Eco Day

There might be a couple of birds of prey hanging around the docks this Saturday at St. Anne de Bellevue, but don't worry, they're not there to sink their talons into whatever you pick up at the open-air farmers' market.

In fact, the birds will be there courtesy of Hélène Caron, one of the zoologists at the Ecomuseum, which is participating, as usual, in the Ste. Anne de Bellevue Ecological Day.

"She'll take them outside, put them on her arm," explained the Ecomuseum's marketing director Victoria de Martigny, adding there will likely be an owl present, as well as a diurnal bird of prey, like perhaps a hawk.

The brainchild of local environmental activist Ryan Young, a John Abbott professor who is running as a candidate for the Green Party of Canada in the federal elections this year, Ecological Day has been a staple of Ste. Anne de Bellevue for years.

Young said he helped start off Ecological Day partly because the similarly themed Earth Day in April usually does not work out very well for outdoor activities. "It was usually too cool to be outside, to be in the elements, in contact with nature," he explained.

Other organizations that will be present on Saturday include the local branch of environmental group S.O.S. Planète as well as Reboot, the used computer-recycling community organization.

According to Young, there are three main objectives for Ecological Day. The first is to learn about the ecology surrounding one's area. "I think it's very important to see to learn about the animals and the organisms that exist in your area," Young said.

The second and third objectives are protecting the local environment and making lifestyle choices that promote sustainable living. "Right there at the farmer's market you have eating organically," said Young as an example.

The birds of prey workshops will be at 11 a.m. in French and 12:30 p.m. in English, respectively, at the Violet Angel restaurant's terrace. "Get there early," de Martigny advised with a laugh, as Ecomuseum workshops have been fairly popular in the past.