French small island of Yeu, an investigation of the people’s perception of their environment linked to their pro-environmental behaviors. Word Count: 10600 words Contents page : • Acknowledgment ............................................................................................... 3 • List of figures .................................................................................................... 3 • Abstract ........................................................................................................... 4 • Chapter 1 : Introduction ......................................................................................5 • Chapter 2 : Literature Review ...............................................................................9 2.1 : Sense of Place.....................................................................................9 a- What makes a place a place.............................................................9 b- Place, space, time, scale ...............................................................10 c- Small islands specific case ............................................................11 2.2 : Attachment to Place ............................................................................12 a- Interconnectedness of phenomenas in place attachment .....................12 b- Islands specific case .....................................................................13 1 2.3 : Pro-environmental behaviour .................................................................14 a- How is studied pro-environmental behaviour ......................................14 b- What leads to a pro-environmental behaviour ....................................15 c-What prevents a pro-environmental behaviour ...................................16 • Chapter 3 : Methods ........................................................................................ 17 3.1 : Overview .........................................................................................17 3.2 : Interviews .........................................................................................18 3.3 : Analysis ............................................................................................20 3.4 : Ethics and Positionality ........................................................................21 • Chapter 4 : Discussion .......................................................................................22 4.1 : How do the inhabitants of this island perceive the spirit of place? ..................24 a- Conviviality at the heart of the human dimension . ...............................24 b- Importance of Nature ...................................................................27 c- Nature or Man in first place? ...........................................................28 4.2 : What is the attachment of the inhabitants to their place? What are its components? ......................................................................................................28 a- Familial .................................................................................... 28 b- Personnal .................................................................................. 29 4.3 : How do the inhabitants behave towards their environment, and does this relate to their attachment and perception? ..................................................................................30 a- Caring for the place ......................................................................31 b- Social and Moral implications .........................................................32 c- Working in the environment ............................................................33 • Chapter 5 : Conclusion....................................................................................... 34 2 • References .....................................................................................................35 • Appendices: - Appendix 1 - HHSE2 Ethic Form .................................................44 - 48 - Appendix 2 - Consent Form ..............................................................49 - Appendix 3 - Information Sheet .........................................................50 - Appendix 4 - Questionnaire ..............................................................51 Acknowledgments : I would like to thank all the participants on the island of Yeu who organised their time and got involved despite this complex health period. I would also like to deeply thank my supervisor who was very present, understanding and helpful in this process. Finally, I would like to thank all those who have allowed me to live here for 2 years, in the family house, without which I would not have been able to carry out this investigation. Thank you all. List of figures : Figure 1 - île D ! Yeu Natura2000 territory. ...................................................................5 Figure 2 - Evolution of Yeu island ! s urbanisation between 1951 and 1990. ........................6 Figure 3 - Coding Tree - Patterns emerged from the analysis. .......................................22 Table 1 - Table of participants demographics ............................................................17 3 Abstract : This paper discusses how the inhabitants of Yeu Island perceive their place, the way they are attached to it and their process of attachment, and their behavioural and intellectual positioning in relation to environmental issues. It is claimed that the way in which the inhabitants perceive the Spirit of place on their island has an important human component and a slightly less important environmental component. The inhabitants revealed a particular attention to their place and a certain involvement in environmental and social issues, demonstrating an energy and a desire to improve things and to see the place fl ourish. This involvement was revealed in speci fi c behaviours like the use of bicycle or recycling actions, in the presence of multiple suggestions and indications like the ones to help spreading the consciousness about this to take care of the island, and an apprehension about the issues related to tourism and the future of the island. Their attachment was revealed through two main components; the family sphere and the personal sphere. Finally, the moral and social implications, with regard to Schwartz norm activation theory (1977), as well as the limitations of this study are discussed. 4 Chapter 1 • Introduction We find ourselves on a very small island in France, a little south of Brittany, in the Vendée department. The island is on average 9km long and 4km wide with a surface area of 23.32km2, and has a population of 4,955 in 2020. With a density of 199 inhabitants per km2, it is a sparsely populated area, where natural vegetation is in the majority. The island is one of the French islands furthest from the coast, being located 10 miles from the mainland. (Ref files of the town hall) The inhabitants sometimes say that they "go to France" and not "to the continent" when they take the boat to go there. Until the French Revolution, the name of the island was spelled Ile Dieu, giving the place a certain cachet (Fouché, 1952). The island stands out for its great geological and biological wealth and diversity. - Insert figures on the various riches, 1/5 of the French flora is found here, number of migratory birds etc. The rocky coasts, dunes, moors and marshes of the Ile d'Yeu are classified by Natura2000 (a European network of ecological sites aiming to preserve biological diversity while taking into account the social, economic, cultural and regional activities present on the sites, and to enhance their natural heritage) to the extent of 1,350 ha. (INPN 2021, see figure 1). 5 Figure 1 - île D’Yeu Natura2000 territory, highlighted in in blue 1 km Three main areas make up the island territory of Yeu: agricultural, urban and natural vegetation (INPN). The majority of the island's vegetation is natural, giving it its splendour and tourist appeal. It is appreciated for the diversity of its landscapes and the exceptional light that can be found there. However, urbanisation has exploded exponentially since the 1950s (Pottier et al., 1997, see figure 2). This has changed the development context of the island and the way the inhabitants behave among themselves. The "invading tourist" creates both tension and turnover, and modifies the identification of the inhabitants with their place of life. This affects the inhabitants' attachment to place, and their sense of social group among themselves (Fritsche et al., 2018; Petzold et al., 2015; Royle, 2002). 6 Figure 2 - Evolution of Yeu island’s urbanisation between 1951 and 1990 (Pottier et al. 1997). It is important to note that until the 1950s, the island lived almost exclusively from fishing and was not particularly open to the mainland. Since the rise of tourism, and the decline in fishing activity due to increased regulations and lobbying, the island has been able to maintain economic growth through tourism, and its ability to "retain young people" (Pottier et al. 1997; Chaussade, 1990). This particularity of the island means that dynamic social interaction is maintained, although it has tended to decline in recent years. Its attractiveness as a natural environment of choice and a place of economic development makes it an ideal territory for the development of families, and the security and tranquillity present on the island are also assets that make parents feel attracted to the idea of raising their children there (Chaussade, 1990; Royle, 2002). Socially, the great specificity of the island of Yeu lies in this feeling of "big family". The history of the island is like a big family story that everyone tells from their own specific point of view and that they will have experienced as part of their personal history, even if it does not affect their direct family sphere (Royle 1989, 2002). The fact that the island is a place of passage is also a crucial point. Many people come to spend a short or long time on the island, without ever settling permanently. This increases the sense of belonging for those who have lived here for several generations and intend to stay, while at the same time renewing the possibilities for exchange and new encounters. Moreover, the people in transition here are extremely diverse, adding to the uniqueness and exceptionality of the social interaction and pattern that emerges between the 'islais' and the 'non-islais' (Chaussade, 1990). The way in which the inhabitants are attached to their 'piece of rock', as they call it, thus resides in several aspects: personal, collective, familial, environmental (in the sense of territory) (Pottier et al. 1997). At all levels it is easy to observe societal phenomena here, as everything is exacerbated. We can describe this place as a "small sample of humanity". As Baldachino described it in 2005, quoted in Petzold et al. in 2015, "small island territories may be the best sites for seeing the effects, or absence, of a strong social fabric". A place where every interaction counts, every interaction changes the social pattern of the island with a higher potential than elsewhere. 7 The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of the inhabitants of the Ile d'Yeu to their territory to see if there is a correlation between their attachment to the place, their perception of the spirit of the place, and their pro-environmental actions. The research questions are articulated as follows - How do the inhabitants of this island perceive the spirit of place? - What is the attachment of the inhabitants to their place? What are its components? - How do the inhabitants behave towards their environment, and does this relate to their attachment and perception? Chapter 2 will present a sample of the academic literature, mainly in human geography, around three poles: sense of place, attachment to place, pro-environmental behaviour. The methodology of data collection will be presented in chapter 3. Chapter 4 will discuss how a small territory such as Ile d'Yeu exacerbates current social and environmental issues and highlights ways to understand and improve the situation on a larger scale around a sense of common good, a strong sense of community, and group issues on a human scale. A conclusion will be made in Chapter 5. 8 Chapter 2 • Literature Review 2.1 • The sense of Place a-What makes a place a place : This is a great debate in the literature of human geography. What makes one space more intimate than another? Through the hands of people, how do we define a place, and what makes it different from a space? Many authors have already attempted to answer this question, and here we will list some of their results. Doreen Massey has done much to explore these notions, and we will develop her arguments in the next section to correlate them with notions of time and scale. In an attempt to respond through the lens of physical experience, Relph discusses the concepts of place and placelesness (Relph, 1976, cited in Seamon et al., 2008). The feeling of place is determined by several criteria. Firstly, we find the difference between a pragmatic, bodily, concrete experience of space-matter that one has immediately upon arriving in a place, and a mental, more abstract, even idealised experience that takes place through cognitive activity related to space. Both are part of the definition of a place. Each of these perceptions can be experienced at a different level of consciousness, marking, according to the author, the individual's capacity to become aware and even marvel at the felts of his space. For Relph, "the unique quality of a place lies in its power to order and focus human intentions, experiences and actions spatially »(p. 2). In other words, a place is only a place because of the human intention to build a physical, spatial life there. Placelessness, on the other side, is a more recent phenomenon due to the standardisation of space, which renders the human experience within these places 'inauthentic' (a term used in phenomenology and existential philosophy). Hay and Harvey (cited in Hay, 2006) refer to place as a geographical entity that has remained physically the same for some time. Hay correlates this with the collective memory of place, that is a collective historical and memorial experience of a group of individuals attributed to a particular place. In the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Foote et al., 2009), sense of place is defined as emerging from an emotional response, strong bonds and feelings of comfort, safety and well-being, which can be applied to a home as well as a nation. In the Encyclopedia of the World's Biomes, Knapp (2020) joins this view by emphasising 9 the notion of anthromes: a term used to refer to human interactions that create communities, which in turn create new interactions and actions. These anthromes highlight service ecosystems, i.e. organised exchanges of services between humans, creating communities that live in spaces that become 'places'. It is added that a place is created by, and reinforces, 'nature-based livelihoods, recreational activities, and our learned aesthetics; shaping both our dependence and our identities'. This quote is in line with the theories mentioned above which combine physical environment, emotions, identity and aesthetics. The notion of place is thus a broad topic that is addressed in many ways in the geographical literature and interconnects with other topics. b- Place, space, time, scale : To understand how a place is formed, it is therefore necessary to add dimensional, spatial and temporal data to the environmental study. Doreen Massey, having inaugurated it, has made a major contribution to providing this perspective. The study of place in addition to space, time and scale is widely implemented and has revolutionised the way of approaching the subject (Massey, 2008) allowing for the inclusion of, as mentioned above, notions of memory, landscape change, community size, among others. In 2004, she evoked, through the prism of the economy, the notion of the responsibility of place. In the current context of rapid and increasing evolution, the place is not, according to her, a total victim of capitalism and the "money invader", but contributes by its social and economic participation to the implementation of the latter on the territory, thus to the general homogenisation, and thus, in the long run and according to phenomenology, to the annihilation of what constituted it in the first place. In 1996, she mentioned the still ongoing battle between place and space, which, according to her, are in fact only battles around spatialised social power. It is social power and the components of its action at different scales that create what geographers seek to define as place and space. This ties in with Baldacchino's (2005) theories of 'social capital' as a creator of place, which comprises the resources of a group of people to address political, social, economic, and labour-related issues, all of which are interconnected. He cites the characteristics of D. Massey's (1993) 'power geometry' as 'manifestations of strong social capital'. 10 c- Small islands specific case : Islands are spaces where everything is exacerbated (Hay, 2006; Baldacchino, 2005, 2021; Royle, 1989, 2002, Simões, 2020). Royle (2002) refers to the 'romantic notion of the dream island'. The sense of place on an island would be immediately altered by the romanticism inherent in such places. Seen as places of dreams, islands would be "apart" from the problems of society, they would be "good places to live" and the problems encountered on the mainland would not apply with the same intensity. This idea clashes with those of Hay (2006) who evokes nissology (a specific and unique approach to study the islands territories). Hay asserts that such a way of studying these territories is not appropriate and that the phenomenology applied to the continents also applies to the islands, on a different scale. To contrast with the idea of the dream island, he evokes the phenomenon of small islands "between paradise and prison". For him, a small island territory brings above all social comfort. He also makes a distinction between "real" and "fake" islands. The real ones being real geographical entities not connected to the continent in any permanent way, compared to the fake ones which are connected to the continent with a bridge or an isthmus. This is important in the development of a strong island identity, as the precariousness that can be generated by disasters in a territory that is completely isolated is more dangerous and inexorably strengthens the bonds between the inhabitants. Because the geographical boundaries of the place are known and acknowledged without concession, exploration of the place by an individual is done with a different, more personal apprehension and with a reinforced sense of security and "home". He quotes Harvey (1996) "places acquire much of their permanence [and distinctive character] ... within a bounded domain". This confirms Weale's (1992, cited in Baldacchino, 2005) description of isles as having a 'geographical precision that facilitates a unique sense of place'. 11 2.2 • Attachment to place a- Interconnectedness of phenomena in place attachment : Hernandez (2007), citing Roger et al. (1981), and Taylor et al. (1984), discusses one of the predicates of place attachment as the length of time spent in a place. He argues that the more time an individual has spent in a place, the more attached he or she will be to it, but that this data must be cross-referenced with other variables such as the quality of relationships experienced, property ownership, incivilities committed in the place, among others. He then immediately discusses the correlation between place attachment and the concept of identity, both human and geographical. He argues that attachment to place is partly a matter of how an individual identifies himself as belonging to that place, that place identity is therefore a component of individual identity, and vice versa. In fact, for Hernandez, separating the identity of the place and of the individual is not, to a certain extent, correct, since the formation of one depends on the formation of the other. This theory is also reflected in the publications of Giuliani (2003). Through the attachment theories of affect, she also explains that attachment to a place is experienced as something familiar, and that beyond the awareness of the affective link to the place, it affects and qualifies individual and collective existence, positively or negatively. She argues that there is no existence of a sense of mutuality, brotherhood, community that is not connected to a tangent of space, territory and attachment to place. Yi-Fu Tuan (1974) already associated 'Topophilia' with a human affective and emotional aspect, which is indispensable for its development. This is what Relph also describes (1976, cited in Seamon et al., 2008) as a fundamental human need, which is less and less satisfied as the uniformity of places increases, human mobility develops, and a "purely functional" relationship with places is established. By this he means the ever-increasing optimisation of space to make human flows work in step with mobility and sedentariness, often around economic profit. He calls this phenomenon placelessness, and it would play against the positive attachment of individuals to their environment, and disrupt, if correlated with identity theories, an individual identification with an environment. In their book, Manzo et al (2013) begin with a concise definition that draws on the theories discussed earlier to describe place attachment. They define as follows: "Place attachments are emotional bonds that form between people and their physical 12 surroundings. These connections are a powerful aspect of human life that inform our sense of identity, create meaning in our lives, facilitate community and influence action. Place attachments have bearing on such diverse issues as rootedness and belonging, placemaking and displacement, mobility and migration, intergroup conflict, civic engagement, social housing and urban redevelopment, natural resource management and global climate change". The second part of the quotation describes clear elements, in the form of opposites, to support what leads to place attachment or not. The phenomenon of place attachment is therefore a spatial, psychological, social and temporal phenomenon, making it a vast and complex study in which several sources of data must be combined and cross-referenced in order to obtain an exploitable result. b- Islands specific cases : Most academic research on the subject of place attachment in the particular case of islands focuses on tourism. In fact, there is little data that tends to demonstrate striking particularities regarding the phenomenon of attachment to a place when it is a small island. Simoes (2020) bases the study of these territories on the same criteria as for any territory with regard to attachment. He uses the Brief Sense of Community Scale (Peterson et al. 2007, cited in Simoes, 2020) and its eight items for measuring emotional bonding to a place, grouped into the categories of belongingness, influence, needs and shared emotional bonds. Here we find the major components of place attachment. In his study, B. Hernandez (2007) concludes that place attachment and identity formation occur in the same way for native and non-native people in a small island, but that island natives are likely to construct more intense bonds with their place of birth. In 2021, Baldacchino makes an interesting observation on the particular case of islands, including the new aspects brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. He talks about "new islanders" and "digital nomads" as components of a "revival in small island living" that is on the horizon. According to him, the new attractiveness of islands linked to the reduction of what made life difficult on this kind of territory (difficulty of connection with the outside world, problems with resources of all kinds, isolation) is splendid isolation, which is used to describe a person or a people that is made apparently special because kept separate from other people or things is a special way. Nevertheless, he still evokes a strong sense of community and attachment to the territory. In his opinion, islands could be the place for new types of human/environment interaction. 13 2.3 Pro-environmental behaviours a- How is studied pro-environmental behaviour As a recent topic, the study of pro-environmental attitudes is part of an academic interdisciplinarity. It is evolving rapidly as the consequences of climate change intensify and the social climate shifts quickly as a result. For Turaga et al. (2010), regarding the study of pro- environmental behaviour, a convergence of two theories is taking place in recent years: that of moral motivation and that of the will to provide and preserve public goods. The attraction is therefore around the social and economic sciences to study this subject. He mentions widely used theories such as Schwartz's norm-activation theory (1977, cited in Turaga et al., 2010) and value- beliefs-norms in the field of socio-environmental psychology to study the moral aspect involved in the construction of such behaviour. Pallié et al (2013) refer to the emergence of the concept of organizational citizenship behavior for the environment -OCBE- (Boiral et al., 2012) in the literature and the facilitation of study that this allows for this topic. He describes OCBE as measuring the extent to which employees are inclined to follow their organisation's guidelines and cooperate with their employees in maintaining and improving the environment at small and large scale. The work domain is therefore involved and even predominant for this approach. Masud et al (2015) reveal that many studies focus on the current environmental plethora but that the role of the individual and the public in addressing these issues, both current and future, has only recently been introduced into the academic literature (supported by Whitmarsh and Lorenzoni 2010; Liverani 2009; Leiserowitz 2007; Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002, cited in Masud et al. 2015). In his view, it is through the correlated study of the reality of current environmental problems and the public perception of them that real results will emerge. It is therefore necessary to investigate both the awareness, knowledge and representation of environmental problems among the population in order to detect what gives rise to pro-environmental behaviour or not. Félonneau et al (2008) assert the existence of a new pro-environmental norm based on normative adherence and foresight. Their study is made in relation to the social variable of normative adherence and the psychological variable of awareness or "environmental common sense" which would change and be in perpetual extension and evolution. In other words, to study both, again, from the point of view of the social sciences coupled with that of psychology, or even spirituality, in order to understand what does or does not encourage pro-environmental behaviour. 14 b- What leads to a pro-environmental behaviour So, today, what can we say is a trigger for pro-environmental behaviour? No study can yet give an undisputed answer to this question. Stern et al (1999, cited in Turaga, 2010) cite three triggers that they call the values orientation: 'social-altruistic', 'egoistic', and 'biospheric'. Respectively, these are a desire for conservation and protection towards other human beings, a desire for conversation and protection towards oneself and one's inner circle, and finally the same desire for non-human species. Their results suggest that the selfish orientation is the primary motivator, followed by the social orientation and then the biospheric orientation (Stern et al. 1993, cited in Kollmuss et al. 2002). The 'social-altruistic' aspect has been widely reported in the literature, with Clark et al. (2003) citing several researchers who have investigated the role of altruism in the desire to contribute to public goods. These include the 'warm-glow' altruism of the economist Andreoni (1990, cited in Clark et al. 2003) or the feeling of being rewarded by the act of giving or pro-environmental behaviour, or the altruism giving rise to a personal and intrinsic notion of satisfaction evoked by the psychologist De Young (1996, ibid.). Clark's results suggest that pro- environmental behaviour is first motivated by bio-centrism (altruism towards the environment and the biosphere), then by altruism (this time human-oriented), and then by egoism. It is interesting to note that these results run counter to those of Stern et al mentioned above. Besides, Kollmuss et al. (2002) remind us of the importance of clearly defining the difference between attitude and behaviour: He cites Newhouse (1991, cited in Kollmuss et al. 2002), who specifies that attitude is studied from a broader point of view, which includes feelings of interest or not for the subject, whereas behaviour is based on concrete acts by the individual. After making this clarification, Kollmuss indicates several triggers for pro-environmental behaviour: good knowledge of environmental problems and how to remedy them, the possibility to act (perceived and real, including individual and collective capacities), the presence of environmental values and beliefs, pro-environmental political influence, good economic capacity, pro-environmental social and family influence (Fietkau et al, 1981; Hines et al. 1986; Chawla 1998; Blake 1999, cited in Kollmuss et al. 2002). The factors leading to pro-environmental behaviour are therefore multiple, complex and involved in several spheres internal and external to the individual. Let us now see which factors are barriers to pro-environmental behaviour. 15 c- What prevents a pro-environmental behaviour ? Blake cites three of these barriers: a lack of interest in environmental issues, a feeling of not being responsible for the situation because they are not in a position to change it, and a lack of time, money and knowledge (1999, cited in Kollmuss et al. 2002). Kollmuss adds to this a physical barrier such as the lack of infrastructure for sorting or low-carbon travel, and a factual and temporal barrier which is the non-immediacy of many environmental problems, also described by Chawla (1998). That is, the fact that many of these problems are either imperceptible, such as radiation, the ozone layer, greenhouse gases, or are revealed too late to the general public, such as pesticide problems, the accumulation of micro-plastics, etc. This last point gives rise to another barrier: the lack of immediacy. This last point gives rise to another deterrent to pro-environmental behaviour: the lack of perceived benefits of acting for the environment. The 'cost' is often greater than the perceived 'benefits' (Linda et al., 2009) and this prevents motivation to act in this way, or reduces it over time. Many barriers also exist in the communication that is done around the topic. Goodman et al (2016) demonstrate that what he calls 'spectacular environmentalism' (the use of so-called entertainment media to deliver environmental messages, often relayed by celebrities) does not lead to action but to 'complacency, inaction and false consciousness'. O'Neill et al (2009) describe that communication based on fear-mongering messages, which is still widely used today, results in a lack of knowledge and of sense of duty and commitment, and therefore a lack of pro- environmental behaviour. The factors that prevent an individual from acting in favour of the environment are therefore multiple and again linked to physical as well as social, economic, psychological, political and communication issues. 16 Chapter 3 • Methods 3.1 Overview This study was based on pre-planned interviews over a 3-month period of fieldwork between December 2021 and February 2022. The interviews were conducted with the intention of participant observation (Shurmer-Smith, 2002). The exclusively qualitative approach is in line with the intention of capturing as much human information as possible about a subject, albeit geographical, that crosses several other sectors such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, among others. The application of grounded theory (Strauss et al., 1997, Oktay, 2012) and inductive reasoning (Miller, 2015) goes hand in hand with this multi-disciplinary aspect of the study. Moreover, a lack of literature on this territory did not allow for a purely deductive approach, so it seemed appropriate. The field study was carried out throughout the island, with the participation of people who were either natives (for the majority of them) or had lived on the island for more than 12 years (see demographic details of participants in table x.x below). The interviews yielded a sample of data that provided rich and varied individual responses while remaining true to the majority thinking of the group. However, this sample does not claim to represent the islanders exclusively and accurately. Partici pant Gen der Occupa tion Age Length of residency on Yeu Island Residency outside of the island + length if informed Presence of family and/or ancestors on the island Raised or raising children on the island M f Saleswo man in a shop 58 Since birth Yes - 4 years Yes Yes E f Sediment ologist 35 Since birth Yes - 15 years Yes Yes 17 3.2 Interviews As the global health situation was complicated at the time, the organisation of the interviews had several twists and turns. The island was hit by several waves of Covid-19 variants and the inhabitants, frightened, had to postpone the interviews for several days or even weeks. This resulted in a lower number of interviews than originally planned. Having to do things in a rather uncertain way since the beginning of this pandemic, this study did not escape this fate, so I took these complications as a challenge and an opportunity to study the phenomena differently. I decided to keep the interviews face-to-face, leaving the interviewee to choose the date, and the possibility to change it at their convenience. As a result, some interviews could not take place, as I did not want to make the interviewees feel uncomfortable, and the interviews that did take place could be conducted in a good 'atmosphere' (Opdenakker, 2006). Furthermore, as Opdenakker Pi m Farmer 53 11 years Yes - 42 years No Yes P m Shop manager and elected official 59 Since birth No Yes Yes D f Environm ent departme nt at the town hall 40 Since birth Yes - 15 years Yes Yes C f Masseus e 31 Since birth Yes - 11 years Yes No Ch f Artist 37 Since birth Yes - 10 years Yes Yes 18 Table 1 - Table of participants demographics mentioned, the advantage of face-to-face interviews lies mainly in the fact that "its advantage of social cues. Social cues, such as voice, intonation, body language etc. of the interviewee can give the interviewer a lot of extra information that can be added to the verbal answer of the interviewee on a question". (Ibid.) The only criteria for the selection of participants were longevity of life on the island, or nativity. By selecting only these two broad criteria, I was able to interview people with a fairly wide range of lives. A farmer, a local elected official, an environmental worker at the town hall, a scientist working on the island, as well as people working in the island's shops, an artist, ... The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured way. The advantages of semi-structured interviews lie in the possibility for the interviewer to go into more detail on certain subjects that he or she considers relevant, and for the interviewee to speak freely and not to feel impressed by the scientific approach and therefore to give less information (Blee et al., 2002, p. 100; Cohen et al. 2006). Blee et al. argue that such techniques nevertheless inevitably produce data derived from a personal and 'artificial' construction of reality (ibid. p.111). However, it must be borne in mind that these kinds of human-scientific subjects cannot be studied with the mechanical approach that would be possible with a purely numerical, non-human data investigation (Adams et al., 2015; Longhurst, 2003). The advantages of a more humanistic approach are found in the very subject of the study, which is to perceive, through and by the words, gestures and behaviours of the interviewees, the message they wish to convey in the most varied aspects possible. This would not be possible with a more structured mechanical approach. The interviews took place either in the homes of the inhabitants or in my home, according to their convenience. This reinforced the ease and fluidity of the exercise and contributed to the ease of response of the participants, again in contrast to the "too official, too scientific" impression that an academic study can represent. I stress this point because the place of investigation is particular: on this island, there is no high school, let alone a place of higher learning. The university aspect can therefore be all the more impressive. I therefore tried to make the interviewees as comfortable as possible, following the advice of Longhurst (2003), so that they would be open to questions and give as much information as possible. This worked well, and I then transcribed by hand most of the interviews I had recorded on 19 my phone. The transcription was a subtle exercise because the participants, probably due to the comfort of the interview, spoke in a colloquial manner, without always finishing their sentences, using various onomatopoeias, and silences and turns of phrase typical of the French language, and the local patois. In an attempt to follow the rules of Mc Lennan et al's (2003) transcription, I tried to "demonstrate variations in how social phenomena are framed, articulated, and experienced as well as the relation- ships within and between particular elements of such phenomena" in writing the transcripts. 3.3 Analysis Being aware of the biases that participant observation can generate, I tried to remain as neutral as possible, taking into account that my presence and familiarity with the participants could have influenced their answers and my position (Bonner et al., 2002). Overall, I felt an initial tension during the interviews, which was released as the interviews progressed. This is probably due to the impressive 'academic' aspect of the exercise for the participants. I therefore took this into account in the analysis of the data. I have also been careful to pay attention to the 'risk of becoming a native' mentioned by Richard Fenno (cited in Leuthold, 1979). This is a particular point in the case of this study because, having lived in this small area for two years, I have already met each person I interviewed at least once. I then took this basic familiarity as a springboard to relax the atmosphere during the interviews in order to get more natural answers, while maintaining an academic distance during the exercise and the analysis of the data. Having transcribed all the interviews myself, this exercise allowed me to distance myself from each experience with each participant and to put the data into context. A triangulation method with several researchers would have been beneficial here but this was not possible. My position between the first and last interview gradually evolved, as a result of the iterative process of reflexing coding. As I was also impressed to go and interview people who were familiar to me, I adjusted my way of directing and conducting the interviews, giving more precision on the questions, asking others if I felt that the desired material was not reached, and taking more and mor