HAPPY HALLOWEEN CANADA-
SOCHI, SOCHI.... O Canada- here we come - Sochi Winter Olympics-Paralympics 2014 in the inchanting old as time Russia Baby untitled
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From
Magic 97 AVR- Country Music-
Annapolis
Valley Regional Library sets up homework helpline
By
MNN. Last updated: 2013-10-31 05:44:21
A
new live online homework help service offered by Annapolis Valley Regional
Library is proving to be a hit with students.
It's
powered by tutor.com, and will be available for anyone with a library card
between the hours of 3:00PM to midnight 7 days a week.
The
service is designed to help students in grade school up to Grade 12 in subjects
such as math, science, English, social studies, and writing, but also provides
resources for college students, adult education students, even job-related
services such as resume help and career resources.
95%
of students who have used the service say it has helped them complete their
assignments and improve their grades.
The
service goes online Friday at tutor.com, and a launch party will take place
next Wednesday, November 6 at the Kentville Library between 3:00 and 5:00PM.
Tutor.com
Launch Party
Kentville
3-5
PM
Stop
by after school and find out all about Tutor.com, our new LIVE online Homework
Help! We'll even have some snacks for you to nibble on while you check it
out!
Wednesday,
November 6, 2013
----------------
R
KIDS MATTER-
MAKING
A MARK
Education
Reporter Frances Willick ’s weekly roundup of noteworthy achievements of students
and their teachers around Nova Scotia. Have a story about your school that
you'd like to share? Contact schools@herald.ca.
Young
people will be front and centre at We Day in Halifax-Nov 27-
Martin Sheen, Martin Luther King III, Classified, Kardinal Offishall, Michaelle Jean, the Kenyan Boys Choir and many others.
Martin Sheen, Martin Luther King III, Classified, Kardinal Offishall, Michaelle Jean, the Kenyan Boys Choir and many others.
On
Nov. 27, about 8,000 wideeyed, hyped-up young people will crowd into the Metro
Centre in downtown Halifax for a starstudded celebration — of themselves.
The
first We Day in Atlantic Canada will bring together students from across the
region to honour the s o cial justice and charitable work the youth have b een
doing in their communities and to inspire them to continu e their effor ts.
The
event is organized by Free the Children, a charity founded by children’s rights
activists Craig and Marc Kielburger. It will feature the likes of Martin
Sheen, Martin Luther King III, Classified, Kardinal Offishall, Michaelle Jean,
the Kenyan Boys Choir and many others.
Somewhere
in the crowd will be Emma Cru ddas.
The
Dalhousie University social sciences student from Dartmouth is part of a
theatre group called Project ARC (Action, Responsibility, Choice) that has
toured elementary schools and junior highs in the municipality for the past
year and a half. Many of the 13 cast members are home-schooled.
The
P roject ARC show aims to teach kids about human rights and the importance of
empathy and hop e.
“We
talk a lot about how we can’t necessarily change how other people are going to
treat us, but we can have complete control over how we react and how we behave
in our own lives," she said.
Cruddas’s
mother, Janice, helps co-ordinate the group. She said the response to the play
is “phenomenal."
“They
got a standing ovation by Grade 6s last year. They’ve had teachers in tears,"
she said.
“To
watch these kids in action is just so amazing. And they really care. They
really do care about what they’re talking about."
Members
of the group, including Cruddas, have also organized two rock-a-thons that
raised about $4,700 for Supportive Housing for Young Mothers and organized food
drives for their local food banks.
Proceeds
from Project ARC shows are donated to Free the Children, Hope for Wildlife,
Right to Play and Feed Nova Scotia.
Cruddas,
who has been involved with Free the Children for several years, said she’s
very excited to attend We Day.
“It’s
great to see that individuals are being celebrated for positive things in the
world," she said.
“It’s
so often that we hear about youth doing negative things. But it’s great to see
that people are being celebrated for reaching out with empathy and making
positive change in the world."
CLASSIFIED-
INNERNINJA
CLASSIFIED-
3 FOOT TALL
Classified
- 3 Foot Tall
comment:
thts
wut i feel lik when im being bullied in real life :(
LINKS
ON BULLYING AND CHILD ABUSE- (Mind Rape/Physical Torture/Sexual Assault)
FOR
KIDS- TWEENS-TEENS-YOUNGBLOODS- But perhaps most of all….. each and every
Canadain Adult- we must take more responsibility and be more vigilant:
To
learn more about bullying and if u r being abused- check out:
RespectED:
Violence & Abuse Prevention
If
you are a victim of bullying, call The Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.
Aaron
posted on facebook
The
Girl you just called fat? She has been starving herself & has lost over
30lbs.
The
Boy you just called stupid? He has a learning disability & studies over
4hrs a night.
The Girl you just called ugly? She spends
hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.
The Boy you just tripped? He’s abused enough
at home. There’s a lot more to people than you think.
Put
this as your status if you’re against bullying!
-------------
Goodbye,
Berwick 'nail trail'
Nancy
KellyPublished on October 30, 2013
By
Nancy Kelly nkelly@kingscountynews.ca
KingsCountyNews.ca
Berwick’s
multi-use trail is getting a bit of a sprucing up.
The
town’s new community development director, Julie Glaser, said efforts are
underway to make the 2.2-kilometre trail more user-friendly.
“It’s
a very valuable asset to the town and we need to invest in maintaining and
upgrading it,” added Glaser, who has been working with the Annapolis Valley
Trails Coalition to identify and plan for future improvements. The trail group
is currently in the midst of a mapping project and creating a work plan. Trail
resurfacing and improvements to signage are among activities now being done by
town public works employees.
Glaser’s
goal is to complete improvements that will ultimately make it easier for people
to access the trails, as well as local businesses and services located nearby.
The
trail issue was raised at the most recent recreation advisory committee
meeting, she said, as was the need to end the “nail trail” legacy that has
dogged the former rail bed trail since it was surfaced with ground roof
shingles. Nails from the recycled materials are still being collected, five
years later.
“The
committee said we have to put an end to the nail trail,” Glaser said, pointing
out the new surface, consisting of crusher dust and gravel, should remediate
the issue. It will also create a surface more suitable for walking, cycling and
for people pushing strollers and wheelchairs.
“Active
transportation means a whole range of activities, not just walking. The trail
needs to accommodate that.”
Glaser
said the trail has not only has recreational value but economic value as well.
She said trail counts indicate it is well used – over the summer months up to
90 people were accessing the trail on a daily basis.
“The
trail is popular and people come from a long way to use it and its connectors
and they know Berwick is open for business. We need to be able to sell it as an
attraction better and make it easy for trail users to access all the town has
to offer,” she added.
------------
AMAZING....
ACTUALLY MONITORING FISH FARMS....Nova Scotia
Shelburne
may get a new lab
By
MNN. Last updated: 2013-10-31 05:41:23
The
Nova Scotia government is considering whether to construct a 2.8-million-dollar
secure laboratory in Shelburne.
The
lab would be used to monitor aquaculture sites.
Fisheries
Minister Keith Colwell confirmed that the newly elected Liberal government is
reviewing the idea.
However,
he says building a new, bio-secure lab in Shelburne would be the most expensive
option among three proposals aimed at increasing aquaculture monitoring.
----------
Valley
Waste celebrates creative reuse of refuse
Published
on October 30, 2013
Janette
MacDuff’s stained glass mosaics made from recycled material won the People’s
Choice award at the Valley Waste re-used material exhibit. All the materials,
including the glass and grinder, were purchased at Valley Waste’s Last Re-Sort
re-use centre.
John
DeCoste - kingscountynews.ca
By
John DeCoste
jdecoste@kingscountynews.ca
It
can boggle the mind the wonderful creations some people can come up with from
things others throw away.
Andrew
Garrett, communications manager for Valley Waste Resource Management, knows that
first-hand after organizing an exhibit of refurbished and repurposed items
purchased at Valley Waste’s Last Re-Sort centre.
The
centre opened in August of 2012 in the Valley Waste administration building in
the Annapolis Valley Regional Industrial Park, to provide a retail outlet for
some of the better items turned in for recycling. Business has been fairly
brisk ever since.
“Over
the course of the year, our customers have been telling us about some of the
things they’ve done with items they’ve purchased at the centre,” Garrett said
Oct. 19.
“We
decided to have an exhibit to show off some of their creations and also spread
the word about what it’s possible to create from reused material.”
The
exhibit featured two categories: refurbished, for items, including furniture,
which had been cleaned up or refinished; and repurposed, for items made from
recycled material or given a different use than originally intended. Garrett
described the latter as “upcycling: adding value to recycled material.”
Visitors
to the exhibit were also given the opportunity to vote for a People’s Choice
award among the 35 entries. Garrett said the quantity and quality of entries is
“inspiring to us.
“These
are our customers,” he said, “and the items are all made from recycled or
re-used materials bought (here.) It really shows you the amount of creativity
and ingenuity there is out there.”
Valley
Waste chairman Mark Pearl, board member Jane Bustin and Valley Waste Manager of
policy and planning Brian VanRooyen served as judges.
Pearl
described the entries as “a super effort by everyone. They’re all winners.”
In
the refurbished category, first place went to a cedar chest by Blair Brown. A
floor lamp by Brian Graves took second place, and third went to a Shaker chair
by Michael Robinson.
In
the repurposed category, first place went to a glass totem by Ann Cornwall. A
stained glass display by Janette MacDuff took second,and third went to “Jesse’s
Place” - a child’s playhouse by Barb
Thompson completely from recycled material.
In
the People’s Choice category, MacDuff’s stained glass took first place, second
went to Brown’s bulrushes crafted from scrap metal, and third to Jesse’s Place.
MacDuff
said all the materials in her stained glass display, “including the glass and
the grinder for cutting it,” were purchased at the reuse centre. She added the
scenes depicted “are actual places from our family’s history.
“I’ve
been doing this for about a year,” said MacDuff, who works at Northeast Kings
Education Centre. “The big one took me pretty much my whole summer off.”
Asked
about his inspiration, Blair Brown, who works with scrap and recycled metal,
said he wasn’t sure.
“I
just see things in steel, and what they might become.”
Garrett
was very pleased the event.
“This was our first year,” he said, “but given
the great response, we’re planning now to make it an annual event.”
---------------
New
Canada Post stamp series will feature Africville
October
31, 2013 - 11:58am BY SHERRI BORDEN COLLEY STAFF REPORTER
Africville,
a historic black settlement in Halifax, will be featured on a stamp in Canada
Post’s 2014 black history series.
Canada
Post announced Thursday that the series will recognize Africville and Hogan’s
Alley, a Vancouver neighbourhood with significant links to black history. The
stamps' images will be revealed in January 2014.
The
City of Halifax dismantled Africville, one of Nova Scotia’s oldest black
communities, and evicted residents in the 1960s in the name of urban renewal.
During
Africville's existence, the city neglected the community, failing to provide
water or sewer services even though residents paid property taxes like everyone
else. The edges of the community were also home to a garbage dump, a fertilizer
plant and an infectious diseases hospital.
Africville's
location, in the city's north end along the shore of Bedford Basin, is now a
national heritage site.
In
2010, Halifax Regional Municipality announced a multi-million settlement, which
included a formal apology, that covered reparations for former residents of the
defunct neighbourhood and their descendants. No personal compensation was
given.
(sborden@herald.ca)
---
KENTVILLE
RAIL TRAILS- the view
If
you’re in the area, check out some of Kentville's Rail Trail- check out the view- come take a walk with nature... feed the ducks, the wildlife, the dykes come visit Nova Scotia 021-2
Postcard:
Kentville, NS Rail Trail
It
was simply too beautiful outside to spend Good Friday inside. I’m home visiting
my parents in Kings County, Nova Scotia, our province’s agricultural heartland
and my family’s home going back hundreds and hundreds of years.
After
dropping my mother off at church, I headed out for a short walk on one of
Kentville’s trails. Like a lot of communities, the Town of Kentville has taken
advantage of abandoned rail lines and converted them to multi-use trails for
the community.
A
lovely day for a walk along the red banks of the Cornwallis River:
-----------
Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq Peoples- 10,000 years
Keji
earns national conservation honour
The
Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network (CARCNET) has designated
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site an Important Amphibian and
Reptile Area (IMPARA). The IMPARA
designation program is a major conservation initiative of CARCNET, with the
objective of raising awareness and stewardship of the sites and species.
Kejimkujik
National Park and National Historic site is the first area in Atlantic Canada
to receive the Important Amphibian and Reptile Area designation, and they
received it because of their high diversity of amphibians and reptiles.
Pictured are Dr. Stephen Mockford from Acadia University and Eric LeBel,
Superintendent, Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site and some of
the volunteers at the park.
Kejimkujik
is the first IMPARA site designated in Atlantic Canada, and only the sixth
designation in Canada to date. Kejimkujik received this designation because of
its high diversity of amphibians and reptiles (the most diversity east of
Ontario) as well as the contribution to recovery and conservation that
Kejimkujik continues to make to Blanding’s Turtle, Eastern Ribbonsnake and
other amphibians and reptiles.
“Kejimkujik
is being recognized by this IMPARA designation, not only because it is home to
most of Nova Scotia’s amphibian and reptile species, but because of its
commitment to the conservation and care for these species. This conservation
work does not only take place within the park itself, but extends beyond its
boundaries through Keji’s public engagement program, participation on recovery
teams and collaborations with organizations like the Mersey Tobeatic Research
Institute,” said Steve Mockford, CARCNET chair.
Parks
Canada is committed to the conservation and recovery of species and ecosystems,
including species at risk like the Blanding’s Turtle and Eastern Ribbonsnake.
Parks Canada has worked toward recovery of these and other species, with
partners from more than 20 years.
The
work at Kejimkujik has helped develop a large volunteer program in the area,
where visitors and local residents contribute to species conservation each
year. This program is led by Parks Canada and partners like MTRI, and involves
more than 350 people annually.
“We
are very excited and honoured to receive this designation. It is another reason
why Kejimkujik is so special. This recognition would not have been possible
without the great efforts of our staff, partners and volunteers, who contribute
countless hours to species recovery each year”, said Eric LeBel, Superintendent,
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site.
The
conservation work continues this year at Keji. To learn more about volunteer
opportunities such as protecting turtle nests, surveying for piping plover,
monitoring water quality and helping restore the coastal estuary, visit www.parkscanada.gc.ca/keji-volunteer.
To learn more about the Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network and
the IMPARA designation, visit www.carcnet.ca.
-------------
CANADA
Fish
processors cheer new EU trade deal
Updated
on October 26, 2013 - By Belle Hatfield The VANGUARD Fish processors throughout
southwestern Nova Scotia are applauding a Canadian trade deal reached...
--------
Tourism
group gets go-ahead to recognize the region’s sky as tourist draw
Updated
on October 24, 2013 - The UNESCO-supported Starlight Foundation has officially
given the green light to an application from La Société Touristique Bon...
------------
Windsor
commits to not processing fracking wastewater
October
30, 2013 - There will be hoops to jump through if anyone hopes to have fracking
wastewater disposed of through the Town of Windsor’s wastewater treatment
facility again in the future..
-----------
Coffee
cup display showcases importance of recycling
Updated
on October 30, 2013 - When it comes to reducing waste, switching from
disposable coffee cups to reusable travel mugs can work wonders..
-----------
Yarmouth Town
receives environmental award in national competition
Anonyme
Published on October 29, 2013
Published
on October 29, 2013
The
Town of Yarmouth has received a national Environmental Action award in the
Communities in Bloom competition. It also received special mention/recognition
for the Lost to the Sea Memorial.
The
Town of Yarmouth continues to shine in the national Communities in Bloom (CIB)
competition. This year it was awarded the Canadian Nursery and Landscape
Association Environmental Action award, in addition to receiving the maximum
rating of five blooms.
The
award was presented in Ottawa recently.
The
Town of Yarmouth was selected by the jury in regards to its multiple
initiatives demonstrating its commitment to the environment. These include
wastewater treatments, the development of forest management plans, utilizing
compost for reclamation for the landfill closure project, annual curbside
Christmas tree chipping along with green policies and a monthly special waste
collection for metal recycling and wood items.
“Yarmouth's
environmental actions are a true demonstration of providing solutions to our
environmental challenges,” said CIB founding chairman. Raymond Carrière added.
Mayor
Pam Mood was pleased to hear the news.
"I
am absolutely elated to hear the Town of Yarmouth had won this national
award. The committee's hard work and
commitment to our community gives us all one more reason to take pride in this
place we're so fortunate to call home. This is what community is all about,”
she said.
This
is the second national award the town has won in the past three years. In 2010,
it won the National Heritage Conservation Award.
“These
awards are not the efforts of a few people, but of our entire community,” said
Communities in Bloom chair, Ken Langille.
“We
have an excellent committee that works very hard to show to our province and
Canada what Yarmouth is all about … a community that pulls together and
demonstrates incredible pride in all facets of our town.”
Yarmouth
received five blooms in the 5,001-10,000 population category, which also the
Municipality of Southwest Middlesex, ON (5); Town of Amherst, NS (4); Town of
Bay Roberts, NL (4); City of Humboldt, SK (5); and Town of Vegreville, AB
competing. (4); Town of Yarmouth (5).
The
Town of Yarmouth also received special mention/recognition for the Lost to the
Sea Memorial.
--------------
Meetings
set to deal with recreational fishing
Published
on October 31, 2013
Nova
Scotians are being invited to take part
in consultations about recreational fishing. (The one for the Yarmouth area is
set for Wednesday, Nov. 13, in
Cornwallis.)
The
Recreational Fishing Advisory Council meetings are held annually by the
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture to share sportfishing information,
research and promote discussion.
"The
sportfishing industry is valued at $58 million and attracted 70,000 licensed
anglers in 2012," said Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell in
a media release.
Feedback
from past meetings brought regulations to help eliminate the spread of invasive
species.
There
will be six Recreational Fishing Advisory Council meetings throughout the
province, from Nov. 5 to 14.
Following is a list of Recreational Fishing
Advisory Council meetings, which will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 5
Area
6 - Northern (Cumberland and Colchester Counties)
Oxford
Regional Education Centre, Cafetorium, 249 Lower Main St. Oxford.
Wednesday,
Nov. 6
Wagmatook
Area 1 - Cape Breton (Cape Breton, Inverness, Victoria and Richmond counties)
Wagmatook
Culture and Heritage Centre, Great Room, 10765 Hwy 105
Thursday,
Nov. 7
Area
2 - Eastern Northern (Antigonish, Pictou, and Guyborough counties)
The
Claymore Inn and Suites, Cameron Room, 137 Church St., Antigonish
Wednesday,
Nov. 12
Area
5 - Western (Annapolis, Kings and Hants counties)
Old
Orchard Inn, Salon C, Exit 11, Hwy 101, 153 Greenwich Rd., Wolfville
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Area
4 - Southern (Yarmouth, Digby Shelburne, and Queens counties)
Annapolis
Basin Conference Centre, Cornwallis Room, 761 Broadway Ave., Cornwallis
Park
Thursday, Nov. 14
Area
3 - Central (Halifax and Lunenburg counties)
Park
Place Hotel and Conference Centre, Akerley Room, 240 Brownlow Ave., Dartmouth
More
information on angling and meeting dates can be found at http://novascotia.ca/fish/programs-and-services/industry-support-services/inland-fisheries/
or by calling 902-485-5056.
--------------
INCREDIBLE...
INCREDIBLE.... ACTUALLY SETTING UP GUIDELINES 2 STUDY FISH FARMS... AND DOING
AUTHENTIC STUDIES.... this is
awesome- fish farms = sea lice killing our environment in Nova Scotia...
Province
mulls laborator y to monitor farmed fish
Possible
Shelbur ne facility would track aquaculture industr y
THE
CANADIAN PRESS
The
Nova Scotia government is considering constru ction of a $2.8-million secure
laboratory in Shelburne, where a veterinarian would monitor the health of fish
raised in aquaculture sites along the southwest coast.
The
prop osal is contained in do cuments obtained by The Canadian Press under
freedom of information laws.
Fisheries
Minister Keith Colwell confirmed Wednesday that the province’s newly elected
Liberal government is reviewing the idea.
However,
he said building a new, bio-secure lab would be the most exp ensive option
among three proposals aimed at increasing monitoring of the aquaculture
industry.
“If
we decide to go with a new building it’ll be down the road a little bit,"
he said. “We’ve got to review that. We’re taking things slowly and making sure
we get the best impact for the dollars we invest."
The
proposal was first floated internally last year when the former NDP government
was in the process of relocating 34 Fisheries and Aquacu lture staff in
Halifax to more rural locations, including Shelburne.
“We’re
going to look at construction of a new building again, but the other options
on the table are far less expensive," Colwell said in an interview.
He
said the province has the option of sticking with the status quo, which means
most of the lab work needed to monitor Nova Scotia’s aquaculture sites would
continue to be handled at government facilities in Truro.
“If
it works very well, we’ll maintain what we have," the minister said.
The
third option on the table is building or leasing a facility in Shelburne that
would include a sample preparation room, which wou ld transfer its samples to
Truro and elsewhere for analysis.
The
documents say that even though building a new lab in Shelburne would be
expensive, such a facility would better serve the growing aquaculture industry.
“(Having)
fish veterinarian capacity in Southwest Nova and in Truro (would) provide
provincial coverage," says a discussion paper prepared in November 2012.
As
well, samples taken from sites in the region would be less likely to be
“compromised" if they could be taken to a local lab rather than shipped to
Truro or outside the province to the Research Productivity Council in New
Brunswick and the Atlantic Veterinary College in P.E.I.
The
proposed lab in Shelburne would be rated as a Level-2 site, which means it
would be better equipp ed to contain in fectious diseases, such as infectious
salmon anemia, the documents say.
The
lab in Truro is a less-secure Level-1 facility.
“Today’s
standard for fish health labs is Level 2," the documents say. “This
increased standard reflects the increased level of risk related to the spread
of infectious diseases within fish populations."
A
new lab would also help the province better cope with its updated aquaculture
program that requires an increased number of inspections, the documents say.
But
the discussion paper offers a blunt assessment of the cost of such a facility.
“(The)
high-cost option will attract negative attention," it says.
Colwell
said the $2-million plan to relocate Fisheries and Aquaculture staff — part of
a larger relocation program introduced by the NDP — has yet to be completed
but appears to be within its original budget.
He
said of the 34 staff asked to relocate, only four actually moved — two to
Cornwallis and two to Shelburne. So far, all but five of the positions have
been filled at the two locations, with most of the new workers coming from
nearby communities.
“I’m
very pleased with the staff so far, the ones that have moved and the ones that
have taken up new p ositions," Colwell said.
In
Opposition, the Liberals supported decentralization, but Colwell said it was
done in to o much haste.
“We’re
going to be reviewing it all, but we have no intentions of making any sudden
moves."
photo
Fisheries
Minister Keith Colwell said building a new laborator y would be the most
expensive option among proposals to increase monitoring of the aquaculture
industr y. INGRID BULMER • Staff
-----------
soooo
awesome...
GREAT
WHITE SHARK LYDIA
Great
whites frequent visitors to northern waters
October
31, 2013 - 6:36am By CLARE MELLOR Staff Reporter
Tags
help researchers track sharks
It’s
known that great white sharks visit Atlantic Canadian waters but satellite
tracking technology suggests those visits are more prevalent than previously
thought, says shark expert Steven Campana.
Lydia,
a 4.4-metre, 1,000-kilogram great white, was tagged in March off Florida by
American researchers. She was detected a couple of days ago close to Marystown,
N.L., which is located on the southern coast of the Burin Peninsula.
“She
cruised along, very close to shore for a couple of days," Campana , head o
f the Canadian Shark Research Laboratory at the Bedford Institute o f Oceanography,
said Wednesday.
Another
six great whites, being tracked as par t of another U.S. study, were also
detected in waters off Nova Scotia this summer.
“That
means seven, tagged, great whites have been in our waters this year alone, “ he
said. “It suggests that probably there is a whole lot more than we realize (out
there) . . . that we’ll never hear about because they are not tagged."
Various
types of satellite tags exist. Lydia has a “spot tag" that transmits her
lo cation to a satellite whenever her dorsal fin sticks out of the water.
Those
detected off Nova Scotia had “acoustic" tags — small sound-emitting
devices — attached to them , Campana said.
Ocearch
is a non-profit group based in the United States that facilitates research on
great whites. It is the organization that tagged and is tracking Lydia. It
posted a notice on its Facebook site informing Marystown residents about the
presence of the great white.
Lydia
now appears to be heading s outh .
“She
is probably about 50 kilometres south of Newfoundland right now, so still
relatively close and well within Canadian waters but still heading south,"
Campana said.
Satellite
tagging technology has been used in other parts of the world on great whites,
however, the tags have only recently been used on them in the Atlantic, Campana
said.
“We
knew ( great whites) could swim a long way and we susp ected that they would
be swimming a long ways in the Atlantic, but without actually having any information,
you don’t know where they are going to go," he said.
“What
this has done is showed that these great whites are actually coming up mu ch more
to Canadian waters than we suspected. We’ve always known that they do come up
here but thought that they were very rare occurrences."
Satellite
tags have been used for some time on other shark species in the Atlantic and
there is evidence of many different kinds of sharks in this region, Campana
said.
“The
ballpark estimate I put out is 200 to 300 million sharks in the summer off the
Maritimes," he said.
“Before
you give up swimming forever in the ocean, the vast majority of those are
small, spiny dogfish , which is the most common shark in the world, actually.
“Nevertheless,
we probably have in the order of one million large sharks in our waters in a
typical summer."
The
main three would include blue sharks, porbeagle and mako.
The
Ocearch website indicates Lydia has travelled more than 16,000 kilometres north
since March.
She’s
probably been searching for food such as seals, Campana said.
“It
has been a very circuitous route. It is definitely not a straight line. She has
been doing lots of lo ops and jags and twists and turns along the way. ...Ithas
only been in the last couple of weeks (that) she has been in Canadian waters.
“She
was o ff the continental shelf when she went by Nova Scotia. I was looking at
the satellite imagery that shows the ocean temperatures and it appears that
Lydia was following the edge of this gulf stream, which is this warm water
current coming up from the Caribbean."
A
lot of species of shark are in trouble. Great white shark populations have
declined by about 90 p er cent during the last 30 to 40 years, Campana said.
Something
about great whites always captures people’s attention , he said.
“It’s
so charismatic. It sort of falls in the same category, I think, as dinosaurs.
It is s omething that just tends to fascinate people."
That
means seven, tagged, great whites have been in our waters this year alone.
Steven
Campana Shark exper t
photo
_
NOVA SCOTIA- A chart shows the movements of Lydia, a 4.4-metre great white
shark.
------------
A barge with concrete reef balls sits off Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park on Tuesday. The reef balls will become part of an ar tificial reef for a salt-water restoration project in Halifax Harbour Image_0
Irving
sinks $200,000 into harbour
Restoration
is compensation for infilling to create shipbuilding facility, firm says
DAVENE
JEFFREY STAFF REPORTER
djeffrey@herald.ca
@CH_davene
A
hundred large pieces of concrete are being dropped this week into Halifax
Harbour, just off Point Pleasant Park’s Black Rock Beach .
R
ather than harming the seabed and the underwater creatures in the area, the
oddly shap ed balls are designed to improve marine habitat. It’s a $200,000
project funded by Irving Shipbuilding to make good for infilling in another
part of the harbour.
“We
need to repatriate a portion of the harbour," Irving Shipbuilding
president Kevin McCoy said during a harbour-side news conference Tuesday.
“This
is offset for our land-level transfer facility, where we are going to build
both the Arctic operation patrol ship and the Canadian surface combatant.
“It
is part of our commitment for the shipbuilding program."
Irving
is working on a $300-million expansion of its Halifax operation as it prepares
to build warships and patrol vessels for Canada’s navy.
“Right
around the end of 2015, we plan to b e cutting steel on the first ships,"
McCoy said.
Infilling
for the transfer facility star ted this week, McCoy said.
While
Irving is supplying the cash, the project is part of Clean Nova Scotia’s new
Atlantic reef ball program to create artificial reefs around Nova Scotia’s
coast.
Clean
Nova Scotia executive director Chris Morrissey said he anticipates several
announcements next spring and summer as his organization partners with other
business es.
Tuesday
morning, a large crane on a Dominion Diving barge slowly lowered the concrete
balls into the harbour.
Two
types of balls are being used — one that looks like a dome covered with Swiss
cheese-like holes and one that looks like a sloppily piped cone of frosting.
Each is about a metre in diameter.
The
balls are being placed at a depth of about five metres, shallow enough so
sunlight can filter down and marine life can grow on the rough-surfaced balls,
Morriss ey said.
About
eight years ago, scientists with the Bedford Institute o f Oceanography were
experimenting with reef balls in Halifax Harbour. A few are located just off
McNabs Island, not far from where the new ones are being placed.
BIO
also created a small artificial reef from balls at Paddys Head in St.
Margarets Bay, a popular diving spot.
At
the time, BIO was studying whether lobsters would grow and thrive in reef
balls, but it turns out the tasty crustaceans didn’t like the concrete
structures.
“It
didn’t work out for lobsters," retired BIO marine biologist Glyn Shar p
said in an interview.
“They
need customized shapes for their size."
However,
other forms of marine life were thriving .
Artificial
reefs are also used in areas where coral reefs have been destroyed, Sharp said.
According
to Clean Nova Scotia, the balls that resemble frosting are designed to
attract species like lobster.
And
the organization insists the reef balls are good for growing more than just
marine life.
“It’s
creating that green economy that we’ve been talking about," Morrissey
said.
The
balls are made by Dominion Diving of Dartmouth. Clean Nova Scotia has bought
the moulds and is the only organization in Atlantic Canada that can produce
“certified reef balls," said Morrissey.
photo
A
barge with concrete reef balls sits off Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park
on Tuesday. The reef balls will become part of an ar tificial reef for a
salt-water restoration project in Halifax Harbour. ERIC WYNNE • Staff
-------------------
Grits
eye plan for shipwreck
Tender
expected for removal of MV Miner from island off C.B. after two years
DAVID
JACKSON
PROVINCIAL
REPORTER
djackson@herald.ca
@CH_DavidJackson
The
Nova Scotia government will soon take another crack at getting a two-year-old
shipwreck off a protected wilderness area, and it will ask Ottawa to help pay
for it.
Transportation
and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Geoff MacLellan said Wednesday that he
expects a request for proposals to remove the MV Miner from an island off Cape
Breton will be out early in the new year.
“The
tender will give us an idea, obviously, of the detail of the project and how
the entire project would unfold, and I think that would give us a better sense
of where the federal government can help out," MacLellan said.
The
MV Miner, a 230-metre Great Lakes freighter, was being towed to a scrapyard in
Turkey in September 2011, but rough seas snapp ed a tow line to an o ceangoing
tugboat and the ship grounded on provincially protected Scatarie Island.
The
wreck has been battered by the elements since then . Bennington Group of New
York was hired last year by the vessel’s owner, Arvina Navigation SA of Turkey,
to salvage the vessel but abandoned the project . Bennington had trouble
complying with provincial safety rules and walked away last fall when the
province refused its demands to cover $300,000 to $400,000 in exp ens es.
The
former NDP government was able to get little action from the federal government
on the matter. Former premier Darrell Dexter had argued Ottawa had created the
problem because it was responsible for lax regulations governing the towing of
ships through Canadian waters.
But
Denis Lebel, the former transport minister, said back in October 2011 that the
department had “fulfilled our duties" on the MV Miner file.
MacLellan
said he’s hoping for a different response from Transport Minister Lisa Raitt,
a Whitney Pier native who got the job in July.
“I
think that this entire relationship respecting the MV Miner has been one that
was placing blame," he said.
“At
this point, we’re now twoplus years into the MV Miner being wrecked off the
coast of Scatarie.
“We’re
going to take responsibility for leading the way in terms of removing the
Miner. And again, we want the federal government to be our partner. I don’t
think that approach has really been offered to the federal government before,
and we’re hoping that with a fresh look, fresh numbers, with a fresh idea of
what it’s going to cost, then we can have a reset."
Past
cost estimates to remove the wreck have ranged up to $25 million.
Raitt
could not be reached for comment Wednesday. She was in Sydney two weeks ago but
wouldn’t comment on the provincial Liberals’ plan to clear the wreck and
expect Ottawa to help pay. She said in August that a decision on the MV Miner
wou ld b e made in the coming months.
Residents
in Main-a-Dieu and other communities have called for the wreck’s removal since
it grounded, amid concerns over the potential impact on lucrative fishing
grounds.
Sean
Howard, an executive committee memb er with the Main-a-Dieu Community Development
Association, said in a government news release that he was “relieved and
encouraged" by the new government’s plan.
Premier
Stephen McNeil and Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie both said in
the election campaign that they would make removing the wreck a priority. They
said the province would ensure that happened, then send Ottawa part of the
bill.
Dexter
said during the campaign that it wasn’t that simple, and under marine law, the
salvage had to proceed through the owner of the wreck.
MacLellan
said the province will get legal advice on its removal plan .
---------
St.
F.X. powers up green plan
MICHAEL
GORMAN TRURO BUREAU
mgor
man@herald.ca @CH_mgor man
Decreased
energy consumption is producing increased economic savings and smaller carbon
footprints at St. Francis Xavier University.
The
Antigonish institution is working toward the goal of being one of the greenest
universities in Canada. Its efforts have resulted in energy savings that are
the equivalent of taking 396 cars off the road for a year, school officials
say.
“It’s
about $300,000 (in savings) a year," said Leon MacLellan, chairman of
the school’s sustainability committee and director of facilities management.
“We’ve
probably spent about $1.9 million in the last year or so (on efficiency
measures)."
The
school’s use of 100 per cent recycled paper towel saves about 50,000
kilowatt-hours of energy a year and 95 per cent of that paper towel is
composted. There’s been a 30 per cent reduction in food waste and 25 tonnes of
grass clippings, leaves and tree branches are converted to compost each year.
Through
a new waste streaming program, which has sorting stations around campus, the
school hopes to raise its recycling target to 80 per cent.
In
addition, St. F. X. only uses green-friendly cleaning products, including
electrostatic water, which converts water into an innovative cleaning solution.
The
process requires 70 per cent less water than conventional floor scrubbing
methods and it’s also much better for the employees using it, said MacLellan.
Other
changes include renovating campus buildings to include LED lighting,
geothermal heating and cooling and motion-sensor lighting .
---------------
Parallels
between Digby rally, Yarmouth ferry efforts
As
the Yarmouth area gets ready for the launch of a new ferry service to Maine,
Digby is looking ahead to the 10th edition of its Wharf Rat Rally. Both are
scheduled to happen in 2014 and both are important pieces of the tourism
picture in southwestern Nova Scotia and beyond, say representatives of the
Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association and the Wharf Rat Rally
Motorcycle Association.
ERIC
BOURQUE PHOTO
The
Digby rally has become a huge late-summer event that draws thousands of
participants and its economic impact is felt well beyond the immediate area
where it takes place, says Guy LeBlanc, a member of the rally association’s
board.
“It’s
in Digby, but the spinoffs are all over the province,” LeBlanc said during a
Small Business Week luncheon in Yarmouth.
Julie
Walters, YASTA general manager and the day’s other guest speaker, said the
rally is a “fabulous event and it’s
great for all southwest Nova,” although she spent the better part of her
presentation talking about the ferry situation, saying the community needs to
prepare for the new service and telling those attending the Oct. 23 luncheon
YASTA is confident the service – despite what they may have heard lately –
really is coming.
“Have
faith, it’s happening,” she said. “We’ll hopefully see something officially
signed within, I don’t know, the next few days, weeks, but it’s coming … We
have to get ready.”
Business
owners and operators, she said, have to look at, for example, extending their
operating hours to accommodate the visitor traffic the new ferry is expected to
generate.
Noting
that the Yarmouth area hasn’t seen great numbers of tourists in recent years,
she said accommodating the visitors everyone hopes the new ship will bring
could be a challenge, but she said she knows the area can do it.
LeBlanc
too cited the Yarmouth ferry issue, saying rally organizers would like to tap
into the eastern American market, which a new Yarmouth ferry connection with
New England would help them do.
Among
the parallels between the day’s two presentations was the emphasis on getting
the community on board.
“The
first thing that has to happen,” LeBlanc said, “you have to get the community
to buy in.”
Promotion
and education are part of the mix too, he said.
The
rally reportedly is the biggest multi-day event for motorcycling in Canada, he
said, and it has had participants from overseas as well.
The
rally has evolved, the organizers having learned from experience what works and
what doesn’t, what to change and what to leave the same, he said.
YASTA
is one the rally’s sponsors and Walters said she sees much potential in terms
of the two organizations working together to encourage bikers to spend more
time in southwestern Nova Scotia, perhaps getting them to make it down to the
Yarmouth area.
“We’re
really excited about what this opportunity represents,” she said.
It’s
not so much a matter of each trying to get a bigger slice of the pie – Digby on
one side, Yarmouth and Acadian Shores on the other – but rather, she said, of
having more visitors for both.
“It’s
all about sharing and, I guess, presenting compelling reasons for visitors to
stay longer,” she said. “Let’s get one big pie for all of us.”
------------------
CULLEN:
What Irish gardeners can teach Canadian gardeners
October
28, 2013 - Recently, I had the opportunity to visit some of the great gardens
of Ireland as a guest of Tourism Ireland. It was both...
--------
New
wine to feature image of Cape Sable Light
------
It’s
a bad time for bats
THE
CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER
— They are the stuff of Halloween horror stories, the alter-ego of vampires,
the frightful beasts that foreshadow the macabre.
Bats
strike fear in many hearts, but it is thes e no cturnal mammals that are in
danger, decimated by a mysterious disease that has wiped out seven million in
North America in a few short years.
“Wherever
it shows up, it has a significant impact," said Graham Forbes, a biologist
at the University of New Brunswick and a memb er o f the Committee on the
Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada subcommittee. “Some caves are basically
becoming empty."
In
February 2012, COSEWIC held an emergency assessment for the tri-coloured bat ,
the little brown myotis and northern myotis and found all three were endangered
by white-nose syndrome, so named because of the white fungus that grows over
the faces of infected bats.
A
recommendation has been made to the federal environment minister that an
emergency order be issued to list the bats as endangered under the federal Species
at Risk Act.
In
November, a COSEWIC committee will meet again to discuss their status and vote
on another recommendation.
The
outcome is unlikely to surprise.
“It’s
bad and it got worse," Forbes said.
By
the end of last winter, the disease had been confirmed in 22 U.S. states and in
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.
In
New Brunswick, it is estimated about 99 per cent of the known winter
population of little brown myotis, or little brown bat, has died.
The
disease has not yet been confirmed west of Ontario, but it has been found in
Minnesota, south of Manitoba, and appears to be spreading 200 to 400 kilometres
per year since it first showed up in New York state in February 2006.
The
fungus grows in cold weather, and it hits while bats are most vulnerable,
hibernating in caves and old mines through the winter. Experts believe the
fungus was introduced in North America by a visitor from Europe, where bats
have developed resistance.
“The
population here just has no immunity to it," Forbes said. “They haven’t
been exposed to it before."
Some
provinces have closed off access to caves and other known hib ernation sites to
limit the spread, but biologists say it may be in a race against time.
“We
basically feel like we’re in this race and we don’t know how long we have to
get to the finish line," said Cori Lausen, the bat biologist for the
Wildlife Cons ervation Society of Canada.
-----------
Woodland
Owner of the Year celebrated in Caledonia
October
03, 2013 - Every year, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
recognizes landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship of their woodlots
through the Woodland Owner of the Year Award, and this year the western region
award was given to West....
-----------
Our
Beautiful Bears.... pls don't do this...
LOADED
FOR BEAR
Province
ponders boosting br uin bag limit
Biologist:
Population numbers are healthy
BRIAN
MEDEL YARMOUTH BUREAU
bmedel@herald.ca
@CH_bmedel YARMOUTH — Nova Scotia’s human population numbers have slipped a
little, but the provincial black bear crowd is doing rather well.
And
with thousands of Nova S cotians now apparently hunting bear, the province may
still consider increasing the bag limit to two animals, a s enior wildlife
manager said Wednesday.
“We
know that our (bear) population has been increasing," said Peter
MacDonald, the provincial large mammal biologist with the Natural Resources
Department.
It
is healthy — at around 10,000 animals — and hunting is up and nuisance
complaints are down, said MacDonald.
“We
may be looking at increasing bag limits, for example, if we’re looking at a
steadily increasing population. We’ll look at all the data again after this
season.
“In
Nova Scotia, our licence sales for bear hunting have steadily increased,"
MacDonald said, while scanning statistics going back more than a dozen years.
In
2000, the province licensed 498 bear hunters. Last year, it approved 6,725 bear
hunters, more than 13 times those sold in 2 000.
Natural
Resources staff won’t even try to explain the increase.
Sure,
senior citizens have been able to hunt for free in Nova Scotia for several
years but the department doesn’t know how many s eniors actually head into the
woods loaded for bear.
Another
possible reason for the surge in bear hunting is that in 2010, the department
stopped making bear hunters register their bait stations.
The
requirement to hunt near registered bait stations goes back to the mid-1980s,
said MacDonald.
Hunting
bear from concealment near a bait station is practically the only way to
achieve success, most hunters agree.
Although
bear sightings are fairly frequent, nuisance complaints have gone down, said
MacDonald.
Maybe
more natural food is available.
Or
in agricultural situations, farmers may deal with nuisance wildlife on their
own and not bother to inform Natural Res ources, he said.
The
nuisance reports that become known to the public are usually in or close to
urban areas, he said.
In
2004, staff spent 1,225 hours investigating bear complaints, driving 28,113
kilometres to do so. Last year, they spent 809 hours and drove 18,101
kilometres to investigate bear trouble, said MacDonald.
He
said figures show the trend has been steadily decreasing.
Still,
there are no documented black bear attacks in Nova Scotia, but the case last
summer of a bear following two women in the Annapolis Valley was likely an
unusually aggressive bear, said Mac-Donald.
That
bear may also have been fed by p eople and it was trying to get some food
tossed its way, he said.
There
was once even a bear bounty in Nova Scotia, from about 1909 to the mid-1960s,
when people thought bears were a threat to public safety, said Mac- Donald.
People would shoot as many as they cou ld line up in their sights.
“Our
total harvest last year was 939 bears,” said MacDonald, noting that the success
rate is still fairly consistent, in the 15 to 16 per cent range.
In
2000, 127 snare permits were issued compared with 275 snare permits last year.
Two
bear may be snared by a licence holder.
Typically,
bear have been more plentiful in western Nova Scotia.
----------------------
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