Frédéric-Back Park, Environmental park in Saint-Michel, Canada
Frédéric-Back Park is a former quarry spanning roughly 192 hectares with white spherical structures scattered across valleys and meadows. A network of trails connects various areas and provides access to different landscape types.
Quarries on the site were united under the Miron family in 1957; after blasting protests, 75 hectares became a landfill. Montreal bought the quarry in 1988 and demolished the cement factory's two chimneys before 50,000 spectators. In the 1990s the city added a sorting centre and a biogas power plant, and from 1995 reworked the site into green space.
The park is named after Frédéric Back, the painter, illustrator and film director who made the 1987 animated film The Man Who Planted Trees. The Cité des Arts du cirque (TOHU), a non-profit circus arts organization, is based on the site and takes part in the environmental rehabilitation of the former landfill and in the community development of Saint-Michel.
The park has well-marked trails suitable for walking, snowshoeing, and fat biking across seasons. Access points are distributed around the site, so checking entry locations in advance helps with planning.
The white spheres throughout the site are not art installations but functional structures protecting biogas collection wells. During evening hours they emit a green phosphorescent glow, creating an unexpected visual experience.
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