The QCBS provides this page for community members to share information about their biodiversity science projects and/or to request assistance from QCBS students and researchers. Contact us if you would like to share information here.
Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) in Montreal
Did you know? The City of Montreal has recently joined (in 2011) the Local Action for Biodiversity Initiative (LAB), thus formalizing a plan initiated in 2008. Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) is a global urban biodiversity programme coordinated by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. LAB’s goal is to recognize the importance of local government in the sustainable management of urban biodiversity.
As part of this new partnership, one of the City of Montreal’s first commitments is to prepare a report on the status of biodiversity in Montreal, which will later be distributed internationally. This report will include an inventory of recent and upcoming academic research in biodiversity science carried out on the island of Montreal.
Are you a student or a researcher in biodiversity science with a recent or future research project based in Montreal? Do not miss this opportunity to share your projects internationally! Contact Simon Joly, a QCBS member and a botanist at the City of Montreal, and he will assist in drafting the report. Please provide the following information:
- Project manager’s name
- Email address to reach you or the project manager
- Short description (2 sentences) of the project
- Site(s) studied
- Years when the project was carried out (e.g. 2007 to 2011)
Les Amis du Champ des Possibles (website)
About Les Amis du Champ des Possibles:
Les Amis du Champ des Possibles (ACDP) is a non-profit group that formed to preserve an existing urban green space as an Urban Biodiversity Reserve. The 1.5 ha brownfield site, located in the Mile End district of Montreal, is an important link in the city’s bio-corridor along the train tracks. Since the closure of a freight yard in the mid- 1980s, the site has been left to itself and is now believed to be one of the most biodiversity-rich sites in central Montreal. The ACDP has compiled a list of over 150 observed species, and believes that this zone and others like it have the potential to provide important ecological services which will increase overall urban biodiversity. The ACDP has established an advisory committee in partnership with the municipal government of the Plateau-Mont Royal arrondissement. One of the objectives is to use the site as a scientific pilot project for urban biodiversity research. This may serve as a practical example that can be replicated in other parts of Montreal.
Request for assistance from the QCBS:
Although some ACDP members have training in fields such as biology, horticulture, and landscape design, additional information about protocols for biodiversity inventories in the urban environment is needed. The ACDP is requesting assistance from QCBS members for training in biodiversity survey procedures in fragmented urban ecosystems. This training could be provided through in-situ workshops which would also promote public collaboration.
The ACDP plans to present the project and their specific information needs to the QCBS this summer. Interested QCBS members – both students and researchers – are invited to attend this meeting to learn about the project, including: the site location and its relationship with the district’s ecological network; the site’s educational value; the current species inventory; monitoring techniques for urban ecosystems; planting of appropriate species; proposed topographical modifications to encourage biodiversity (water features, etc).
Site photos: (click for larger image)
