‘Make people move’: Verdun hooks residents up with gear for outdoor activities

Winter is in full force – and one Montreal borough is looking to help get people out and enjoying outdoor activities. However, getting this equipment can be expensive, and some struggle with getting access. That’s why Verdun launched an initiative to help with that.

By downloading their app, residents can have access to skates and snowshoes for free for a duration of three hours. It’s all part of BoxUp.

“It’s going to make people move, and it’s going to make them move locally. So, you know, it’s financially accessible because it’s free, but it’s also financially accessible because you don’t need to necessarily move far to do an activity and then pay. So it’s really, it touches a lot of spheres, I think, so it’s adapted to how society works, and it’s adapted also to our climate that moves and also to the budget of people that is also moving a little bit with the situation,” said Céline-Audrey Beauregard, borough councillor, Verdun, Champlain–L’Île-des-Soeurs district, Projet Montréal.

The BoxUp initiative is part of Projet Circonflexe, which aims to develop a collective network of sports, recreational, and adapted equipment lending centers across Quebec.

“They wanted to do a pilot project around Quebec and see if municipalities wanted some boxes. So apparently, some people in our sports team raised their hands and said, ‘Yeah, why not?’ Because we were actually doing it, putting some material to rent for free for a long time. But we thought that this way of doing it was more, you know, accessible. So that’s it. So that’s their objective,” explained Beauregard.

“Their main goal is to bring material for all seasons, accessible for free to the population, so that people can be more active,” she added.

The equipment lending station in Verdun is set up in Parc de la Fontaine, near the skateboard ramp. There are connected lockers, each filled with equipment.

“For here in Verdun, what we put in the boxes for now, for wintertime, is skates. So that people, because we have ice skating over there, with some helmets, in adult and children sizes. And we also have snowshoes because we have certain parks and really big green areas in the area. So again, with the different sizes. And we’re planning to change the material for summertime, and we’re still reflecting,” said Beauregard.

BoxUp has other locations in Montreal, including in the east end in St-Leonard. Equipment varies by location.

Beauregard explained, “If you’re from elsewhere in Quebec, you’re going to find something else depending on the choice of your municipality and also what’s available in the park.”

She added “Here, we have a ping pong table for the summer, so a ping pong set would be great for this park. But for another park, the sports teams of the municipality can decide something else. You know, if you have a basketball court, then you can put a basketball in the box.”

Once you download the BoxUp app and create a profile, you can choose an available locker and borrow the equipment. You return the equipment by placing it back in the locker and then taking a photo of the equipment in the locker through the glass.

In order to rent the equipment, you have to be close to the box.

“When you’re on the app, you will see all of the boxes available around Quebec, and you go to the ones that are close to you,” said Beauregard.

Beauregard explained that the administration observed that, “with time and the past pandemic, apparently people don’t necessarily want to be programmed. They’re really looking for freestyle and open activities.”

“What they observe is that now people just want to have access anytime they want, you know, because sometimes they work from home or, with climate change now, snow comes and then goes so fast that you need to have access to materials. So this is really, really more adapted to how people work now. And also, I think personally that it’s actually such a great idea that, you know, if we have so much snow on a Tuesday night and then families come to the park and want to skate or do some snowshoeing, it’s going to be probably that night. Because we never know if, like, two days after, it’s going to rain or something. So it makes the service more accessible 24 hours, and the sizes are really in a big range, so you can adapt it to anyone.”

Some residents shared their thoughts on the project

“I think it’s a good idea because in winter it’s too hard to have kids in the house. The activity outside is good,” said one woman.

“It’s a very good idea to get children moving. There’s a lot of sports equipment, like skates,” said one man.

Another resident explained, “At first, I didn’t know exactly what it was. It’s a beautiful project. I’m in favor of it. It’s a bit like the book boxes too. It’s a very good suggestion to get everyone moving, going outside, doing activities.”

Beauregard said the Verdun borough wants to send a message to the community.

“We really want to answer some needs of the population that still want to take benefit of the parks, and we want people to enjoy their community,” she said.

“The newcomers, you know, people coming from elsewhere, maybe another country, to discover a new sport and to say to people, ‘Yeah, it’s important to shop locally and buy locally. But it’s also so great, and we’re really grateful when people are active locally with their families, their kids, with their neighbors—anything. So that’s why we want to promote sports, but also tell people that they’re really lucky to have such great green spaces. And in Verdun, for sure, we’re really lucky for that,” she added.

She hopes the project will inspire others to get moving.

“So this option is just another one because we see online or with certain groups, let’s say, that people share—some families are going to give or sell stuff, not so expensive. So with the situation now, it can be for economic reasons or environmental ones. We need to just share more and, you know, have access to different things. Because, you know, you never know; you’re probably just going to skate once in the winter. So that’s why it’s kind of a circular thing, too, because this is going to serve many people. But in parallel, for sure, we have a close community that also shares in other ways. This is just another option,” she said.

“If people are blocked or see a barrier to moving, I want to tell them that there are many options if they still want to be active, borrow, and use them in Verdun. We decided to do this initiative so there’s an option closer to them,” said Beauregard.

She says that since the project is new, it’s going to take time for people to know about it and how it works.

“We’re really happy to get started with the communication. And we’re really hoping that it’s going to get known in the community. And it’s going to do some little babies and other parks of Montreal.”

“I just want to motivate people around Quebec to try this.”