Mental health: the benefits of nature at the heart of the Face aux vents approach

Secondary 4 and 5 students from the Polyvalente des Îles were able to learn about positive mental health through nature-based intervention.

Jean-Philippe Leblanc, from the Magdalen Islands, now living in Montreal, came to present a workshop from his organization Face aux vents, at the invitation of Joël Lapierre from the Centre de services scolaires des Îles and Rachelle Leblanc from L’Éclaircie.

He summarized the activities of the Hêtre program, created in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, which aims to make young people aware of the benefits of contact with nature.

Trained as an adventure tourism guide, Jean-Philippe Leblanc felt that nature had more to offer than high-priced bucolic getaways.

This is why he decided to found his non-profit organization about ten years ago, which has led him to reach 3000 young people throughout Quebec.

« The approach is threefold: prevention, treatment and recovery, » says Leblanc.

A native of Havre-aux-Maisons, this man who has been carried to the four corners of the world by his passion was very happy to pass on his experiences to the young people of the Islands over the past two weeks.