Nova Scotians are invited to help define the final parks and protected areas plan to manage and protect Nova Scotia's natural spaces. A draft was released on February 28.  The province says it will protect the most sensitive and important lands in our province and meet the goal of reviewing the province's parks system, which is included in The Path We Share, Nova Scotia's natural resources strategy. The province would protect more than 13 per cent of its lands, surpassing its legislated goal to protect at least 12 per cent of Nova Scotia. Currently, about 9.3 per cent is protected. The plan proposes to:

• Add: 4 new provincial parks (960 ha); 44 new wilderness areas (126 020 ha); and 120 new nature reserves (33 690 ha)
• Expand: 12 provincial parks (3940 ha); 32 wilderness areas (72 070 ha); and 10 nature reserves (4330 ha)
• Transfer: In order to create a more effective parks and protected areas system, the plan proposes to transfer 2500 hectares of provincial parklands to protected areas and 1000 hectares of parklands to Crown land (still available for public use).

With these changes, the proposed parks and protected areas system would include: 187 provincial parks; 84 wilderness areas; and 142 nature reserves. Nova Scotians have until May 1 to review and comment on the document. Feedback will help shape the final plan. Give feedback online or attend one of 17 public consultation sessions in March and April across NS. 

By David Redwood

Fran Wyman was struck by snowshoeing's broad appeal near the end of a hike last year near her home in Pictou County. She was among 20 snowshoers, including a young family with a 6- and 8-year-old, descending a trail when they met a very different-looking group of snowshoers bounding their way up.

It was a bunch of teenagers who were members of a mountain bike club.

"That's their training in the winter, because it does use the same muscle groups. Those big leg muscles are the ones they need for mountain biking and they exercise with snowshoeing in the winter," said Wyman.

Wyman, who organized the more leisurely walk, is running more events this winter. Several are part of a series of 25 guided snowshoe events around the province sponsored by Hike Nova Scotia. Last year some hikes in the series attracted up to 100 people, a sign of the popularity of the world's fastest growing winter sport. Read full article here. 

When it comes to the Great Outdoors, Nova Scotia is rich with assets. There are outdoor spaces, resources, activities, information, organizations, events and people. Yet, all of these assets are disconnected. Currently it is difficult for residents and visitors to find anything about the outdoors: where to go, what to do and how to do it.

Recreation Nova Scotia is hosting a grassroots project called the Outdoor Network. Our vision is an outdoor community meaningfully connected to each other and to resources. Our mission is to facilitate more communication, sharing, collaboration and celebration by connecting all the outdoor assets on a dynamic web-based hub.

During the fall of 2012, the Outdoor Network conducted a combination of stakeholder consultation and market research to find out if there was demand for the concept, and if so how it would be useful. Proponents are now working with professionals to design and develop a dynamic web-portal, and seek and generate outdoor 'content'. Launch is set for June 2013.

The Outdoor Network is being led by John Glynn-Morris, Program Manager at Recreation Nova Scotia with strategic guidance from an advisory group. The project received financial support from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the SAGE Environmental Program and the Province of Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness. For more information, contact John Glynn-Morris: 902 425 1128 ext. 2 or jglynn-morris@recreationns.ns.ca. Visit our BETA / test website to get a sense of what we're developing and to read our first newsletter for more information.  

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Hike Nova Scotia will host its second Hiking Summit at the Gaelic College in St Ann's, Cape Breton on June 21 and 22 (Friday and Saturday). Details are still being finalized, but if it's anything like the first Summit, you won't want to miss it! Stay tuned.

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On March 15, Goose Lane Editions, Canada's oldest independent publisher, will be unveiling electronic versions of their bestselling hiking guides. Guides to  Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Halifax, Ottawa and  Mainland Nova Scotia offer photographs, maps, GPS coordinates, trail descriptions, hiking tips and historical tidbits. All books will be available for download as PDF eBooks for use on eReaders, tablets, smartphones or any other device with a PDF reader. As well, sections of each book (such as this sample from Hiking Trails of Mainland Nova Scotia) will be available for approximately $3.99 each.

In preparation for the launch, Goose Lane is striving to get the word out. It wants to make sure every outdoor enthusiast is aware and ready the moment it releases them. And to sweeten the deal, Goose Lane will be offering a 20% discount on all hiking books (electronic or physical) from March 15 through April 15 when ordered through its website. 

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Hike Nova Scotia has recently changed its mailing address. The old address was: PO Box 701, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 3Y9. Here is the new address:

Hike Nova Scotia

6155 North St.

PO Box 31076 Gladstone

Halifax, NS B3K 5T9

Please make this change in your records for Hike Nova Scotia. Our other contact information remains the same.  

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From Fitness Zones to the Medical Mile: How Urban Park Systems Can Best Promote Health and Wellness  

"And there is mounting evidence that providing places to exercise-parks, primarily-can improve health. The mere presence of a park, however, does not guarantee a healthier population. Thousands of acres of city parks are not, for one reason or another, serving the important purpose of helping people become healthier."

Youth Engagement with Nature and the Outdoors  

In the spring of 2012, the David Suzuki Foundation asked Canadian youth between the ages of 13 and 20 to tell us about their experiences outdoors. This report summarizes the key findings from that survey.

Survival course, Lower Sackville: Mar 15-17   

Halifax North West Trails Association AGM, Halifax: March 26  

Red Cross Wilderness Remote First Aid course, Lower Sackville: Apr. 12-14

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