{"id":8607,"date":"2026-10-13T19:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/?page_id=8607"},"modified":"2026-10-13T19:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T23:47:07","slug":"piggy-mountain","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/?page_id=8607","title":{"rendered":"Piggy Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Walk to Piggy Mountain in Halifax, Nova Scotia <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Video, 29 min, on YouTube<\/a> posted Oct 16, 2019. It can also be viewed at www.versicolor.ca\/PiggyMtNS.mp4<\/a> (No Ads)<\/p>\n

DESCRIPTION<\/p>\n

“The Jack Pine-Broom Crowberry Barrens found on Piggy Mountain in the Halifax Backlands are \u201cglobally rare\u201d and \u201cnationally unique\u201d plant communities found fleetingly in Northern Maine, and in Canada only on rocky outcrops along a section of Nova Scotia\u2019s Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n

“Like other rare pine communities in North America and in the Mediterranean, these communities are dependent on recurrent fire to be maintained. The habitats are also conducive to fire and the plants occupying them are adapted to recurrent fires. Thus these communities pose special challenges if we want to conserve them, especially where they occur in close juxtaposition with human settlements.<\/p>\n

“The Spryfield Fire of 2009 burned approximately 800 ha of the 1350 ha in the \u201cBacklands\u201d, an urban wilderness lying between Purcell’s Cove Road and Herring Cove Road on the Halifax South mainland. Piggy Mountain is one the areas that burned.<\/p>\n

“To the human residents, the fire was a scourge, but it also served to renew the Jack Pine-Broom Crowberry Barrens on Piggy Mountain.<\/p>\n

“In this video, taken on Oct 15, 2019, biologist David P walks to Piggy Mountain with a friend from China, describing some the plants and ecological features as they go. From the top of Piggy Mountain they have a 360 degree view of the Backlands. Then David P takes his friend to some Jack Pine-Broom Crowberry Barrens that did NOT burn in 2009.<\/p>\n

“Both the recently burnt barrens and those that have not seen a fire for almost 60 years offer striking views, especially in mid-October when the huckleberry turns fire engine red \u2013 it\u2019s almost almost as if they are on fire again.<\/p>\n

“An artist\u2019s perspective:<\/p>\n

“I consider Piggy Mountain to be the focal point of the Backlands, a ‘power spot’ of sorts with a special or spiritual feeling. These qualities combined with the amazing views of the surrounding area leaves one with the impression of having been revitalized. Piggy Mountain is a place of positive transformation” – Geoffrey Grantham, landscape artist.<\/p>\n

“It’s a lengthy video (29 min), but it’s easy to skip around…”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Walk to Piggy Mountain in Halifax, Nova Scotia Video, 29 min, on YouTube posted Oct 16, 2019. It can also be viewed at www.versicolor.ca\/PiggyMtNS.mp4 (No Ads) DESCRIPTION “The Jack Pine-Broom Crowberry Barrens found on Piggy Mountain in the Halifax … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3940,"menu_order":50,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8607","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8607"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8609,"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8607\/revisions\/8609"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backlandscoalition.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}