Mark – Volunteer
I am originally from Ontario, but have been living in Montreal for five years. Santropol Roulant was my first social outlet in Montreal. A friend of mine from high school was working with the urban agriculture program at the time and brought me by the office one day. When I entered the building, I looked around and asked “what is this place?”
Prior to moving to Montreal, I taught English in public schools in Japan. Japan is known as a place where people have a deep appreciation for nature, which is something I developed while living there. The country is made up of mountains and coastlines, so I spent most of my time off hiking and snowboarding.
When I returned to Montreal, I brought my desire to explore the outdoors back with me. I am currently working to start a non-profit organization that will increase accessibility to the outdoors – hiking, skiing, whatever. I learned that it’s so easy to get outside and once you get there, you don’t want to leave. For people living in the city, the outdoors can seem inaccessible when, in fact, it is very easy to find a trail head. Right now, we are trying to make a map that will show the many different areas close to Montreal where people can enjoy nature.
About the blog series:
Santropol Roulant is a beautiful community of members brought together by food and community engagement. In an effort to capture the diversity of our members, we are launching Stories of Santropol Roulant. One of our volunteers, Monica (pictured below), is setting out to photograph our members and collect quotes and short stories to share on our blog and social media. If you see Monica at Santropol Roulant with a camera in hand, feel free to approach her and say hello. We would love to hear your story! Contact brooke@santropolroulant.org if you have any questions or would like to be interviewed.
