You cannot protect what you do not know. Nature’s diversity exists all around us. SCCF works with individuals, partners and community groups to promote knowledge of wildlife and natural environments. We work to preserve and protect for all to enjoy, both now and in the future.
Dan McDermott, Sierra Club Canada’s Ontario Chapter Director for 13 years, passed away peacefully on January 4th 2017. It is wonderful to see his influential life mentioned in these posts, which have featured in the news recently with reflections and thoughts on Dan’s life, what he dedicated it to, and his passing three weeks ago.
To the federal and provincial governments who have the jurisdiction over this issue, we submit this letter - signed by over 1400 people in under 72 hours. It is time to stand up for the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the people who border it's waters, and the thousands of species who call it home.
See Media Release
It’s the holidays, and I can’t get this song out of my head, and those beautiful words sung by our beloved Joni Mitchell,
I wish I had a river.
Admittedly, the song is a good dose of melancholy, and some longing for home, a longing for Canada, where the landscape is rich with rivers so long you could teach your feet to fly.
Things are heating up in our campaign to protect the blue whale and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and I want to share the latest news with you!
Over the past few weeks, protests about the potential for methyl mercury contamination downstream of the Muskrat Falls development in Labrador made national headlines. Sierra Club Canada Foundation has voiced strong opposition to the Muskrat Falls project for years, and tried to show the damage it will cause to wildlife and the Grande River, and the people who live downstream. We also tried to demonstrate that this type of mega-hydro development was not needed to meet our climate objectives, and there were plenty of less damaging, less expensive alternatives. All to no avail.
There are positive proposals within the four draft provincial plans, including the Greenbelt plan, open for public comment until October 31st, Urban River Valley additions to note one example. There are also some alarming proposed changes that would allow land to be taken out of the current Greenbelt and handed to the developers. Section 3.4 Settlement Areas of the Greenbelt draft
Inspired by my father's love of fishing, swimming, and camping in the Birch Cove area near Halifax, I became interested in all things watery and wild. But to date I have not touched the water of Halifax Harbour, in the city where I was raised and choose to live.
There are positive proposals within the four draft provincial plans, including the Greenbelt plan, open for public comment until October 31st, Urban River Valley additions to note one example. There are also some alarming proposed changes that would allow land to be taken out of the current Greenbelt and handed to the developers. Section 3.4 Settlement Areas of the Greenbelt draft contains an outline of a proposed process that could do just that and subject the Greenbelt to being turned into a Swiss cheese belt.
Authorities in Canada and the United States are preparing to ship approximately 150 truckloads of liquid nuclear waste from Chalk River, Ontario to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The material is a mixture of bomb grade uranium together with a witches’ brew of highly radioactive fission products dissolved in nitric acid.
Blog by Jenn Whittaker (with Tony Reddin)
Sierra Club's Wild Child PEI is sad to say that nature immersion visits have finished for the summer- over 30 visits to 15 child care centres in Charlottetown, Summerside and Montague! These were wonderful experiences for me and the centre workers to let children explore, run free and unleash their inner curiosity about the world around them.
In just the last few days, 1,347 concerned people like you have signed and sent a letter asking the government not to settle with a New Jersey company who has been thwarted from developing a destructive quarry in the Bay of Fundy.
Because of you, we have been an instrumental force on this campaign since the beginning, and we’re not going anywhere. But we need your help!
The Blue Whale Project is a program of Sierra Club of Canada Foundation that seeks to be the proactive voice of the endangered Blue Whales in Atlantic Canada. The Blue Whale Project recognizes the Gulf of St Lawrence as critical habitat for this species and advocates for research, awareness, and responsible management of this essential marine ecosystem.
OUR GOALS:
Thirteen years ago, I was hired as a consultant to provide expert advice on the impacts of the Digby Quarry. The local community had become alarmed about the quarry when they heard about plans to build a marine terminal at the site. Clearly, the quarry, which was originally 3.9 hectares –the size of quarry that eludes environmental assessment in Nova Scotia –was going to be much larger than they had thought. Turned out, a 120 hectare quarry was planned, located 50 metres from the shoreline.
Sierra Peel Members participate at local events, committees and roundtables to bring the voice of Sierra Club of Canada to the table in support of Watershed Health and Natural Heritage Preservation. Protection of river valleys and the ecological goods and services they provide to wildlife and people is at the core of our vision and commitment.
The Credit River is a special feature of Mississauga, and what could be more symbolic of the city’s wish to enjoy and protect its valued river than to grant it Provincial Greenbelt status? But first, public awareness of this opportunity had to develop, as well as political will to break new ground by pushing through the lengthy provincial application process.
