Over twenty participants came together on Sunday, November 3rd to share their thoughts and opinions on different initiatives related to the environment. Despite the grey weather and drizzle outside, we had an energetic and eager group at Town Hall that had lots to say!
We kicked off the workshop with a quick interactive presentation to ease into the topic of the environment. Participants responded to multiple choice questions using clickers and their answers were displayed on the screen in real-time. Participants were asked to rank 10 initiatives by order of importance and the results of this exercise were used in the final activity.
We then moved on to round table discussions on the topics of biodiversity and waste management. Participants first discussed the idea of having dedicated spaces in Town being used for permaculture and community gardens, their possible location and management. Each table had a printed map at their disposal they could use to identify the areas of Town they thought would be ideal for these projects. They then discussed waste management and ways for individuals to move towards a zero waste lifestyle as well as how the Town could help them achieve this.
In the final activity, we asked participants to work as a group to come up with one actionable recommendation related to the topic their table was assigned. We chose the 4 highest ranked initiatives based on the results from the individual ranking exercise done at the beginning of the workshop. The top priorities were (in no specific order):
- Planting public trees on the municipal right-of-way
- Weight based pricing for garbage (smart garbage)
- Selective waste collection and drop-off centres
- Ban on single-use plastic in Town restaurants and groceries
Overall it was a rich and successful event, and one we hope to repeat in the future. We took copious notes during the workshop which will be handed over to the Environmental Committee for review.
The children who took part in the free drop-in daycare enjoyed environment-themed activities and arts and crafts. They painted rocks, planted seeds, read about bees and had their faces painted.
We’d like to thank Kathryn Travers, Laura Cliché, Nicolas Montpetit and Linda Mohammedi from Concertation Montreal for helping us organize and host this event. The workshop was held as part of MTElles’ experimental projects, led by Concertation Montréal, the Coalition montréalaise des tables de quartier and Relais-femmes.
“It is imperative to have access to moments when we can exchange ideas with local citizens on subjects as important as the environment.”
EMMA, WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT AND STUDENT
“Citizen participation is necessary in order to have the opportunity to share our ideas and take part in our city.“
DAVID, WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT AND REAL ESTATE AGENT
