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Employees in Montreal did exactly that last November when they got their hands dirty and planted over 30 trees outside the Montreal area control centre (ACC).

The project started with a simple desire to make the ACC a nicer place to spend time.

“Due to the nature of jobs at NAV CANADA, many employees have opportunities to rest during their shift. They’re often spending multiple hours outside the control center,” explains Jean-Francois Grondin, ATM Technical Services Manager. “It’s a bit boring to walk around a parking lot with no trees overhead. It gets hot, and we thought it would be nice to have more trees around for our breaks.”

The idea really came to life when a local organization reached out and offered to support. GRAMEOpen a new window (Groupe de recommandations et d’actions pour un meilleur environnement) is dedicated to enhancing green spaces in industrial districts affected by heat islands, poor air quality, and surface runoff. They saw the ACC as a perfect candidate.

Initially, the project was challenging due to the ACC's complex infrastructure, which includes vital underground cables and equipment, as well as overhead lines.

Despite some early concerns, NAV CANADA teams and experts from GRAME worked together to image beneath the ground, identify all sensitive infrastructure, and develop a plan that would be compatible with the site’s technical constraints.

“There were several kinds of trees,” Jean-Francois recalls. “If we had a lot of equipment buried, we chose species with roots that wouldn't spread everywhere. Where there were power lines, we chose species that grow wider and not very high.”

This thoughtful planning guarantees that the newly planted trees will thrive for years to come, bringing long-term benefits to the ACC and its surroundings.

After a few months of planning, it was finally tree-planting day!

Four volunteers from the ACC were joined by the GRAME team to put shovels in the ground. For Jean-Francois, seeing his colleagues show up to bring the vision to life was a highlight of the day.

“I could see the pride of the people who came to help us,” he recalls, “that we were doing something for the future and for the well-being of the ACC. It was a really good day.”

It was also a learning opportunity, as the GRAME team shared expert advice on tree care and maintenance with the NAV CANADA participants.

In addition to making the ACC a nicer place for employees, the new trees will have real environmental benefits locally.

The selected trees were chosen not only for their resilience and growth potential but also for their ability to promote biodiversity, improve soil health, and enhance water quality in the creek adjacent to the ACC property. They will also help improve the water quality of the Bertrand Creek, which runs alongside the ACC property.

The trees are part of GRAME’s ICI, on verdit!Open a new window campaign, a tree-planting initiative financially supported by the Municipality of Dorval and the Government of Canada through the 2 Billion Trees programOpen a new window.