Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) - Cape Breton
Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

Most Canadian households use an average of 110,400 litres of water per year. However, water use in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) is almost twice that national average. That's about to change. ACAP Cape Breton will undertake a comprehensive water conservation and protection program in the CBRM. Water audits will be performed on 500 homes to assess water usage and recommend reduction alternatives. A credit program for installing low flow toilets will be implemented whereby 200 residents will receive a credit on their water bill upon providing proof of installation. ACAP Cape Breton will also work with septic system experts to distribute information to residents on proper septic system maintenance. Other components of the project include: a showerhead swap, water meter education, a school outreach initiative and world water day promotional activities.

Conservation Project
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Minudie Marsh, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia

The Minudie Marsh, situated at the head of the Bay of Fundy, is a 1,200 ha dyked salt marsh and farmland that is leased to the Minudie Pasture Coop Limited as a community livestock pasture and hay land. Many nesting birds, including, ducks, pheasants, short eared owls and songbirds, call this marsh home. The Minudie Pasture Coop approached Ducks Unlimited about building a livestock watering system that would also be friendly to the existing wildlife. Ducks Unlimited will construct 4 ponds with fenced buffer zones, each of which will occupy approximately 1 ha of the marsh. These ponds will provide drinking water for more than 600 cattle, and the wetlands will provide protection to the nesting birds and other wildlife.

Ducks Unlimited Canada
Various agricultural regions in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Runoff from feedlots, solid manure storages and the disposal of milkhouse washwaste on farmland all contribute to water contamination. Constructing small farm ponds involves using wetlands to intercept nutrient laden runoff and results in the creation of wildlife habitat and cleaner water. Ducks Unlimited has selected 9 sites in the Maritimes (3 in each province) for the construction of these small farm ponds. Analysis of water quality from past constructed wetlands indicates that they are successful in treating effluent by reducing nutrients, faecal coliforms, biological oxygen demands (BODs) and suspended solids. These wetlands will also provide habitat and protection for waterfowl.

Nova Scotia Nature Trust
Throughout Nova Scotia

In response to the need for private land conservation, the Nova Scotia Nature Trust has taken a leadership role in developing conservation practices and agreements. But even some of these protected areas, while supporting important values, face threats from human impacts and other ecological problems. Three major environmental problems affecting Nova Scotia Nature Trust properties are: invasive flora species, lack of old forest species necessary for natural succession to Acadian forest, and human impacts on land through ATV damage, garbage dumping, littering and the illegal cutting of trees. This project will focus on 2 to 3 Nature Trust properties facing these problems. Activities include removing invasive plant species, encouraging old growth forest development, cleaning up dump sites, boundary marking and erecting signage. The project includes a promotional campaign to encourage community members to be environmentally responsible. Members of the community will be actively involved in the project from the outset and sustain the restoration activities in the long term.

The North Mountain Old Forest Society
North Mountain Region, Nova Scotia

Old-growth Acadian forests are endangered, making up an estimated 0.03% of Nova Scotia's landmass. Two-thirds of Nova Scotia's forests are privately owned so saving these old forests from extinction requires that remnant ecosystems are protected and old-forest habitats are restored before they become extinct. That is exactly what the North Mountain Old Forest Society intends to do. This project involves working on 14 privately owned properties to modify 60 ha of second-growth forest into an ecosystem with old-forest components. There are three steps involved in achieving this objective; 1) low impact selection harvesting, 2) planting seedlings of old forest species, and 3) enhancing deadwood structures. Constructing and erecting nesting boxes for wildlife is also an important component of this project as it involves working with community volunteers and groups such as local chapters of Scouts Canada.

Bluenose Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP)
Mahone Bay and Bridgewater, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia there is no legislation that requires boaters to properly dispose of on-board sewage. In fact, most local boaters do not have holding tanks on their vessels (or have dismantled them). So what does this mean? This means that most of their sewage is going directly into the waterways in and around the province. Bluenose ACAP began promoting environmentally responsible boating practices in the summer of 2000 through the establishment of a sewage pump-out facility in Mahone Bay. Last year the organization worked on a project that assisted local boaters in retrofitting or converting their systems to use the pump-put facility. Bluenose ACAP will expand its efforts with a project that will see the establishment of a pump-out facility in Bridgewater, continued efforts to work with boaters to retrofit or convert their systems and lobbying efforts to have the waters declared a "no dumping zone" by the Canadian Coast Guard. The development of a "Marine Operators Facility Guide" and a promotional campaign are also components of the project.

'Kinder Gardens' Project
Musquodoboit Harbour Elementary School, Nova Scotia

Getting youth involved in environmental projects at a young age will hopefully foster future environmentally responsible adults. Students at the Musquodoboit Harbour Elementary School will work with parents, teachers and community volunteers to create an outdoor "eco-classroom" on their school grounds. This project involves planting native flowers, shrubs and trees which will also provide habitat for birds and insects. The "eco-classroom" will be maintained by the "Kinder Gardens" Project Committee and students at the school, and includes composting and vermiculture to enhance plant growth.