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Announcement for a Public Information Session on parks & protected areas, trails, and land use/development: MLA Iain Rankin has asked Nova Scotia Environment to participate in a public info session on parks, protected areas, and trails & land use. The geographic focus will be on the Chebucto Peninsula to Hammonds Plains Road, more or less. This Public Information Session will take place at Hubley Community Centre, Tuesday Aug 4 2015, 7 pm to 9 pm. Here is the address for the Hubley Communtiy Centre: 4408 St Margaret’s Bay Rd., Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia 902-405-6511.

Please see the Parks & Wilderness section on this website for an overview of parks and protected areas on the Chebucto Peninsula.

Nature Nova Scotia, the Young Naturalists Club of Nova Scotia and the Wildland Writers are sponsoring a Nature Writing and Art Contest for Nova Scotian youth ages 8 – 15 years. Submissions may be a written piece (short story, non fiction, poetry ,etc.) OR an original artwork (painting, drawing, collage, etc.) that is inspired by:

• native plants or animals of Nova Scotia (native means a species that occurs naturally in a region)
• an adventure, personal moment, or happy experience in Nova Scotia’s wild places (lake, river, ocean, forest, trail)
• an injustice that impacts nature in Nova Scotia

Entries must be submitted by October 31, 2015. View Rules and Poster for more details.

The Woodens River Watershed encompasses a set of 19 lakes draining into St. Margaret’s Bay at Woodens Cove. Five of 7 of the headwater lakes lie in the vicinity of Hubley, roughly half way across the top of the Chebucto Peninsula travelling via Hwy 103; four of those lakes are moderately settled. The Woodens River develops as a recognizable, singular river – the “Lower Woodens” as it flows out from Hubley Big Lake; it is fast moving, slowing where it widens into each of 7 lakes… Read more from some comments prepared as supplementary input to Public Engagement for Halifax Green Network/Online Map Tool, June 2015 – & please let them know why you value The Woodens.

I am trying out some simple observations for monitoring the “Ecological Integrity” of The Bluff Trail and the larger Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area. One is an “Orchid Count”.

On June 16 of last year, I counted the number of Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchids (also known as the Moccasin Orchid) between the trailhead of The Bluff Trail and the Pot Lake Junction which is the most intensively used part of The Bluff Trail On that date, they were at their peak colour and most readily observable. I counted only orchids that could be observed from the Trail, and I did it twice, once going out and once coming back and took the larger number as the best estimate, which was 133. (See Orchids 2014)

I repeated the count this year on June 15, 2015, but took a much younger observer with me, Kai, aged 13,  who also did a count. Continue reading “Orchid Counts 2015: Good News!”

Late spring blooms on The Bluff Trail & by the BLT

                                                 Click on panels for larger versions.

Nature lovers, hikers and all who appreciate wild lands are encouraged to provide input to the Halifax Green Network Plan (HGNP) by adding pins/descriptions to the HGNP online mapping tool to identify lands are that important for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services.

This map and information about the HGNP are available at http://halifax.ca/HalifaxGreennetwork/

Input to the map can also be made at “Pop-up” Sessions – one has recently been added for Tantallon on June 23.

A memo written by the Our HRM Alliance Greenbelt Scientific Advisory Committee
http://tinyurl.com/ntqk98b
provides some further context from an ecological perspective.

As a component of Phase 1 (Phase 1 – Planning Foundations the values, issues and goals) of the Halifax Green Network Plan the map is available for input is available only to the end of June, 2015.
Continue reading “Contribute to Map for Halifax Green Network – by June 30”

A short paddling excursion on Hubley Big Lake at Halifax, Nova Scotia in early June reveals Bog Rosemary in flower & other delights…View video

The presence of Bog Rosemary at the inlet to the lake is indicative of low nutrient enrichment which is a desirable quality.

Click on the photo at left to view a larger version and see the beautifully textured leaves. View more photos in a Google album

I went to The Bluff Trail on a very wet Saturday, June 6, 2015 to greet hikers on behalf of WRWEO. (We maintain The Bluff Trail.) I met only four people over 4 hours, so I had lots of time to enjoy the wildflowers and textures of plants on The Bluff Trail. View a few that caught my attention. A YouTube Video offers more description and context.
– David P

The Bluff Trail and other activities of WRWEO are maintained by volunteers. Taking out a membership in WRWEO/The Bluff Trail costs only $10 and helps support those activities as well as giving more credence to our collective voice. You can now do this online. In the afternoon of today (June 6) which is International Trails Day, a WRWEO rep will be greeting visitors on the First Loop and offering membership and map for $10, or the map alone for $5. Its a good time to see Pink Lady’s Slipper and other late spring wildlfowers.

Visiting the “Whopper Dropper” today was a reminder of what could have happened to much of our Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area and could still happen to still happen to adjacent wildlands if we do not value them… View Requiem