Preparations are underway for the third edition of the Earth Day Forum, which is set to take place on Saturday, April 12, at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School in Ormstown.
The organizing committee, which is spearheaded by representatives from Ambioterra, the Corporation de Développement Communautaire (CDC) du Haut-Saint-Laurent, and members of the Table de Concertation pour l’Environnement dans le Haut-Saint-Laurent (TCEHSL), is hoping to continue building off the success of the first two editions.
“It warms my heart to receive such a positive response to the Forum each year, from organizations, from volunteers, and from the visiting public. This is an opportunity for our community to come together in the common interest of a healthy environment,” says event coordinator Lorelei Muller.
Over 400 people took part in the event last year, which is the only one of its kind in the area. This year’s edition will include over 30 booths and kiosks where individuals, community groups, and businesses will be available to discuss the good work they are doing locally.
Trees will be distributed for free, care of the Comité pour la Rehabilitation de la Rivière Chateauguay. The Genie in a Bottle project will be on hand to collect recyclables in support of green initiatives at the high school, while a paper-shredding service will also be available on site.
Visitors can bring clothes to mend and small broken household items that can be fixed with glue to the 3R workshop area in the cafeteria, where volunteers will be available to help. Several other stations will be set up in the cafeteria, including educational games, a collection site to recycle used markers, pens, and socks, as well as activities for the whole family at the creation station.
Speakers at this year’s event will include David Lemieux-Bibeau of Ambioterra who will talk about the work being done to protect forests in the Montérégie-Ouest; Sheldon Harvey of Bird Protection Quebec who will discuss the relationship between trees and birds; and Noel Erskine of Ferme Erskine who will present on his experience planting shrubs on the Lost Nation in Hinchinbrooke.
The afternoon will end with a special screening of the documentary Des Arbres et des Arts (with English subtitles) by area filmmaker André Desrochers. The film, which showcases the vitality of ecosystems in the Suroît region, has been pre-selected for two international film festivals and will be screened at the United Nations.
A question period will follow the projection of the film with Desrochers as well as Réjean Laniel (a participant in the film), and a representative from the International Observatory for the Rights of Nature, who will discuss the legal rights of nature.
A catered lunch and refreshments will be available for purchase by Les Complices Alimentaires, a local organization known for its fight against food waste. The Caisse Desjardins du Haut-Saint-Laurent will also be sponsoring a networking event with complimentary refreshments at 2 p.m. when the local institution is expected to make an announcement.
Muller says that trying to promote everything that will be happening throughout the day has been difficult because there are so many activities going on all at once. “It’s a good problem to have,” she admits, before noting that she and the other members of the organizing committee are “looking forward to people of all ages joining us again for this fun, educational community event.”