Over 500 people took part in the third edition of the Earth Day Forum on April 12.
The event, which took place at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School in Ormstown, has become an annual gathering place for Valley residents who are concerned about the environment to discuss and celebrate local actions being taken to help save the planet.
The gymnasium was packed with 40 kiosks featuring area organizations, producers, and groups, as well as several politicians eager to talk about their parties’ climate change and environmental priorities. A paper-shredding truck sponsored by the CDC du Haut-Saint-Laurent was parked outside, next to a recycling station set up by the Genie in a Bottle project. Various activities, including 3R workshop repair stations and crafting tables, were set up in the cafeteria for families, who were also able to enjoy lunch and snacks provided by Les Complices Alimentaires.
Speaker David Lemieux-Bibeau of Ambioterra discussed the protection of forests in the Montérégie-Ouest, while Sheldon Harvey of Bird Protection Quebec spoke about the relationship between birds and trees. Noel Erskine introduced visitors to his Alus Montérégie-sponsored project to plant shrubs along his fields on the Lost Nation in Hinchinbrooke.
Representatives from the Caisse Desjardins du Haut-Saint-Laurent were on hand to announce a call for projects launched by all the Desjardins banks in the Montérégie-Ouest on April 22.
The afternoon ended with the local screening of the documentary Des Arbres et des Arts by area filmmaker André Desrochers, who was present for a question-and-answer period after the presentation.
“I think it was a big success,” says event coordinator Lorelei Muller. “It was nice to bring people together in this positive fashion. People said they were happy to come together as a community.” (SR)