Projects
Macoun Marsh
The Macoun Marsh is a small urban wetland, located on the property of Beechwood Cemetery, Canada’s National Cemetery. In 2003, Mr. Léveillé and a group of his students successfully convinced the Beechwood Cemetery to preserve this natural habitat, and had it declared an environmentally sensitive area. Since then, St-Laurent Academy students have taken the role of protecting, researching, and documenting this wetland ecosystem.
Since 2003 The Macoun Marsh Biodiversity Project, a multifaceted research and education initiative,
has studied and preserved a unique inner-city wetland in Ottawa, identifying over 1200 species to date!
The Macoun Marsh aims to:
- Research, enhance, and protect the ecology found here
- Record the biodiversity through every season
- Record the warming effects of an ever changing climate
- Educate the community about the value of urban wetlands with news articles, presentations and a website
- Inspire other educational and youth groups to begin their
own projects, both locally, and internationally
- Michael Léveillé, Science Teacher, St-Laurent Academy, Ottawa, CanadaThe Macoun Marsh Project involves working with others, developing new skills, undertaking practical conservation and influencing society. We have made a conscious decision to protect and celebrate our own Macoun Marsh. We are inspiring other individuals and schools to take a serious look at their own backyards.
Executive Director, Macoun Marsh Project
Awards & Achievements
- The Macoun Marsh Project was awarded the 2004 National Capital Regional Wildlife Festival Youth Award in Environmental Excellence.
- In 2004, Pinegrove Productions produced a bilingual educational film for television titled, Our Incredible World. It was based on the story of the Macoun Marsh Project, and filmed on location at the marsh.
- In 2006, a group of students traveled to Sweden, and the project won second place at the International Volvo Adventure Competition, an environmental program organized by Volvo Car Corporation in partnership with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The Volvo Adventure jury was particularly impressed by the Ottawa team’s long-term view of the environment, and the way it succeeded in creating awareness within the community about the importance of marshlands.
- Thanks to the full support of The Beechwood Cemetery Foundation, a beautiful Outdoor Classroom was built in 2007.
- In June 2008, The Macoun Marsh Project was chosen as the winner of Toyota Canada’s Make Things Better Challenge.
- The St-Laurent Academy Environmental Youth Board was honoured in February 2009 during The Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Awards at Queen's Park, Toronto, for their Macoun Marsh work and the promotion of the Second International Youth Symposium for Biodiversity.
The Macoun Marsh website will soon be moving to biodiversitymatters.org. until then, please visit us at: macounmarsh.bravehost.com
- "The Lorax", by Dr. SeussUnless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."
