Heritage Management
Guardian of an exceptional site
Owned by National Defence, the site entrusted to the Corporation du Fort St-Jean is a jewel of Johannais heritage.
Bordering the Richelieu River, it is home to century-old trees, buildings, and historical relics, all of which we preserve with great passion. It offers a multitude of facilities useful to military trainees, residents and the local population.
Designated
"National Historic Site of Canada" in 1923
the real estate
The real estate of Fort Saint-Jean consists of 37 buildings with various functions ranging from accommodation to catering, as well as military training and social life. Six of them are designated “federal heritage buildings.”
- 1 Sports complex + 1 Event complex + 1 Educational complex
- 2 Mess halls + 1 Museum + 1 Medical clinic + 1 Library
- 5 residences + 14 residential housing units
Natural heritage
Bordered by the Richelieu River and covered with thousands of trees, several of which are centuries old, the site is a natural heritage jewel of over 48 hectares. In our daily operations, the protection of wildlife, flora, soil, and water that make up this ecosystem guides our practices, which are based on a sustainable development approach.
Arboriculture and landscaping
Arboriculture and landscaping
1500 trees have been planted on the site over the past 5 years to increase our vegetation cover. A forestry engineer monitors their health. Maintenance work is carried out every year. The pruned branches are shredded and reused on site as mulch.
No pesticides are used on the site, not even on flower beds and sports grounds. Lawn clippings are left in place (grasscycling), as are dandelions and other weeds, controlled with corn gluten.
Wildlife protection
To encourage the nesting of the forty bird species observed on the site, deterrents are installed in trees near maintenance areas. The natural habitat of over 12 recorded species of fish, frogs, toads, and turtles, the Jack Wood stream flowing through the site also receives the full attention of the Corporation’s environmental experts.
Water quality
A water sample is collected weekly to monitor the quality of the site’s potable water. The conformance of our sanitary and stormwater systems are also checked annually. To protect the water quality of the Richelieu River, our storm sewer system is equipped with 4 hydrodynamic separators that can retain pollutants in the event of an accidental spill on the site.
Soil characterization
All our excavation work is accompanied by soil analysis. Contaminated soils are disposed of and healthy soils are stored for future projects.
Hazardous materials storage
Our teams have established a hazardous materials management plan, including their annual inventory and inspection of their storage locations. They are also supported for the compliance analysis of our petroleum and related product storage systems and trained to respond to accidental hydrocarbon spills.
Cultural heritage
Several key events in our collective past have taken place over the past 350 years at the Fort Saint-Jean site, which continues to unveil its many historical secrets today.
Care for remnants and artifacts
We preserve the highly visible remnants of the successive forts from 1748 and 1776. In collaboration with the experts from the Fort Saint-Jean Museum, we maintain the thirty or so artifacts and commemorative monuments scattered across the site.
Support for the Fort Saint-Jean Museum
In 2016, we provided this museum institution with a conservation and exhibition space worthy of its collections. We also support its operations.
Constant archaeological monitoring
Each of our underground interventions is carried out under the supervision of archaeology specialists, who can identify historical points of interest to protect.
