The Comité consultatif sur l'environnement (CCE) and Ville de Saint-Lazare invite you to take part in the second edition of the "Pollinator's Garden" ecological landscaping contest .

The contest, which runs from June 15 to August 11, is part of a vision to beautify the Town while encouraging citizens to use their creativity and imagination to create ecological landscapes that are better adapted to natural conditions and require less water and maintenance in general.

Gift cards redeemable at local merchants will be awarded to participants whose landscaping achieves the top 3 scores, or who are selected for the "Coup de cœur" prize.

"Our ecological landscaping contributes to local biodiversity, providing nectar and pollen for pollinating insects, reducing water consumption and cutting down on maintenance and noise pollution from lawnmowers. To avoid a traditional grassy area, we planted a variety of native and perennial flowers. We see butterflies, birds, bees, insects, dragonflies, hares, etc.," Nancy Roy, the citizen who won 2nd place in 2023.

"Our terrain is sandy and on an incline. The grass required a lot of water and maintenance. We've replaced it with a variety of ground cover plants, such as thyme (different species and colors), moss, phlox, aubriet, lavender, fescue, mulberry, serviceberry, etc." says Brigitte Rioux (3rd place in 2023).

The proposed ecological landscaping must be located on private property within the city, and be visible from the street. It must be planted directly in the ground and include a variety of perennial, native and hardy species.

The landscaping must also include a diversity of plants: melliferous, aromatic, edible and xerophilous, include a variety of species of all sizes: ground covers, shrubs, small or large trees, small or large fruit bushes, be free of all chemical fertilizers and pesticides and incorporate ecological solutions to retain moisture.

Note that landscapes that won one of the top three prizes in the first edition of the competition are not eligible.

Anyone entering the competition can obtain a free competition poster from the Environmental Services Department to install in their ecological landscaping. All you have to do is answer yes to the online questionnaire.

For full details, visit the Ville de Saint-Lazare website. Registration opens on June 15.