Hectare urbain certified by the Montreal Botanical Garden
Preserving biodiversity and pollinators
July 23, 2019
HEC Montréal’s urban agriculture project, Hectare urbain, has been certified by the Montréal Botanical Garden’s My Space for Life Garden program in recognition of the School’s significant contribution to preserving biodiversity and pollinators. The Hectare urbain project qualified under all four themes of the program, i.e. Edible Garden, Biodiversity Garden, Monarch Oasis and Bird Garden.
The Hectare urbain includes a forest garden, heirloom vegetables and an educational beehive, all located on and around the roof and patios of the School’s Côte-Sainte-Catherine building.
The Montréal Botanical Garden authorities noted that the Hectare urbain contains a wide range of plants, including several native varieties, of different heights and that bloom in succession.
The milkweed in the forest garden, a plant essential to monarch butterflies, earned the Hectare urbain certification as a Monarch Oasis. The School was also granted Bird Garden status thanks to the recent installation of birdbaths in the gardens.
Certifications under the My Space for Life Garden program are renewable annually. Private gardens as well as community gardens and those cultivated by organizations are all eligible.
Hectare urbain hopes that this recognition will encourage HEC Montréal community members to explore our green spaces and draw inspiration from them, and create their own ecofriendly landscaping wherever they can.
