The Bluff Trail

We are very proud that one of our own, David Patriquin, was presented the Colin Stewart Conservation Award on Thursday, April 7, 2016 at the Museum of Natural History on behalf of Halifax Field Naturalists. Here are Richmond Campbell’s comments from the presentation:

I am humbled to present the Colin Stewart Conservation Award to a truly innovative and indeed transformative conservationist: David Patriquin. Many of us already know him well and know how deserving he is of this recognition. But we know also how modest he is, and for that reason most of us still don’t know more than a small part of all that he has contributed to conservation locally, regionally, and province wide. To give the broad picture (and to keep this presentation within six minutes) I have divided his accomplishments into three categories.

The first category is his unremunerated conservation effort toward Protection of the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area under the NS Wilderness Areas Protection Act, achieved in October 2011 in no small part due to Dave’s giving the scientific basis for protection. In the words of Peter Labor, Director, Protected Areas & Ecosystems Branch, NS Environment (letter of October 14, 2014):
Continue reading “Colin Stewart Conservation Award”

We encourage everyone who values our green spaces to attend a session. NEW INFO (Apr 2): The maps and other info and opportunities for online comment will be available online on Monday April 4, 2016.

“The second phase of public engagement for the new Halifax Green Network Plan gets underway on Wednesday, March 30. This phase of work will be critical in shaping the core planning directions for the conservation and use of both public and privately-owned open space lands and waters.

“Over the next month [actually over 9 days] the municipality and consultants from O2 Planning + Design will host eight public engagement meetings. Each session will begin with a presentation of the work to date, key findings and proposed broad-scale planning directions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and an open house session to gather further feedback. This input will then shape the third and final phase of the Plan’s development, which will commence later this spring.

“We hope you can join us at one or more of the following sessions:

“Fall River – Sackville
Wednesday, March 30, 6 – 9 p.m.
Gordon R. Snow Community Centre, 1359 Fall River Rd.

“Halifax Peninsula
Thursday, March 31, 6 – 9 p.m.
Atlantica Hotel, 1980 Robie St.

“Tantallon – St. Margaret’s Bay
Friday, April 1, 5 – 8 p.m.
Estabrooks Community Hall, 4408 St. Margaret’s Bay Rd. Continue reading “Halifax Green Network Plan Consultations: critical sessions coming up”

Our Annual General Meeting for 2016 will be held on Thursday March 31, from 6-8 p.m. (6:00 for registration) at the Central Public Library, BMO Community Room (201).

We have now established a category for groups and associations to join as members for $10 annually and have reduced the cost of individual memberships. You can now renew your membership online at:
http://wrweo.ca/wp/about-wrweothe-buff-trail/membershipsdonations/

This year, in addition to reporting on WRWEO business from 2015 and electing a new board of directors, our AGM will be focused on how to deal with the growing problem of harmful human impacts on the Bluff Trail. Why do we hurt the trail that we love? It should be a good and lively conversation and we look forward to a good discussion.

Five Bridges Trust Annual General Meeting, Sunday, March 20,2016

The AGM fot the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust (FBWHT) will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at the Estabrooks Centre, 4408 St .Margaret’s Bay Road, Lewis Lake. Board members will be reporting on activities in 2015 and will share plans for projects in 2016 and beyond.

Kent Martin will give a short film presentation featuring some of his work in creating a film about the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area and environs.

The title of our Guest Speaker’s presentation is “FBWHT at a Crossroads”
Founding President Tom Musial will review the past 15 years of FBWHT activities and put the question to the membership, “Where do we go from here?” The Trust invites you to join them for discussion as they plan their way forward.

The doors will be open at 1:30 p.m. for those who wish to become members of the Trust or to renew their memberships for 2016, membership is $10.00 a year for a single membership, $15.00 for a Family membership and $100 for a Lifetime membership.

All are Welcome!!

A petition: “Premier Stephen McNeil: Stop destroying Nova Scotia’s forest for biomass power generation” was posted a few days ago. The petition already has the support of almost 500 people. The more support there is, the more the policy makers will listen. You can read more and, as you wish, sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/premier-stephen-mcneil-stop-destroying-nova-scotia-s-forest-for-biomass-power-generation?recruiter=110029095&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive

We thank St. Margaret’s Bay resident and Bluff Trail user Helga Guderley for starting the petition.

Bluff Trail hikers would not have missed the magnificent new murals on the highway 103 overpass as you approach the trailhead for The Bluff Trail. From the BLT newsletter Winter 2016:

“Some of you may have noticed something new on the trail ­ a beautiful new mural on the highway 103 overpass. How did this project come about? ” Continue reading “New Murals on BLT overpass”

Ed. Apologies to Willard Larkin, the first and fifth place winner, whose pictures were misattributed, and now have been correctly attributed to him.

The votes are in, and the Bluff Trail Fall Foliage Contest is over! Thanks, everyone, for participating: entrants, judges, and donors alike, and especially to Tim McGee for organizing the event. The top three winners and their photos are as follows:

See the Contest page for the complete list of winners, the winning photos, and the prizes they received.

All across the world people are coming together to hit the streets on November 29th — hours before the most important climate summit this decade, taking place in Paris (COP21)…The Halifax march will begin at 1pm. We’ll start at Victoria Park… Read More in Halifax Media Co-op

The Halifax Regional Trails Association (HRTA) is holding a Training Workshop for Trail Patrol Wardens on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at the Lakeside Community Centre, 1942 St. Margaret’s Bay Road, Lakeside beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Work as a volunteer Trail Patrol Warden provides an opportunity to become an ambassador of goodwill while you use your local trail for your own health, wellness, and enjoyment. Wearing a brightly coloured vest takes no extra effort, and greeting other trail users is an enjoyable experience.

Wardens provide a variety of benefits to trail users. More specifically, they provide

• an active “trail watch” program,
• reassurance to other trail users by their visible presence,
• a positive example of volunteerism in their community,
• friendly conversation with other trail users,
• information about trail etiquette, rules, laws, and safe practices,
• information about distances, travel times, and access to amenities,
• reports on issues on the trail that require attention,
• communication with with enforcement officials if required,
• excellent public relations for their sponsoring organization,
• opportunities to recruit other volunteers,
• assistance with event management,
• occasional assistance with mechanical breakdowns, and
• occasional first aid if required.

To become a trail warden, you must

• be nominated by a member organization of HRTA,
• be of good character,
• be willing to spend time on your trail on a reasonably regular basis,
• complete a training workshop, and
• be certified.

For further information, or to put forward your name as a candidate for the December 2 workshop, please contact Tom Musial, BLT R2T Association, tom.musial@bellaliant.net.

The important message to councillors “we need to have people telling their Councillors and provincial MLAs that HRM ought to get on with building cell 7 and stop the deception about a need to build the landfill higher.” For WRWEO comments on the Otter lake Landfill, see Link