A group of seven co-owners of a 53.5 acre plot in Pigeon Hill have donated their property to la Fiducie foncière du mont Pinacle (FFMP) - Mont Pinnacle Land Trust- with the goal of protecting the property from land speculation to conserve the natural environment for future generations and to give access to people of all ages who have small-scale regenerative farming projects. 

The ecological value of the land was studied by biologists from conservation organization Appalachian Corridor and an application for recognition as a nature reserve for half of the area, 10 hectares (25 acres), was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change in 2021. The remaining 11 hectares are conserved for regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and small-scale ecological and sustainable livestock farming projects.

Recognizing that farmland is no longer accessible to most families as a result of the dramatic increase in land prices, but that everyone still needs to eat, the group wants to give those passionate farmers, producers, and nature seekers with the opportunity to implement land-based projects rather than selling off the land to most likely be exploited. As development picks up across the region and the world continues to experience climate change, getting closer to nature, understanding where food comes from, and instilling “human values” in the community are needed now more than ever, according to the group. 

“We paid $30,000 in 1987 to buy that piece of land and we see the prices of land escalating. We’re all getting older, all of our kids are all over the place, some of them are still interested in it, most of them aren’t,” explained Ananda Fitzsimmons, one of seven co-owners and president of Regeneration Canada’s Board of Directors.

Fitzsimmons continued to explain that those families whose children aren't interested in maintaining the land usually don't have a choice but to sell it and split up the profits, but this was something the group wanted to avoid.

“It just doesn’t make any sense, this land is worth so much more than money. (…) It has a value, it’s re-wilded a lot, the soil is improved, we had big gardens, and that’s what is valuable about it.”

Fitzsimmons, Rosemary Sullivan, Mikala Dicaire, Astrid Robeznieks, Michael Gervais, Patrick Andreotti, and Mary-Lee Whole were all seeking to distance themselves from city life and to get back in touch with nature when they all came together to manage the piece of land in Pigeon Hill in 1987. For years the group ran a summer camp on the plot called “The Land” where they and their children learned how to garden and grow their own food, had campfires, played games, and connected with nature and the outdoors. The experience made them realize where their food came from, the work that went into producing food, and what values mattered to them most. 

“It’s like a nature-based spirituality, our connection to nature, the cycles of nature, being able to be in that place where we hold those values, deep respect for nature and that’s based on having a relationship with nature,” explained Fitzsimmons. 

“The first year I was very proud of a row of beets that I grew, I had a 50 pound bag of beets. In 1992, I went back to Montreal and went to Marche Jean-Talon and saw a bag of beets that size for $2.00,” highlighted Dicaire. “I actually got depressed at how disconnected I had become of what actually is involved in growing food. (…) You connect with the land and yourself at the same time, it’s been a very healing journey for me.”

Agricultural conservation projects are needed “everywhere,” according to Fitzsimmons, particularly when it comes to encouraging sustainable farming that “co-exists with natural ecosystems.” Fitzsimmons questioned what would happen to the farmland once the people who are farming now decide to retire and there is no one in the family to take it over.

“Who is going to grow our food?,” she pointed out. “At the same time, there are all of these young people that are interested in getting closer to the land, they’re interested in growing food, and they can’t afford to pay over a million dollars for a farm.”

Dicaire added that encouraging small-scale farmers to work the land is important during a time where the world is experience climate change. 

“ We’re stuck in a model with big farms and big machines to do all of that work. (…) You know, if you’re out of rain you can’t go out there with your hose all that well. Then if there is a lot of rain you drain your field, but if you have a dry year, there’s no reserve because you drained [it]. (...) There’s a place to mitigate landscape challenges and climate change that I think it’s useful to have people on the land,” she explained.

Fitzsimmons noted that the conservation project with the FFMP is all about providing others with the opportunity to  “have what we had.”

“This place where you could learn to grow food, where you could learn to be close to nature, and have that relationship with nature — that was the best way we could think of to do it was to assure that there will be some kind of succession in the spirit of what we created and to take it out of the speculative market, because this land is worth more than whatever dollar amount you want to put on it,” she said.

“For me it’s been the experiences that I’ve had with people on the land and with myself, learning a new relationship with the land that has changed my life. It was something that I was looking for and I didn’t even know what it was, but I’m really happy I ended up where I am,” added Sullivan.

A users' agreement' was signed between the seven co-owners and the FFMP on May 23, which preserves the rights of the co-owners and their children to access the land if they have a project in mind, and the group is open to whatever small-scale farming projects that members of the community want to bring to fruition. 

“There could be multi-small projects, but it depends, we’re open to what comes along. If someone comes along with a particular idea or project we are happy to collaborate and consider it. We will see what we open to, but it can either be one big project or it could be a whole bunch of small projects for people like us that don’t necessarily want a commercial operation, they just want some small side thing,” mentioned Fitzsimmons. 

Recognizing that their conservation project won’t be the absolute solution to all of the problems of farmland in the future, the group hopes to inspire others to do something similar. 

“I think we already have inspired people, people that have gone all over Canada or even to the United States. That’s the reward, to know that it’s going on and that it’s growing,” said Sullivan. 

CIDI also interviewed Danielle Dansereau, co-founder of the FFMP, about the conservation project, along with the people named in this article. Listen below to hear more: