It was the Madawaska River Festival, Saturday afternoon in Dégelis. Organized by the Saint John River Watershed Organization (OBV), the event aimed to raise public awareness of water conservation.

Above all, it is an opportunity to celebrate the flow, to exchange ideas with the teamOBV willing to share all her passion for the environmentstates the director of the organization, Anne Allard-Duchêne.

The participants were invited to discover the advantages of bank strips, i.e. green areas along watercourses. L’OBV du rivière Saint-Jean presented on Saturday the new coastal strip of the Centennial Park developed over the summer.

Bank strips help, among other things, to counteract erosion, prevent pollutants from entering the river and provide a habitat for animals and insects.

Citizens present at the celebration planted shrubs in Centennial Park to conserve roadside soil. We’re still in the middle of the city. Giving back a green space is therefore an attraction, yes for nature, but also for peopleargues Antony Deschênes-Bellavance, project manager at theOBV of the Saint John River.

It’s great to see the community mobilizing, but also seeing the population is always a lot of fun.

Other organized activities included workshops on protecting fish and bird habitats and information stands on environmental issues affecting the watershed.

For example, if we stop using fertilizer on our lawn or make sure our septic tank is up to scratch, all of those things don’t end up in the river for us to take care ofthe director remembers.

We’ve heard a lot about invasive alien species. There people realize how lucky we are to have healthy rivers and lakes and everything that improves the quality of life here., argues Ms Allard-Duchêne. She adds that with the Madawaska River Festival, her organization wanted to show the importance of maintaining the health of these environments.

those responsible for itOBV of the Saint John River would like the activity to be repeated year after year to further raise public awareness of the conservation of the Madawaska River.