McGill’s downtown and Macdonald campuses will start to look a bit different this summer: there will be new gardens, taller grass and visibly “wild” spaces.
This will be in keeping with McGill’s new Sustainable Greenspace Plan, which aims to enhance biodiversity on campus. The plan is a flagship action in the University’s Climate and Sustainability Strategy 2025-2030 and helps advance two of McGill’s five long-term sustainability goals: to increase climate resilience and to become a Nature Positive University that supports species diversity and ecosystems.
By 2030, McGill aims to manage 30 per cent of its greenspace in a way that fosters biodiversity, resulting in areas that can serve as living laboratories for research and learning.
“Our greenspace plan will do more than reshape the landscape,” said François Miller, McGill’s Executive Director of Sustainability. “By restoring biodiversity, we’re creating vibrant living laboratories where McGillians can connect, learn and contribute to building a nature-positive campus.”
A leader in land stewardship
Until now, almost 95 per cent of McGill’s greenspaces have been managed conventionally. The new greenspace plan aims to go beyond this one-size-fits-all approach, creating diverse habitats tailored to each area’s unique characteristics.
High-traffic areas will remain as-is, while others will become no-mow and low-mow zones. Some zones will be transformed into flower meadows, native gardens and microforests to support birds, pollinators and other local wildlife. These enhanced greenspaces are expected to provide additional benefits such as increased stormwater retention, reduced heat island effects and improved soil health, air quality and carbon sequestration.
“McGill’s greenspaces represent a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership in sustainable land management,” said Marie-Claude Carignan, Biodiversity Officer in the Office of Sustainability. “McGill already plays an active role in biodiversity conservation and research on its lands, but our large campus greenspaces offer untapped potential for creating biodiversity-friendly landscapes and implementing more sustainable maintenance practices.”
McGill expects 20 per cent of its greenspaces at the downtown and Macdonald Campus will be managed to foster biodiversity by the end of 2027 and aims to meet its 30 per cent target by 2030.
The new management plan focuses on transforming McGill’s urban landscapes, complementing existing conservation and research efforts already underway at Gault Nature Reserve, Molson Reserve, Morgan Arboretum and the Macdonald Campus Farm.
A green collaboration
The greenspace plan was spearheaded by staff in the Office of Sustainability in collaboration with multiple internal partners. Staff from Design Services helped identify areas with strong potential for ecological enhancement, while Campus Planning will ensure changes are aligned with the McGill Master Plan.
The campus Grounds teams will oversee this fundamental shift in how the University manages its land and will receive specialized training to support the management of invasive plants and the care of biodiversity-rich habitats.
The Office of Sustainability will host two community planting days – one for each campus – where volunteers can help plant McGill’s new biodiversity zones, as well learn about native plants, local pollinators and fostering healthy urban ecosystems.
Faculty experts in plant science, along with student groups such as Little Forests and ReWild McGill, will contribute by helping to ideate, plant and steward biodiversity zones.
Local landscaping and native species experts will join the McGill team to deliver key elements of the plan. Soverdi (Société de verdissement du Montréal métropolitain) will lead tree-planting initiatives on the Downtown Campus, while Jardin Buzz (Jardin pour la biodiversité urbaine et les zones de zoodiversité) will oversee the design and planting of new pollinator gardens across both campuses.
“Over the years, the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) has supported various student and staff-led gardens, meadows and plantings on both campuses,” said Carignan. “Several contributors to those projects are now part of the plan’s team, ensuring continuity of knowledge and experience.”
The plan itself was the subject of an SPF project in the Big Wave funding stream, qualifying for a budget of up to $400,000 that will go towards awareness-raising, equipment, plants and co-ordination. The SPF application included letters of support from Associate Professors Kyle Elliott and Brian Leung, both of whom have committed to integrating the plan into their respective courses, WILD 421: Wildlife Conservation and ENVR 401: Environmental Research.
“[The plan] will provide valuable course-based field experience,” said Elliott. “Students will be able to follow its implementation and contribute to monitoring its ecological outcomes.”
In the long term, McGill expects that reducing the amount of greenspace requiring frequent management will optimize resources and free up time for the Grounds team. Campus signage will ensure community members understand the social and ecological benefits of these areas and that they are being managed intentionally and monitored.
