DEN Enews

Early rising before the sun and coffee in hand, this editor pored over submissions for the Enews. Wow, that was a tough way to start a Monday. So many causes of concern. So many places need input and concern. Early celebrations for wins on West Mabou and Dartmouth Cove may have been premature. It looks like nothing is safe, yet. I tried to keep this concise but Gmail may clip the message again. I urge you to click on the “read full article” to make sure you get Grandma’s article. This editor is doing the happy dance with all Grandma’s good news. Plus you don’t want to miss the incredible poem at the end.

First up, though, is the Our HRM Alliance newsletter with valuable information on Sandy lake and where further input can be added.

To quote the Sandy Lake team: Keep in mind we are not against housing or roads. We are FOR putting them where they won’t do serious damage to, in this case, a rich Regional Park’ tributaries and wetlands. There are better places to build homes and and highways than in crucial ecological lands.

These are the same concerns that were raised for Eisner Cove Wetlands. The developer got the win on that one including a strong police presence against protestors trying to protect the only wetland in Dartmouth. We were not fooling when we said how critical wetlands are to the environment. The Sandy Lake area includes wetlands as well in its watershed for the river.

Another good read concerning wetlands:

Dartmouth Cove is another area that needs action asap.

Lindsay Lee from the Ecology Action Centre says:

1. The company behind the Dartmouth Cove infill project, ARCP, has claimed that this is a “very poor ecosystem that doesn’t support fish habitat," but these photos from the recent bioblitz prove that's not true. https://www.savedartmouthcove.com/post/what-our-bioblitz-revealed

2. When the Houston government walked away from the Coastal Protection Act in February 2024, it abdicated responsibility and instructed municipalities to take action to protect our coasts instead. Halifax Regional Council recently did just that, by passing a popular new by-law to limit infilling in Dartmouth Cove. If the Province interferes in the HRM bylaw, then they've gone back on everything they said when they walked away from the Coastal Protection Act.

How the Province treats HRM and Dartmouth Cove will be very telling. But one thing's already clear: the provincial government overturning Halifax Regional Municipality’s decision would be an insult to the democratic process and contrary to the public good—especially after punting the responsibility to them in the first place.

https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/halifax/opinion-halifax/opinion-will-nova-scotia-support-authority-of-municipalities

Elsewhere in the province

West Mabou Beach Provincial Park - is it really safe?

Once again, Lindsay Lee says: Premier Houston said Cabot's current proposal for a golf course in West Mabou Beach Provincial Park won't proceed, but he left the door open for future development proposals. Freedom of Information Requests have shown that the Houston government agreed to confidentially negotiate with Cabot, a company coming after public, protected land for the third time.

Local organizers know this isn't over, and they're asking us all to keep the signs up, keep the emails coming, and keep the pressure on. 

We've made it this far because of public pushback, but we can't afford to stop now. Together, we can put pressure on this government to strengthen the Provincial Parks Act, so we don't have to keep doing this again and again. Call, email, or meet with your MLA and let them know that protected land needs to stay protected.

Need a pick- me-up? Read Grandma’s article. Lots of Happy Dancing there for sure!

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - Repurpose

What if you didn’t have to do any of those?

Lots to Pray for, that’s for sure. Please feel free to Join DEN on Monday evenings on Zoom as we pray for this creation we call our home. Barr Huether will send you the zoom link if you email your request: [email protected]

The Sandy Lake Special Planning Area is approximately 400 hectares of land located west of Sandy Lake and north of Hammonds Plains Road in Bedford. It is a vital green and blue space at the head of the Bedford Basin and a place for many to connect with nature. If allowed, a sprawling 7,000 to 10,000 housing unit development could rewrite and consume this area. People deserve to know the missing information that shows multiple risks from fast-tracking large development, such as increased traffic, costs of roads, pipes and transit, potential flooding downstream and more. Sandy Lake is “hypersensitive" and already on the water quality tipping point. A proposed highway will go straight through the land west of Sandy Lake and includes at least 12 stream crossings. Right now, there is an opportunity to provide feedback with a survey open until December 3rd. Join in the push to protect Sandy Lake by sending emails, comments, and filling out the survey. Since the Province really holds the decision-making power about development in this Special Planning Area, it's really important to email Housing Minister John White ([email protected]) and your MLA to demand that the provincial government remove Sandy Lake from the fast-track list. You can find your MLA's name and contact information at https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles/contact 

_{The new government’s first budget is a mixed bag on climate policy.  We need federal investments at the scale needed to build out an east-west clean electricity grid. Funding will run out for Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan, which aims to assess and reduce risks chemical substances pose to us and the environment. Current funding for Canada’s “Enhanced Nature Legacy” will run out in March. Just because Budget 2025 passed, it doesn't have to be the final word. The government plans to issue a 'mini budget' in the spring. The David Suzuki Foundation have written a letter that you can send to your MP and to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue. You can change it as you see fit}.

_{Our federal government recently announced the first batch of “major projects”, and it’s an oil oligarch’s wishlist. Pipelines are not a path to a resilient future; they are a dangerous step backward. They don’t enrich Canada or protect our future; they enrich multi-billion-dollar corporations and put everyday people on the hook for the climate disasters they cause. Floods, wildfires, heat domes, and more are fueled by the greed of the fossil fuel industry and already cost our communities. As the world responds to the need to transition to renewable energy, pipelines tie Canada to a dirty and declining industry. Help urge our country to not ignore alarm bells by catering to fossil fuel lobbyists and axing climate policies, but to instead take bold leadership that aligns with science and the public will. Join in saying no to new pipelines in a climate emergency.}

_{Huge areas of multiple forests in Kenya are under threat. One forest is being chopped for the construction of a border town, another is being handed off to a private developer, two others face destruction for a road expansion project. The government has promised new trees, but seedlings can not replace forest ecosystems. Please sign this petition to help amplify local voices asking to uphold the logging ban, improve transparency and community participation in forest management, take firm action against illegal logging activities and land grabs, and to immediately stop plans of destroying forest lands for development.}

_{The island of Tauá-Mirim in Brazil covers more than 16,000 hectares of biological diversity, including mangroves, tropical forests, and many other ecosystems. Monkeys roam the forests and the mangroves provide habitat and breeding grounds for species like the magnificent scarlet ibis. The mangroves also sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases, making them vital for climate protection. Approximately 2,200 families live on the island and work with the land and water. Both environment and locals are threatened by large-scale projects aimed at exporting raw materials, accompanied by the construction of ports, roads, freight railways, and industrial zones for activities such as aluminum processing. It’s been 20 years of asking and waiting for the Brazilian government to designate Tauá-Mirim as a Reserva Extrativista. This type of sustainable-use protected area is where the land is publicly owned, but the people who live there have the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wild plants. While the government delays, industrial development continues destroying, polluting, and causing illness. Brazil has been in the spotlight with COP30. Help generate international pressure to finally create this protected area for Tauá-Mirim!}

_{The DEN Enews editors will be taking a break for a few weeks to refresh during Advent and prepare for Christmas. Here is an activity that is guaranteed to refresh:}

BEE CITY

It’s been a lively week at Grandma’s house! Emails have been flying back and forth—thank-you notes, grant questions, and wonderful new resources that seem to appear out of thin air.

And then came Seed Dump Day. A recently gifted clear tub was put into action and slowly began to fill. In went the buckwheat seed (bought for February’s big Seed Share packing), followed by a few extra bags of wildflower pollinator seed donated a bit too late for 2025. West Coast Seeds had sent bulk wildflower mixes, and to that we added all the seed-saving efforts from locals, like my two paper bags full of daisy seed. All told, we’re starting the next season with roughly six quarts of seed. A good thing, too, because this year we need to fill twice as many envelopes, close to six thousand!

You know what’s even better than feeling like our group is helping the environment by feeding the pollinators? Discovering that New Glasgow, Nova Scotia has been named the province’s very first BEE CITY!

To earn that title, New Glasgow committed to protecting local pollinators and ensuring their community is truly pollinator friendly. They’ve planted native species, protected habitat, expanded community gardens, reduced pesticide use, and raised awareness far and wide.

Well, Grandma couldn’t resist sending them a note, just a friendly message to say how wonderful it was to find another group working toward the same vision. They do seed giveaways, community garden work, and a bit of everything we’re doing with Seed Share. It felt like writing to a long-lost cousin in the environmental world.

What came back was even better: a warm note from New Glasgow saying they would love to stay in touch and possibly work with us in the future. No grand plans yet, just a willingness to share ideas, support each other, and be part of the same network. And that, truly, is how our Diocesan Environment Network grows. Not by big asks, but by simple connections.

As New Glasgow wrote, sometimes it’s enough “to simply stay in touch and share ideas and opportunities.” That is exactly what your DEN is all about, gathering like-minded folks who want to make our environment just a little bit better.

And New Glasgow isn’t alone. Their BEE CITY status may be nationally recognized, but they are environment people just like so many across our two provinces. It makes me wonder what other green news is out there waiting to be discovered. Grandma might just be turning into an “investigative reporter”, or simply someone who’s nosy enough to go looking!

Let me know if you hear any green news. Grandma’s ears are always open.

Nativity scenes

Grandma is rather a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas. She puts up lights like an angel and star but also a Frostie on the front porch. She bakes and cooks all the favorite foods. A tree is decorated with gifts underneath, the house is truly be-ribboned, be-dangled, be-tacky with all the ornaments

Grandma (and whoever is at her house) also go to church on Christmas Eve. This year it is going to be at All Saints church in Bayswater at 4PM. It is not a big deal. We come to church dragging whoever is visiting. This year we are doing a Lessons and Carols service, thanks to our lay reader Robert McMillian.

Our parish is small, tiny really. It will grow for that service but then return to a bit more than a dozen. We invite everyone to come any Sunday but especially at Christmas. We sing and enjoy the lessons. We leave with that hope that the Christ child brings.

At the back door you will find Grandma giving out printable Nativity Scene. Putting together a Nativity lets that pure joy of Christmas enter you. Our craft this week are web addresses where you can print off and make a Nativity. These are just a few. Find more with a Google search. Merry Christmas!

https://www.craftsonsea.co.uk/printable-nativity-set/

https://www.ayeletkeshet.com/printable-nativity-scene/

https://www.craftsonsea.co.uk/cut-and-paste-nativity-craft/

https://springtimedoodles.com/blog/posts/nativity-paper-puppets-free-printables/

Grandma’s Green Wish List

Something you want – Everyone to think about the environment and how we can help

Something you need – Patience! Grandma has little of that when environment programs are cut

Something to wear – New to you clothes, especially when I was able to find even more flannel shirts.

Something to Read – St. Luke Chapter and verse

From Grandma and Nana and our Parish of Blandford, wishing you all the best Christmas memories you can make this year. Never stop saying,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

+++++++

Beautiful and uplifting poem shared on Facebook by Bishop Sandra from Dorene Bernard. This sums up what has been on my heart the last few days so thank you all.

Indigenous Pride

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THE BURDEN THAT MAKES US LAST

The elders said

a people are measured

not by what they conquer

but by what they are willing to carry

without letting go of tenderness.

They said the future

does not ride on warriors,

but on whoever can bear weight

without passing it down as harm.

They taught that guardianship

is not a loud duty —

it is a quiet agreement

to stand between danger and breath

even when no one sings your name.

So the lineage continues

not through victory or noise,

but through those who choose

to hold another life upright

until it can walk on its own.