OUR ENGAGEMENT

Why a biodiversity plan?

An alarming observation According to the Millennium Ecosystem Analysis (MEA, 2005), 60% of the free services provided by nature, such as water filtration, are being degraded or used in unsustainable ways. In addition, the number of species on Earth is declining. Indeed, in recent years humans have increased the rate of extinction of species by 1,000 compared to the rate observed over the history of the planet. In addition or in combination with this, there is intense pressure from humans. For example, between 1960 and 2000, food production has increased by a factor of 2.5 and water consumption by a factor of 2. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) reminds us of the interconnectedness of these many environmental problems. Indeed, the CBD announces that "the Earth's agriculture is disappearing at an alarming rate, jeopardizing the sustainability of the services provided by ecosystems and agriculture, and their capacity to adapt to changing conditions". At present, the state of biodiversity worldwide is under threat, and the IPCC's proposed Vth Report on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014) reminds us of the importance of acting now, presenting us with the extent to which current technology allows us to be increasingly accurate in our climate models. The alarm has long been sounded and the message is clear: it is at the municipal level that action must be taken. It is the transmission of this message that ICLEI (the International Association of Local and Metropolitan Governments dedicated to SD) has made it its mission to encourage each participating city to implement a local biodiversity strategy and action plan. This goal was also reiterated in the Aichi targets (Goal 14): "By 2020 at the latest, governments, businesses and stakeholders at all levels have taken action or implemented plans to ensure sustainable production and consumption and have kept the impacts of natural resource use within safe ecological limits". As the host city of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal joined ICLEI's Biodiversity LAB Project in 2010, and hosted the International Symposium on Urban Biodiversity in 2013, it is clear that when they submit their Biodiversity Report (2013), our metropolis has a real desire to do its part. As a city of knowledge, a part of its actions will fall to its institutions, particularly those located on one of the city's most beautiful sources of biodiversity

Actions from our Biodiversity Engagement aiming at Education and Outreach

2-1 Participation in forums, working committees and other events in partnership with various stakeholders (City of Montreal, government departments and agencies, Les amis de la montagne, Société environnementale de Côte-des-Neiges, other stakeholders)

8-2 Realization of educational workshops for the general public, elementary school and day

8-4 Installation of information panels

8-5 Development of nature interpretation tools (kits) 

8-6 Creation of a walking trail identifying remarkable plant species 

8-7 Easy access to information on our biodiversity through a website and various reports 

WHAT WE DO

Annual Biodiversity Summer School
https://praxis.umontreal.ca/catalogue-de-formations/sciences-et-technologies/

Arboretum
PDF Document (French)

Bioblitz - What’s a bioblitz ? A bioblitz consists in carrying out numerous biological inventories in a short period of time in partnership with scientific experts, naturalists and the community
Bioblitz report (PDF)

Leave No Trace Program
https://www.devilleenforet.com/projets-regions-municipalites/

Kids Summer camp
https://www.cepsum.umontreal.ca/eco-camp-11-12

Seeds of the future for Mount Royal (elementary schools education program)
http://www.biodiville.org/arkotheque/client/gdie/fiches_experiences/detail_fiche_experience.php?ref=46&titre

TO GO FURTHER

A surprising diversity

The complexity of Mount Royal's socio-ecological system was not built in a day. In fact, in order to fully grasp the modifications that this landscape has undergone over time, a brief history of the site was created.

The forest on the campus of the Université de Montréal covers an area of 15, 15.6 or 16 hectares depending on the study (Thiffault, 2003; Boivin et al., 2005; Pinna, 2005). Of this area, 13.44 hectares have been placed under the city's supervision by an emphyteutic lease signed in 2011, with the objective of improving access and enhancing biodiversity. This emphyteutic lease will be valid for 50 years. In spite of this transfer, the campus forest remains a mosaic of century-old forests, young successional forests colonizing disturbed sites and semi-natural spaces, also known as "trees on grass" (Boivin et al., 2005). More information on these natural and semi-natural areas of the campus can be found in the study of the same name by Boivin et al. (July 2003). This natural environment holds many surprises, much of which is made accessible by the 5,358 m of pathways that cross it (Boivin et al., 2003).

At the time, the UdeM woodlands constituted a continuous and homogeneous zone between the Outremont summit and Édouard-Montpetit Boulevard (Thiffault, 2003). As a result of numerous disturbances, the landscape has been greatly modified. From now on, this continuity has given way to a series of different settlements. The study by Boivin et al. (2005) identified these main stands making up the campus and developed an evaluation tool to visually display their respective ecological value. This division will serve as a basis and benchmark for future inventories. Pinna et al (2008) verified the relevance of this tool for assessing the ecological value of the sites during its inventory of beetles, lepidoptera (butterflies) and other insects and invertebrates.

Prior to the urbanization of the site and the destruction of the landscape, it would seem that, according to Bruce Trigger, a renowned ethnohistorian, the campus woodlands, which were very rich, served as refuges and habitats for many animals. Beavers, deer and even bears were found here before the development of the city north of Mount Royal. In his writings, he even goes so far as to denounce the development of the ski jump as the reason for the loss of the pheasant on Mount Royal. Although the size of the University's woodlands no longer covers the same area as they did a century ago, their quality and diversity still provide a home for many animal, plant and fungal species.

As Thiffaut points out in 2003 in his report produced for Quebec’s Environment ministry : "Forest stands classified as being of "ecological interest" correspond to mature stands and stands considered rare on the territory of Montreal". This is the case for oak stands, because we only find them on Mount Royal. These stands are characteristic of the extreme conditions found in the Montérégiennes, i.e. well-drained environments, more exposed to the wind and with an average annual temperature slightly lower than the level of the plain. Red oak stands are largely dominant and occupy almost all of the wooded areas on the northwestern flank, which are mature and centenarian (Boivin et al., 2005)".

History

Founded in 1878, UdeM, with its two affiliated schools, is today the largest university in Quebec and the second largest in Canada. Since the inauguration of Pavillon Roger-Gaudry in 1943, thirty-seven buildings, research and teaching pavilions, administrative buildings and student residences have been acquired or built.

In 1921, the City of Montreal modified its charter to authorize it to donate to the Université de Montréal a piece of land not exceeding 60 arpents on the periphery. In 1922, the city ceded two lots on the north side of Mount Royal to the Université de Montréal to establish its campus. One of these lots was an enclave in Jeanne-Mance Park and the other was a disused quarry on the edge of Côte-des-Neiges Parish. The university campus developed gradually, following the plan designed by architect Ernest Cormier. The Roger-Gaudry Pavilion was inaugurated in 1943.

To the east of the campus, behind the CEPSUM building, the steep slope of the site made it possible to operate an alpine ski trail from 1944 to 1981. The posts of the ski lift are still there. Part of the land transferred to the City for the creation of a park was used as a snow depot, then as a technical site, where the rock excavated during the construction of the most recent pavilions in the early 2000s was backfilled.

On March 9, 2005, under the terms of the Cultural Property Act and through the decree of the Historic and Natural District of Mount Royal, the Government of Quebec granted Mount Royal a dual protection status by declaring it the first Historic and Natural District of Quebec. This dual designation allows for the protection and promotes the harmonious development of this unique ensemble. The protected territory covers four boroughs of Montreal- Ville-Marie, Le-Plateau-Mont-Royal, Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Outremont and the City of Westmount, and includes the three peaks of Mount Royal and the major religious and educational institutions, cemeteries and several monuments and historic sites that have marked the mountain's development.

In 2008, UdeM signed the Mount Royal Heritage Pact in which the partners commit to preserving Mount Royal for present and future generations.

In 2009, the Université de Montréal, the City of Montreal and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery joined forces to create a brand new park that will protect and make accessible Mount Royal's Outremont summit. This project was made possible by pooling 23 hectares of land owned by the University and the Cemetery on the north flank of Mount Royal.

For its part, the University is transferring to the City of Montreal a piece of land of close to 13.5 hectares to allow for the development of a new park on Mount Royal. The space transferred for a period of 50 years by emphyteutic lease is located between the École polytechnique, the Faculty of Music and the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery. It therefore includes the former ski trail and the former UdeM snow depot. UdeM's legacy is logical, since the University agreed to stop expanding on the mountain, hence the creation of the Outremont campus to meet its need for space.

2010 creation of the Vice-Rector's Office for Student Affairs and Sustainable Development and adherence to the Montreal community's sustainable development action plan

2011 Inauguration of the biodiversity center First urban agriculture projects and installation of five hives

2013 Consolidation of the primary core of the Édouard-Montpetit woodland and installation of bluebird nesting boxes, a bat shelter and several oases with native pollinators are created as well as nesting boxes to shelter them.

Trail mapping

The greenhouse of the sustainable development unit is a project that has been implemented in the heart of the Ephemeral Projects. This 3-season greenhouse was set up to increase the production period on the site in addition to offering the opportunity to the various users to diversify their productions.

Set up in spring 2021, the greenhouse was offered to three (3) categories of actors. First, we took into consideration the needs of local partners (ephemeral projects) who have been requesting it for a few years (2016). Then, in order to bring science to life on the site, a section is reserved for research in connection with the departments present at the MIL Campus (Geography, biology, chemistry, physics). Finally, a last section is offered to the local food services of the University of Montreal. Each group of actors is therefore offered a third of the surface (1050 sq. ft.).

Following this first season, everyone was able to appropriate this new infrastructure in the heart of Montreal. However, some issues have emerged, for example, the lack of a tool to monitor the uses and users (inputs, outputs) and of a set of specifications in addition to losses due to the presence of pests.

In 2022, as we entered the second season, we were able to make some corrections thanks to the hiring of a greenhouse technical assistant. In addition to providing an excellent support service to users, we were able to introduce ladybugs in order to integrate an integrated management component (biological control of aphids), an intervention that has been very successful.  Also, we now have intervention sheets according to the various pests that have been encountered so far in order to empower users in the long term.

The greenhouse now provides many resources. You may have tasted a ginger or hibiscus Kombucha, two exotic plants now in local production.