An orchard Cemetery in Pierrefonds
For over 60 years, Jardin Cléroux, also known as Botanix, has been a part of the West Island community in Montreal. For more than 60 years, the surrounding land has remained a green and open space.
We want to preserve this area as a green space, and if possible, we would like to keep the nursery and garden centre open.
Instead of letting the nursery and the large green space beside it be transformed into condos, buildings, or other concrete structures, we are proposing an orchard cemetery, where instead of a tombstone, a fruit tree would be planted in its place.
The idea of combining burial grounds with fruit-bearing trees is not new. During the Middle Ages, monastic gardens served a dual purpose as cemeteries and locations for fruit trees. This historical practice demonstrates the enduring value and significance of such spaces, which offer both a final resting place and a source of sustenance from the fruit-bearing trees.
Reviving this concept today can provide a meaningful and environmentally conscious approach to memorial spaces and gardens.
Why this project in Pierrefonds?
For the community
The community in Pierrefonds appreciates its greenery and, in particular, the Botanix garden centre. Losing this space to condumiums or other concrete structures is not desired among many of the Pierrefonds residents.
For the environment
An orchard cemetery would allow more trees to be planted in Pierrefonds and to preserve green spaces. An orchard cemetery would permit between 3200 and 5000 trees to be planted on 5,7 acres.
For our children and our elders
An orchard cemetery would allow our children to visit a place where our elders could rest and be visited by the new generation with curiosity and other emotions, not just sadness.
This place would be a living example of the circle of life and provide a green space that encourages discovery, reflection and interaction.