By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
A new outdoor education space will take root in the Parc des Colibris in Cowansville next year through the city’s participatory budget initiative. Up to $50,000 of city funds will be invested in the project.
A wooded area of the park will be “transformed into an improved natural space focused on outdoor education, environmental preservation and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, specifically by putting in trails and creating a meeting corner,” Mayor Sylvie Beauregard said at the Nov. 18 council meeting. “Small groups can use this space for workshops and for holding classes outdoors.” Work on the space should be complete by the end of 2025.
Similar initiatives, where cities earmark $50,000 for citizen-driven projects, have been established in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, Granby and several smaller towns over the past few years; the town of Sutton launched its first participatory budget in 2023 and funded a turtle crossing and a new dog park.
The Cowansville project was announced in May and 19 projects were submitted, Beauregard said. Submissions were reviewed by a joint committee of councillors and concerned citizens to make sure they met key requirements – projects had to be on public land; to be submitted by a resident or residents; to be legally, technically and financially feasible within a year and within the $50,000 budget; and to have a strong sustainable development focus.
Five projects passed the committee’s scrutiny and were put to a vote in an online poll, open to Cowansville residents of all ages. All of them involved improving municipal green spaces – along with the Parc des Colibris project, other proposals involved greening traffic islands and planting trees in city parks; planting an herb garden in Parc François-Tanguay; installing a public “conversation bench” (placottoir public) and planters on Rue du Sud; and replanting the lawns of certain municipal buildings with wildflowers. Nearly 900 people voted.
“For a first-time project, there has been great citizen participation, and hopefully this will give people ideas for the future,” Beauregard said.