Cat.
Yr
Activity
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CON
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2013
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2013 ongoing: The five groups that spearheaded the push for
protection of the FBLWA are now the founding members of the FBLWA Stewardship Coalition formed to
coordinate with NS Environment to care for FBLWA. For information about how
to join and/or participate in the first workshop, contact Tom Musial at tom.musial@bellaliant.net
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CON
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2011
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2011 As a direct result of the coordinated efforts of CWC, the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area (FBLWA)
was protected in October 2011 by the Province under the Wilderness Areas
Protection Act. CWC was led by five groups: BLT Trail Association, the Five
Bridge Wilderness Heritage Trust, the Safety-Minded ATV Association, the St.
MargaretÕs Bay Stewardship Association, and WRWEO.
See http://wrweo.ca/ChebWilderness/index.html
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CON
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2008
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Formation in 2008 of the Chebucto Wilderness Coalition (CWC) in
collaboration with FBWHT and some 30 other organizations and political
leaders dedicated to persuading the Province to protect approximately 10,000
hectares of public land under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act.
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CON
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2003
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Successfully conserving the pocket wilderness in the area of
Cranberry Bog through communication with owners of private land there and
developers.
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CON
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2001
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Creation of the Interim Wilderness Trust, an arms length group to
propose a means to protect some 175 acres of wilderness Crown Land adjacent
to our watershed in response to public demand at large meeting sponsored by
WRWEO in 2001. This group evolved into the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage
Trust.
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CON
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1995
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Creation of a democratic process by which residents could vote on a
Crown Land swap proposed by Three Brooks Development Corporation. The
threat of such a swap in 1995 triggered the formation of WRWEO. Discussion
during the ensuing seven years culminated in a vote held on Mar. 20, 2003 by
over 200 members of WRWEO. The developer respected the negative vote (less
than 75% in favour) and did not proceed to apply to
the province for the land swap.
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ORG
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2013
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2013 Ongoing, active participation
in environmental organizations, including such as the St. MargaretÕs Bay
Stewardship Association (SMBSA), the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust
(FBWHT), Our HRM Alliance, Buy Back the Mersey.
Amongst the organizations, now
largely or entirely non-active, we have been involved with in the past are
the Chebucto Wilderness Coalition, Watershed Advisory Board (WAB), the
SMB Watershed Environmental Taskforce (WET), The Nova Scotia Public Lands
Coalition (sponsored by the Ecology Action Centre)
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ORG
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2012
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Over the years, Environmental education through
communication with homeowner associations and other local groups, such as
Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Safety Minded ATV Club, as well as newspaper
articles, brochures, and hosting speakers at AGMs.
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ORG
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2008
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Creation of a website at http://www.wrweo.ca with information about our projects
and the issues that we are addressing (site posted under wrweo.ca domain in
2008).
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TR
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2013
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2013 Ongoing (since 1997) Maintenance and continuous monitoring
of The Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail
and the related parking lot. The
32 km trail was completed in 2005. It continues to require hundreds of hours
of volunteer activity each year. WRWEO maintains the trail under a Letter of
Authority from NS Natural Resources. This authority will soon (2013) be
transferred to NS Environment since the trail is now within a protected area.
See http://wrweo.ca/BluffTrail/index.html Likewise,
the Parking Lot requires regular attention to road condition, signage, snow
clearance etc.; we conduct those activities in cooperation with and funding
from HRM.
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TR
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2013
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2013 Ongoing (since 2011) Introduced Poetry on The Bluff activity in 2011, repeated 2012. We see it
being succeeded by a variety of artistic events on The Bluff
See Photos from
2012 event
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TR
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2013
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2013 Ongoing (since 2010) Introduced stone tread trail construction, with the guidance of Garnet
McLaughlin of Cobequid Trail Consulting, in
2010/2011 and conducted workshops on the same in 2011, 2012; see Report
for 1st workshop . This technique has
now become the standard for our trail maintenance. Boardwalks are still used
over larger wetland areas.
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TR
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2013
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2013 Ongoing Active participation
in trail organizations, such as Halifax Regional Trails Advisory Team
(HRTAT), Nova Scotia Trail Federation (NSTF), and Chebucto
Peninsula Trails Alliance that produced the study leading to funding for our
trail.
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TR
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2013
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2013 ongoing Guided nature walks on The Bluff Trail and assisting
scientific study there. See, e.g., Natural History Hike on
The Bluff Trail
Report on a Parks Event Hike, Aug 21, 2010
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TR
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2008
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In May of 2008 The Bluff Trail was voted by Explore:
CanadaÕs Outdoor Magazine to be one of
the eight best Òurban escapesÓ in
Canada.
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TR
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2006
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Parking Lot for The Bluff Trail completed. The parking lot at
2890 St. Margaret's Bay Road was
constructed in 2005-2006 after two years planning and public meetings.
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TR
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2005
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Commissioned Acadia University to study the rate of decomposition and degree of
spread of human waste from hikers over time in order to learn how to make
The Bluff Trail environmentally sustainable. The 2005 report is available at
http://wrweo.ca/MapsArticles/HumanWasteStudy.pdf
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TR
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2005
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Bluff Wilderness Hiking Trail Completed. Development of the 32 km
trail took place over nine years and entailed thousands of hours of volunteer
time and raising over $200,000 from three levels of government.
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TR
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1996
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A Guide to the Trails of the Woodens River
Watershed published in 1996 based on the summer work of students. Project
was initiated and supervised by WRWEO based on government funding. It is
available at http://wrweo.ca/ArchivedDocs/index.html
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W
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2013
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2013 Ongoing (since 2012) WRWEO joined with other local groups to
form a water quality committee led by SMBSA to create and implement a stewardship plan for the
watersheds flowing into the St. MargaretÕs Bay. WRWEOÕs efforts in this regard
are led by Tim McGee.
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W
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2011
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Compiled (2010-2011) all known information related to aquatic habitat,
fish and water quality for The Woodens River
system; & made it available via our website at http://wrweo.ca/AqHabWQ/index.html
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W
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2011
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Study of water quality parameters (e.g. phosphorous, pH,
dissolved oxygen) in the upper lakes of the watershed over a 10 year period
(2000-2010)cgiving a large
data base. See documents at http://wrweo.ca/AqHabWQ/index.html and Newsletter Report
(2011)
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W
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2005
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Partially successful in
persuading NSDT&PW to protect
Cranberry Lake from silting and road run-off along the newly twinned Hwy
103.
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W
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2004
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Represented from 1995 to 2004
in monthly meetings of the Five Island
Lake CitizensÕ Liaison Committee that worked successfully with the
province to address the PCB spill in the north bay of Five Island Lake.
By 2008, PCB concentrations had
fallen to levels considered non-toxic to humans and wildlife. See reports
compiled of WRWEO website at http://wrweo.ca/AqHabWQ/fish.html
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W
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2000
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An aquatic survey of life in the streams feeding Woodens
River was conducted in 2000. Students did the work during the summer with
WRWEO supervision. See Introductory and Advanced Habitat Survey of the Woodens River Watershed, available at http://wrweo.ca/AqHabWQ/Report2000/index.html
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W
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2000
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WRWEO initiated in 2000 the Sheldrake Lake Hypolimnetic
Aeration Project to reverse the adverse effects of nutrient loading due
to development surrounding the lake. The project is ongoing and if successful
could have implications for a large number of lakes in Nova Scotia. The
project required raising more than $40,000. The project has been turned over
to the Sheldrake Lake homeowners.
See http://wrweo.ca/AqHabWQ/sheldrake.html
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W
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1999
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Removal of abandoned cars on K roads of the mid to lower
watershed in 1999. This project was subsequently and very successfully taken
over by FBWHT.
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W
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1999
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In the spring of 1999 WRWEO
held a forestry workshop in the
lower watershed of all woodlot owners to discuss with DNR, environmentalists,
logging contractors the pros and cons of clear cutting and the alternatives
available.
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W
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1998
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An extensive physical survey of Woodens
River in 1998 collecting over 6000 data points funded through the Youth
Conservation Corporation. The project was initiated and supervised by WRWEO.
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W
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1998
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Creation of a Watershed Management Plan for the Woodens River Watershed (1998).
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W
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1997
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Annual June Fishing Derby held at Stillwater Lake Pond, initiated
by WRWEO in 1997, and attracting in time over 200 mostly young fishers who
can fish on that day without a license. Event appeared to encourage awareness
of fish habitat and its meaning for the environment. Because the purpose of
the event was questioned when the environmental message seemed to be lost in
the scramble to remove and kill fish stocked the night before and WRWEO
decided to discontinue it in 2010.
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