Écoprojets Community Fund: The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion awards three grants for environmental projects

During the public session held on April 15th, City Council awarded a grant to three organizations within the framework of the Écoprojets Community Fund. The projects eligible for funding include a garden brigade in the parks, by L'Atelier paysan ($5,000); composting at École du Papillon-Bleu - pavillon Saint-Jean-Baptiste ($4,200), and the planting of trees for the outdoor classroom at École Brind'Amour ($5,000).

"This is the third edition of the Écoprojets Community Fund, whose primary goal is to encourage organizations and citizens to set up initiatives that contribute to the protection of the environment. That said, our aim is also to promote citizen engagement and reinforce the sense of belonging of our citizens through the implementation of projects that have a positive impact on the community," said Mayor Guy Pilon.

Projects selected for 2024

With its garden brigade in the Parks project, L’Atelier paysan plans to meet up with citizens of Vaudreuil-Dorion during neighbourhood parties and offer them the opportunity to take part in discovery workshops on urban agriculture. Residents of all ages will be able to learn about urban agriculture through educational activities and hands-on workshops that will address topics such as the local food supply, the protection of biodiversity, integrated pest management and even food resiliency through seed conservation techniques. The educational materials produced for these events will later be used for other awareness-raising activities led by the organization in school and community settings.

The goal of the environmental committee at École du Papillon-Bleu - Pavillon St-Jean-Baptiste is to improve waste sorting and implement composting in its living environment. To do this, it will enlist the active participation of a green brigade, made up of 5th grade students, for the implementation and management of the project, while raising awareness about waste sorting among the school's 75 adults and 385 children. In the short term, composting stations will be installed in the cafeteria and classrooms where students eat their lunch, and in all classrooms next fall.

In order to create shaded areas and allow optimal use of the outdoor classroom at École Brind'Amour, the students of Mrs. Emilie Cotton's class wish to organize a mature tree planting project. These trees will provide shade in the schoolyard, much of which is mineralized, and insodoing generate a cool shelter. The planting activity will involve students and volunteers from the group L’Effet Papillon. A conference on trees and the importance of preserving forests will also be presented by Le Semoir.

These three projects were selected following the City's call for projects at the beginning of the year, which was aimed at citizens, non-profit organizations and public institutions wishing to carry out an environmental initiative on the territory of Vaudreuil-Dorion. The projects submitted, and scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2024, were evaluated by a committee composed of Anne-Sophie Lemay, Environmental Coordinator - Conservation and Awareness-raising; Pascale Lauzon, Head of the Social Development and Diversity section; France Lavoie, Director of Communications; and Olivier Prégent, Project Manager - Engineering and Environment.

About the Écoprojets Community Fund

The Écoprojets Community Fund is part of the Strategic Planning 2020 > 2025 entitled Habité par ma ville, which promotes citizen participation. The fund serves to encourage initiatives aimed at enhancing the environment and its protection in association with the target areas outlined in the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion's Environmental Policy, namely the protection of water resources, urban agriculture, residual materials, adaptation to climate change, as well as biodiversity and natural environments.