Tomorrow’s Forest – Green Infrastructure,
What is it?

The program Tomorrow’s Forest—Green Infrastructure aims to better understand the roles that certain greening activities and agricultural practices can play in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

With a grant of up to $4,500,000 from the Government of Quebec, Earth Day Canada will be implementing several pilot projects in collaboration with the Chaire de recherche du Canada en économie écologique de l’UQO, Habitat and the Union des producteurs agricoles. Developments will be made on select sites, including agricultural corridors near a waterway that cannot be cultivated due to their steepness.

Approach

In accordance with scientific protocols, green infrastructure pilot projects, including tree, plant and herbaceous plantings and the implementation of innovative agricultural practices, will be implemented on a total of 80 hectares. The impact of these measures will then be studied to measure the climate gains generated, particularly in terms of carbon flux, but also in terms of soil erosion, the proliferation of invasive exotic species, pollution towards waterways, the production of wood and berries, as well as biodiversity and how it creates habitats and movement corridors for wildlife.

Objectives

• Document the climate benefits of developments and practices, i.e., their impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation;
• Document the socio-ecological aspects of afforestation and restoration of agricultural corridors in Quebec and other nature-based solutions in agricultural settings;
• Establish technical and scientific parameters to guide larger scale deployment;
• Identify the agricultural corridors in the territory of Quebec.