The rain stopped and the clouds parted as guests arrived at the new Conservation Centre groundbreaking ceremony August 14th.
“We’ve been looking forward to this day for some time” says Susan Wylie Executive Director.”
The new main building will house an avian wildlife rehabilitation facility that will ensure the public year round access to the professional services of Le Nichoir as well as providing the region with emergency response services and an important centre of expertise.
In addition, the building will house a multi-function classroom facility that will permit a significant expansion of Le Nichoir’s on-site environmental education program, providing a unique learning environment that links the classroom and the adjacent nature reserve.
The building was designed by Studio MMA, a Montreal architecture firm with a long-standing commitment to environmentally responsible architecture.
“The guiding vision for this project is of a building integrated into its community and integrated into its site, a building that fulfills its educational vocation both in terms of ornithology and as an example of sustainable construction: a ‘green’ building that reflects the environmental values of Le Nichoir” says Vouli Mamfredis, partner in charge of the project.
Construction Managers for the project are eSpace Construction Inc, a company with a solid reputation in executing sustainable construction projects. The building will be completed in 2016 in time for Le Nichoir’s 20th anniversary of conserving avian wildlife.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place in the presence of Mme Marie-Claude Nichols MNA Vaudreuil, M. Jamie Nicholls MP for Vaudreuil-Soulanges, M. Jean Lalonde Préfet de la MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges, M. Ed Prévost Mayor of Hudson, M. Julien Turcotte General Manager CLD Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Mme. Nathalie Zinger Regional Vice-President Nature Conservancy of Canada, Mme Lynn Miller co-founder of Le Nichoir as well as representatives from partner organizations and individual supporters of the project.
Humane Society International’s Aviva Vetter and Le Nichoir’s President Lindsay D’Aoust
Nicholas Gilman, Executive Director SPCA Montreal and Le Nichoir’s Executive Director Susan Wylie.