Location
200 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC H2X 1X5
Registration
Open to everyone !
Complete schedule
workshop day – February 23, 2026
The workshop, organized in collaboration with Ateliers pour la biodiversité, will take place on February 23rd. The main theme of the day is “Municipalities and Biodiversity: Integrating Science into Action”.
The first day of the QCBS Symposium will bring together researchers, municipal decision-makers, and field workers to discuss and reflect on solutions to protect biodiversity. This day offers a unique opportunity to share scientific knowledge, discover innovative projects, and identify opportunities for collaboration. We hope that participants will leave with a better mutual understanding between science and the field, and concrete ideas for supporting biodiversity within municipalities.
Workshop Objectives
- Build bridges between researchers, municipal decision-makers, and stakeholders in the field.
- Identify and inventory ideas for projects or research collaborations that could accelerate biodiversity protection in municipalities.
- Enable participants to better understand the realities and constraints in the field, and raise awareness among municipal stakeholders of the contributions of science to decision-making.
1) Science at the service of cities
Thi-Thanh-Hiên Pham
UQAM
Barbara Frei
The Birds and the Trees
Françoise Cardou
Université de Sherbrooke
2) Municipal projects
Professionals from several key organizations will gather to discuss how their research projects are advancing biodiversity conservation at the municipal scale. Representatives include those from Biodiversité Québec, CRABE, the RNCREQ, the QECI, and Habitat.
Dominique Gravel
Biodiversité Québec, Sherbrooke University
Jean-Olivier Goyette
CRABE, UQO
Andréanne Paris
RNCREQ, CRE Montérégie
Véronique Vermette
IQCÉ
Sylvia Wood
Habitat
3) Between scientific observations and local needs: the reality of cities
This panel will bring together important figures from different cities across Quebec to discuss the pertinence of protecting biodiversity, and the challenges they face in regards to that.
Valérie Ebacher
Vivre en Ville
Louise Hénault-Ethier
City of Montreal
Marc-André Guertin
Mayor of Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Maud Allaire
Mayor of Contrecoeur, UMQ
David Roy
Moderator
Symposium
Keynote Speakers – February 24, 2026
A Place for Indigenous Knowledge: Opportunities and challenges in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework
The plenary presentation will be given jointly by Brenda Parlee and Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, who co-lead the Ãrramãt project, focusing on the interconnectedness between biodiversity and the health of Indigenous communities.
Brenda Parlee
Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine
Panel – Citizen Science
Nicole Yu
Concordia University
Not just for science: community engagement through local green infrastructure research
Katherine Hébert
McGill University
Blitzing the Gap in Canadian biodiversity data
Julia Mlynarek
Insectarium de Montréal, UdeM
Naomi Flis
Environmental Educator and Coordinator of Finding Urban Nature
Panel – Biodiversity data management – new standards and repositories
This panel will have presentations from representatives from the Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR), from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), from Canadensys and from the QCBS (El-Amine Mimouni, research profesionnal).
Carole Sinou
Canadensys
John Wieczorek
GBIF
El-Amine Mimouni
QCBS
Neha Milan
FRDR
Natalie Williams
Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Eco-anxiety and emotions among researchers: levers and tools
Are researchers humane? Can we truly be emotionally detached from our research topics or from the social, political, and environmental realities that surround us? This workshop invites us to explore these questions, to open discussions, and to reflect collectively on our individual and collective stances as biodiversity researchers.
The workshop will be divided into two parts: first, a screening of a segment from the documentary “Climate in Therapy,” followed by an open discussion on the role of emotions in scientific research and in our communication tools within the QCBS.
Fees
Fees will increase by 20% after February 9 for late registrations.
| REGISTRANT TYPE |
WORKSHOP (Feb 24) |
WORKSHOP (Web Streaming) |
SYMPOSIUM (Feb 25-26) |
WORKSHOP + SYMPOSIUM | |
| QCBS | QCBS researcher / employee member | $82 | $35 | $165 | $250 |
| QCBS student or postdoc | $55 | $35 | $110 | $165 | |
| Undergraduate or CEGEP student | $28 | $35 | $55 | $82 | |
| Invited | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Non-QCBS | Private sector and governmental | $220 | $35 | $165 | $385 |
| Non-QCBS researcher | $165 | $35 | $165 | $330 | |
| Non-QCBS graduate student or postdoc | $110 | $35 | $138 | $250 | |
| Nonprofit organization | $110 | $35 | $110 | $230 | |
| Invited | $0 | $0 | $0 |
IMPORTANT
If you’re a student/postdoc member of the QCBS at a partner university located outside of Montreal, you could be eligible to our travel grant awards. For more information.
Refund Policy
Cancellations received up to and including February 10th, 2026 will receive full refund of their registration fees.
Refunds will be provided by applying a refund to the credit card used in registering. All cancellations notices and refund requests must be received by e-mail (finance@qcbs.ca).
No refunds will be made for cancellations received after February 10th, 2026.
Presenting at the Symposium
Deadline for abstract submission: January 11th, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
Photo Contest
We are looking for submissions related to your research for the annual QCBS photo contest. The submission deadline is January 19th, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
An eco-responsible event
We are proud to announce that our upcoming event will be conducted with a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, ensuring a sustainable and eco-friendly experience for all attendees.
Sponsorships
- Your logo in official documents and presentations – $400
- In addition to the above benefits, your organization’s name will be mentioned during official presentations and announcements. We’ll also be happy to install a banner next to the presenter’s desk and/or distribute your promotional material – $800
SPONSORS
