New Provincial Housing-in-HRM Legislation “risks commitment to sustainability” – Mayor Savage

Posted on October 17, 2023 by admin

The province recently announced new legislation “to get more housing built, faster, in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM)” (NS Gov News Release, Oct 12, 2023).

It includes, amongst other measures:

– giving the minister authority to make decisions on development in HRM without a recommendation from the Executive Panel on Housing or request from the municipality
– granting all variances respecting set backs or street walls unless HRM can demonstrate that they materially alter the intent of the municipal planning strategy
– temporarily freezing all municipal permit and development fees, including Halifax Water regional development charges and density bonus charges, for a period of two years; any increase would require ministerial approval
– creating one of Canada’s first trusted partner programs, which will offer qualified developers – working with certified professionals who have a solid track record of quality developments – expedited services, allowing them to get shovels in the ground faster.

HRM issued an unusually critical statement about the legislation (HRM Oct 12, 2023) Continue reading →

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October 13-22, 2023: The Fall Continental Mycoblitz 2023 in the Maritimes!

Posted on October 13, 2023 by admin

Bears Head Tooth or Lion’s Mane (Hericium americanum),  growing on hemlock, Halifax area.

Where: Everywhere mushrooms grow

The 2023 Continental Mycoblitz is open to anyone who is willing to make scientifically valuable collections of mushrooms – including photography, fieldnotes, and submitting a dried specimen. Any individual or organization can submit their most unique/interesting/exciting collections from the foray week to theproject. Mycologists and foray partners will examine each collection and will perform DNA sequencing on thousands of the specimens that are submitted.

For general information about the Mycoblitz see: https://mycota.com/2023 continental-mycoblitz/

Mycologists in the three Maritime Provinces will coordinate the Mycoblitz efforts in our region, to try sequence over 1,000 collections of mushrooms from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

If you are located in Nova Scotia please contact Sean Haughian at the NovaScotia Museum (sean.haughian@novascotia.ca) to get more detailed informationabout collecting and documenting mushrooms for the Continental Mycoblitz, or to arrange for dropping specimens off at the Museum of Natural History.

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Mon Oct 23, 2023 Fires, Conservation and Fire Management in the Halifax Backlands

Posted on October 7, 2023 by admin

Geoffrey Grantham and Ron Kuwahara paint en plein air in the Jack Pine-Crowberry barrens on Nov 2, 2015, 6 years after 2009 ‘Spryfield Fire’.
Click on image for larger version

Online presentation by David Patriquin to the NS Wild Flora Society, 7:30 p.m. Monday Oct 23, 2023.

The “Backlands”, located only a few kilometers from from peninsular Halifax, NS, are a Thompsonesque urban wilderness of approximately 1350 hectares which include nine lakes, hills with spectacular views and dozens of kilometers of informal hiking and biking trails. Erratic blocks, whalebacks and boulder fields are prominent features of the glacially scoured rocky landscape. It is also one of the most fire-susceptible landscapes in Nova Scotia, with recurrent fires pre-dating European settlement. One result is the presence of highly fire-adapted plant communities including the globally rare ‘Jack Pine/Broom Crowberry Barrens’… Read more and register via  NSWFS website

Posted in Talks | Comments Off on Mon Oct 23, 2023 Fires, Conservation and Fire Management in the Halifax Backlands

Wetlands – natural defence against wildfires 4Oct2023

Posted on October 4, 2023 by admin

By Cathy Vaughan

Wildfire in Spryfield stopped at wetlands surrounding Lower Mud Pond in the Backlands, 2009.
Photo: David Patriquin
Click on image for larger version

Wildfires have slammed our local communities recently and heightened our awareness of the results of human activity on climate change. Besides the practical tasks, such as emergency evacuation preparednesses, we are now looking to the science of wetlands as a valuable and available natural defence against wildfires.

The Spryfield area is surrounded by an abundance of marshes, swamps, rivers and lakes which contain a valuable fire suppressant – water. These moisture-ladened wetlands help prevent fires and can act as natural barriers to the spread of forest fires. Wet soggy soil doesn’t burn so well. The volumes of water in our local lakes, rivers and ponds also create a wet obstacle which a forest fire can’t necessarily cross. Continue reading →

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Monday Oct 2, 2023: Early evening session on The Regional Plan & the Backlands

Posted on September 18, 2023 by admin

An invitation from the Backlands Coalition:

– Link to the Draft Regional Plan: Phase 4 Draft Plan Release – June 20, 2023 Committee of the Whole | Halifax.ca

– The Province is inviting citizens to have a say as they develop the NS Collaborative Protected Areas Strategy outlining how we will achieve land and water conservation goals by 2030. Take a few minutes and complete the survey here by October 6th to have your say.

View also these PDF docs which highlight issues most relevant to the Backlands:

– Critical Issues in the Regional Plan

– Highlights of draft Regional Plan

– Ways to give HRM feedback

Posted in Community, Regional Plan | Comments Off on Monday Oct 2, 2023: Early evening session on The Regional Plan & the Backlands

Province seeking feedback on its Protected Areas Strategy 29Aug2023

Posted on August 29, 2023 by admin

It’s a great opportunity to put in a plug for formally protecting all Crown land in the Backlands! See this page for map details

A recent News Release:

Province Seeks Input on Protected Areas Strategy

Nova Scotians are invited to help shape the approach for protecting 20 per cent of the province’s land and water by 2030.

An online public consultation started today, August 23, at: http://ns20by2030.ca/ . The input will be used to develop the Nova Scotia Collaborative Protected Areas Strategy, which will outline how the Province will achieve its 2030 land and water conservation goal and identify next steps. Continue reading →

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Saturday Aug 26, 2023: Chebucto Peninsula Moose Meeting

Posted on August 24, 2023 by admin

UPDATE AUG 25: EVENT POSTPONED (weather – rain would make the field component very difficult)

On Nature Nova Scotia website:

Register here.

For some background info. about the Chebucto Mainland Moose population, see the NS Forest Notes page on the Chebucto Moose.

Also view Moose sighting on Williams Lake (Post, Dec 11, 2016). This seems to have been the last reported sighting of moose in the Backlands.

By working to bring back/reinvigorate the Mainland Moose population on the Chebucto Peninsula, we would also be improving conditions for a much wider array of species. We might think of it as the terrestrial equivalent of  the Sackville Rivers Association efforts to bring back/reinvigorate  the salmon population  in the Sackville River Watershed.

Posted in Conservation, Events | Comments Off on Saturday Aug 26, 2023: Chebucto Peninsula Moose Meeting

On the significance of wetlands in the Backlands (Halifax, NS) 18Aug2023

Posted on August 18, 2023 by admin

In a recent Nature Nova Scotia/Ecology Action Centre hosted webinar on “Wetlands, Adaptation and Extreme Weather Events”, Danica Van Proosdij talked about her work on making room for coastal wetlands (saltmarshes) to adapt to climate change, and David Patriquin talked about the significance of wetlands in the Backlands.

David’s presentation and slides on  “Watersheds, Watercourses and Wetlands of the Halifax Backlands” are available on this website under Current Issues/Wetland Webinar. Continue reading →

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Japanese Barberry: a significant invasive on Lawsons Brook and perhaps elsewhere in the Backlands (Halifax, NS) 17Aug2023

Posted on August 17, 2023 by admin
UPDATE Aug 18, 2023: The NS Invasive Species Council has recently released their new Grow Me Instead guidebook in which Japanese Barberry and Common Barberry are cited as potential invasives in NS & NB; they suggest alternative native species to grow in their stead in our gardens.

Lawsons Brook on Google Earth
Click on images for larger versions

Lawsons Brook is the stream that drains Williams Lake.  It begins at the dam on Williams Lake and falls about 15 meters in elevation over the approx. 365 m from the dam to the point it enters a Culvert taking it below Purcells Cove Road;  then it continues over another 80 m through  Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron grounds before finally discharging into “The Arm”.

View looking upstream in a section of Lawsons Brook free of invasive plants, Aug 2, 2023

Lawsons Brook is lined by magnificent hardwood-dominated, old forest.  Yellow Birch is the most prominent species,  followed by Red Oak, Red Maple, White Pine, Black Spruce and the occasional Eastern Hemlock; and  distinct sub-canopies formed by Striped Maple and Witch Hazel.

The ground is very uneven, bouldery, with lots of woody debris; near the dam, there are several channels through low-lying floodplain/wetland (and a plethora of poison ivy). Continue reading →

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Public Feedback on the Backlands sought for the Regional Plan Review 16Aug2023

Posted on August 16, 2023 by admin

Representatives of the Coalition’s member groups have been meeting monthly to discuss ways and means to accomplish our mission: to ensure no loss of wildlife habitat in the Backlands and to preserve them for natural, historical, cultural, conservation, educational, recreational and common use.

Our recent focus has been to collect, compile, and present information to the HRM planning staff, our Councillor, and various Regional Council committees to inform them about the value of preserving the Backlands and its fragile and unique ecology for environmental and recreational purposes, since further development will destroy this small piece of nature that will only become more important as a retreat as HRM gets denser.

This activity has been happening as part of the review process for updating the HRM Regional Plan, which will enter its final and 5th phase after Oct 27. Until then, the draft plan created in phase 4 is available for feedback from the public – which means all of us – so if you want to help achieve our mission, please provide  comments as directed below. Continue reading →

Posted in Community | Comments Off on Public Feedback on the Backlands sought for the Regional Plan Review 16Aug2023