On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the restoration of the Bois-des-Bel peatland, located near Cacouna in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Quebec.
The event, attended by some 70 people, began with indoor presentations at the Auberge de la Pointe in Rivière-du-Loup, and continued mid-afternoon with a visit to the Bois-des-Bel peatland, including official speeches, an artistic performance, a guided tour and a cocktail reception (to see the day's program, click here).
The Bois-des-Bel peatland (BDB) was restored in the autumns of 2019 and 2020 using the MLTT (Moss layer transfer technique), at the instigation of Line Rochefort and PERG researchers, as well as partners from the horticultural peat industry, following a series of preparatory workshops held in Rivière-du-Loup in October and November 1999.
This is the very first large-scale experimental research station on Sphagnum-dominated peatland restoration to have been set up. A large number of researchers, postdoctoral fellows, students and research professionals have carried out research projects there, to measure the success of the restoration and to find ever more ways of encouraging the return of a peat-accumulating ecosystem and increasing biodiversity.
Presenters at the June 3, 2025, event highlighted the many lessons learned from the Bois-des-Bel experimental station, as well as the valuable three-decade partnership between PERG researchers and the Canadian horticultural peat industry.
A list of the publications resulting from these researches is available by clicking HERE.
Media articles and radio reports from June 4, 2025, about the event (in French):
- « Restauration de la tourbière de Bois-des-Bel: un partenariat modèle depuis 25 ans », article by Jean Hamman, ULaval nouvelles (link to the article HERE).
- « Une tourbière devenue un laboratoire à ciel ouvert », article by Fabienne Tercaefs, Radio-Canada Info du Bas-Saint-Laurent (lien vers l’article HERE).
- « La tourbière de Bois-des-Bel : 25 ans de recherche qui rayonne bien au-delà de Cacouna », article by Ariane Boyer, TVA Nouvelles CIMT/CHAU (lien vers l’article HERE).
- « Une tourbière exceptionnelle », report from Fabienne Tercaefs broadcast on Même fréquence radio program (link to report on Ohdio HERE).
Here are a few photos from the BDB25 celebration day:
Indoor presentations at Rivière-du-Loup's Auberge de la Pointe: opening address by Line Rochefort (PERG Director, Université Laval) |
Presentation of James Michael Waddington (McMaster University) |
Presentation of Stéphanie Pellerin (Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Montréal) |
On the Bois-des-Bel site: Stéphanie Boudreau's speech (Vice-President, Science and Research Partnership, Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA) & Executive Director, Québec Peat Moss Producers Association (APTHQ) / Peat & Substrates Cluster) |
On the Bois-des-Bel site: Line Rochefort's speech. in the company of Mr. Bernard Bélanger (Chairman of the Board of Premier Tech) |
Restored portion of the Bois-des-Bel peat bog during a guided tour, June 3, 2025
Gumboots performance by the troupe Les Malchaussées |
