The land, which is located on the Eardley Escarpment in the Pontiac, was donated to the ACRE (Action Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment) Land Trust by Debbie and Ken Rubin and therefore will be named Place Eco Rubin.

ACRE is a land trust working to conserve important lands external to Gatineau Park so that the park can remain . . .

ecologically connected with the surrounding area.

The main purpose of the nature reserve is to provide a habitat for Golden-winged warblers, which is a species of bird that is native to the region.

“Golden-winged warblers are a highly endangered species that has been declining quite a bit in the past several decades,” said Carl Savignac, the biologist who headed the reforestation project for ACRE. “It used to nest pretty much all along the escarpment here in the Outaouais , and now it’s only a couple of spots only. And it’s a bird species that likes to breed in young forests.”

In all the entire project planted 10,000 trees on five acres of land in order to create this habitat.

“Young forests are getting very rare everywhere because of the intensity of agriculture, said Savignac. “The nature of a young forest is that it grows, and after a while, after 20 years, well, it’s not the young forest anymore, and it’s not suitable for a species like the golden winged warbler. So it will serve as a habitat for at least 15 years. “

Savignac says the 10,000 trees will also serve a carbon capture function in order to counter climate change, which is partially how the group secured funding for the project.

“We’re in a crisis that you can really only appreciate when you educate yourself,’’ said Claire Miquet with ACRE about the growing need to take real action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. “We have no tomorrow. If we don’t do a lot today, there is no tomorrow for the human species.”

Other volunteers include local birders and a forestry class for Collège La Cité in Ottawa.

Aside from planting the trees, the volunteers also had to take measures to protect the trees from competition with grass and from rodents chewing the roots of the trees. One way they accomplished this was through coco mats, which are mats out of coconut fiber and then placed around the base of the newly planted trees to maintain moisture in the early stages of growth.

Ken Rubin, who donated the land, also had his own reasons for gifting his former farmland to the project.

“I’m an environmentalist and consumer advocate by training,’’ said Rubin, the former organic farmer on property, who is also a well known advocate for government transparency and accountability.

Rubin came to an agreement with ACRE last year after he became concerned that housing developments would consume the natural environment in the area.

“[The eco corridor] is going to break up the housing developments and as I say I don’t think the municipalities around here care about anything other than their tax base,” said Rubin, who previously wrote an op-ed about how to appropriately approach reforestation.

Rubin also said the reserve would serve as a protected environment for chorus frogs, butternut trees and other diverse wildlife.

He is enthusiastic about the land’s future use as a park and he already has a general vision setup once it has grown. Rubin was also careful to advise the team plating trees of the geography of the area in order so the trees are planted optimally.

“Place Eco Rubin will be primarily a location to protect, observe and enhance the natural habitat and be a site of low-impact ecological research and environmental education,” said Stephen Woodley, president of ACRE.

As of the end of day Saturday the planting was complete and now requires minimal human intervention.

“Maybe in two years we’ll come back and check for mortality and do some replacing or remove some weeds but after they are planted today, they are good for the winter and next year they can grow freely,” concluded Savignac.

Ken Rubin and his grandson showing off some of the butternut trees on his former property.

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