Together for participatory water science!
It will be possible to become a member of the Québec Water Collective in the coming months. To find out about the launch of memberships, subscribe to the Collective’s newsletter.
What is the Québec Water Collective?
The Québec Water Collective is bringing together non-profit organizations, community groups, schools, universities, research groups, scientists, government entities, businesses, communities, Indigenous and non-indigenous, who carry out participatory water science initiatives in Québec.
Through the activities of the Québec Water Collective (in-person and online meetings, training, networking activities, etc.), members will collaborate on various issues to advance participatory water science in Québec.
Mandated by the Collective‘s strategic committee, G3E develops this new network and coordinates its activities. The strategic committee supports G3E in major decisions related to the development and maintenance of the Collective.
The Québec Water Collective emerged from the Participatory Water Science Forum in November 2022. During this event, around sixty participants from various backgrounds gathered. Together, they defined a vision of what participatory science should be in Québec. After discussing the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of participatory science, these two days of discussions and exchanges concluded with the development of an action plan which will be implemented in the coming years.
For all the details and documents from the Participatory Water Science Forum, click here.
The Collective’s mission is to mobilize the knowledge of participatory water science stakeholders in Québec and encourage their commitment, in an innovative and inclusive way, by offering members of the Collective opportunities to network, learn and work together.
The Collective’s vision is a participatory science network for water health, recognized for the sustainable commitment of communities, the diversity of actors as well as for scientific and traditional knowledge sharing.
For more details on the values, objectives, and action plan of the Collective, please see this presentation document.
What is participatory science?
The term “participatory science” can be used in several formulations: citizen science, community science, collaborative science, community-based water monitoring, active observation, environmental monitoring by citizens, etc.
Within the Québec Water Collective, participatory science brings together all initiatives and actions involving non-scientists in the various stages of data collection projects in science (e.g.: definition of issues, sampling, monitoring, etc.).
Québec Water Collective initiatives
Map listing participatory water science initiatives in Québec
To paint a portrait of participatory water science in Québec and to highlight its stakeholders, the Québec Water Collective wishes to bring together all the participatory water science initiatives carried out in the province on an interactive map. When online, this map will make your initiative known to the public and promote your group’s contribution to participatory water science in Québec!
Note that the map is still in development. G3E is already collecting the information which will be added to it via an online form. The information requested is related to the initiatives (group or organization, contact details, target audience, geographic scope, etc.). This is a directory and not a database. Data collected through your initiatives is not requested in the form and will therefore not be published on the map.
Become a member of the Québec Water Collective
It will be possible to become a member of the Québec Water Collective in the coming months. To get news about the launch of memberships, subscribe to the Collective’s newsletter here.
Until then, you can already consult the membership criteria and prices, as well as the member benefits.
The members of the Québec Water Collective undertake to participate in the Collective‘s efforts to promote participatory water science in Québec and contribute to the realization of the Collective‘s action plan, according to their abilities.
To do this, a person from the group must be designated to represent it within the Collective. A substitute person must also be designated, in the event that the group’s representative can no longer continue to be involved.
In addition, members undertake to act according to the operating principles and values of the Collective.
Strategic committee
The strategic committee supports G3E in major decisions related to the development and maintenance of the Québec Water Collective. It is made up of eight seats:
- Education and participatory science NPO seat – G3E which coordinates the Collective’s activities
- Research seat – Sébastien Sauvé, professor in environmental chemistry at Université de Montréal
- Watershed organization seat – Sébastien Cottinet, policy director at ROBVQ
- Database management seat – Aislin Livingstone, director, Water Program at DataStream
- Citizen seat – George Cervinka, citizen involved in the protection and enhancement of the Bouchard stream in Dorval
- Indigenous organization seat – A person from an Indigenous organization who works in the field of the environment/territory and/or water – Vacant seat, awaiting a response from a partner
- Governmental seat – Suzanne Boulet, Environmental planification advisor, Environment service – Discharge control and environmental monitoring division at Ville de Montréal
- Student seat – Manon Boiteux, doctoral student at Université de Montréal working on a participatory science evaluation project in the areas of ecosystem health and conservation
Questions or comments
Contact us at: collectif@g3e-ewag.ca
Financial partners
