September 2nd 2025
Biodiversity Festival: Open Day at Gault Nature Reserve
Date and time
Saturday, October 4 – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location
Gault Nature Reserve 422 chemin des Moulins, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC
Registration and fees
To access the site, you must hold a valid annual card or reserve a day pass online before your arrival. The activities are free.
Come celebrate science and nature at our biggest science event of the year!
Discover the activities at Gault: meet experts, explore the biodiversity of Mont Saint-Hilaire, and learn about ongoing scientific projects. Take advantage of a rare opportunity to visit some research facilities during guided tours.
The full event program and schedule will be published soon.
Photo: Alex Tran
Booths
| Meet | Discover |
|---|---|
| Agence forestière de la Montérégie (AFM) | Explore the AFM’s work and discover key forestry issues in southern Québec. |
| Groupe uni des éducateurs-naturalistes et professionnels en environnement (GUEPE) | Step into the world of trees! Hands-on activities, discoveries, and games will help you uncover the secret life of these forest giants. |
| Société d'ornithologie de la Vallée du Richelieu (SOVDR) | Learn about this partner organization of the Gault Nature Reserve and get introduced to the fascinating world of birds. |
| McGill Office of Sustainability (MOOS) | Learn about McGill’s ambitious Biodiversity Plan — a framework to protect, monitor, and restore biodiversity through research, teaching, and community engagement, both on campus and beyond. |
| Emma Schubert, PhD student (McGill) | Learn how species like goldfish and zebra mussels invade our lakes and rivers — and how science is working to protect our aquatic habitats. |
| Micah Pavlidis, Master’s student (McGill) | Discover how scientists study the effects of white-tailed deer overpopulation on forest regeneration. |
| Liz Weller and Simone Miklosi, PhD and Master's students (McGill) | Learn how environmental DNA and RNA are opening up new ways to understand ecosystems. |
| Gault Nature Reserve | Find out more about our mission and projects to protect and showcase this unique site. |
| Gault Nature Reserve | Discover the Leave No Trace principles and learn best practices for responsible, eco-friendly hiking. Our team will also present you the species often encountered while hiking at Gault. |
| Gault Nature Reserve | Get informed about invasive species at Mont Saint-Hilaire and the efforts underway to control them. |
Activities and guided tours
| Description | Meeting point | Start times |
|---|---|---|
| Guided tour: Research area and laboratories | Welcome Centre | 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. |
| Guided tour: Gault House and history of Gault | Lac Hertel picnic area | 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. |
| Activity: Become a hydro-detective! This year at Gault’s Open House, McGill’s Ecohydrological Systems Laboratory (Ecohydros) presents a workshop on Quebec river water quality. In this workshop, you’ll analyse a mystery water sample and determine which real Quebec river it was taken from. Join us to learn and perform real hydrological tests used to better understand our local rivers. Please note that the workshop is designed for children between 7 and 14 years of age. Workshops will last for 45 minutes. | Welcome Centre | 1 p.m.*, 3 p.m.* |
* Limited spots available. Registration required at the Welcome Centre on the day of the event.
