Ste Anne de Bellevue Permaculture

3rd Meeting, Nov 5th, 2013, 1pm, private home in Ste Anne de Bellevue.

Attendance: 3

Although no one officially took minutes this time, a few things that stood out for me were the challenges of suburban agriculture (the ethos of materialism, isolationism and manicured aesthetics of the burbs, not to mention lack of community connectivity to help with task sharing and group jobs), as well as its immense potential (so much green space for food growing!) not to mention, necessity.

We also talked about seed saving, letting one's garden be more than simply to serve us, but to serve the ecosystem as well, and a few juicy tidbits about the benefits of pygmy goats, muscovy ducks and aronia berries... Arionia berries? That's what I said!

She also told us about some great organizations and web initiatives:
The Urban Seedling Co. in Montreal for example,
the Concordia Food Coalition and
Street Bank, which is an online trading site based on neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, here is an interesting video about another local permaculturist and his project, 20 years in! Its only 10 minutes long ad very inspiring. (Group visit to his orchard planned for spring '14).

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/11/08/miracle-farms-5-acre-commercial-permaculture-orchard-southern-quebec/

In addition, here is an inspiring little talk given by Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Town movement, who does what he calls "Making the politically impossible, politically inevitable." Ie, realizing the potential of the transition town movement as economic development, enhancing community connectivity and even public security! All that and so much more. Its part of a longer video - but his part is only about 20 minutes long or so. Enjoy!

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/10/22/transition-towns-organizing-resilience-video/

Also pasted below is the  press release from when the town of Ste Anne de Bellevue announced the Sustainability Plan which we plan align our activities with eventually.

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FCM’s Green Municipal Fund^TM supports an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan for the Town of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue

October 12, 2012, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC – Karen Leibovici, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and councillor for the City of Edmonton, Alberta, and the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a Green Municipal Fund^TM (GMF) grant for the Town of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. The town will put the $78,401in funding toward the development of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) using The Natural Step framework. This approach is based on community involvement and engagement, and works to implement the concept of sustainability into a community’s social fabric.

“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Leibovici. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

The ICSP encompasses all of the town’s sustainable development objectives for the next eight years in the priority areas of water, energy, waste management, transportation, the economy, green spaces and community well-being.  

The community was consulted at every step of the process, which was led by a sustainable development committee. The committee was made up of engaged citizens, council members and municipal staff, as well as representatives from local businesses and institutions such as McGill University, John Abbott College and St. Anne’s Hospital.

“It gives us great pride to officially present our very first sustainable development plan to the whole community,” said Francis Deroo, mayor of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. “I hope that this will encourage as many stakeholders as possible to become involved in our community, and help us ensure a bright future for our citizens.”

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal FundÔ. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.