A site damaged by flooding in December 2010 will be turned into a public park
Sainte-Flavie, May 17, 2022 – The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is donating $30,000 to Les Amis des Jardins de Métis to restore the shoreline of Sainte-Flavie, damaged by high tides in December 2010.
Les Amis des Jardins de Métis will work together with the municipality of Sainte-Flavie and partner organizations to build a new public park. A pilot project that could inspire other site restorations in the region, the park will include a garden with edible native plants chosen for their ability to control erosion. During the summers of 2022 and 2023, the site will be completely transformed with vegetation and landscaping. The project is supported by the municipality of Sainte-Flavie and Les Amis des Jardins de Métis, both of whom will oversee the park's construction and upkeep.
“In December 2010, the lives of hundreds of residents in Bas-Saint-Laurent were turned upside down by flooding. And because of climate change, the banks of the St. Lawrence continue to recede. The shoreline restoration project of Les Amis des Jardins de Métis and the municipality of Sainte-Flavie is a good example of how communities can help in the fight against climate change and at the same time protect their territory,” said Janie C. Béïque, president and CEO of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
“The flooding in 2010 profoundly affected the landscape of Sainte-Flavie. We will never forget the event, not only because of how it ravaged our coastal scenery but because we had to evacuate the residents of more than 60 waterfront homes, which then had to be demolished. It has since become a priority for us to see these lots—now vacant—redeveloped, and to learn from the experience. Like nature, Sainte-Flavie is resilient, and the project announced today helps us adapt to climate change and raises our environmental awareness, both of which are essential in these times. Thanks to the expertise of Jardins de Métis and Rosetta Elkin, a living, integrated space will be created where visitors will learn that they can take action in coastal development and contribute to this resilience,” said Jean-François Fortin, mayor of Sainte-Flavie.
“Like Sainte-Flavie and its citizens, Jardins de Métis was greatly affected by the high tides of 2010, having had some of the landscaping at the mouth of the Mitis River washed away, leaving the area covered with debris. That is why in 2011, our organization initiated the coastal nursery project to plant native coastal vegetation, a green and ecological response to the problem of coastal erosion. For this sea garden, we enlisted the talented Montréal landscape architect Rosetta Elkin to design the space at the western entrance to Sainte-Flavie and the gateway to the Gaspé Peninsula. Using recycled materials and native plants, this garden is a pilot project that may inspire future waterfront developments and that is made possible by a $30,000 contribution from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and $10,000 from Telus,” said Alexander Reford, director of Jardins de Métis.
“The riverbank has always been and will continue to be a major driver of the recreational tourism industry in Bas-Saint-Laurent. This donation will support a key sector of our economy and speaks to the Fonds' commitment to the socio-economic vitality of Bas-Saint-Laurent, 25 years after the creation of the Fonds régionaux de solidarité FTQ,” said David Lord, vice-president of the Fonds régionaux de solidarité FTQ for Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests to build a better society by channelling the savings of its 734,580 shareholders into development and risk capital investments to help Québec transition to a green economy, to a human-centred world of work, and to a healthier society. The Fonds offers businesses unsecured financing and strategic support. With $18.3 billion in net assets as at November 30, 2021, the Fonds has supported more than 3,400 partner companies and over 247,000 jobs.
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