Movement
Overview of the 2nd year of the MARE
The regional environmental action movement (BIG) just had its 2nd year. A year over which many questions hovered. I had also completed the blog text “A year of MOTHER, what does it change ?” in this way :
“ The challenges remain numerous. Will we manage to maintain such a level of creativity, dynamism and commitment in the coming years? Will we succeed despite the new conditions imposed by the current pandemic? Can MARE continue to develop, here but also in other regions?
Surely it is permissible to be optimistic. It is with optimism that we are working together to build the MARE.“
This second year of existence has enabled us to respond, at least in part, to these questions. Here is an overview of MARE's action campaigns for the year 2020-2021 ! I suggest you take your time, because the list is awfully long !!!
Awareness
- At the start of the pandemic, the MARE launches the competition “A birdhouse for a drawing” to make young people aware of the importance of protecting the environment.
- The CRE Montérégie, in partnership with the MARE and the City of Coteau-du-Lac, offers the teleconference "Ecocitizenship and climate change".
- The MARE is organizing an eco-education week for young people (Anima-Jeunes day camp Coteau-du-Lac).
- Assistance in setting up the Activity "The dance of the fireflies » (with the support of Crivert and you Small Green Wood Protection Committee).
Concrete actions
- Realization of the’edible island of horticulturalist Judy in collaboration with the city of Coteau-du-Lac.
- Organization of 2 bioblitz (Nature Conservancy of Canada) in support of the Regroupement for the Protection of Fauna and Flora in Parc de la Barrière in Valleyfield also for Save Sandy Beach at Hudson.
- Place du Canal project : the MARE launches a petition that collects more than 1800 signatures in a few days in order to propose the implantation, in the heart of the municipality of Coteau-du-Lac, a nature park ensuring the continuity of the cycle path to Chemin du Fleuve via the community center and rue Principale rather than a real estate development. The municipality promises that the population will be able to speak out democratically on this subject ! To read our proposal, click here.
- Help with cleaning chores on the Saint-Charles River (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield) and the Soulanges Canal (The Coteaux) organized by the Haut-Saint-Laurent ZIP
- Inauguration of Judy's Nurturing Forest, the Large canal gardens, in collaboration with the city of Coteau-du-Lac and Trees canada.
- Earth day: waste collection and birdhouse draw
Actions with municipalities
- Continuation of the biodiversity characterization study carried out by Crivert with the aim of establishing a protection status for the Four Seasons Nature Center in Coteau-du-Lac.
- The MARE is requesting a targeted public consultation on the launching ramps and the federal wharf provided for in the Saint-François Bay Shoreline Stabilization Project in Valleyfield which will lead to the filing of a memory or BAPE. The BAPE report agrees with MARE on almost all points. See our video synthesis.
- Continuation of the case Re-oxygenate the Rivière Rouge which allows the necessary work to be completed. We can now observe the rebirth of this portion of the river ! For more details, click here.
- Less grass, more biodiversity : cutting surfaces have been reduced by 40% in a single year at Coteau-du-Lac and the MARE Laurentians made it his first action campaign !!!
- Salabery-de-Valleyfield endorse it Climate emergency declaration at the request of MARE, in collaboration with Urgence Climat Montérégie (supports Crivert, Cotton 46, Friends of the Saint-Thimothée Islands regional park and Incredible Edible Suroît) with demonstration in support outside the town hall.
- Participation in public consultation for better protection of forest cover in Saint Lazare with the deposit of a document. The law project 21 will be, thereafter, adopted by the municipality.
Natural environment protection network
- Establishment of a natural environment protection network made up of the following groups :
Citizens for the protection of Mount Rigaud
Small Green Wood Protection Committee (Valleyfield)
Pincourt Vert : Rousseau forest
Let’s refuse the flight of the Parc des Mouettes (Valleyfield)
Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac eco-citizen group
Group in favor of the protection of the wooded area of Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac
Group for the protection of fauna and flora of the Barrière park (Valleyfield)
- Start of the website project “Natural treasures”. To be continued !
- Support to Let’s refuse the flight of the Parc des Mouettes at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. A large part of the park is in danger of being destroyed to build a house for the elderly. For more details, click here.
- Support to Group for the protection of woodlands in Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac. The municipal council of Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac publicly committed, since, to protect this woodland with high ecological value ! For more details, click here.
- Support for Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac eco-citizen group for the protection of an urban woodland of SMSLL. An illegal logging of part of the woodland was carried out by the real estate developer, but the Regroupement écocitoyen does not give up and is also involved in other environmental issues.
- Support for Woodland trails park from Laval who works to protect mature trees and wetlands in this linear park. Network support for 2 Laval woodland trail park memorial deposits. A resolution protecting mature trees has been adopted by the City since.
- Support for the Regroupement for the protection of fauna and flora of the Parc de la Barrière in Valleyfield. Deposit of a document (supported by Crivert) to the City's Environment Department. For more details, click here.
- Support to Save Sandy Beach. The woods and wetlands surrounding the beach are in danger due to a real estate development project. The MARE is present at the municipal council of Hudson to request the protection of Sandy Beach with the support of 9 groups and organize an event (see below). For more details, click here.
- Support for Citizens for the protection of Mount Rigaud. This group works to protect the integrity of the rich ecosystems of the Mt. Rigaud. For more details, click here.
- The MARE supports Pincourt Vert since 2 years in their fight for the protection of the Rousseau forest in the face of real estate development. The city of Pincourt officially accepts to acquire the Rousseau forest ! the MARE, among others, had filed a communicated to the city council last year, then communicated his concerns by email to the board members this year. For more details, click here.
- Support for Small Green Wood Protection Committee at Valleyfield. This committee has succeeded in protecting this rich ecosystem (see the Dance of the Fireflies, upper) of a housing project !
- Support for the protection of humid woodlands in the Grande-Île sector, at Valleyfield. The MARE is currently communicating and collaborating with the City to help safeguard this urban natural environment..
- Publication on the MARE platforms of document on deforestation of’Ambioterra.
- Deposit of communicated previously submitted to the municipal council of Hudson to the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC with request for meeting refused.
- Deposit of a second press release to the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC in order to ask for better protection of the region's natural environments with a request for a meeting refused. MRC says it will use this document to improve its knowledge.
- Development of MARE Citizen Guide for the Protection of Natural Environments.
Links with other organizations or networks
- Involvement in the Quebec tomorrow network of the David Suzuki Foundation.
- Birth of MARE Laurentians.
- Presentation of the MARE at the Member of Parliament for Beauharnois-Salaberry, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and collaboration on the issue of boat speed on Saint-François Bay as part of the bank stabilization project from the city of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (see above).
- Presentation of the MARE at the CSN Montérégie in Earth Day frame.
- Collaboration with Ecologist wave at the municipal.
- Collaboration with the Common front for energy transition. The start of a ZéN community in Montérégie ? To be continued.
Manifestations
- In November 2020, the MARE organizes, in support of TROVEP Montérégie, a demonstration at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield as part of our action campaign “Support for the Climate Emergency Declaration“. Several dozen people are present and we submit our requests to provincial deputy for Beauharnois, Mr. Claude Reid. For more details, click here.
- February 2021 : help to SOS woody white oaks at Notre-Dame-de-Île-Perrot which will lead to a demonstration of more than 100 people after only 36 hours of mobilization !
- the MARE, in collaboration with the TROVEP Montérégie, organise, and March 2021, an event for social and climate justice bringing together more than 120 people to Valleyfield. For more details, click here.
- Manifestation, in collaboration with Save Sandy Beach, gathering, in April 2021, more 250 people to Hudson to request the full protection of Sandy Beach.
- In July 2021, the MARE is present during an event organized by the Coalition of citizens and organizations for railway safety of Lac-Mégantic and the Quebec Hydrocarbons vigilance group to commemorate the tragedy that occurred 8 years earlier. (7 people go to Megantic lake while another event takes place in support of Coteau-du-Lac).
Visibility and support of petitions
- Project support “Crivert carbon neutral mileage“. Due to the pandemic, the activity has been canceled. The MARE receives 200 trees that will be planted at Coteau-du-Lac.
- the MARE, signatory of the declaration on Principles for a fair recovery.
- The MARE supports a petition against bill 61.
- Support for the cycling club The 3 summits for a survey by the MRC Beauharnois-Salaberry on the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional Park.
- Participation of the MARE in the publicity of the Tree week from the city of Valleyfield.
- The MARE supports the petition from the friends of Île-Bizard who ask the Great West Park to preserve 35 acres of forest, flora and fauna along Chemin North Ridge on Île-Bizard and save this ecosystem from the devastation caused by residential development. This forest will be protected !
- The MARE gives visibility to a comic strip (click here to see the comic) from Young environmental leaders dealing with the climate crisis.
- Support for the integral protection of Châteauguay-Léry green corridor in support of SOS Fernand-Seguin.
- Support for the project " The butterfly effect - Saint-Lazare» (Fondation David Suzuki).
- Visibility for the tree distribution businessAmbioterra.
- Support against the Goldboro project (gas pipeline) in connection with Montérégie Climate Emergency.
- The MARE and Pincourt Vert are part of 10 finalists at Quebec tomorrow award of the David Suzuki Foundation ! For more details, click here.
Operation of the MARE
- Establishment of a MARE communications committee that works on the operation of all of our platforms (Site web, Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, couriers), but also to the coordination of the movement and to daily decision-making.
- Development of the MARE policy and decision-making platform.
- The committee “What city do we want ?” leads to the filing of a document which will be used to enrich our platform.
- Many public meetings, online as in presence according to the health regulations in force, continued to allow MARE to coordinate all of its action campaigns, but also to reflect on different issues. So, since april 2020 (time of our last review), we held
- 21 MAREcredis On organise
- 6 MAREcredis We organize a Network
- 11 MAREcredis On jase
- 3 MAREcredis We jam in support of Refusons l'Envol du Parc des Mouettes
- 1 TUEWednesday We celebrate
Therefore, the MARE, after 2 years of existence, what does it change?
The incredible development of our movement has therefore continued despite the pitfalls of the pandemic..
MARE now counts 325 members subscribed to the newsletter and more than 2000 Facebook subscribers.
The objective of uniting the environmental forces of the region in order to take concrete action in the region, but also in other regions, starts to come true.
The environmental crisis stems from an economic system that puts profits before life. This is not a problem that we can solve individually. It is by coming together that we can think of making a real difference.
The list of our actions for the past year proves that it is possible to act in order to dream of a healthier environment and a more just society allowing the survival of species and humanity in the long term.
To continue on this path, the MARE depends on the extraordinary work of many volunteers. If you want to join this movement, you are more than welcome !
Martin Legault
