Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
4601, chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges H3V 1E7 Montreal, QC, Canada

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges has been caring for the memory of generations for more than 100 years. View of the chapel (with the administrative pavilion in the background) in 1901 and 2020 - almost 100 years apart. 1901 Photo: Édouard-Zotique Massicotte Collection 2020 Photo: Mathieu Dupuis #HistoricalCapsule

What do you think of the first snow? At the cemetery, snow always adds a touch of magic!

This short radio report from France Culture discusses how several French cemeteries are going green and abandoning pesticides to become a refuge for biodiversity. What do you think of these ecological initiatives?

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, pray, love ", speaks with great sensitivity about her experience of grief like a tsunami that can't be resisted, before which only humility allows us to survive. Do her words resonate with your own personal experience?

On this peculiar Remembrance Day, when many of us cannot gather because of the pandemic, let us still observe two minutes of silence to remember and honour the sacrifice of the fallen. In Flanders Fields, a poem by John McCrae "In Flanders fields the poppies blow... Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields." Photo Mathieu Dupuis

Sometimes the last step before the great departure, palliative care is often seen in a negative, sad or gloomy light. However, this palliative care nurse has created small comic strips to reveal the beautiful aspects of his job.

Did you know that approximately 140,000 species of animals live in Canada, half of which have not yet been identified? You can find close to one hundred of them on the Cemetery site alone. Grey squirrels, striped chipmunks, white-tailed rabbits, red foxes, sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, yellow goldfinches, warblers and many other species can be observed on our 341 acres. This means that the natural setting of the site offers a particularly suitable space for biodiversity to flourish, and we are very proud of it! Photo: Roger Vaillancourt

Ecological burial, humusation, aquamation... funeral trends are changing. What do you think of these ecological alternatives? Are you ready to be green to the end?

Several decades ago, at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery... Trees were smaller and the cars were bigger. #HistoricalCapsule

November already. Soon the trees will have lost all their leaves. Did you enjoy the extraordinary colors at the Cemetery in October? Photo: Alain Régimbald

When you think of an environmentally friendly funeral, what do you think of? A wooden urn? A casket made of natural materials? But have you also thought about the other elements that make up a funeral? Food at the reception (served on plastic plates or reusable dishes?), embalming products (to be chosen with care), travel (to be kept to a minimum)?

Did you know that mowing the lawn less often can help preserve bee populations, which are so important to our ecosystems? In fact, research published in the journal Biological Conservation reveals that mowing the lawn every two weeks instead of every week contributes to a 30% increase in the number of bees. This is good news for bees - and easy to implement, both in your backyard and in our outdoor parks and public places. Photo Mathieu Dupuis

#HistoricalCapsule On November 14, 1858, the monument to the Patriots of 1837-1838, designed by the French architect Théophile Fahrland, was inaugurated in front of a large crowd. It was the stonemasons Mayer, Leclaire and Hugues who saw to its realization. On the plaques that decorate its faces and corners, one can read, among other things, the names of the victims of the battles of Saint-Denis, Saint-Charles and Saint-Eustache, as well as those of political exiles.