Almost 400 people participated in the second edition of the Earth Day Forum, which took place on April 20 at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School.
“We are pleased with the numbers,” says coordinator Lorelei Muller, who worked with members of the Table de Concertation en Environnement du Haut-Saint-Laurent to organize the event.
“Many people said how amazed and inspired they were by this group of people and how much they care,” she says of the people behind the event, including representatives from 40 non-profit organizations, schools, municipalities, and businesses who held kiosks, as well as numerous volunteers.
“It was a good mix of informative and fun, and we had a few comments about it being a nice social event as well,” she continues, noting the feedback was almost entirely positive. The event was about raising awareness, and Muller says they are already expecting more participants for the 2025 edition.
The tables promoting the different programs and activities at the Huntingdon Adult Education and Community Centre were very popular, as was the 3R Workshops room, where visitors could mend small household items or articles of clothing. Various craft tables piled with recycled products such as fabric scraps, pieces of paper, cardboard, and even irrigation tubing were also a hit, especially with younger attendees.
The kiosks were open to the public until 1 p.m., when the Forum welcomed a series of guest speakers including architect Evelyne Bouchard, who spoke about housing and energy efficiency, and Stéphanie Leduc of Nature Conservancy Canada, who talked about local initiatives to improve biodiversity in agricultural settings.
The speakers were followed by a screening of the documentary film Humus, and a lively discussion with the film’s director Carole Poliquin and Havelock-based farmers Mélina Plante and François D’Aoust. Participants then gathered at the IGA supermarket in Ormstown, where they marched to a recent tree plantation by Ambioterra in the village for a brief presentation.
Muller says that while organizers have not yet been able to confirm the location of next year’s Earth Day Forum, those interested should save April 19 as the date.