Capturing the beauty of scenic cemeteries with Unearth Our Past

On a blustery winter morning, two-dozen high school students pour out of a big yellow school bus and pass through the gates of the Mount Hermon Cemetery.

Theyre not here to pay their respects by laying flowers on graves. Theyre here to learn about some ofthe people interred here in the 160 years since thecemeterys inauguration.

Its the first step for students from Quebec High School as they gear up to participate in Blue Metropolis educational project, Unearth our Past.

Quebec AM8:43Unearth Our Past: Photographer Monique Dykstra shares her passion

Photographer Monique Dykstra came up with the idea for Unearth Our Past, after being inspired by the Mount Royal cemetery in her hometown of Montreal. She's encouraging students in Quebec City to learn more about their local history while taking photos.

Waiting for the students is the recently-retired Brian Treggett.

Following in his fathers and grandfathers footsteps, he acted as the cemeterys caretaker for half a century.

Its always interesting to work with young peopleYou learn as much from them as they learn from you, he says.

Many pillars of the Quebec City community are buried here, from long-serving city mayors andformer premiers, toimportant shipbuildersand business magnates.

They include:

• Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinire,Quebec's fourth premier (1829-1908).
• John Munn, shipbuilder, judge and politician (1788-1859).
• John Simons, founder of la Maison Simons(1823-1906).
• George Richard Renfrew (1831-1897) and John Henderson Holt (1850-1915), co-founders of Holt Renfrew and Company.

Snapping photographs of the students, the scenery and Treggett is Montreal-based photographer Monique Dykstra.

Like Treggett, Dykstra has a passion for working with young people. This project was her idea.

• What is Unearth Our Past?

You have the living on that side, and the living on that side and the dead in the middle and theyre all kind of in here together, she says.

Theyre part of the community and its almost like theyre saying, Dont forget us! You cant forget them, because theyre right there.

Dykstrastrides alongside the budding shutterbugs from Quebec High School as they crouch in the snow to get just the right angle for shots of tombstones, monuments and crosses.

Some students, like Amy Dagenais, sidle up to her for pointers. How do I get rid of the foggy effect?

Its the wet and the cold, theres nothing to do about it, Dykstra tells her. Unfortunately, weather can often override artistic choices.

Quebec AM13:14Unearth Our Past: Visiting Mount Hermon Cemetery

Blue Metropolis' Unearth our Past project showcases the stories that can be found in some of Quebec's scenic cemeteries. Our Julia Caron met with students from Quebec High School as they visited Mount Hermon Cemetery in Sillery.

Capturing the perfect shot

The focus today is on photography, but they have many steps ahead of them in the coming weeks.

Theyll gather research and information todayalong withtheir photographsand spend part of the winter writing a play inspired by the details theyve gathered.

Students will perform the final result in late April as part of the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival.

After trudging through the ice and snow for nearly an hour, the students are happy to clamour back up the hill and into what was once the Treggett family home.

There, Dykstra gives one-on-one feedback to the students as they scroll through the images theyve taken.

She patiently weighs in: great angle, nice framing, fantastic use of colour, not the best execution on that one.

The students, in turn, boast of having laid on their bellies in the snow to get just the right shot.

Youve got some gems in there. Now delete 15, she instructs them.

The students painfully begin to whittle down their photography selection, reading inscriptions and names to one another.

They will soon have to redirectsome of that excitement on the the next step in their project: playwriting.