The Backlands Coalition

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.

Biologist David P explored the shoreline of Colpitt Lake on the last day of spring, 2015. The acidic water is brown from humic acids, but otherwise clear and there are no signs of any eutrophication. The shore is bordered only by native vegetation. It is a rugged shoreline fringed by wetlands a meter to 25 m or more in width. A video documents the pristine state of the Colpitt Lake shoreline in 2015.

Google Earth 3D perspective of Williams Lake Backlands This Google Earth Image gives a sense of the “Urban Wilderness” nature of the Williams Lake Backlands and Watershed in which Colpitt Lake is situated. Colpitt Lake drains into Williams Lake.

Continue reading →

A very important event will be occurring this Saturday at the Captain William Spry Centre. We encourage you to attend and actively participate in this particular session of the public engagement process for the “Halifax Green Network” (this is the new name for the Halifax greenbelting plan) at the Captain William Spry Centre. At this event you will have an opportunity to express your wishes for the future of the Purcell’s Cove, William’s Lake and Herring Cove Backlands. Here are the meeting details:
Saturday, June 13th 12:00 – 3:00 pm Pop-up Event
Captain William Spry Community Centre
16 Sussex St, Spryfield

The full list of public engagement opportunities is available at the following link: http://www.halifax.ca/HalifaxGreenNetwork/EngagementEvents.php
Continue reading →

Backlands supporters 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/

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 →

The Annual General Meeting of the Williams Lake Conservation Company will be held at 7:30 on Wednesday, June 10th at the Captain Spry Centre, 10 Kidston Rd, Spryfield. The AGM is also an opportunity for us to review the year’s activities and for you to bring forward your concerns and observations. Everyone is welcome.

Visiting the “Whopper Dropper” (by Kent at Bayer’s Lake) today was a reminder of what has happened to some of our Backlands and could happen to more if we do not value them for what they are… View Requiem

We encourage supporters of the Backlands to attend and actively participate in the upcoming public engagement process for the “Halifax Green Network” (this is the new name for the Halifax greenbelting plan) at the Captain William Spry Centre. Here are the meeting details:

Saturday, June 13th 12:00 – 3:00 pm
Captain William Spry Community Centre, 16 Sussex St, Halifax .
Continue reading →

Yesterday, Regional Council voted 11 to 6 against opening negotations with developers about acquiring the Williams Lake Backlands before completion of Phase I of the Greenbelting and Open Spaces Priorities Plan – the recommendation of Staff that was also supported by ourHRM Allaince and the Backlands Coalition.
Here is a link to the Chronicle Herald article about the Council meeting:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1280571-council-notebook-politicians-talk-halifax-water-review-greenbelt-plan
We were very much encouraged when we witnessed several Councillors expressing the view that the Backlands would and should come under public ownership.
We are also encouraged by Clayton Developments’ steadfast interest in pursuing public ownership of our near urban wilderness.

“..A reminder of the upcoming Annual General Meeting for the McIntosh Run Watershed Association at 7:00 pm on Monday April 20th at the Captain Spry Community Centre in Spryfield. We are looking for volunteers to help with Communications and Fund-raising. There will also be a presentation of a trail signage system.

For map and directions please go to:
https://www.halifax.ca/rec/centrescaptainspry.php

____________________________
Kaarin Tae
President, McIntosh Run Watershed Association

Jennifer Keesmaat, chief planner and executive director of the City of Toronto, argues that greenbelts and other measures to restrict the outward growth of Canadian cities are essential and fiscally responsible policy tools, since they result in higher densities that make more efficient use of infrastructure investments. View Globe & Mail Article