The Green Plan

Our Green Initiatives

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The Green Plan is the cemetery's ambitious project to take ecological action to help protect the environment and biodiversity of Mount Royal, a natural site incredibly rich in species of flora and fauna. Our green initiatives also aim to encourage everyone who visits the cemetery to take ecological action; no matter how small, it can have a major impact on the environment in the long term.


Environnemental Initiatives

The Green Plan is the cemetery's ambitious project to take ecological action to help protect the environment and biodiversity of Mount Royal, a natural site incredibly rich in species of flora and fauna. Our green initiatives also aim to encourage everyone who visits the Cemetery to take ecological action; no matter how small, it can have a major impact on the environment in the long term.

 

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is undertaking a multi-year plan that will focus on an in-depth review of its development and maintenance practices to:

 

  • Continue to reduce its consumption of fuel, energy, abrasive products and water, as well as the pollution associated with its maintenance activities.
  • Improve its contribution to biodiversity on Mount Royal through the implementation of new initiatives that meet the needs of its clientele and the aspirations of its partners.
  • Respect, enhance and develop quality natural environments (flora and fauna) in a sustainable way.

In order to offer our clientele a burial option that corresponds more closely to environmental values, we have developed Remembrance Grove, a section reserved for the burial of ashes in biodegradable containers under young trees of native species. In addition to being a more environmentally friendly burial option, Remembrance Grove is a way to help increase the city’s forest cover, thereby improving air quality and biodiversity.

Our cemetery covers 343 acres of land. Maintaining the lawn on this huge surface is a long, polluting and costly operation. For several months, lawn tractors, trimmers and other noisy equipment have been at work throughout the day. In order to increase biodiversity and reduce our ecological footprint, we will gradually replace a significant portion of non-burial grass areas with perennial coverings (native grasses and flowers). This change will provide a more favourable environment for developing biodiversity.

Every year, our cemetery welcomes several hundred thousand people who come to visit the grave of a loved one and who often plant annuals to decorate their grounds. These activities are welcome, but they result in piles of waste that we have to collect and dispose of later. As is the case in many other cemeteries, visitors to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges are now responsible for bringing back their garbage when they leave the site in order to reduce pollution and make the site more pleasant for everyone.

 

We have taken on a project to remove asphalt from certain surfaces including a section near the Remembrance entrance.

 

Asphalt surfaces contribute to rainwater runoff which, in turn, can cause flooding and sewer overflows and cause waterway pollution. Climate change is exacerbating these harmful effects.

 

Removing asphalt restores the soil's natural absorption capacity, helping to improve water management by limiting runoff. In addition, asphalt can be replaced by plants and trees, which help to cool the ambient air - a significant advantage in the city - and filter pollutants from water and air.

To limit our electricity consumption, we have replaced the compact fluorescent bulbs in our mausoleums with LED lighting, which is more durable and less energy-consuming. This lighting system is currently controlled by motion detectors to limit electricity consumption, hence the corridors and areas within our mausoleums are lit up only when needed.

Due to the size of our site, we use a fleet of vehicles to maintain the grounds, transport equipment and people, and guide funeral processions. When a vehicle reaches the end of its life and its functions allow it, we replace it with an equivalent electric vehicle in order to limit our greenhouse gas emissions.

Each year, several employees maintain the roads, trees, lawns and landscaping of the 340-acre Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery. More than 500 tree-related procedures are carried out, including felling, pruning, tree planting and bracing.

 

In addition to prevention and special care for trees with insect infestations and problematic diseases, the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery has been particularly active in fighting the emerald ash borer since 2010. All trees are treated and monitored rigorously.

 

In addition, a recent project allowed us to have those that could not be saved turned into eco-friendly urns and beautiful wooden benches (now installed in our mausoleums), thanks to proper care by the circular economy company Bois Public.

Following numerous ruptures in the existing water system, resulting in the waste of very large quantities of water, we decided to replace this outdated system with an eco-responsible water distribution network. This network is composed of over twenty non-drinking water tanks made available to visitors of the cemetery for the watering of their flowers. This measure has made it possible to save considerable quantities of drinking water that was flowing down the mountain while maintaining the possibility for customers to water the flowers planted on their plot. Please note that the water tanks will be available as of the 3rd week of May until the end of October. Furthermore, these tanks are filled at least twice a week.

 

Over the next few years, the cemetery plans to recover rainwater and runoff water to meet all its needs and those of its customers and visitors in an environmentally friendly way.

 

The cemetery also collaborates tightly with Les amis de la montagne, which organized the first meeting of Mount Royal's institutional owners about the ecological management of their property from a sustainable development perspective on December 1, 2020. This meeting identified the main development issues related to biodiversity and landscape quality on Mount Royal, including landscape and ecological planning, maintenance and waste management, energy efficiency and accessibility.

Ecological Burials


We have created the first ecological interment space on the island of Montréal. Located in a prime area overlooking Saint Joseph's Oratory and near the main entrance, Remembrance Grove is a space dedicated to the burial of biodegradable containers under young trees, so that the ashes of the deceased can be returned fully and quickly to nature. Bereaved relatives can therefore gather in front of this growing tree, chosen from a selection of native species adapted to the environment of the area. It is a poetic way to help improve the city's tree cover, thereby contributing to better air quality and biodiversity.

 

 

Differentiated management of green spaces


In 2021, the conversion of large grassy areas, including the flowered field near the main entrance via Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, as well as the Union des artistes and Fondation des artistes concessions, was undertaken. This project is one of the most important for our green plan. The land is no longer mowed in summer but, rather, in autumn, while leaving the grass cuttings to nourish the soil. This conversion was inspired by a wildlife study carried out by Grebe in 2015, and then strongly supported by a scientific process that was undertaken with sustainable development experts from the Université de Montréal. This research enabled us to choose the plant combinations (grasses and wildflowers) that will be sown over the coming years. This project is also being carried out in collaboration with Les amis de la montage.
 

 

Leave No Trace


Inspired by the Leave No Trace movement, well known to hikers and wilderness campers, we are asking everyone who visits our site to help us preserve the flora and fauna of Mount Royal by bringing back everything they brought and by not leaving any waste behind.

 

Moreover, the Cemetery will recover the majority of trees that need to be felled, as well as all branches and leaves, and convert them into soil amendment resources to improve the quality of the soil used for various plantings.

 

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Are you a part of an organization committed to eco-responsibility and/or sustainable development? We look forward to working with you to protect Mount Royal's biodiversity.

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If you are awaiting for the names of your loved ones to be engraved or inscribed for the mausoleums Marguerite Bourgeoys (M4), La Pietà (M5), Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul (M6), or Sainte-Marguerite-D'Youville (M8), rest assured that we will contact you as soon as we have processed your request.

 

Please note that our offices receive a high volume of calls regarding requests for ash burials. If you have already submitted such a request in the past, please be assured that we will get back to you as soon as we have reviewed your file. If your request for an ash burial has not yet been submitted, we urge you to complete the form. Thank you for your understanding.

Ash Burial Request Form