Halifax Field Naturalists

The Colin Stewart Conservation Award was established by the Halifax Field Naturalists in 2004 to honour a lifetime of contributions by Colin towards conservation initiatives in Nova Scotia. The Award is given annually to an individual or group for significant conservation efforts in Nova Scotia when appropriate nominations are forthcoming. The recipient for 2015 was announced during a special celebration of HFN’s 40th Anniversary On October 1, 2015: Said Richard Beazley in presentation of the award, “The CSCA recipient for 2015 is 21 years old, hard working, known throughout NS, ambitious, energetic, outgoing, loved by both women and men alike, unpretentious, and successful.”

Richard paused. We held our breaths… who could this be? Smiles and nods of approval followed when he announced the recipient: the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. Likely no one would be more approving than Colin Stewart himself, who played a key role in the founding of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. Betty Hodgson, spouse and helpmate of Colin Stewart presented the award which was received by Bonnie Sutherland, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.

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THURSDAY, OCT. 1 HFN 40TH ANNIVERSARY TALK: THE ONCE AND FUTURE ATLANTIC
Nature writer, poet, and environmentalist Harry Thurston will address the complex question of what might be done to preserve and restore the great wealth of wildlife and natural resources in the North Atlantic. His illustrated talk will be based on research for his book The Atlantic Coast, A Natural History, winner of the 2011 Lane Anderson Award for best science writing in Canada.
7:30 p.m. at the Ballroom of the Ashburn Golf Club (3250 Joseph Howe Drive) Read more | View Poster

SUNDAY OCT. 4, 2015: MARTINIQUE BEACH FIELD TRIP
This field trip is a repeat of HFN’s very first field trip on October 26th, 1975. It was held on the first Sunday after the first meeting of HFN on October 21st. Dr. Scott Cunningham, one of the seven subscribers who signed the Memorandum of Association for HFN, will be the trip leader. View Details of Martinique 2015. View the Report on the 1975 field trip in the first issue of the newsletter.

Three members of the first HFN board are all working for nature in Ontario. Left to right: Winnifrid Cairns, Paul Keddy, Cathy Keddy. They met this spring in Waterloo, Ontario, at a meeting where Paul was given the W.E. Saunders award for Natural History by Ontario Nature. (Photo courtesy of David Wake)

HFNers will recognize the beauty and value of this site which we visited in July of 2014, now named after Bill Freedman. Amongst many other public interest contributions, Bill served as Vice-President of the Halifax Field Naturalists (1980-1983). View CH article about the Nature Reserve and Dr. Bill.
UPDATE, Sep 29th. Bill died peacefully at home on Sep 26. On Bill’s Life

The Young Naturalists Halifax Chapter begin their 2015/2016 season with an exploration of the Rocky Intertidal Zone, led by Pat Harding and David Patriquin. Museum Session Saturday Sep 19 10:30 at NSMNH & Field Trip Sunday Sep 27. Details
Ever wonder what the rocky intertidal looks like below water at high tide? View video (Peggy’s Cove area).

A draft trail plan for provincially-protected area of Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes will be presented this Thursday, Sept. 17, at 4:00pm at the Maskwa Aquatic Club, 91 Saskatoon Dr. See the invite here.

Nova Scotia protected crownland in Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes in 2009, which is the area to be discussed at this meeting. Our HRM Alliance continues to advocate for Halifax to follow through on its 2006 Regional Plan commitment to acquire the land necessary to complete the full park.

This past December, I had reported finding Fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana) at the Frog Pond in the Dingle Park, Halifax.

Over the summer, I noticed it growing around most of the edge of the pond, but it was hard to see how far it was growing towards the center.

Now, its small white flowers are emerging above the water surface,
making it easy to see the extent. In my estimate, 1/4 to 1/3 of the
surface is covered by Fanwort, generally in the shallow or protected areas. Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, SEP. 9: NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA – Nova Scotia Programme Director Craig Smith will talk about the approach to conservation planning used by the Nature Conservancy of Canada 7:30 p.m. at the NSMNH (Note this regular meeting is being held on Wed, not Thurs). Read more

FRI./SUN., SEPT. 11-13: MELMERBY FALL WEEKEND Stephanie and Allan Robertson will host HFN members at their two cottages adjacent to beautiful Melmerby Beach Provincial Park on the Northumberland Strait..Read more

THURSDAY, OCT. 1 HFN 40TH ANNIVERSARY TALK: THE ONCE AND FUTURE ATLANTIC
Nature writer, poet, and environmentalist Harry Thurston will address the complex question of what might be done to preserve and restore the great wealth of wildlife and natural resources in the North Atlantic. 7:30 p.m. at the Ballroom of the Ashburn Golf Club (3250 Joseph Howe Drive) Read more | View Poster

Past issues of our newsletter, the Halifax Field Naturalist, are now available online and can be searched. Go to HFN Newsletter>>Archived Newsletters to see the list of archived issues and to use the search engine. Two to 6 issues (usually 4) have been published every year since 1975, each with detailed reports of field trips, talks and more, so it is a wonderful resource.

The Memorialist, a project by visual artists D’Arcy Wilson (current Local Artist-In-Residence at The Centre for Art Tapes), pursues an intriguing story about Halifax and natural history:

“It is a little known fact that during the mid 19th century, Halifax was home to the first zoological gardens on the continent since the Mayan Empire. Through researching and retelling the story of this early zoo, The Memorialist considers the implications of the colonial desire to establish zoological gardens in the middle of a wilderness. The project will become familiar with Andrew Downs— the man who created said zoo and cared for its inhabitants— and his travels abroad to trade animals between institutions and royal families. Continue reading →

In the NaturallyNS column for August 2015, David P discusses what’s involved in “natural history” and how one becomes a “naturalist”. The role of groups such as HFN is highlighted. “Today, in our highly urbanized society and with the prevalence of industrial-scale forestry and farming many such connections [to nature] have been lost. However, the yearning to know more about nature persists, especially through childhood. Paul Keddy, a young graduate student when he played a key role in founding the Halifax Field Naturalists many years ago, said, If you want to learn more about your world, then you are a naturalist.” View article

Two of the HFN founders, Paul and Cathy Keddy, were featured in “Gifted, Naturally”, an article in the July issue of Ottawa Magazine. The article by Moira Farr, well illustrated with colour photos by By David Tratiles, describes how Paul and Cathy “spent decades buying up Iand in Lamark County. Then they gave it all away.” View HFN History | View Ottawa Magazine Article
Two of HFN Founders still at it