The coast is an exceptional area where many different activities take place: port activities, shipping, trade, coastal tourism,… Against these assets, the coast is also confronted with many building and infrastructureprojects. The last chains of dunes are now legally protected, yet they remain vulnerable. Damage caused by man can be avoided through education and raising the awareness of the general public. The North Seamay seem an inexhaustible source of wealth, yet fishermen are confronted with the fact that fish resources are dwindling. Birds suffer from pollution and the water quality proves that the sea is not an endless, selfregulatingspace. The Sea and Polder project aims to make the various target groups aware of this and to give a cross-border dimension to nature and environment education. Achievements: Action 1- Raising awareness for maritime and coastal wealthThe marine environment education actions have been structured around a cross-border event, i.e. the Week of the Sea project. This project, initiated by the province of West Flanders, was already integrated in a previous French-Belgian project, the TjifTjaf project.The event was an ideal opportunity for cross-border residents (12,000 participants) to discover the coast. Thanks to an efficient collaboration between the partners, the event was a success. The joint inaugurations have been additional assets of the cross-border project. Two meeting moments of the educational and institutional partners enabled 258 French and Belgian cross-border participants to meet in Ostend (Raversijde) and Dunkerque.The collaboration also enabled the joint organisation of general public activities, such as:- guided visits (on foot or by bike for a half or full day).- A cross-border hike (De Panne/Bray-Dunes).- On 26 and 27 November 2011, at the Assises Economiques et Maritimes du Littoral meeting in Dunkerque, the CPIE Flandre Maritime manned a standoncoastal environment. Belgian and French educational tools werepresented: a bird kit, eco-guides Laisse de mer and Fleurs des dunes (dune flowers), marine environment Vliz posters (Dutch posters translated into English, German and French) and coastal photographs of the Province of West Flanders. - Cross-border visits to natural sites in both countries.- Joint actions on sustainable fish and bilingual entertainment, such as the Amphibiens nature walk (amphibians) at the Dune du Perroquet in Bray-Dunes, Anes et caleches(donkeys and carriages) to discover the Dune de Cabourg in Belgium, and, finally, an activity on cooking with wild plants.- Participation in 2010 in Ostend of a French delegation (50 participants) in the day of the Animateur de la mer (55 Belgian participants) with Belgian, French and Dutch workshops.- Design of a map La nature du littoral (the nature of the coastline). In total, 50,000 cross-border maps providing an overview of natural spaces were distributed in 2008. In 2009/2010, joint programmes were distributed with a cross-border tear-off map (50,000 copies). In 2011, the partners achieved considerable cost cuts by reducing the number of pages and applying new formats and lay-outs.- Visit of the French educational partners to the Week of the Sea in Nieuwpoort, highlighting the importance of the educational project.- A bilingual conference involving French and Belgian specialists on the theme The sea, tomorrows energy?.Almost 200 French-Belgian partners dedicated themselves to making the project a success.2012, the last year of the cross-border cooperation for the Week of the Sea, has not been intense, but the foundation was established and consolidated for future collaborations(between educational partners, changes to the activities on the other side of the border, input of ideas and suggestions, ...).The event now has a unique communication style, bilingual activities and joint cross-border bilingual training courses.CommunicationA common visual has been applied to the various communication tools on both sides of the border. The visual was chosen by both project partners. The Week van de Zee and les Semaines de la Mer logos have the same form and colour and have been used transversally in the communication tools on both sides of the border.A common general public entertainment programme was developed as well as a tear-off cross-border map to encourage French-Belgian exchanges.Promotion videos (DVD in tourism offices/films on the partner websites) andpromotion of the Week of the Sea on the regional television highlighted the cross-border natureof the event.Action 2 – Discovering the countless treasures of the Flemish poldersThe cross-border polder area presents all the advantages for educational actions to various target groups. The ecological issues are well presented and the territory is directly confronted with climate change impact.It was decided to put in place a polder working group with French and Belgian specialists to work on various polder themes: water management specialists, historians, ecologists, geologists, architects, spatial planning experts, etc. Unfortunately, as no similar partners could be found in France, the creation of the group failed.However, on 28 August 2009, a meeting was held in Bruges with Belgian specialists willing to participate in the working group and environment education actions on the polder themes were developed:- Welcomeof 12 French and Belgian classes in the context of an educational project led by SAGE Yser. The project was concluded in Belgium with the exploration of the Yserestuary (by Belgian nature guides that had takena French training course) and a visit to the Blankaart nature reserve.- Signature of a bilingual water charter.- Cross-border bilingual bicycle trips have been organised to discover the link between sea and polder, cross-border water management, ecological corridors.Finally, a six-month extension was obtained by the partners during the first semester of 2012, during which the eco-guide Le Monde fascinant des polders (the fascinating polder world) was created. This bilingual guide was jointly developed by French and Belgian naturalists.Action 3 – Professionalising and internationalisingreception facilities at visitor centres and environment educationThe consolidation of the cross-border environment stakeholder network has been a success. On the one hand, the relationship between the project partners and other structures hasevolved, and on the other hand, initiatives were taken within the network.The action has enhanced exchanges and meetings between cross-border residents, enabling them to discover the natural spaces and visitor centres across the border in their own language. The cross-border nature and naturalist guide network provided the basis for general public entertainment and actions.On the programme:-Guided cross-border bilingual visits Unétédans les dunes flamandes (a summer in the Flemish dunes) have become a point of pride in the guided nature visits calendar of the various stakeholders.- Meetings and debates between cross-border residents, adaptation of educational tools and exhibitions... This action constitutes the common thread of the project: it is omnipresent in all the actions, both in the Week of the Sea event as in the polder actions.- Voluntary nature guide training days, organised by the CPIE Flandre Maritime (February 2011 training on birds and in May a training on the coastal flora), 7 Dutch-speaking persons participated in the training, and the bilingual educational tools available in the French-Belgian visitor centres were presented.- Discovery of new dune species: in Lefrinckoucke, Belgian botanists discovered rare plant species in the Belgian dunes (lizard orchid, proliferous pink,…), in Bray-Dunes at the Dune du Perroquet, excursion around insects, which was very popular among children.- Presentation of the cross-border project at Plopsaland in De Panne, for the television and joint broadcast CPIE FM/VBNC de Nachtegaal.The CPIE and the Province ofWest Flanders remain privileged partners of the French and Belgian networks for environment education projects.Action 4- Project coordinationA press conference was also held regardingthe Mer et Polder/Zee en Polder project, at the Groot Moerhof (partners - VBNC de Nachtegaal, BC IWVA de Doornpanne, milieudienst De Panne, Johan Termote, Ferme des Aigrettes de Marck, SyndicatIntercommunal des Dunes de Flandre, JoëlBurny - as well as 2 French media- journal Le Phare + radio Delta FM). Following this press conference: 10 species from the eco-guide were presented during the summer in the journal Le Phare)