A Green Future?

As part of the no spraying of glyphosate in Annapolis County, the Warden sent a letter to the Minister of Lands and Forestry, Ian Rankin and the Minister of Environment, Gordon Wilson. This week, he shared the response from Wilson:

He quoted Health Canada, “it does not present risks of concern to human health or the environment when used according to the revised label directions”.

This response does not answer my concern. My concern is that the spraying of the forest with a herbicide is part of the clear-cutting, industrial approach to forest management. This approach does not recognize the value of all the other species which co-exist in this landscape. We have not heard from Minister Rankin.

Except, that he is running to replace Premier Stephen McNeil on an ‘environmental’ agenda!

Over ten years ago, I was directly involved in the recognition of the value of Southwest Nova as a Biosphere Reserve (SNBR) under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere program. Today, you see the signage on the Highway #101. This reserve includes a core protected area: Kejimkujik National Park and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, a buffer zone and the working landscape.

How is this part of the province being impacted by the different forestry practices: clear-cutting, selective cutting and ecological forestry?

Again, it would make a wonderful GIS student project to undertake a polygon on polygon overlay between the SNBR zones, and the forested parcels in Southwest Nova Scotia.
To conduct this analysis, we would need a map of the forest stands and their harvest history. This type of analysis should be of interest to our environmental NGOs e.g. MTRI, CARP and UNESCO MAB.

What does it mean for our ‘island of hope’ – Annapolis County, at a time of municipal election ?

Orchard Experience

It has been a hot , dry Summer. This has led to a bumper apple crop. It now looks like we will exceed 21 bins of NovaMac/MacFree apples. There is no spraying. It is a certified organic product which will be used to make apple cider, cider vinegar and apple brandy.

Acknowledgements

Heather and I wish to thank the collaborators with the harvest: Rick and Kathy, Neil Bent and Brian Boates. It could not have been done without your encouragement.

Postscript

We watched David Attenborough’s “A Life on Our Planet” on Netflix. He is 93 years old. The film emphasized the need for rewilding our landscape, for attention to our ocean environment and for the move to alternative renewable energy : solar, wind and hydro.