Last night, I attended the annual general meeting of the Green Coalition (see http://www.greencoalitionverte.ca ). Participants heard about all the work that various groups have been doing to conserve natural spaces in and around Montreal during the last year.
Guest speaker Stephen Lloyd, the president of the Association for the protection of Angel Woods led off the meeting. He’s encouraged that the latest Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan, known as a Plan Métropolitain d’Aménagement et de Développement in French (see http://pmad.ca/ ), could usher in a new era for green space conservation within the 82 cities that make up the Montreal Metropolitan Area (CMM in French). The plan was passed by the Quebec Government in March 2012. It identifies that 17% of the territory, including 31 forests, must be protected and requires municipalities to spend the next two years determining how they will implement the plan. It also requires municipalities to begin implementing the plan within six months after that.
We also heard about the next steps in developing a greenbelt around Montreal, which the organization calls the Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park (Parc Écologique de l’Archipel de Montréal in French). This zone covers a territory for 50km (30mi) around the city and extends beyond the 82 CMM municipalities.Montreal’s efforts have received attention from the Ontario Greenbelt Foundation, which supports efforts to protect green space next to Toronto, and a global group that links greenbelt protection groups around the world. The project should get lots of attention next week as it announces its 100 and 101st partners next Monday and Thursday.
Among the many member organizations who presented their work over the last year were people from the developing Friends of Angrignon Park. Spokespeople mentioned Heritage Laurentian’s Bioblitz 2012 in the park this weekend, including some night bird listening guided tours tonight at 8 and 10 p.m. (http://www.heritagelaurentien.org).
The best thing about the evening was seeing the look on Avrom Shtern’s face as he won Coalition Vert’s first ever award for extraordinary volunteerism. Shtern has been an avid researcher and spokesperson for the importance of protecting green spaces for many years now. He was one of the first people who sent encouraging emails, including the latest statistics, studies and information when I approached the group about protecting the green space next to the Le Vitrail school in Hochelaga Maisonneuve several years ago. (That space has since been sold for a housing coop.) I’ve also seen him both times I attended Montreal City Council meetings to ask questions and when I made the lottery, he helped me practice my presentation, since it wasn’t something I’d ever done before. He said then that he often attends meetings to present the case for green space protection. Congratulations Avrom! Nice to see your efforts appreciated.
