Fearing that this ignorance of the founding members' experiences could potentially disrupt the association’s actions for protecting the natural environment, it expressed its desire to record the recollections and first-hand accounts of its original activists. A sociology intern immersed herself in the Maison Rhodanienne de l’Environnement, interviewing individuals with diverse backgrounds, while questioning the aims of this type of activity. How can individual recollections enrich our understanding of local environmental protection movements? How might the creation of a collectively shared memory stimulate citizens’ commitment? How did the interviewees position themselves vis-à-vis current forms of environmental activism? This study sought to assemble the memories of the interviewed individuals so as to discover the manner in which they experienced their struggles to protect the environment, to uncover the meaning they lend their commitment, and to compare their recollections to the current context of environmental activism. But over and beyond the above analytical considerations, this memory-recording project also pursues a political agenda: by moving beyond the complexity of the environmental activism offer, the project seeks to encourage citizens to become sustainably committed to environmental considerations by placing their current actions within the context of a shared history.