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Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:
Wednesday, August 25
Montreal, Québec
Environmental Initiative #18
Association pour la Preservation
du Lac Magog, Katevale, Quebec
The fog was so thick as we pulled out of our
motel in Magog this morning that I couldn’t see the other side of the parking
lot. I wondered how we would photograph, much less see, the subject
of Mission Green’s next stop.
How would we look at the work of so many people’s
efforts to beautify and re-vegetate Lac Magog through this wall
of white?
Since 1971, the Association for the Preservation of Lac Magog
(APLM) has been working to protect and preserve the unique ecosystem
of the lake nestled in the Eastern Townships, a beautiful tourist
region of Quebec . Humans have flocked to the lake and the surrounding
area for recreation for decades. Agriculture is also predominant
here.
Lac Magog has felt the effects of this activity. By the 1970s,
the algae was so thick the lake was green with it and swimming
had ceased. Throughout the decade, through the organizing efforts
of the community, the lake was cleaned and by the middle of the
1980s, it was once again clear.
Our cross-Canada search had led us this morning
to L’Ile
du Marais, a small island in the heart of a marsh at the head of
Lac Magog. There would be no one meeting the Mission Green team
to show us around this time. We were on our own.
We parked the vehicles at the trail entrance, still shrouded
by fog. Cameras at the ready, we were skeptical that they would
get any use here. We started down the trail that would lead us,
via a causeway of tiny islands connected by wooden footbridges,
to the Ile du Marais. As we walked, we read about the species of
turtles that inhabited the area.
Did you know that turtles like to sunbathe after a meal? Solar
energy raises the body temperature of the turtle and helps it to
digest. As we read this sign, a strange thing happened. We felt
the warmth of the sun on our backs.
The lake had slowly shaken off its curtain
of fog and had decided to present us its wonderful show. As we
walked along in respectful silence, we listened and watched as
our host made its presentation to Mission Green. The mini wetlands
we were wandering through is home to over 200 species of birds.
A kingfisher swooped in front of us, zeroing in on breakfast.
Frogs leaped from our path and rustled the marsh grasses and
bullrushes on both sides of our path. Even the deep purple berries
on the bushes overhead were crackling and popping --- nature’s
alarm clock!
The place had been muffled, asleep and almost claustrophobic
in its blanket of fog a few minutes ago and now it was alive with
activity.
It was suddenly a fresh summer morning with the crisp blue sky
of late August above us. We felt grateful for the actions of the
Association for the Preservation of Lac Magog. Without the on-going
efforts of this community group, the lake may not have been such
a perfect host for the Mission Green team.
Please visit the APLM website to read more:
http://www.aplm.ca/Accueil.htm#Notre%20mission
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Environmental Initiative #19
Saint-Michel Environmental Complex
Garbage has been on my mind a lot lately. Garbage is a necessity
of our existence. There is no escaping it. Humans produce garbage.
The Saint-Michel Environmental Complex in Montreal is not hiding
from that fact either.
The Complex (CESM) is a a vast 192-hectare territory that had
been a limestone quarry from 1925 to 1988. Beginning in 1968, the
area was gradually turned into a landfill. By the end of the 1980s,
the site received nearly a million tons of waste every year!
Why was Mission Green visiting and saluting a landfill operation?
The answer to that question began this afternoon at TOHU, an
odd yet strangely fitting combination of Welcome Pavillion for
the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex, a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary
performance venue with a vertical clearance of 20 metres and an
840-spectator capacity (perfect for the circus!) and a showcase
for sustainable architecture in harmony with nature.
The TOHU provided a perfect jumping-off point
for our exploration of the Saint-Michel complex. As Eloi Savoie,
Communications Director for TOHU, explained, among the building’s ‘green’ features
were:
- An ice bunker to replace traditional air-cooling systems
- A garden on the roof to cool the building in the summer and
retain the heat in the winter
- A Trombe glass wall which captures heat in the summer
and allows it to escape upwards
- Construction materials that were salvaged from other sites,
like the railway ties that form the front walkway and the grand
staircase made from the sides of the original bumper cars at
La Ronde Amusement Park
We were met by Mme Helen Fotopulos, Member of the Executive Committee
for the City of Montreal. It was obvious from her enthusiasm as
she spoke about the plans for the CESM that she took her responsibilities
for Green and Blue Spaces of Montreal (among others) very seriously.
The plans for the site, already in full swing, call for turning
the third largest landfill site in North America (after Los Angeles
and New York), into an urban park, the second-largest in Montreal,
with areas dedicated to education, culture, sports and recreation.
An amphitheatre will be built into the hollow made from the extraction
of the limestone. A small lake will be built in the southwest corner
where water gathers naturally.
Roger LaChance, Manager of the Complex, and Nicholas Delonick,
our tour guide told us that, of the 192 hectares, only 75 still
accept waste and that is dry waste only. The Complex conducts research
and practices environmental waste management in the following areas:
- Wood collection and refabrication
- Leaf Composting
- There is an EcoCentre that recuperates, sorts and reuses materials
collected from the citizens of Montreal
- There is a system in place to trap the biogas seeping from
the landfill and reuse it to produce 20 megawatts of electricity,
enough to power 12,000 homes.
- The groundwater is closely monitored, collected
and sent through the City’s water purification system
As we completed our tour of the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex
along the bicycle path that will form a complete ring around the
soon-to-be Park, we all talked about how the urban green space
that is being born here will illustrate the full life circle of
the site. Stone from the original quarry had built the buildings
of Montreal that have since been dismantled because of age and
returned to the space as landfill.
The landfill will be capped and transformed into a Park that,
through its design and use of special landscaping features, will
commemorate the history and experience of the earth on which it
stands, rather than mask it. The four elements of nature will be
highlighted in the Park and will help to serve as reminders to
future generations of what went on here.
Mission Green salutes the wise efforts of the City of Montreal
in maintaining and restoring green spaces within City limits, so
vital for the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.
http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca
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