Motorless Day 2025

Great turnout for Motorless Day on Wednesday! Thanks to everyone who came and participated.

Huge thanks to Catherine Wensley, Dave Kerr, Rhonda Candell, Karen Labow, Janet Boileau-Hyde, and Robert Edwards for the hot dogs, watermelon, chips, and lemonade – so very much appreciated.

The focus this year was on the sustainability of the shoreline, and how we can all do our part to preserve it. Our first presenter was Corinne Hamel who demonstrated the importance of the shoreline and the impact a poor shoreline can have on our lake. Her message was about the importance of preserving the shoreline (bande riveraine or riparian zone). Her presentation was well received by the younger crowd, and all but one of her challenging questions was correctly answered. Corinne created a pamphlet about the bande riveraine and what can happen if we don’t take care of it. Her pamphlet is posted to the Amis du lac website (here) – check it out. Thank you, Corinne!!!

Next was a presentation by David Ravelo. You may not know him personally, but you know of his contributions to the community. David is responsible for the planting in the centre of the road (364) in the village, as well as the updated parking lot in the north, and around the marina at the south end. Together with his partner, Denis Charlebois, his work has had a huge impact on the visual beauty of our community, while only using native, local plants and shrubs. David showed how a natural shoreline can be both effective and beautiful. A big focus was on the ill effects of grass cutting on the shoreline, and the benefits of native ground covers that do not need to be mown.

After the presentation, the kids (and adults) were invited to join David down at the flagpole in front of the club. There he and Lyndan Warner had dug holes and laid out little pots of plants for the kids to put in the ground. David demonstrated how to properly remove the plants from their pots and place them in the holes. Each participant was given a popsicle stick to write their name on and stick in the ground next to the flower or shrub they planted. They can now watch it grow. Over the coming years the area around the flagpole and path up to the club will become a self-sustaining perennial garden of natural and native – and beautiful – plants.

A big thank you to Lyndan Warner who had already established (and revitalized) plantings in these areas and then partnered with David to help the kids and take it to the next level. 

Attached is the list of plants that David has identified as natural and native for our lake environment, and those highlighted are the ones that were planted at the club. The plants came from Pepiniere Rustique in St-Adolphe. Amis du lac will investigate the feasibility of a group purchase in the fall for spring pickup. Here are the links to David’s presentation (here) (only available in English at this time, French version is coming), which includes David’s short list of recommended perennial plantings for this environment. The plants selected for the club (here) were taken from the list David provided.

A big thank you to Corinne Hamel, David Ravelo, Denis Charlebois, and Lyndan Warner for making this a fun and educational event.