RESTOR is a participatory action research project that is part of a “science with and for society” approach, in which groups of stakeholders concerned by the issue participate as co-researchers in the research design. The approach involves a pragmatic epistemological foundation that contributes to a better understanding of individual and group dynamics in the process of change. In the context of the Water Regeneration Movement in France, this research focuses on the effects of a low-tech technique called “beaver medicine” when it is carried out by citizens. This technique, like that of beavers, involves placing dead wood in rivers. The RESTOR research project emerged in order to better define and understand the role of citizens in this low-tech movement.
The disappearance of beavers and agricultural improvements have caused rivers to become disconnected from their floodplains, which are crucial for regulating floods, droughts, carbon sequestration, water quality, and biodiversity. “Beaver medicine” was developed in the United States. It is beginning to attract interest among French river managers because of the opportunity it presents for low-cost, nature-based solutions. However, caring for rivers is as much a matter of technical choices as it is of political choices to co-create what is desirable with multiple users. The severely degraded state of French rivers is prompting citizens of Tarn-et-Garonne in south-west of France to get involved in the deployment of this technique by organizing participatory projects in cooperation with the owners and residents concerned, as well as the State. RESTOR is studying how low-tech beaver-mimetic techniques promoted by citizens influence their (re)connection to the river and local water governance.
In a context where stakeholders are grappling with uncertainty (their ability to care for rivers and the changes that this would entail), it is necessary to explore and experiment, participant observation, artistic practices, and workshops. The approach encourages academic and non-academic co-researchers to rethink and transform their own practices, devising new methods and technologies along the way.
This research will contribute to the development of new skills, training programs, and professions for river conservation. The current emergence phase of the project focuses on co-constructing research questions with the relevant stakeholders and building the research consortium with a view to consolidation. The creation of a methodological booklet on low-tech regeneration of river environments by and for local residents will enhance the value of this research.
The project is led by Charline COLLARD, lecturer and researcher at the Work, Employment and Health Laboratory at TBS Education, in collaboration with Joël NAYET from the Théra Association.
The RESTOR project is funded by the TIRIS program as part of the call for projects Co-Research With and For Society 2025 – “Incubator/Emergence” section, for a period of 24 months from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2027./b