A draft of the Halifax Green Network Planning and Implementation Strategy and “Plan Primer” have been released by HRM and go to Regional Council today (March 23, 2017) to be approved for upcoming public consultations. It is expected those consultations will take place in April. The Primer provides a good overview of the Green Network plan, with lots of maps. It’s recommended reading!
WRWEO’s Annual General Meeting – Thursday March 30, 2017
Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization (WRWEO) builder of the
Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail
![Frederick Lake, near the Bluff Trail](https://i0.wp.com/wrweo.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_5814.jpg?resize=507%2C380&ssl=1)
Introducing the Bluff Trail Stewardship Program
Helping the Trail We Love
Thursday March 30th, 2017 – Halifax Central Library
BMO Community Room, 2nd Floor
Doors open for registration at 5:30 PM
Meeting 6PM – 8PM
Optional WRWEO membership available at door $5
For more information contact: info@wrweo.ca
The Bluff Trail Needs Your Help Raising Funds for Stewardship Program
The Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization (WRWEO) and The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail need your help to ensure that the Bluff Trail can continue as a favourite destination for naturalists and outdoor adventurers.
Please make a donation today.
Donations can be made by a cheque written to: St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association and mailed to WRWEO 3650 Hammonds Plains Road, Suite 14, Unit 300, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia B3Z 4R3 or online through the Canada Helps portal on the Heart of the Bay website (http://www.heartofthebay.ca/donate) – select: Bluff Trail as the fund you wish to support. Thank you!
The large volume of visitors to the Bluff Trail has resulted in a disturbing increase in the amount and degree of harmful human impacts on the trail, such as: increased garbage including toilet paper, illegal fire pits, cutting of live and dead trees, destruction of lichens and small plants, as well as the widening and braiding of trails.
WRWEO, with the support of Nova Scotia Environment, will collaborate with the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association to initiate The Bluff Trail Stewardship Program (BTSP). Under the direction of a Stewardship Coordinator, volunteer trail stewards will help trail users learn more about caring for and maintaining the trail and help improve their Leave No Trace (LNT) practices while on the trail.
The creation and management of The Bluff Trail Stewardship Program requires funding that is not available to WRWEO through our usual funding sources. This is why we are asking you to contribute.
Here is a link for information on the BTSP.
UPDATE:
WRWEO raised $535 from Dec 10, 2016 to January 25, 2017, WRWEO also had a commitment for another $1300 (through monthly $50 instalments) for a total of $1,835 of pledged donations.
On January 25th 2017, WRWEO sent a second call to our membership to donate and announced that WRWEO had been approached by an anonymous supporter who had pledged to match any new donations (up to a total of $3 000.00) received before March 1st, 2017. The friends of The Bluff Trail responded with a further $1,450 in donations that will be matched by our anonymous supporter (who provided $1500) for a sub-total of $2,950 plus the $1,835 from the initial request for donations, for a grand total of $4,785.
Trail Build – 5 trail users address trail braiding and wet areas
We had some volunteers working on The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail on Saturday Nov 12, 2016. We had 9 people sign up and 5 people show up but we managed to address seven areas where the trail was braiding and we also fixed 3 meters of wet area by hardening it with found stone. Thanks to our great volunteers (but we want to remind everyone that the Bluff Trail is maintained by all users).
Click image to see Google Photos Album of the work – or click here.
Hunting Season started on Friday October 28, 2016
Conservation Officers on The Bluff Trail
WRWEO encourages all trail users to say “hello” to the friendly Conservation Officers you may meet on the trail.
Since August, Conservation Officers from Nova Scotia Environment (NSE) have been making extra visits to the Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail to help ensure that we use the trail safely.
Remember: ONLY Leave No Trace (LNT) bowl fires and camp stoves (NOT traditional campfires) are permitted on the trail. Also, camping is generally discouraged and ONLY permitted at the designated LNT educational sites.
Bluff Trail Display – Help the Trail that Heals You
Landscapes of the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area: A Natural History
A set of web pages provides an overview of the landscapes of the FBLWA from a natural history perspective. This initial version is not very mobile-friendly, and should be viewed on a laptop or desktop computer. View
– David P
Williams Lake Backlands – Big decision by Regional Council on Sep. 20, 2016
Halifax council will be presenting a recommendation Sept 20 on whether to approve a proposal by the Nature Conservancy of Canada to acquire almost 400 acres of land in the Williams Lake backlands and set it aside indefinitely as a wilderness preserve.
Please visit the Urban Wilderness Park Website for more about the proposal and how to support it by writing to Mayor and Councillors.
We had VERY GOOD NEWS about Blue Mt/Birch Cove Lake. Let’s repeat it… make the Chebucto Peninsula a truly significant conservation area!