Montréal hasn't always been the green city it's becoming. Since the 2000s, a grassroots movement has been slowly transforming the city's laneways, balconies, and rooftops into shared, living green spaces.
"A green city isn't just a city with trees — it's a city where people reconnect with nature and with each other."
Community gardens: a model that works
Montréal has over 100 official community gardens managed by the City, plus dozens of informal citizen initiatives. These spaces don't just grow vegetables — they build social connections, reduce isolation, and pass down knowledge between generations.
The green laneway movement
Since 2012, more than 550 laneways have been transformed in Montréal through the Ruelle verte programme. These former service roads become green corridors where neighbours meet, gardeners trade plants, and children learn to identify edible species.
EffetTerre: the digital piece of the movement
This is the context in which EffetTerre was born. Our platform isn't simply a plant exchange site — it's a tool that extends the urban gardening movement into the digital space.
- Have a surplus of cherry tomatoes in August? Post a listing.
- Looking for a rare tropical plant? Someone in your neighbourhood might have one.
- Moving and can't take your plants with you? Find them a new home in minutes.
How to get involved
- Post a listing on EffetTerre with your garden surplus
- Attend events at your local community garden
- Turn your balcony into a mini-garden or medicinal herb space
- Share cuttings with neighbours instead of throwing them away
- Join a neighbourhood gardening group on social media
Tomorrow's green city is built today, one plant at a time. And EffetTerre is here to help you find your place in that movement.