On April 2nd, I joined the “Fresque vivante” (Living Mural), a demonstration organized by Mères au Front Outaouais. Our goal was to put pressure on the Brigil group, whose massive real estate project threatens to cut through a significant portion of the Champlain ecological corridor. This corridor is a vital link between the Ottawa River and Gatineau Park. It is a crucial space for wildlife that requires a wide enough passage to move and access a habitat large enough to ensure their survival.
While a study has shown that this corridor should be at least 200 meters wide, Brigil plans to reduce it to only 50 meters. That is very little. It is too little. Fifty meters will not be enough for wildlife.
If we want to preserve the Champlain ecological corridor, it must, above all else, remain functional.
As we know, habitat loss is one of the leading causes of biodiversity loss. However, habitat fragmentation is equally problematic. Due to the increasing number of construction projects in the sector, the total area of natural environments is being diminished and broken apart. The plant and animal species living there are becoming increasingly isolated from one another. We are splitting the land into small islands that are no longer connected; gradually, the genetic diversity of these species weakens. This method of land management leads to even greater biodiversity loss.
When I arrived at the demonstration, I was pleasantly surprised. There were people—lots of people! Members of Mères au Front, the Friends of the Champlain Corridor Forest, members of the CSQ’s ACTES network, Mitigomijokan councillor Rachel M. Deslauriers, and folks from our own group, Pollinate Aylmer. Everyone shared the same concern: the thought of losing an existing ecological corridor to a construction project. While elsewhere people are talking about creating ecological corridors to counter habitat loss and fragmentation, we are lucky—ours is already here. But we still have to save it.
But there is still time! Everyone who gathered on April 2nd for the “Fresque vivante” was vibrating with a magnificent energy. I felt that we were all sharing something precious: the conviction that we have the power to take action and unite to protect what we hold dear—the natural environments of our own backyard.
Brigil’s real estate project is already well underway, but it is still possible to convince them to preserve a functional corridor. On April 28th, there will be a public consultation regarding the Champlain ecological corridor. It is up to us to come together, grow our numbers, make our voices heard, and protect what we value most!
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