How your stays help protect Charlevoix’s biodiversity
You come to Repère Boréal to rest, reconnect with nature, and share quality moments with your family, friends, or partner. What you may not yet know is that with every stay, you’re part of something greater: the protection of Charlevoix’s biodiversity.
Here’s why, and more importantly, how.
What is the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve?
Charlevoix has been recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1988, one of the first inhabited biosphere reserves in Canada (Biosphere Sustainable).
The Charlevoix territory has something truly unique in the world: mountains shaped by a meteorite, rare glacial landscapes, and exceptional biodiversity worth protecting. This designation safeguards our boreal forests, our threatened species, and our one-of-a-kind natural heritage.
Repère Boréal is committed to conserving the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve
Since 2016, our mission has been to offer a unique environment where guests can immerse themselves in nature in the greatest comfort. In everything we do and everything we create, we believe our footprint on nature should be minimal, and our impact on the local community, maximal.
Repère Boréal is also currently working toward its Biosphere accreditation as a business, meaning every action, every decision, and every partnership must align with the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals.
That’s why we’re proud to support the launch of the Fonds de la Biosphère pour la biodiversité de Charlevoix (the Charlevoix Biosphere biodiversity fund). In May 2026, we chose to contribute $30,000 over three years to support concrete actions close to home.
How does your stay help us protect biodiversity?
Being recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve isn’t just an honorary title for Charlevoix. It calls for concrete, ongoing commitments carried by an entire territory: sustainable management of natural resources, a responsible economy, community engagement, species protection, waste reduction, water conservation… so many everyday gestures that keep this land alive.
These commitments come to life through Repère Boréal’s actions, but also through what you do during your stay.
Here are 4 ways you help protect Charlevoix’s biodiversity.
1. Buying
Every time you purchase a product from our shop, you support sustainable farming practices and strengthen the local economy.
Our drinks, cheeses, meats, breads, meals… all come from local producers. Café Charlevoix, Lupin Fruit, Les Thés de Charlevoix, Les Viandes Bios de Charlevoix, Fromagerie Saint-Fidèle, Vin du Domaine Cap-aux-Oies… are homegrown businesses that choose responsible practices.
How biodiversity is protected:Local farmers who practice pesticide-free agriculture maintain healthy ecosystems around their crops. Pollinators, birds, and soil microorganisms all play an essential role in the regeneration of natural habitats. By supporting these producers, you help preserve the conditions Charlevoix’s biodiversity depends on.
2. Sorting your waste
Every time you mindfully sort your waste into the regular trash, compost, or recycling, you reduce the environmental impact on local ecosystems.
How biodiversity is protected: Waste that ends up in natural environments (the river, streams, forests) disrupts food chains and threatens the survival of species. Sorting waste prevents pollution, protects habitats, and allows wildlife populations to thrive safely. By taking part in this practice, you directly contribute to the health of Charlevoix’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
Every time you reuse your towel throughout your stay, you conserve essential resources and reduce your water footprint.
We suggest this simple gesture: keep the same towel for your whole stay instead of using a fresh one every day. Each wash uses 15 litres of water, not counting the energy needed to heat it and run the machines. By reusing your towel, you help Repère Boréal save up to 6,000 litres of water per dwelling each year (according to the Environmental Protection Agency).
How biodiversity is protected: Fresh water is a limited resource essential to all ecosystems. The rivers and the St. Lawrence River support populations of fish, beavers, water birds, and plants that depend on it. By conserving water and reducing chemical pollution, you help preserve the conditions these species need to survive and keep Charlevoix’s aquatic ecosystems healthy.
4. Treading lightly on the land
Every time you stay on the trails, you allow ecosystems to function without disturbance. Staying on marked paths, observing without disturbing, and leaving no trace are simple but essential gestures that let the forest regenerate naturally, without interruption.
How biodiversity is protected: Forest ecosystems are delicately balanced. Every plant, every animal has a role to play in this complex network. A light footprint, meaning a respectful and non-invasive presence, allows wildlife and plant populations to live, reproduce, and contribute to the regeneration of natural habitats. The more visitors embrace this approach, the more Charlevoix’s boreal forest can regenerate and thrive.
Your stay at Repère Boréal becomes an act for biodiversity
You come to Repère Boréal to slow down, to get away from routine, work, and noise… Now you know that by eating local, sorting your waste, saving water, and respecting the trails, you’re actively taking part in the movement that protects Charlevoix’s biodiversity.
This is what a biosphere reserve is: a place where humans and nature learn to live together, respectfully.
