Organisations supported
The Mountain Care Project supports associations working to protect the environment in Alpine regions and to improve access to the mountains.
Preserving our environment
Preserving our environment
Protect our winters
- Amount awarded: 8000 €
The organisation
Founded in 2015, Protect Our Winters France (POW France) is a committed organisation that unites the outdoor community around major environmental and social challenges. Its mission is to amplify the outdoor community’s voice to accelerate ecological and social transitions, grounded in collective intelligence, climate justice, and a systemic approach.
The project
With support from the Mountain Care Project, POW France is launching a groundbreaking initiative: the Decentralized Olympic Citizens’ Convention. Through participatory workshops held across France, the program brings together citizens, athletes, and local stakeholders to explore a fairer and more sustainable vision for the Olympic Games.
The goal? To generate concrete, locally rooted proposals that can influence national sports and environmental policies. Through a digital platform, educational toolkits, a public awareness campaign, and a final event to share outcomes, the project aims to strengthen local democracy while placing environmental responsibility at the heart of major sporting events.
Une Bouteille à la Mer
- Amount awarded: 8000 €
The organisation
Founded in 2020, Une Bouteille à la Mer is an association that harnesses the power of imagery, sport, and collaboration to inspire respect for the environment. Supported by athletes, scientists, artists, businesses, schools, and local authorities, it creates original projects blending artistic creation, environmental awareness, and civic engagement.
The project
In connection with the International Year of Glaciers (2025), Une Bouteille à la Mer is developing two flagship initiatives: a documentary film and an educational-artistic exhibition. These works aim to reveal the beauty and fragility of glaciers amid climate change, using a sensitive and impactful approach.
The projects will be shared with schools, companies, local communities, and the media to foster broad awareness about protecting these iconic mountain environments. Support from the Mountain Care Project will fund production, distribution, and numerous field-based outreach activities requested by the public.
Mountain Riders
- Amount awarded: 7000 €
The organisation
Since 2001, Mountain Riders has been raising awareness and driving ecological transitions in mountain regions.
With a team of 18 employees, the organisation focuses on three main areas:
- Education
- Zero Waste Mountains,
- Flocon Vert – a recognized certification for mountain resorts committed to sustainable practices.
The project
In 2025, Mountain Riders will organize two Flocon Vert Eductours, major events for the network of certified and transitioning resorts.
These two-day events will bring together representatives from regions committed to the Flocon Vert initiative to:
- visit field projects
- explore key issues such as seasonal housing, inclusion, and ecotourism
- build connections, share ideas, and inspire one another across regions.
Support from the Mountain Care Project will help fund these events and further strengthen the network of territories committed to ecological transition.
Névé
- Amount awarded: 4800 €
The organisation
Founded by dedicated scientists, NEVE is a popular education association that raises awareness about climate change for diverse audiences. Using a scientific, artistic, and participatory approach, it seeks to inspire awareness and foster individual and collective action. Its activities primarily target young people—especially middle school students—but also engage the general public and professionals through training sessions and workshops.
Operated collegially with a small team of staff and volunteers, NEVE combines knowledge, emotion, and creativity to make climate issues accessible to all.
The project
The Mountain Care Project supports Imagine Your Glacier, a unique initiative blending climate awareness, field experience, and artistic creation. In summer, 15 young people will visit a glacier in the La Meije massif. The program includes hiking, overnight refuge stays, glacier observation, interactive workshops, and a collective graphic report created with a professional artist that documents their immersion. This work will become a traveling exhibition, extending the message beyond the trip.
Through this immersive and hands-on approach, Imagine Your Glacier helps young people, many of whom have limited access to the mountains, reconnect with these fragile environments and gain a concrete understanding of climate change.
Social diversity
Social diversity
En passant par la montagne
- Amount awarded: 9 000 €
The organisation
En Passant Par la Montagne makes the mountains accessible to people facing challenges or social exclusion in order to promote inclusion, social connection, and self-confidence. The association develops communitybased projects, public education initiatives, and training programs focused on the mountain environment.
The project
By 2026, the association will establish three inclusive mountain sports clubs: two for rock climbing and one for hiking. Open to people facing social vulnerability, disability, illness, or exile, these clubs promote regular, accessible, and community-based participation in mountain sports. The project also includes the creation of an inclusive trail running club and the organization of events centered on inclusive mountain sports.
Les Enfermés Dehors
- Amount awarded: 10 000 €
The organisation
Les Enfermés Dehors introduces young people who are geographically or socially isolated from the mountains and nature to these environments. The association develops their independence through supervised activities, safety education, and an approach that respects the mountain environment.
The project
The association organizes two weekly programs for groups of young people aged 6 to 16, featuring Wednesday outings in the mountains and activities such as hiking, skiing, rock climbing, and caving. The program promotes social inclusion, self-confidence, independence, and an introduction to mountain-related professions
Yambi
- Amount awarded: 8000 €
The organisation
Founded in 2020 in Annecy, YAMBI is an association dedicated to welcoming and supporting exiled and refugee individuals by combining mountain sports, socio-professional integration, and environmental awareness.
Its mission is to build bridges between local and exiled communities, promoting social diversity and deepening understanding of climate and human issues. The organisation is driven by dedicated leadership, a diverse board, and an active staff, all united by the values of solidarity, dignity, and mutual support.
The project
Cordée d’Avenir is a people-first environmental initiative that blends physical activity, ecological education, and empowerment. Developed in response to the interconnected challenges of exile and climate change, the program includes two complementary components.
The first includes nature-based workshops, educational “fresques” (interactive group activities on climate, migration, and the mountains), and custom-designed board games—tools that build ecological awareness, encourage critical thinking, and foster civic engagement.
The second is physical and symbolic, using climbing to promote mental health, as well as physical and personal empowerment, especially for exiled women. Over time, some participants will be trained to pass these skills on to others.
1% Mont-Blanc
- Amount awarded: 4805 €
The organisation
Founded in February 2024 in Chamonix, 1% Mont Blanc is a young nonprofit inspired by the Vail Valley Foundation model. Its mission is to empower local youth to become changemakers through initiatives focused on sports, culture, and the environment.
The project
With support from the Mountain Care Project, 1% Mont Blanc will be able to continue and expand its programming in 2025. Plans include growing flagship events like the Super Pitch, offering new opportunities for engagement, such as masterclasses and meetings with inspiring figures, and launching a wider range of youth-led initiatives throughout the region.
CIMME
- Amount awarded: 13 000 €
The organisation
CIMME supports young people who have dropped out of school and those seeking employment in careers related to the ecological transition in mountain regions. Through active, hands-on learning, the association brings together dedicated professionals and participants through work projects, field trips, and career exploration.
The project
By 2026, CIMME will roll out “out-of-the-classroom” re-engagement and prequalification programs for 16- to 30-year-olds, combining hands-on projects, exploration of mountain-based careers, and biodiversity awareness. In 2026, the objectives are twofold: to train 10 young people in sustainable tourism and mountain conservation careers, with support toward employment; and, at the same time, to raise awareness among 100 people who are far from the job market about future-oriented careers in the mountains.
École des Pôles
- Amount awarded: 6000 €
The organisation
École des Pôles is dedicated to raising climate awareness among the younger generation, particularly those facing social inclusion challenges, through the lens of science and wonder.
Its educational model combines scientific rigor with the exploration of polar regions, equipping new generations with a deeper understanding of climate change.
The project
In April 2025, École des Pôles led three weeks of climate awareness workshops in Bassens, near Chambéry, with a key objective: to reach over 600 students, many from underprivileged school settings (REP, SEGPA, multilingual classes, etc.).
These interactive three-hour workshops combine scientific exploration, quizzes, experiments, videos, and polar-inspired stories, fostering awareness that is both emotional and evidence-based.
Each session helps participants understand, feel, and act through mental mapping exercises, practical discussions of solutions, and personalized carbon footprint assessments (in partnership with ADEME) for older students.
Support from the Mountain Care Project will strengthen local impact, cover the costs associated with hosting these specific audiences, and provide sustainable educational materials to partner schools.
Fort de la Batterie
- Amount awarded: 15000 €
The organisation
Perched above Marthod, between sky and mountain, Fort de la Batterie is being brought back to life by a passionate volunteer-led association committed to transforming this former military site into an open refuge for all.
Driven by around fifteen highly active members and supported by a community of nearly 200 people, the association organizes cultural, festive, and sporting events while welcoming hikers from May to October. Its mission is to bring together heritage, nature, and inclusion.
The project
The association is developing a 30-bed mountain refuge designed as a place for connection, learning, and shared experience—especially for young people and groups with limited access to the mountains.
This “shared refuge” will be much more than a shelter:
- a space to explore alpine ecosystems,
- a site for hands-on environmental education,
- a place to live together, learn mutual support, and create lasting memories that bridge social divides.
The project is supported by a network of partners committed to inclusion (Les Enfermés Dehors, Mountain Riders, Ma Chance Moi Aussi, among others), and aims to offer every young person the chance to spend a meaningful night in the mountains in this exceptional setting.
Femmes en Montagne
- Amount awarded: 5 000 €
The organisation
Femmes en Montagne works to make the mountains more inclusive, accessible, and equitable. Through its festival and awareness-raising initiatives, the association highlights women’s participation in mountain sports, promotes gender diversity in outdoor sports, and encourages a more diverse representation of both participants and professionals in the mountain sector.
The project
Femmes en Montagne works to make the mountains more inclusive, accessible, and equitable. Through its festival and awareness-raising initiatives, the association highlights women’s participation in mountain sports, promotes gender diversity in outdoor sports, and encourages a more diverse representation of both participants and professionals in the mountain sector.
