WATCH
NOTABLE ENVIRONMENTALIST, GASTON DÉRY
WORDS leading to
ACTION
BY MARIA SANGUINETTI
T
he Boivin Center for French Language and Culture—in its 35th year—at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, has announced its spring program, One Island, One Family, One World. This astounding appearance by notable environmentalist, Gaston Déry, is scheduled for Monday, April 6, 2020 in the Grand Reading Room of the Claire T. Carney Library located at the Dartmouth campus at 4 p.m. Born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in 1952, Gaston Déry holds a Bachelor of Applied Science/Forest Engineering and a Master of Applied Science/Planning from Laval University. He is recognized for having revitalized Île-aux-Pommes, a family property, located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, for which he received, an Environmental Phoenix in 2007. Déry contributed to the development
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of policy for the protection of green spaces in Quebec and urban woodlands. As President and CEO of the Quebec Sawmill Manufacturers Association, he oversaw the development and implementation of an industrial policy focused on sustainable development of the sawing industry on the national and international levels. He participated in the Canada-United States agreement on lumber exports. He has held positions of authority on various sustainability projects. Since 2016, Déry has been president of Gaston Déry, Inc.; a company that devotes its energies to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. The subject of his talk in April will be on the fundamental role of individual action in environmental protection. Déry will discuss the role of Île-aux-Pommes in contributing to the biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River and will guide the audience through the process of turning a family-owned island into a nesting area
reserve for eider duck colonies in the St. Lawrence estuary while discussing the need for constant attention by the Déry family and scientists, to maintain the islands “sustainable restoration.” The lecture’s message will focus on— the protection of biodiversity and how it remains an essential element for human survival. Biodiversity requires individual attention and vigilance of one’s activity as an effective and concrete way to face the challenge of global warming. The protection of biodiversity is realized through small specific actions that require collaboration between individuals, regardless of their position in society, and governments to meet this challenge. The lecture is free to the public with a Q&A and book signing to follow the talk. For further information about this program or to sponsor an event, please contact Maria Sanguinetti at msanguinetti@umassd.edu or by calling 508-991-5096. Parking will be available in lot 13. H
