Friday September 14th, 2018: Sackville Rivers Association dinner & auction

Posted on September 10, 2018 by davidp

“Dear Friend:

“Last year, community contributions to the Sackville Rivers Association’s (SRA) Annual Dinner and Auction helped us raise over $8,000 for the improvement and conservation of the Sackville River and surrounding watershed.

“The SRA continues our mandate of conservation, including in-stream habitat improvements at various locations throughout the watershed, fish stocking, and river clean-ups by volunteers of all ages. We have continued improvements to our Bedford-Sackville Connector Greenway trail that now stretches from Bedford Basin to Lower Sackville and is used by thousands of walkers, cyclists and runners and are currently constructing phases 2 and 3 of Section B of the Sackville Greenway from Glendale Drive to Sackville Drive along the Little Sackville River.
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Question called, and Motion passes!! The Halifax Green Network Plan has been passed at Council!!!

Posted on August 14, 2018 by davidp

A festive group greeted Councillors this am including Lisa Blackburn (3rd pic dpwn) & Lindell Smith (4th pic)

So reads a final Tweet from this morning from Our HRM Alliance.

View Council eagerly approves Halifax Green Network Plan by Yvette D’Entremont in the StarMetro Halifax (Aug 14, 218) for more details and comments by Walter Regan of the Sackville Rivers Association.

The sequence of Tweets from @OurHRMAlliance:

@OurHRMAlliance
56m56 minutes ago
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HRM Planner Ben Sivak is here to present the final draft of the Plan and to introduce the background. “There has been 3 rounds of public engagement, the State of the Landscape Report, and this is the first time we’ve been able to look at HRM as an entire landscape.”

@OurHRMAlliance
54m54 minutes ago
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Sivak – “The Halifax Region has incredible assets in wilderness and recreation. The intent of this Plan is to build on these assets and protect what we have here.”

Continue reading →

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Tues Aug 14, 2018: Rally to support the Green Network Plan

Posted on August 11, 2018 by davidp

Our HRM Alliance Photo

From OurHRM Alliance:

“Join us on Tuesday, August 14th at 9:00 (ish) to show your support for the Halifax Green Network Plan!

“The Green Network Plan will FINALLY be going to Council that day at 10:00AM. We want to be there with signs, smiles, and support to ask the 16 Councillors to vote YES to pass this incredible plan. The Councillors typically begin arriving around 9:00, so pop by while you can during that hour, or come and stay the whole time!

“We’ll be having a sign-making party the night before at Ecology Action Centre. Either make your own sign, or borrow one of ours for the day!

“There will also be a crew of people attending the Council meeting to watch the presentation and debate and show our support. Feel free to join for this as well, if you’re interested. Want some more info about the Green Network Plan? Check out http://ourhrmalliance.ca/halifax-green-network/”

View Facebook Event Page

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NS Nature Trust Urban Wildlands Celebration Wed, Aug 15 7 PM – 8 PM

Posted on August 10, 2018 by davidp

From Event Facebook Page:

“Join us in celebrating the protection of new urban wildlands that protect important freshwater and wildlife habitats.

“Please RSVP to: events@nsnt.ca (902) 425-5263.

“We will host a guided Wildlands Walk of the new conservation lands on September 22nd (more details coming soon).”

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Mission-Monarch Blitz July 28 to Aug 5

Posted on July 28, 2018 by davidp

Naturalists,

The Mission-Monarch Blitz is scheduled this coming week of 28th July through the 5th of August.
I am sure you would like to help document the status of the Monarch butterfly in Nova Scotia. If you know where there is milkweed growing that is where the Monarchs reside to lay eggs, feed and pupate.
At the moment there are all forms present (eggs, larvae, pupae, and butterflies). We would like you to search patches of milkweed and report what you discover. There is an easy one page form to report your results at http://mission-monarch.org. If you find nothing, that is of value also.
Continue reading →

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Biodiverse-City Hike Series: #1 Blue Mountain Hikes Sun July 29th, 9am and 1pm

Posted on July 23, 2018 by davidp

Click on image for larger version with hike details

“Hello HFNers! Karen McKendry here, in my new capacity as Wilderness Outreach Coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre. I’ve been given the wonderful task of leading hike that connect people with the region’s biodiversity, and was wondering if you would promote the first hike of a series on your social media streams.

“On Sunday, July 29th, I’ll be leading the first of our Biodiverse-city hikes, at Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes. We’ll explore the area’s biodiversity and examine how the area connects with the city’s Green Network Plan. We’ll also introduce people the other area’s new stewardship group. I hope HFN members will join us! Attached is a poster about the event.

“- Karen McKendry
Wilderness Outreach Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre
Kjipuktuk, Mi’kmaq Territory
2705 Fern Lane, Halifax, NS, B3K 4L3
Phone: (902) 442-5008”

… and congratulations and thanks to you, Karen, from HFN , on your new position.

Note: space limited, so sign up right away if serious..

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Upcoming Field Trips: Brook Trail Walk (Sat Jy 7, 2018) & Old Forests of Sandy Lake (Sat Jy 14, 2018)

Posted on July 4, 2018 by davidp

forest at Sandy LakeJoin with HFN member Ron Cosper on Saturday July 7, 2018 for a woodland walk on the Bell Brook trail in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Bell Brook runs from Bell Lake to Morris Lake, but the Bell Brook trail does not go all the way to Bell Lake. The trail follows the brook uphill from Morris Lake…

Sandy Lake in Bedford is surrounded by drumlins supporting a mixed Acadian forest. While there has been a lot of forestry there in the past, significant patches of old trees remain, some of which qualify as Old Growth according to the DNR protocol. Join HFN member David Patriquin on this walk on Sat Jy 14 (rain date the next day)…

Read more about these walks

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Halifax Green Network Plan released June 21, 2018 looking good

Posted on June 24, 2018 by davidp

The Final Draft of the The Halifax Green Network Plan, under development for several years,  was released on June 21, 2018.

The Halifax Green Network Plan (HGNP) was initiated in 2015 shortly after the adoption of the 2014 Regional Municipality Planning Strategy (Regional Plan). The 2014 Regional Plan directs the creation of the priorities plan to: “…protect and preserve connectivity between natural areas and open space lands, to enable their integration into sustainable community design, to help define communities, to benefit the Municipality’s economy and the physical health of its people, and to reflect and support the overall purposes of this Plan.”- from Item No. 15.1 Community Planning & Economic Development Standing Committee June 21, 2018 

Continue reading →

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Thursday June 7, 2018: Peter Duinker on Old Forests in HRM

Posted on June 3, 2018 by davidp

Admirals Cove_Old Growth forest in Sept. 2014. Photo by Peter Duinker

Old forests are special ecosystems in Nova Scotia, partly because of their rarity and partly because of their awesome biodiversity and big, old trees.

Most of the province’s old forests are deep in the rural forest. On the other hand, are there any in the city? Peter Duinker, Dalhousie Professor and Acting Director of the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, and his students searched for old forest in six large wooded municipal parks and documented the best we have in the urban core.

In the talk, Peter describes these examples of old forest and compares them with data from some of the province’s iconic rural old forests. 7:30 p.m. at the Nova Scotia Museum o Natural History on Summer Street, Halifax. All welcome!

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Nature Conservancy of Canada proposes innovative approach to accessing new urban wilderness area: underground parking and elevator

Posted on April 1, 2018 by davidp

“In September HRM [Halifax Regional Municipality] announced that the tentative agreement for the Urban Wilderness Park on the Purcell’s Cove Backlands would include a parking lot and main entrance.

“Since then some questions have been raised about the concept and possible scale of parking adjacent to a wilderness area.

“Nature Conservancy Canada in partnership with urban parking specialists UrbanMobility has arrived at a solution that will provide for those who visit by car while meeting the concerns of conservationists.
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April 12, 2018: Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes Regional Park Citizen’s Meeting

Posted on March 23, 2018 by davidp

“All are invited to a public meeting on April 12th for updates and information on park progress. We will also explore interest in forming a citizen’s group, such as a “Friends of Blue Mountain” group, to speak up for creation of the promised park and collaborate with the municipality and other levels of government.
Please come to St. Peter’s Anglican Church Hall from 7-9pm on Thursday, April 12th.
There will be a formal presentation at 7:15, and opportunity for questions and public comments at 8pm.”
Read More

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Expansion of HRM Goodwood Composting Facility

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Burkhard
After the hike to the Drysdale Bog in Goodwood, we learned via the Western Commons Advisory Committee that the area, situated near the Halifax Western Common, is partially considered for expanded development.

Please consider their statement (as follows):

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