Blue planet, green ideas | Do nothing, to help the environment

(Kingsey Falls) As part of the “Dandelion Challenge”, the population of Kingsey Falls, in the Centre-du-Québec region, is invited to put away their mowers and let their grass grow throughout the month of May. This initiative, simple to embrace, aims to promote the pollination of flora.

Text: William Thériault
The Press

Photos: Francois Roy
The Press

“We’re just asking you to delay cutting your lawn a bit, it’s not complicated! In front of his town hall, Mayor Christian Côté is delighted with the simplicity of the Dandelion Challenge concept, which he considers to be educational and motivating. “It’s the minimum to do our part,” he adds with a smile. We change mentalities at a lower cost. »

Last year, the Dandelion Challenge was limited to the lands of the municipality, those of the Miellerie King-Distillerie & Hydromellerie, as well as those of the company Cascades, the main employer in the area. This year, with the support of the municipal council, the paper company is trying to make it a citizen movement.

“We want to tell people that they don’t have to have a little green carpet on their pitch. We have gone elsewhere,” says Marie-Eve Chapdelaine, senior advisor in sustainable development at Cascades.

On the way from The Press, the expectations of the project leaders had already been exceeded. The 100 participation posters planned have flown away, and Cascades plans to produce a second batch.

“I only heard positive comments, says Emily Knight, member of the En Vert citizens’ committee, met in front of her house. It’s an easy move. You have nothing to do ! »

In a context of climate crisis, where the pollination of flowers by bees is increasingly complicated, this craze delights Joanne Patenaude, director of the horticultural service at Cascades.

“One of our goals is for Kingsey to be a city where life is good, but where we live with the fauna and flora,” she says.

bees in trouble

The survival of bee colonies, the main pollinating species in Canada, is in free fall, according to René Bougie, beekeeper and co-owner of Miellerie King-Distillerie & Hydromellerie. This can be explained in particular by the “systemic” use of pesticides and herbicides, which put them at risk.

“These substances have the effect of attacking the nervous system of bees,” he explains. Many of them have difficulty returning to the hive. I have co-workers who have seen bees drop and form clumps of dead insects in front of their hives. »

Unsurprisingly, climate change is also having an impact. They disrupt the length of the pollination season, which is based on temperature. “It must be 10 ℃ continuously for flowering to start again and for the bees to come out of their hibernation, illustrates René Bougie. Today, there are no precise dates, and it is linked to climate change. »

“Leave your mower tight!” “, he launches.

Connected municipality

Besides the Dandelion Challenge, Cascades is already making efforts to leave a greener footprint on the environment. Specializing in packaging, the company uses 83% recycled paper, says Councilor Marie-Eve Chapdelaine.

In Kingsey Falls, some green measures have been put in place. Notably, there are about forty public charging stations for electric vehicles, the use of which is completely free in the municipality. Mayor Christian Côté even expressed the desire that the next company vehicles be electric.

“I think we have the trendiest village in Quebec, if not in Canada! exclaimed citizen Emily Knight.

For the future, the holders of the Dandelion Challenge are thinking big. They hope first that a maximum of citizens will take part in Kingsey Falls, and then that the project will be taken up in other cities.