Atlantic Chapter

Sierra Club Atlantic is a vibrant grassroots organization that empowers people to protect, restore, and enjoy a healthy safe planet. We are your chapter of Canada’s only national grassroots environmental organization, working to bring your community’s concerns to the attention of regional and national leaders. Together, we are a credible, influential voice, working to make a better world a reality.

What are we up to?

The Atlantic Chapter works through education and action to green the economy and protect the environment. We engage in projects designed to connect children to nature, protect wildlife and wild spaces, and to offer solutions to climate change.

What's happening at the Atlantic Chapter?

Finding a Meal, Bat Style

Ashley Greening — August 25, 2014

Tuesday, August 5 was the third week of the Wild Child program at Campus Kids daycare. By this point, the children have come to expect my visits and we already cleaning up when I arrived. Another bright and sunny morning, though thankfully not as hot as the week before.

We set off across campus to the same location from day one, the large trees outside of Main Building. Here we quickly got into the "Bat and Moth Game", after a quick lesson on echolocation of course. The Bat and Moth Game is a lot like Marco Polo. One child covers their eyes and says "bat", the other child responds with "moth" and the chase is on. After a while we gave the children a five minute "run around" break to do whatever they wanted. An epic game of tag ensued, the likes of which I'll probably never see again.

Hide and Seek - WIld Child Style!

Ashley Greening — August 25, 2014

Tuesday, July 29 was the second week of the Wild Child Program at UPEI's Campus Kids Daycare. The day dawned hot a sunny, and I was grateful that we had scheduled the program for the morning hours, or the heat would have kept us all inside.

When I arrived I was greeted by a chorus of "Hi Ashley!" and excited whispers of "Look, Ashley's back!" Most of the faces were familiar. The children who had not been present the week before were quickly brought up to speed by their peers that we were going to play fun "secret" games. They eagerly cleaned up their toys and within ten minutes we were on our way.

Sierra Club Canada, SOSS Stand in Solidarity with Innu, Maliseet, and Mi’gmaq First Nations Calling for Protection of the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Posted on August 14, 2014
July 16, 2014

The Sierra Club Canada Foundation and Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition (SOSS) are offering their support for the Innu, Maliseet, and Mi’gmaq First Nations of  Eastern Canada in their call for a moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

As with many oil and gas projects across the country, what we are seeing here is a government willing to run roughshod over rights of indigenous peoples to get to fossil fuels,” according to John Bennett, National Programs Director of Sierra Club. 

“We are proud to stand in solidarity with the Innu, Maliseet, and Mi’gmaq First Nations in calling for a moratorium on oil and gas in the Gulf.”

Low calving rates among blue whales cause for concern

Posted on August 12, 2014
Aug. 12, 2014

 

Scientists studying the blue whale in the Gulf of St Lawrence are reporting alarmingly low calving rates from this critically endangered species, says the Sierra Club Canada Foundation. The Sierra Club recently launched a campaign to safeguard the blue whale's critical habitat in the Gulf.

 

The Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) is a non-profit research organization located on the Gulf of St Lawrence's northern shore and they were the first group to begin long term study of marine mammals in the Gulf. Since their founding in 1979, this group has followed blue whale populations in eastern Canada, the Sea of Cortez and in the waters of Iceland.

 

Electric vehicles offer lane change to Nova Scotia

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Posted on August 11, 2014

See an electric vehicle next to you on the road and you might not distinguish it from any other gas guzzler confronting rush hour traffic. But drive one yourself...and you won't soon shake the experience.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are powered entirely by their onboard batteries and therefore have no tailpipe. No combustion engine vibrates under their hood and no gears need shifted, giving these machines an unrivalled smoothness. When faced with stop signs, red lights or drive-thrus, EVs don't expend their power idling - they are incapable of idling.

But for all their blessings, EVs have their drawbacks. Their batteries have limited range, they can't be fuelled at the pump and for the time being, they cost more than your average gasoline vehicle. However, professor of mechanical engineering at Dalhousie University, Lukas Swan, said these drawbacks are being left in the dust.

Discover McNabs Island with Waterfront Development

David Foster — August 10, 2014

Discover McNabs like never before, with Waterfront Development and Halifax Diverse

This unique, one time event offers you the opportunity to visit McNabs Island, receive two 1-hour guided walks by expert historians and naturalists, and 3 hours of free time on the island. Sponsored by Waterfront Development and hosted by Halifax Diverse, we are as excited to explore the island as you are!

Get your tickets on Eventbrite!

 

Halifax Goes Wild Photo Contest

David Foster — July 31, 2014

Give us your best shot for the Halifax Goes Wild photo contest!


Show off your photo skills and the city’s green spaces in our photo contest, with prizes provided by Atlantic Photo Supply. Here's the answers to all your questions about this contest!


 “What kind of photos are you looking for?” – Photos should depict a green space within the municipality. This could be a park, a beach, your own backyard, or more. Photos can have people in them (with their consent), or not, it’s up to you!

Submit an image to Halifax Goes Wild through Twitter

David Foster — July 31, 2014

Send us a tweet with the following text:

 

My @HfxDiverse #HalifaxGoesWild photo entry:

 

Then attach your photo and tell us your name, the name of the photo (if you wish) and when/where the photo was taken. We'll contact you through Twitter if you win!

Unfortunately there's no way to make a fancy button to do this automatically :(

 

Thanks for entering!

What I Would Have Said

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Zack Metcalfe — July 29, 2014

It's been a few nights since Nova Scotia's independent fracking review passed through Halifax, addressing a frustrated and distrusting crowd of concerned citizens. These brave PhDs stood before hundreds of people and presented some unpopular conclusions...on an even less popular topic.

Fracking - the controversial process of fracturing shale rock deep underground using a toxic mixture of chemicals in order to retrieve bubbles of natural gas. We've become a profoundly desperate people, haven't we?

The public meeting was held in a lecture hall at King's College. Some people from the audience spoke out of turn, while others simply shouted over the panelists trying to deliver their findings. I was caught between sympathy for the panelists and stark agreeance with the hecklers.

Low calving rates among blue whales cause for concern

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Posted on July 27, 2014
Author: 
Zack Metcalfe
Source: 
Sierra Club Atlantic
Date published: 
Sun, 07/27/2014

Each blue whale has a unique pattern of spots of its back, like a fingerprint or a nametag. These spots allow researchers to identify each whale as either a newcomer, or an old friend.

The Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) is a non-profit research organization located on the Gulf of St Lawrence's northern shore and they were the first group to begin long term study of marine mammals in the Gulf. Since their founding in 1979, this group has followed blue whale populations in eastern Canada, the Sea of Cortez and in the waters of Iceland.

MICS has discovered something troubling in the northwest Atlantic blue whale population. Of the 475 individual whales they've identified since their genesis in 1979, only 22 have been calves. This suggests a frighteningly low calving rate for a population already swimming on the brink.

Community gardens now able to sell produce - green thumbs rejoice

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Zack Metcalfe — July 23, 2014

One small step for community gardens, one giant leap for Halifax at large.

There are 11 community gardens in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), public spaces in which people can grow their own food, to lower the grocery bill, to satisfy their need for local produce or to put their insatiable green thumbs to work. Thanks to a progressive move by municipal council, these soil enthusiasts can now sell their hard earned fruits and veggies to the public.

Moneys earned from these sales are not pocketed by the growers, however. According to the new municipal law, all earnings must be used for the benefit of the municipality or the community gardens themselves.

"This is a major change for the city," said David Foster, program coordinator with Halifax Diverse, an initiative aiming to connect the public with urban nature. "It adds legitimacy to urban orchards and gardens...and makes them the urban equivalent to a real farm."

Intersection redesign is an example of Urban Forestry Master Plan in action

David Foster — July 17, 2014
Panoramic view of the intersection next to the Halifax Common which will be converted into a roundabout

A long awaited roundabout is going to mean the end of some long standing trees on the Halifax Common.


Work is beginning this week on the conversion of the North Park and Cunard Street intersection into a roundabout and will causes significant changes to the surrounding area. Most noticeably this will involve reshaping the intersection into a traffic circle, including the use of some land that was formerly green space on the North Common. 

Blue whale receives honourable mention as Atlantic chiefs call for moratorium

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Posted on July 16, 2014
Author: 
Zack Metcalfe
Source: 
Sierra Club Atlantic
Date published: 
Thu, 07/17/2014

"The Atlantic Salmon and the blue whales are both very precious creatures to our nations," said Chief Claude Jeannotte of Gespeg, Quebec. He spoke in Halifax on behalf of these two struggling species Wednesday, July 16.

Jeannotte was accompanied by four other First Nations chiefs from across Atlantic Canada, all from communities dependent on the, "rich bounty of the Gulf," in the words of Chief P.J Prosper, representing the Migmaq of Nova Scotia. Together they spoke against exploratory drilling at the Old Harry Prospect, located in the Gulf of St Lawrence 80 km off Newfoundland's west coast and 460 metres underwater.

The Old Harry prospect is expected to be drilled in 2015 or 2016, according to the oil and gas company Corridor Resources which presently holds an exploratory license in the region.

PEI caught between Cavendish and a hard place

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Zack Metcalfe — July 1, 2014

There's been a moratorium on deep water wells for over a decade on PEI. It was established in 2002 because of major drought conditions that year, linked to the overuse of groundwater by these wells.

They pose a danger to the Island in particular because its residents depends heavily on groundwater. For example, the city of Charlottetown runs entire rivers dry with its water consumption; Winter River hasn't flowed for several summers now. Clearly this is a delicate water table.

When the PEI Potato Board requested the moratorium be lifted in 2012, all fingers were pointed at Cavendish Farms as the motivator behind this request. Potatoes are a thirsty crop and if Cavendish wanted higher yields, they needed to exploit groundwater.

Presentation to the PEI Legislative Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry on High Capacity Wells

Posted on June 16, 2014
Publication Date: 
June 12, 2014

Presentation to the PEI Legislative Standing Committee on

Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry

considering the moratorium on high capacity (deep) water wells for agriculture irrigation

 

PEI Sierra Club (Atlantic Chapter of Sierra Club Canada)

Tony Reddin

June 12, 2014.

Environmental groups express solidarity with Pictou Landing First Nation

Posted on June 12, 2014
June 12, 2014

 

K'JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) - The Ecology Action Centre, Sierra Club Atlantic Canada, and Council of Canadians express their solidarity with Pictou Landing First Nation and neighbouring communities in their fight to defend and clean up their home waters.

 

“The ongoing pollution and contamination of a once pristine coastal estuary and beach is a disgrace. It is absolutely the responsibility of the province of Nova Scotia to clean up this site once and for all” says Angela Giles, Council of Canadians.

 

Small steps save fish, big steps save rivers

Zack Metcalfe's picture
Zack Metcalfe — June 9, 2014

By Zack Metcalfe

zack.metcalfe@gmail.com

The single greatest challenge in my life has always been avoiding despair when facing the mistakes of the last century. Several months ago I read a book called Here On Earth, by Tim Flannery, and in one chapter he describes a terrible mistake made long before I was born. The spent nuclear reactors of Russian power plants were dumped into the Arctic Ocean. Time and tidal forces will eventually penetrate their casings and cause unimaginable harm to the oceans.

Problems like this are beyond my power to rectify, as so many of the world's problems are. I imagine diving into those icy depths and hauling each reactor back onto land, but this is of course ridiculous; perhaps it's a coping mechanism.