NSEN has enjoyed tremendous growth since 2020, driven by full-time staff acquired through grants. The volunteer Board of Directors has enabled and steered this growth by managing high-level operations, overseeing staff projects, pursuing funding opportunities, and developing strategic plans for the future.
We are currently looking to expand our leadership team to keep pace with the organization’s growth and take on new and exciting projects. We are seeking 2 enthusiastic and diligent individuals to join the Board of Directors and help ensure NSEN’s continued success!
As part of our Giving Tuesday campaign, we released a trailer for our historical documentary which will premiere in 2023!
Check out the trailer below for a preview of Connections: The Story of the Nova Scotia Environmental Network, which showcases NSEN's 30-year history and future vision through a series of interviews with local environmental leaders.
We launched theNSEN Volunteer Hubin 2021. Our goal is to see this new tool become a powerful one-stop-shop that benefits environmental initiatives in every corner of the province. Your participation can help make that happen!
All NSEN member organizations can post their volunteer positions on the Volunteer Hub, where our network of volunteers can view and apply for opportunities that fit their interests.
An Environment Canada meteorologist says Nova Scotia is on track for a total snowfall this year that is well below average — despite the 30 centimetres of snow that blanketed the province overnight on March 2nd.
Meteorologist Bob Robichaud says the weather system that brought 50- to 70-kilometre-an-hour winds and heavy snow did not bring enough precipitation to catch Nova Scotia up to its regular winter snow levels.
La Niña kept things cooler this winter. But what happens when that cooling effect vanishes?
It’s been a snowy, blustery and bone-chilling winter for many Canadians. British Columbians were digging out of abnormal snow in early March. The Prairies have seen a good dose of good old-fashioned winter, and extreme cold warnings were issued in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces as well.
One thing that points to all that cold weather is La Niña. It’s a climate pattern that results in cooler ocean waters building up off the coast of Ecuador and Peru. That sets off a change to atmospheric conditions further north, resulting in cooler air over the west coast of North America, and drier air in the southern United States.
3 Atlantic provinces eye electrification of school bus fleet
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are considering electrifying their school bus fleets.
The province of Nova Scotia issued a tender Thursday on behalf of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training for a feasibility study of electric school buses.
"Atlantic provinces have mainly purchased diesel, gasoline, and propane buses, but are now in a position to consider the feasibility of adopting cleaner transportation options with the purchase of electric school buses by transitioning its transportation system away from greenhouse gas emitting vehicles," the tender reads.
The region has purchased school buses jointly in the past to save on costs. Prince Edward Island has already incorporated dozens of electric school buses into its fleet.
N.S. environment minister cannot say when Coastal Protection Act will become law
Nova Scotia Environment Minister Tim Halman is backing away from a pledge to bring the long-delayed Coastal Protection Act into force this year.
Last fall, Halman said the regulations for the act were almost complete and he planned to present them to his cabinet colleagues, so the act could be proclaimed in the first half of 2023.
But on Tuesday, the minister told reporters that he's instructed officials in his department to engage in a "targeted" round of community consultation due to concerns too many property owners "don't even know the act exists."
Beach garbage: N.S. woman captures shoreline cleanups for social media
A Nova Scotia woman is chronicling her journey of cleaning up garbage and debris from the Bay of Fundy shoreline.
Karen Jenner, from Lakeville, N.S., says beach-cleaning is something she’s always done with her family before it became her passion.
“We went to the beach a lot with our kids,” she said. “To keep them busy while we were there… we would just tell them to find a rope and they could put anything on the rope that had a hole in it. That might be another piece of rope that had a loop in it, or a container that had a handle.
Doctors raise concerns over province’s plan to fast-track housing in Halifax
Concerns are being raised in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) over the plan to fast-track the development of more than 22,000 residential units.
Advocates in Nova Scotia are weighing in on how to strike the right balance between meeting HRM’s housing demands and protecting the environment.
The Nova Scotia Regional Committee of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment have penned a letter to the province citing their concerns around a proposed development around Sandy Lake in Bedford.
Ocean temperatures soared to new 'pretty alarming' highs off Nova Scotia in 2022
Ocean temperatures off Nova Scotia hit record highs last summer, eclipsing the record-breaking temperatures set in the Atlantic a decade earlier.
"It's pretty alarming," said Fisheries and Oceans Canada research scientist Chantelle Layton. Layton is part of the DFO team analyzing results from the annual Atlantic Ocean monitoring program in eastern Canada.
Canadian scientists are discussing the 2022 data this week.
Did you know that community-owned and -operated energy providers are leaders in the transition to clean, renewable, and affordable energy? What’s more, the revenue they generate is returned to the community or reinvested in the electrical grid and infrastructure. Municipal utilities and utility cooperatives support decentralized and diversified energy systems that are more resilient to extreme weather events, too.
Tynette Deveaux, from Sierra Club Canada, discusses community energy in Canada and where it fits in the context of the global energy democracy movement.
Scotian Shores and the Yarmouth Events Society are hosting an Earth Weekend Community Clean Up on April 22nd and 23rd. They are also offering free tables for environmental groups, businesses and not for profits during the Saturday portion of the event.
There will be lots of community members present. This will be an excellent opportunity to talk about other ways people can help the environment and talk about what your team does. Tables are about 6 feet long and are no cost to participating organizations. Power can be made available.
Contact Scotian Shores if you are interested in this opportunity.
Scotian Shores has also recently released a report on their Ghost Gear Retrieval from The Cape in Barrington Passage this summer. Click here if you would like to read the report.
In the upcoming weeks, Scotian Shores is hosting a couple of shoreline clean-ups including:
Organized by the Grassroots Grandmothers, Ecology Action Centre, School Strike 4 Climate Halifax, iMOVe, and others, the People’s Parade for Life on Earth is an invitation for all to come together and uplift our spirits: a parade of all our relations. Organizers envision a crowd of elders and youth, drummers and choirs, drag performers, activists and workers, puppets and costumes representing the more-than-human world. They envision an event that everyone can see themselves in.
With the leadership of the Grassroots Grandmothers and Mi’kma’ki Water Walkers, our celebration will be grounded in ceremony and respect for the traditional ways of this unceded Mi’kmaw territory.
This is a people's parade, so no businesses, no politicians (though they can watch) and no cars. Just people!
Groups are welcome to bring their own creativity and personality to represent their community and their cause in whatever way they are inspired to do so. Individual people can also join the parade - you don’t need to be part of a group. We are also welcoming groups who would like to host an activity such as an information table as part of the post-parade celebration.
Date: Saturday, April 22nd, 2023
(Rain Date: Sunday, April 23rd, 2023)
Opening Ceremony & Assembly: 1:00pm at Sackville Landing, Halifax Waterfront
Parade Start Time: 2:00pm
Post-Parade Celebration: 2:45-5:00pm Peace & Friendship Park
Registrations for participating groups are open from now until Sunday, April 16th. Organizers encourage folks to register as soon as possible. Registrations will be approved on a rolling basis.
Friends of Sable Island Societyis again offering $2,000 in entry-level scholarships for Grade 12 students in Nova Scotia who are pursuing post-secondary education in the fall of 2023. Many people are not aware of the rich cultural history of Sable Island. This year's challenge for applicants is to create an accessible timeline of five to seven key events in Sable Island’s human history prior to the Humane Establishment. Submissions are due by April 24, 2023.
Nature Nova Scotia has published a new blog post titled Save Sandy Lake: Undeveloped Shorelines and Rare Old Forests in Bedford NS Threatened by Rushed Housing Order.
Eco Connects is hosting an Earth Week Sustainability Coaching webinar on April 18th from 7-8pm. Have you ever heard of sustainability coaching? May will be explaining what it is and who it can help. It's a great Earth Week activity that can help to build creative energy for more action on the eco-crisis.
In the upcoming weeks, The Deanery Project is hosting a number of programs including:
April 1: Apple Tree Pruning workshop
April 8: Deanery Egg Hunt
April 15: Grafting workshop
April (final date TBD): Blacksmithing “hammer-in”
If you live near the Deanery and would like to be part of our monthly fresh produce food box program for $15, contact us! Keep an eye on our Facebook or Instagram – The Deanery Project for the latest on our events and programs.
Back to the Sea Society is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise money in support of us moving to our brand new location, the Back to the Sea Centre! Please consider making a tax deductible donation in support of our ocean education initiatives, or sharing with your friends, family, and co-workers.
Help us tell NS Environment Minister to rescind new coal mining approval.
Do you want coal mining in NS to continue until 2030? If you don't, here's an opportunity to send a clear message to Minister Halman and Premier Houston through Sierra Club Atlantic's quick and easy action page.
Please write to help protect Sandy Lake Regional Park.
"The Province’s Housing Task Force's mandate is focused on their singular focus of expediting development projects. However, sacrificing an outstanding ecosystem like Sandy Lake Regional Park to solve the housing crisis is not reasonable and not necessary. There are better places to put housing.
The Sandy Lake-Sackville River’s Coalition Steering Committee has sent detailed information on the values of the area to every single MLA (there are 55 of them!) with the request to remove Sandy Lake from the Special Planning Area list.
We ask that you write to your MLA, Housing Minister John Lohr, and the Premier, plus your city councillor and Mayor Savage, and request that the Sandy Lake area be removed from the Provincial Housing Task Force's Special Planning Area list. Request that they expand the park to 2,800 acres to service citizens needs, to support the wildlife that already calls the area home, and address Climate Change and Biodiversity losses.
West Mabou Beach Provincial Park, a designated provincial park in Cape Breton, needs our help.
This coastal park contains unusual and sensitive habitats and at least 18 rare and endangered species. But the Cabot Group wants to lease part of the park to build a golf course.
This would destroy the sensitive dune ecosystems and the park's important habitat for endangered species. It would also set a terrible province-wide precedent that parks are only "protected" until the right developer comes along. To learn more, please find the campaign on Facebook.
Every Wednesday we share a Nova Scotia Nature Photo on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Have you taken photos of beautiful places around the province? Share them with us for a chance to be featured on our page!
This photo was captured in Port George, Nova Scotia by Mitchell Thomas.
Green Job Opportunities
The Energy Mix: Fundraising Development Manager
Energy Mix Productions is seeking a Development Manager who is keen to develop and execute a fundraising strategy for a growing organization. The Development Manager will work with the Publisher of The Energy Mix, and with other team members, to identify fund development opportunities, cultivate meaningful relationships, secure funding, and steward current and past donors.
Energy Mix Productions currently has a handful of active grants and a small donor base. We are looking to grow and refine the organization’s fund development strategy (and implementation) with a focus on building multi-year support through a major gifts strategy by partnering with foundations, corporations, individuals, and government grant programs.
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment: Communications Director
CAPE seeks a Communications Director to develop and implement our national communications strategy and lead our communications team. CAPE is a storytelling organization. Our power as an organization relies on our strategic application of research-based communications strategies to bring the stories of physicians and other health care providers to political decision-makers, the health community, and the public.
Deadline: Position will be posted until hiring is complete
The Starfish Canada is currently looking to add more volunteer Workshop Facilitators to our team. Although this is a volunteer position, facilitators can claim 30$ honorarium per workshop completed.
The facilitators will be trained to help deliver our special partnership program with additional opportunities to facilitate educational workshops for students across the country. Our partnership program will require facilitators to commit to at least 1 weekly session over the course of the 4-week program (June/July). School workshops are scheduled on a volunteer basis - you decide which workshops to facilitate according to your schedule and availability!
The Operations Coordinator will support the daily organizational activities and administrative tasks of Black Eco Bloom including supporting the organization's workflow across various teams and team management. The Operations Coordinator will oversee our virtual office management, respond to communications and oversee all administrative tasks, support with financial management and volunteer coordination. The Operations Coordinator will work closely with Black Eco Bloom’s Executive team and volunteers.
We are looking for a highly capable Operational Manager to manage, maintain, and expand the FAIME’s database. You will be responsible for the active growth of our database through networking, fundraising, and promotional activities. To ensure success, you should possess a high level of comfort in communicating with both affected communities and the scientists and practitioners available to support them. Knowledge, experience, and comfort in working with data management software is a key asset.
The FAIME Operational Manager is supported by technical consultants and works with the FAIME Management Committee members. It reports to FAIME’s host organization, MiningWatch Canada, also a member of the FAIME Management Committee.
Deadline: Position will be posted until hiring is complete
Student Energy: Assistant to the Executive Director
Student Energy is recruiting a fixed term, full-time (up to 40-hours per week) Assistant to the Executive Director to manage key administrative and organizational processes, internal and external communications, and provide support to senior level staff and strategic projects. The Assistant to the Executive Director (Executive Assistant) will interact with a wide range of people globally, across government, private sector, civil society, and international organizations.
This position is an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the leadership functions of a non-profit and international organization, gain experience supporting well-managed organizational growth, and engage with a diversity of principle actors in the climate and energy world.
The Arlington Forest Protection Society, working with Citizen Scientists of the Southwest Nova Biosphere, launched a Save Our Old Forests campaign at the Bridgetown Legion on Saturday, March 25th. In the words of the campaign’s paper petition,
WHEREAS our Government has committed in law to protecting 20% of Nova Scotia’s lands and waters by 2030 but is continuing to permit logging of old forests of high conservation value on Crown land,
THEREFORE we, the undersigned residents of Nova Scotia, call upon the Premier to pause all harvesting and roadbuilding activities in forests over 80 years old on Crown land in Annapolis County until such time as 20% of Nova Scotia’s lands have been permanently protected.
Goldsmith Lake on the South Mountain in Annapolis County is a perfect example of why we need a pause on harvesting of forests over 80 years old. The lake itself and the rare old forest around it make Goldsmith an ideal candidate for protection as part of the 20%. But in 2022 DNRR approved harvest plans for most of the forest to the west of the lake and some to the east.
Thanks to the efforts of citizen scientists, it looks as though all the harvest plans closest to the lake are now on hold and a review of how the area will be managed is in the works.
Divert NS: Champion of the Environment Scholarship
Divert NS is offering up to $20,000 in scholarships to Nova Scotia Grade 12 students with a keen interest in the environment. Eight (8) $2,500 scholarships are available for 2023:
Seven (7) regional scholarships are available based on the solid waste regions.
New for 2023: A $2,500 French language scholarship is being offered.
For full application details and scholarship information, click here.
Canadian Wildlife Federation: City Nature Challenge
Canadians coast to coast will compete against a record number of 460 cities from 43 countries in the 2023 City Nature Challenge, a massive effort to track and showcase global biodiversity. This is a friendly international citizen science event designed to connect people to nature while helping monitor wildlife species distribution around the globe. Three areas in NS are registered to participate in the 4-day event between April 28 – May 1: HRM (including Sable Island), CBRM, and the Valley (Kings and Annapolis counties).
This is an excellent opportunity to highlight the biodiversity in our area and to encourage people to get out doors, to explore, to observe nature, and to share observations. The global competition tracks the number of observations of wildlife, the number of species, and the number of participants. Results will be announced after May 8.
The ImpAct-Climate Challenge is here. Will you accept? Share actions, ideas, and projects that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions on your campus. As a student, faculty, staff – or anyone else – on a campus of a Colleges and Institutes Canada member institution, your ideas could win a $500 cash prize, a $3,000 climate-action bursary, and national recognition for your college or institute! Deadline: May 31.
RCFNS Community Impact Conference: Registration Open Now
The Community Impact Conference is being held April 22, 2023 in Sydney, NS as part of the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia's (RCFNS) commitment to climate action.
The conference will highlight the work of communities dealing with a wide variety of climate change issues. RCFNS' intention is to create a circle of informed, innovative problem solvers. Click here to learn more and register.
CLIMAtlantic Conference: Advancing Adaptation Action in Atlantic Canada
On May 24th from 9am-5pm AST, CLIMAtlantic is holding a one-day, hybrid conference will showcase implemented adaptation work from across Atlantic Canada, novel approaches to adaptation, examples of how people have overcome barriers and obstacles, approaches to broaden the conversation, and recent and on-going work to include nature in adaptation work.
Organizers ask that you please fill out this google form to show your interest to attend and/or present your work.
Clean Foundation’s Science Horizons Program Application Period Opening
Clean Foundation is excited to announce funding through the Science Horizons Internship Program for 2023-2024! Generously funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Science Horizons program is a wage subsidy initiative that matches graduates between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive) with positions across Canada that help combat climate change.
Applications for employers will open April 3rd and close April 16th. For more information, please visit their website.
Invasion of Habitat Snatchers: A Look Inside Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes
On April 12th from 6:30-8:30 PM, Friends of Blue Mountain is hosting an event with guest speakers Kristen Noel and Ken Donnelly.
Kristen Noel, NS Invasive Species Council, will highlight changes and threats she sees in NS and BMBCL. Ken Donnelly, Director of Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust, will discuss outcomes from the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP 15 in Montreal where he was a delegate.
The event is being held in the Lindsay Room at the Halifax Central Library on April 12th. The final installation of the speaker series will take place on May 10th. FoBM is encouraging participation in the Nature Challenge at the end of April. BMBCL is a 'Project' so members' observations are added. Join the Project!
Additionally, FoBM is organizing a training opportunity to recruit new hike leaders. Their hikes are increasingly popular, frequently full with a call for different types of hikes for younger people, new Canadians and families. They need additional certified hike leaders and are organizing a training opportunity for new leaders to take place this spring.
This opportunity will involve a two-day commitment sometime in May. Hike training costs will be covered by FoBM. In return, they expect new hike leaders to lead at least two hikes per year over the next two years. More details will be sent to those who express an interest in this training.
Red Bear Healing Home Society is requesting public assistance for donations of gently used cell phones.
Empowering and enabling people who are experiencing poverty by way of providing cell phones ensures access to public services and reduces the stress of being economically disadvantaged. Living without a cellular device or phone can have a detrimental effect on an persons’ mental and physical health and make connections impossible for people who are phoneless.
They kindly ask that gently used cell phones that have been unlocked and reset, be dropped off at Annapolis Valley libraries in Kingston and Middleton. Call them at (902) 448-4744 for more information or to arrange for another location.
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