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A Natural Love Story

Support the Reserve

Help create experiences that change students' lives by investing in the Gault Research Awards and the summer work experience. The research award's goal is to support students who want to pursue scientific research at the Gault Nature Reserve.

A necessary complement to the classroom

Field learning is an enriching experience within the university path. It allows students to take charge of their learning outside of the classroom. Research stimulates their curiosity, enables them to gain new knowledge, and favours a better understanding of nature.

At the Service of Nature

With your support, we can put scientific research done at Gault at the service of conservation, the environment, and biodiversity. By conducting research and increasing their knowledge, students will help develop sustainable solutions to society's challenges.

A concrete impact on a student's life

The Gault Research Awards gives financial support to students to broaden their theoretical and methodological knowledge under the supervision of a university professor. The awards support research activities by funding, among other things, the purchasing of scientific equipment, lodging, and travelling.

Meet the students
Maude Lachapelle - Recipient of a Gault Nature Award in 2022

"To conduct my experiment, I used the experimental floating dock of Lac Hertel, which contains experimental units called mesocosms. They allowed me to reproduce natural aquatic phenomena that are difficult to reproduce in a traditional laboratory setting. The results of this research will help shed light on the potential sources of contaminants in Quebec and Canada's freshwaters."

Marie-Pier Hébert

“Doing my doctoral research at the Gault Nature Reserve gave me the opportunity to work in nature. (...) No matter the season, my fieldwork allowed me to reconcile my scientific and personal interests, thus helping me to maintain a pleasant life-work balance despite the ongoing research projects."

"Having access to facilities at Gault allowed me to scale up experiments on the impacts of Tench, an invasive fish currently expanding in the Saint Lawrence River. In our downtown lab, I had been limited to extrapolating conclusions from experiments with small juvenile fish. Using the mesocosms we built at Gault, I was able to test whether adult Tench are better at finding and eating prey in some habitats than others. This yielded valuable information for the management of this invader."

“Thanks to the Gault team! I consider myself lucky to have had all the help I needed to bring my research project on the invasive Tench to fruition in such a pleasant environment."

A natural love story

The Gault Nature Reserve of Mont Saint-Hilaire is a precious piece of ancestral forest. This ancient forest, which has never been cut since colonization, makes it a privileged place for research and teaching activities.

Continuing to preserve

Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault, a McGill alumni, acquired his property on Mont Saint-Hilaire in 1913. Facing rapid development in the region, he had to fight repeatedly to maintain the ecological integrity of his property. In 1958, he bequeathed the entire property to McGill University, knowing that a great educational institution could preserve its integrity for future generations.

A renowned forest

Famous scientists have travelled through the vast forests of Mont Saint-Hilaire, now world-renowned for the diversity of its minerals, its fauna and its flora. The first scientific studies dating back to 1859!

Quantifying the form and function of aquatic plants in Southern Quebec

Lindsay Trottier, Ph.D.

Supervisors: Prof. Lars Iversen
Affiliation: McGill University
Start date: 2023
Research area: Lake Hertel (Gault Nature Reserve) and Lake Memphrémagog (Wilder and Helen Penfield Nature Conservancy)

Projects funded by the Gault Research Awards

Support the Reserve
Your donations advance the understanding of natural sciences through innovative teaching and research, scholarships, and community outreach programs.
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With your help, we can continue to put scientific research at the service of conservation, biodiversity and environmental challenges of our time.

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