Earlier today, as I was making my way down to Theatre Ste-Catherine to catch Zoofest’s Kate Micucci (and eventually cross paths with Neil Patrick Harris), I couldn’t help but stop at what used to be an empty lot on the corner of De Bullion and Ste-Catherine. Read on…

Granted, I had passed by the shady area several times before and never really felt the need or even want to stop and observe. Maybe it was the fact that I was early for the show I was going to or maybe it was simply because of the street closure for the Just for Laughs Fest; all that to say, something had caught my eye.

Behind the fenced area which was once the said empty lot was a strategically positioned recliner and in lieu of a cushion as a seat, it had been transformed into a rather interesting flower pot.

As I looked further down the lot, I noticed that the same had become of an old toilet bowl! What was going on!?

Well, it turns out it’s been just under a year that the lot has been taken over and transformed by young and aspiring horticulturalists over at Sentier Urbain, a non-profitable organization whose mission is to provide greener living conditions (or as they put it “social greening”) within Montreal.

Interesting enough, the soil on the lot in question actually underwent several phases before getting to the phase at which it is at today. Notably, the horticulturalists involved analyzed and tried to restore the microbial environment of the soil and eventually got around to planting specific vegetation that was suitable to the soil in question.

Wish i had my camera to take pictures. I will definitely attempt to go back and get y’all some visuals.

In the meanwhile, you can find out more about Sentier Urbain at www.sentierurbain.org .