The Bluff Trail

On Saturday, October 24, the public is invited to come to the first ever Open Forest Day for a free, fun, and informative visit to a beautiful wilderness area that is located just outside the Halifax core. The target audience for the event, which has been organized by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, is anyone and everyone – young and old, landowners, new Canadians, outdoor enthusiasts, and “couch potatoes.” Read more

This first Interim Report on the Green Network Plan will be discussed at a meeting of the COMMUNITY PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDING COMMITTEE on Thursday Oct 15 in the Council Chamber, City Hall, viewable online. The full interim report is available in sections at http://www.halifax.ca/HalifaxGreenNetwork/Themes.php. View Agenda for the Thursday meeting. View Item 8.3.2 Halifax Green Network Plan which includes highlights of the Interim Report. The full Interim Report bears close reading. There are 52 maps.

You won’t make a bouquet out of them, but flowers of witch-hazel do provide some colour and interest though the fall. Witch-hazel is a common understory shrub in the oak woods of The Bluff Trail. More

It’s prime huckleberry season right now. Sometimes I have reached for what looks like a really delicious-looking cluster of huckleberries, throw them in my mouth and spit ’em out quickly. Then I look at the leaves and realize I had picked black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), not black huckleberry (Gaylussacia buccata). They often grow together and the berries are not readily distinguished. The leaves are superficially similar, but on inspection can be readily distinguished. Click on these pics to enlarge them and see how the leaves differ – those of chokeberry have distinct “teeth” on the margins while huckleberry has smooth margins. – David P.

If you’d like to help a trail, the McIntosh Run Watershed Association is inviting the community to help trim brush, Saturday, September 19th, 9:30 – 11:30 am.

We’ll be meeting at the Drysdale Road bridge, beside the Spryfield Lion’s Rink. If you have work gloves and branch-cutting tools please bring them along. No power tools please! We do have some extra tools and gloves, so please come even if you don’t have any.

 

The Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization is seeking bids on brush cutting and deadfall removal – if you are interested in submitting a bid, please contact us at info@wrweo.ca to obtain more information and a bid submission form. References are required. Response deadline is Sept 16, 2015. The response deadline has been extended to Sept 23, 2015.

Our friends at Akoma Family Centre are looking for volunteers to help on Wednesday, Sept. 23 or Saturday, Oct. 3 at 9 AM, building a natural outdoor play area for the children. Read the flyer below and please contact Joanna Pugh at 902-434-0674 ext. 2 for more information.

Akoma playground flyer

Approx. 30 people participated in the Hike-the-Greenbelt event on The Bluff Trail wed evening. The rain stopped shortly after we set out. Tristan Cleveland lead a run, and Tristan Glen a walk with WRWEO member David Patriquin talking about the natural history of the area. View Tristan C. talking about the Hike-the-Greenbelt series and the Halifax Green Network initiative in this youtube video .

Participants in Bluff Trail run and hike Aug 12