Île-Perrot

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The hum of shovels scraping compost and the chatter of neighbours sharing gardening tips filled the east-side lot at Michel-Martin park on Saturday as Île-Perrot marked its annual Earth Day. Residents lined up with bins and buckets, ready to collect the compost produced by the city’s year-round organic waste program. The annual event is a spring ritual that signals the unofficial start of planting season in the community.

City staff, easy to spot in their bright orange safety vests, kept things running smoothly, filling each container for residents as they made their way through the distribution points. Proof of residence was required, and each household could take home up to 100 litres of compost or mulch – enough to give backyard gardens a solid boost. By midday, supplies were running low, a testament to the event’s popularity.

The event, running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offered much more than just free compost and mulch. With Mother’s Day on the horizon, many left with potted plants, while others browsed the new lineup of kiosks focused on sustainable living. This year, the city added more ways to get involved, including advice on urban agriculture, a bike tune-up clinic, and hands-on activities for both children and families.

The Société d’horticulture environnementale des villes de l’île Perrot manned the first kiosk, distributing vegetable seeds—beans, chard, spinach, lettuce—and herb plants like basil, chives, and oregano, all in limited quantities. Over at the Vélo Québec tent, residents who signed up ahead of time rolled in their bikes for personalized tune-ups and advice on cycling safely around town.

For those interested in local biodiversity, Prollifora’s team offered honey tastings and handed out milkweed “seed bombs,” hoping to encourage more pollinator-friendly gardens. Meanwhile, the city’s own booth focused on urban forestry and waste management, with tree saplings including birch, spruce, maple, and pine available for planting in neighbourhood yards.

Raffles and prize draws added a festive touch, with semi-mature trees and children’s books among the prizes. For many, the real reward was a sense of community and shared environmental purpose. Earth Day in Île-Perrot continues to highlight collective action, making the city a little greener, one bucket of compost at a time.