Last Sunday, the municipality of Pointes-des-Cascades carried out its first Social Reforestation project with Arbre-Évolution, mobilizing nearly 75 volunteers to green three plots within the urban perimeter.

This was the first time the municipality of Pointes-des-Cascades had sought help from the Programme de Reboisement Socia, an initiative launched in 2014 that has benefited several communities in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC, including Hudson, Pincourt and Notre-Dame-de-L'Île-Perrot.

“The aim is to bring people together around an act of reforestation. The number of trees planted is obviously a factor, but so is the number of citizens mobilized. Planting trees helps put us in the right frame of mind in the face of climate change,” explains Simon Côté, general coordinator of Arbre-Évolution.

The municipality is delighted with the response to the reforestation project. “One of the activities proposed as part of the project was to invite Pointe-Cascaine's children and grandchildren to adopt a tree, come and plant it and take care of it over the coming summer. It was a sight to behold,” says Nadine Bissonnette, the municipality's coordinator of recreation, sports, culture and community life, who oversaw the project.

DL Heritage makes the difference

For its project, Pointe-des-Cascades received a grant of over $3,000 from the Social Reforestation Program, via a partner of Arbre-Évolution, the public art and architecture restoration and conservation company DL Heritage.

To this sum can be added the contribution in manpower of a dozen of the company's employees who made the trip to contribute to the planting effort. “We've been supporting this program for several years now.This year, we were able to increase our contribution, and we're delighted to have been able to make a difference in such a fine project!” explains David Shonne, Vice-President of DL Heritage.

Arbre-Évolution can count on the support of a hundred or so financial partners like DL Heritage to sustain the planting of nearly 50,000 trees annually.

Restoring public spaces

The planting of around 100 trees will boost the canopy index in two of the municipality's parks: Parc Cherbourg and Parc Saint-Pierre. Nearly 200 trees have also been planted in the heart of the village, at the intersection of chemin de l'Aqueduc and boulevard de Soulanges.“We salute the efforts of our citizens and thank Arbre-Évolution for its invaluable support and DL Heritage for their contribution.We look forward to continuing to make our municipality more resilient to climate change,” concludes Peter Zytynsky, Mayor of Pointe-des-Cascades.