Les Amis de la montagne is one of the 94 organizations that make up the Collectif COP15, whose mission is to encourage governments to take ambitious, concrete action in terms of nature conservation. For over 35 years, Les Amis and its partners have been working together to maintain the integrity of Mount Royal’s natural ecosystems by improving the condition of the mountain’s ecological network, raising awareness among its visitors and users, and developing a collective commitment to protecting the mountain, which is a major nucleus of biodiversity in Montreal.
What is biodiversity and why should it be protected?
Biodiversity is the result of the evolution of the living world over nearly five billion years. Its existence is an invaluable source of well-being and wonderment. It directly meets the primary needs of all species, whose innumerable relationships enable all natural systems to function. Some of these interspecies relationships are irreplaceable, and this is why it is essential that biodiversity be protected.
The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity provides the following official definition:
“Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”
A mountain with a high biodiversity value
The Mount Royal Heritage Site covers some 750 hectares and encompasses a vast network of parks and green spaces surrounded by a dense urban structure. This green network shelters an astonishing biodiversity that includes more than 700 species of vascular plants, over 90 species of trees, hundreds of which are centuries old, more than 180 species of birds, some 20 mammal species, four species of amphibians and reptiles and thousands of species of insects. Among other functions, this rich biodiversity helps regulate local climate conditions, reduce air pollution, maintain the mountain’s fragile hydrological system, control pest species and support pollinators. It also accounts for the remarkable landscapes that help make the mountain a valuable place of renewal for all those seeking to connect with nature.
The mountain: a true nucleus of biodiversity in the heart of the city. Photo credit: Claude Duchaîne, AIR IMEX (aerial photographs)
Mount Royal’s biodiversity is under threat
The mountain’s green spaces, natural habitats and landscapes are now in danger, due to ever-growing human and weather-related pressure. Climate change, invasive species, insect epidemics, extreme meteorological events, the redevelopment of building complexes, a massive increase in park visitorship and emerging sports activities in natural settings are just a few of the issues that seem to be on the rise. Together, these problems contribute to the rapid degradation of the ecological network and the accelerating loss of biodiversity.
Les Amis is taking sustained, concrete action to support biodiversity
The need for urgent action requires that we redouble our efforts to conserve and restore our ecosystems. Les Amis de la montagne has launched following initiatives in an effort to reverse this negative trend.
Conservation patrollers
Criss-crossing Mount Royal’s every nook and cranny on a daily basis, our conservation patrollers are the eyes and ears of Les Amis. Using their considerable knowledge to observe and assess the natural habitats, quickly identify problems and relay the information to the mountain’s stakeholders. Each year, the conservation team educates more than 1,000 visitors on the ecological issues affecting Mount Royal, and fights to counter the proliferation of renegade (i.e., unofficial, unmarked trails).
Photo credit: Les Amis de la montagne
The Environmental Stewardship Program
Every year since 2003, with the generous support of volunteers and the City of Montréal, Les Amis de la montagne has been working to protect biodiversity on Mount Royal through its Environmental Stewardship program. Over the past year, 719 volunteers dedicated 1,500 hours of their time to restoring the ecological integrity of the mountain’s priority areas, removing non-native plants and shrubs and planting native species in their place.
Volunteers controlling non-native invasive species on the mountain as part of the Environmental Stewardship Program. Photo credit: Robyn Trudy Hertz
Communities of practice with Mount Royal’s institutions: a pilot project for the renaturalization of green spaces
Since December 2020, Les Amis de la montagne has been hosting communities of practice designed to promote engagement among the institutions on Mount Royal for the protection and improvement of the mountain’s ecological network through its Projet de concertation des institutions du mont Royal [Mount Royal institutions cooperation project]. During these meetings experts from the various institutions come together to stimulate thought and discussion, find common solutions and create synergies with a view to developing and implementing ecological projects. So far, the partners have addressed the topics of snow management, the differentiated management of green spaces and water management.
These communities of practice have already given rise to a first ecological project:. the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery and Université de Montréal (UdeM) have initiated the ecological restoration of the green spaces on their respective properties! They are working together to make sure the project is optimally planned and implemented from the start. Using the differentiated management of green spaces (DMGS) model, the restoration project involves replacing the peat in five areas (four in the cemetery and one at UdeM) with about a dozen plant species that are native to Mount Royal. The project is already generating beneficial impacts for biodiversity and the community, and will continue to do so.
A UdeM student prepares the soil before sowing native plant species. Photo credit: Amélie Philibert
Community science projects to monitor biodiversity: FeederWatch and Mission Monarch
Since 2005, Les Amis has been a proud participant in FeederWatch, a North-America-wide project that monitors feeder birds in winter. With the invaluable help of volunteer observers whose mission it is to identify and count the birds that use the feeders installed on Mount Royal, we help further scientific research and increase current knowledge about trends in bird populations.
Les Amis also offers training sessions for those wishing to join Mission Monarch, a joint program run by Montréal’s Insectarium – Space for Life and the Institut de recherche en biologie végétale. The training session teaches volunteers how to properly observe the monarch butterfly and its habitat, and provides them with the tools they need to collect data on the distribution and abundance of milkweed and the presence of the monarch on Mount Royal and, more generally, throughout Quebec.
Hairy Woodpecker. Photo Credit: Saipriya Sharma
Towards a unifying conservation plan for the mountain
All the above-mentioned initiatives play an important role in supporting biodiversity, and Les Amis intends to rally all the mountain’s stakeholders to the cause by encouraging them to take concrete action in the areas of conservation and restoration. As part of a regional project carried out in collaboration with the Coalition des Collines Montérégiennes to support the connectivity and biodiversity of the Monteregian Hills, Les Amis is currently developing a local environmental conservation plan for the entire Mount Royal Heritage Site. The organization will use its role as a mobilizer to help ensure the plan’s success, which rests on the ongoing commitment of all the mountain’s stakeholders.