Septentrion Environnement: «A win-win partnership»

2017-03-29 - Diving / Freediving / Snorkeling

For a few months, Beuchat and the Septentrion association are working together for a better underwater ecosystem protection. Presentation of this association of Marseille.

Beuchat: Could you please present Septentrion. What are its missions?

Septentrion: We are biologist underwater divers. The idea is to mix discovering and exploration activities with the acquisition of underwater knowledge thanks to diving tools. We are going to conduct some transversal actions in favour of the underwater environment and its protection. We will search knowledge through scientific follow-up and environmental studies on field but we also know how to analyse data. Our mission is also to share this knowledge through professional training on underwater exploration and environmental diving. Finally, we promote all the underwater environment and its heritage. We also organize some scientific meditation to the general public through leisure diving trainings or education and awareness activities in underwater environment.

Beuchat: You are settled in the South of France in Marseille. But your projects are going beyond the Mediterranean Sea?

Septentrion: There are essentially running in South France but depending on the subjects on which we are working, we can broaden the scope of our activities. On the scientific part, we can work abroad because we have innovative and unique technical competences that are pursued by other research laboratories. Concerning awareness activities, we prefer acting locally and directly to the public. Finally, the medium on which we are working such as the exhibitions or the science popularized mediums are more widely distributed. We can operate on some shows in Paris.

Beuchat: So, the Mediterranean Sea is not your only field of action?

Septentrion: We are mainly operating on the Mediterranean Sea but we can act a bit beyond.

Beuchat: How can we increase public awareness of the importance of respecting the underwater ecosystem?

Septentrion: We want to give public the possibility to be directly in contact with the underwater environment to encourage people to protect it. The key is to make people know more about the ecosystem. Our solution is to bring the public underwater the more possible, proposing some snorkelling and diving sessions. The activities are offered to adults but also kids because they vehicle strong messages to adults.

We raise awareness among the whole public: kids, seniors, but also disabled people or professionals who want to know more about coastal management.

Beuchat: Beuchat is one of your partners. Why did you choose this brand? What does Beuchat represent to you?

Septentrion: The first reason why we have opted for Beuchat is because the brand is a pioneer on the underwater exploration. We were interested in working with people who have several years of experience. Besides, Beuchat is a company from Marseille, we speak the same language. We have this close link with the R&D engineers and the manufacturers. It’s very important and interesting for us to integrate all the reflection process about the creation of equipment. Furthermore, we can mix our content: Beuchat on the technical aspect of the equipment, Septentrion on the use of this professional and leisure diving equipment. Finally, thanks to Beuchat, we can spread our environmental protection message to manufacturers.

Beuchat: How can be involved in the protection?

Septentrion: Beuchat is aware of the field professionals. This is the brand which contacted us. Beuchat is listening, is assisting to meetings, and has come to our operations. At the beginning of our collaboration, Beuchat objective was to include the environment in its underwater equipment production process. Beuchat wanted to highlight favourable messages on the environment and to develop on its website some specific sections. The brand is also collaborating with us on some cleaning actions such as the one we operated in the Vieux-Port of Marseille in 2016 and that we are going to renew in 2017.

Beuchat supports us in every public operation we manage. The brand provides us some equipment and we provide the message, it’s a win-win relationship.

Besides, we have decided to equip all our environmental diving club with Beuchat’s equipment because we think that it is adapted to our security, practicality and comfort requirements.

Finally, another technical reason is that from our ground survey on costal seabed we gave Beuchat some 3D reports that the brand used to create its Trigocamo equipment.

Beuchat: What are your principal project running or coming soon?

Septentrion: Concerning our scientific activities, we are working on innovative projects including specific ground survey techniques from pictures. We are collaborating with NCSR and Comex on some projects. We are promoting the expertise of Marseille. It has always been wondered which diving equipment is the best adapted to realize ground surveys in extreme conditions such as very deep dive or entering caves. Beuchat is always here to guide us and to propose us the best equipment. One of the new partners of Beuchat, Light and Motion working on lighting and lighting is essential for our researches. The objective of our partnership is to promote both sides but also to create content.

We are working on high technical level trainings of recycler divers. We are also planning some university trainings (Université de Méditerranée and Université de Rennes) concerning discovering actions and scientific tools to dive.

Finally, we are organizing big local events such as cleaning operations to raise awareness on the environment. Our team is composed by some young underwater biologist divers who want to get some deep technical competences and by some high level technical divers who are looking for environmental knowledge.