Author: maherrv

This morning was busy (Thursday). I decided to talk to Pam Ellis, Librarian at the Bridgetown library. I wanted to know whether they had a complete collection of Rachel Brighton’s The Nova Scotia Policy Review. Unfortunately, the answer was negative.

Prior to leaving home, Ed Symons emailed me that he was meeting with Jennifer Wesman and Jamie Dennison at CORAH to discuss community asset mapping. Ed now teaches at COGS in the GIS technician program.

The concept was to engage students in the program with citizens, with an interest in mapping community assets. It was likely about a dozen years ago when Ed worked with Heather Leblanc, Anne Crossman and others in Annapolis County. This led to MapAnnapolis.

Ed also shared access to Chris Turner’s book ‘ The Geography of Hope’. A Tour of the World we need.

The end results of the CORAH meeting was a plan for a series of community mapping sessions, defining and mapping local assets, starting in February 2026.

Anyone who follows my blog will understand that I have deep interest in our ‘sense of place’, the availability of mapping resources at COGS, and through Ed Symons, at CORAH.

Talking with Ed today, I realized, yet again, the changes that are happening, in terms of education and mapping technology, with both traditional tools, as well as online technology.

I look forward to attending these community mapping workshops in the Spring of 2026. I also look forward to discovering more about our Geography: its unique assets and stories.

Reference

Chris Turner. 2008. The Geography of Hope. A tour of the world we need. Vintage Canada.

In my previous post, I mentioned the rediscovery of the Chronicle Herald, Saturday, February 15, 2014. At the same time, I found three back issues of the Nova Scotia Policy Review : Politics, Culture and Justice (Vol. 1:3 December 2007, Vol 2:2 September 2008 and Vol 2:3 December 2008). This publication was edited and published by Rachel Brighton from Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. My task this week, is to see whether the local library has other back issues on file.

From the GrapeVine (November 2025) I enjoyed the references to Exploring with FoodArtNature (p.14-15). Members of FAN are taking the Annapolis Valley stories to St Johns, Newfoundland to Impact Atlantic Canada, a sustainability and tourism conference (p.9).

Every week, on Thursday, we appreciate the local news in The Bridgetown Reader.

This week, Heather and I found time to reacquaint ourselves with the Mickey Hill trail, just outside of Annapolis Royal. Afterwards, we had coffee and muffins at the Brown Dog cafe.

Acknowledgements

Edward is away in Florida this month.

References

The Nova Scotia Policy Review 2007-2008. Politics, Culture and Justice, Edited by Rachel Brighton. Finest Point Periodicals Ltd, Bridgetown, NS.

The Grapevine. November 2025. Issue 22-11. Arts, Culture and Community.

PS. This week was marked by Chris D’Entremont, MP for Acadie-Annapolis crossing the floor from Conservative to Liberal. Chris continues to represent the interests/ concerns of his constituency.

I received an email from my old school friend, Andrew, in England.

‘I’m expecting you to come up with your great plan for the future of NS……. Put your ideas, knowledge and vision forward……..Andy.’

Co-incidentally, as I was tidying up my papers in the basement ( a year after the move) I came across a saved copy of The Chronicle Herald, Saturday, February 15, 2014, Section E. Why NS needs a ‘national project’ by Ray Ivany.

Besides a map by Michael de Adder showing One Nova Scotia, Shaping our Economy Together. It includes commentary from Jim Meek, Gail Lethbridge and Bob Howse.

Without getting into the details, the important point is that it is almost twelve years since the publication of the Ivany report ‘Now or Never, an urgent Call to Action for Nova Scotians’.

Live Here and Prosper. Jim Meek

To prosper overall, Nova Scotia has to find a way to stack the odds in favour of economic prosperity, to make success stories a norm rather than an anomaly.

Hellfire and Damnation. Gail Lethbridge

Ivany report is just what laid back Nova Scotia needs : a proverbial boot up you-know-what to push us out of our comfort zone.

Make World Our Oyster. Bob Howse

Nothing is going to fall in your lap. You have to seek it out and you have to have excellent skills, and, preferably, a service with a bit of a unique edge, to sell.

Where are we today ? Almost twelve years after the Ivany report. What is Tim Houston’s, (current Premier of the Province), concept of a National project ?

Sunday afternoon. Heather and I attended Dykelands Community meeting at the Lower Granville Hall. We were interested in what was happening with Dykelands along the Granville Road and Alain’s Dyke. We were also interested in future community collaborations that could take place, including potential land acquisition for the purposes of environmental protection or recreation. The meeting was well attended, demonstrating Nova Scotian’ concern for their landscape.

We have walked the Bohaker Trail several times. This week we decided to accept the challenge of Charlie’s Trail. We followed the Old Shore Road West. We walked to the end of the road at Sloans Brook. Without much signage, we stopped short of the Charlie’s Trail loop. Another day !

However we did realize that these Annapolis County trails represent a great, healthy walking resource. Two days earlier, we visited the First Lake Trail, outside of Annapolis Royal. The trail is well marked with red flagging tape.

On our way home, we recollected other trails closer to Middleton.

1) Lawrencetown tree nursery trail from Highway #201 down to the Annapolis River. There is the advantage of a stop at Lunn’s Mill.

2) From the Lawrencetown Cemetery, it is possible to walk up South Mountain to the Inglisville Road.

3) From the Mount Hanley road it is possible to walk along the North Mountain ridge top.

4) From Valley View Park, there is a trail from the tower to the cabins on the Hampton road.

When we lived on Highway #201, we had access to the top of South Mountain, as well as the trails along the Annapolis River.

Given this selection, it is possible to imagine a book ‘Wilderness Trails of Annapolis County, with maps, significant features etc.

Each element of the ‘mountain and the valley’ offers wilderness hiking. One can imagine a different hike for each day of the week.

To avoid the drive (and gas) to Delaps Cove, we shall continue to explore both North and South Mountain within a twenty mile radius of our new home in Middleton.

Postscript

Edward is on his way to Florida for a month. Therefore, the next few blogs will miss his cartoons, art work and links.

Saturday, besides the celebration of the Blue Jays win, was a day to celebrate local.

The owner, Howard Selig, joins the twenty or so attendees at the CORAH men’s fitness class on Friday mornings.

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This week, Heather has been preoccupied with the oak and maple leaves falling onto the lawns. The first task was to take a dozen bags of leaves to the Valley Waste facility in Lawrencetown. Certainly, our leaf pile would make good mulch.

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From the dump to BeesKnees; it seems that they do significant baking on Friday evening for sale on Saturday morning. We purchased sausage rolls for lunch.

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Across the road, the library was open. I found a couple of interesting items: the 100th edition of Atlantic Books Today, published in 2024, but still relevant and free. Also, I checked out ‘Out Home: a step back in Time. A Community History of West Dalhousie, from Military Settlement to Today’, edited by Rachel Brighton. West Dalhousie has been top of mind, with the recent Long Lake fire. Earlier in the week, we took the drive from West Dalhousie to Perotte. The colours were stunning!

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My Keen boots have been wearing out. This required a visit to Maxwell’s Quality Footwear at the Greenwood Mall. I found a new pair, plus laces for the old shoes.

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The final stop, on the way back home to Middleton was Spurr Brothers. They were celebrating everything Halloween, with lots of pumpkins and live music.

We capped off the day with a visit by John Wightman with a growler of Brickyard Red from Lunn’s Mill. The light across the field was fantastic, along with the reds and orange of the oaks and maple.

Acknowledgements.

Thanks to Edward for graphics and links. He will be away for the next month in Florida.

Reference

Out Home: A Step Back in Time: A Community History of West Dalhousie, from Military Settlement to Today, 2011, Edited by Rachel Brighton.

Last Saturday, I attended the NSCC Open House at both COGS and Middleton. The event is designed to provide information on the programs at all NSCC locations in the province.

Aside from going online, my approach was to pick up the one page description for each program. Depending on previous education, a student can obtain a certificate, a diploma or a graduate certificate (click HERE for 2025-2026 program list).

Certificate (2)
GIS Technician
Survey Technician.

Diploma (3)
Geomatics Engineering Technology
GIS – Cartography and Geovisualization
IT programming

Graduate Certificate (4)
Geospatial Data Analytics
GIS – Remote Sensing
Marine Geomatics
Geographic Information Systems

At the Middleton campus I had hoped to obtain an update on the Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) and the relationship to the post-graduate degree in Applied Geomatics at Acadia University. The focus of the open house in Middleton, however, was on the trades and nursing.

At COGS, there were some displays on visualization and the application of drone technology.

My time at COGS covered the period 1980-1988, when the college had three departments: Computer Programming, Surveying and Cartography ( including Planning). Later, I returned to establish AGRG (2000-2011).

With hindsight, it is remarkable that the college has been able to maintain its excellence in GIS, Remote Sensing, Surveying, Cartography at a specialized campus, in rural Nova Scotia, within the NSCC.

The one question that remains for me, as we approach fifty years in the application of geomatics technology:

“Why has this centre of technology education excellence not translated into a centre of excellence in the application of these tools for municipal government and landscape management?”

Through a ‘community information Utility’ or as a part of ‘the creative rural economy‘? We are still missing our ‘sense of place’ and the optimization of our unique landscape/geography.

Postscript

Andrew and Chelsea from the Library put together an excellent historical map display in the COGS board room, based on the Walter Morrison collection. I met David Woolnough, past-Principal at COGS, and Monica Lloyd, Academic Chair at COGS, at the Open House.

Last weekend, we went to New Glasgow. This allowed us to walk in Trenton Park, and along the beach at Melmerby. Every time we visit, we reflect on the need for something similar in Annapolis County (see previous posts A Tale of two Geographies and Pictou Visit).

With the rainfall, the Province and County have lifted the fire ban. We can look forward to those longer walks at Valley View Park, Delaps Cove and Riverside Park in Middleton.

Another regular activity in Pictou County is to visit the deCoste Centre.

It includes a library, theatre as well as an art gallery. Both the park and the Centre are well supported by multiple levels of government funding.

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This morning, a scam to inform me that funds were going to be transferred from my credit card to China. Curiously, I had noticed an increase in blog readership statistics from China.

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On Saturday, COGS in Lawrencetown and the NSCC in Middleton are hosting their Open House. I am always interested in curriculum change since my retirement on 22-11-11: new Geomatics technology, new applications of the tools to a changing global environment.

This morning (Sunday) started with a red fox walking across the backyard. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I shall be making an apple crisp to take to New Glasgow. The apples from Paradise arrived on our doorstep, courtesy of Sinead, who, with Rob, purchased Andrew’s farm and orchard on Highway #201.

On Friday, Heather decided to cash in a gift card from her Dad, at Winners in New Minas. This proved to be a cultural shift from the stores in Middleton. In characteristic fashion, I browsed the books on sale; while Heather checked out clothing and furniture.

I found two relevant texts at bargain prices.

Mark Carney’s, Value(s) Building a Better World for All.
Malcolm Gladwell’s, Revenge of the Tipping Point.

I started with the Carney tome (600 pages). Obviously, my interest was the values espoused by our Prime Minister.

It started out well (p.3) with a parable by Pope Francis.

Our meal will be accompanied by wine. Now wine is many things. It has bouquet, colour and richness of taste that all complement the food. It has alcohol that can enliven the mind. Wine enriches all of our senses. At the end of the feast, we have grappa. Grappa is one thing: alcohol. Grappa is wine distilled.

He continued:

Humanity is many things -passionate, curious, rational, altruistic, creative, self-interested. But the market is one thing: self-interested. The market is humanity distilled.

And then he challenged us.

Your job is to turn grappa back into wine, to turn the market back into humanity. This isn’t theology. This is reality. This is truth.

By page 20, I was stuck on ‘ Perspectives of Value – Objective Value. I will try again after ‘Thanksgiving’.

References

Mark Carney, 2021, Value (s): Building a Better World for All, Penguin Random House.

Malcom Gladwell, 2024, Revenge of the Tipping Point, Little, Brown and Company.

Acknowledgements

Sinead for the apples from the orchard. John Stewart for the gift card. Edward and Heather for their contributions.

Following the 40th Anniversary Celebration, I have had the time to read the various handouts (see post Delap’s Cove Wilderness Trail Part 1).

“The Delap’s Cove Wilderness Trail has been designated an Amazing Place within the UNESCO Southwest Nova Biosphere Region Association. The Amazing Place program recognizes public locations of significance for their beauty, unique natural features, biodiversity, and cultural and historical aspects.”

“Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail meanders through forested ecosystems before emerging along the coastal shoreline of the famous Bay of Fundy. The trail system includes two trails: Bohaker Trail and Charlies Trail.”

“The area surrounding the trail system was once a thriving Black Settlement with, at one time, close to 70 inhabitants. Census records show that the community was in existence since at least 1838.”

From Dustin Stevenson, Delaps Cove Black Indian Pioneer Society, I found it easy to relate to the NORTH quadrant of the Smudging Ceremony handout (see diagram).

Old Age
Purity and Wisdom
Great Place for Healing
Dreamtime
Growing and Looking Deep
Understanding the Wisdom that was given
Stop and Listen
Data Collection. Data Analysis. Writing.

In the centre of the circle: Aboriginal Peoples, Teachers, Elders, Community

Acknowledgements

Edward added the graphic and links. Cliff Drysdale (Southwest Nova Biosphere Region) clarified some of the terminology.

References

County of Annapolis brochure: Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail.
Amazing Places: check: swnovabiosphere.ca

Today (Sunday) was the Fortieth Anniversary Celebration and Amazing Places Designation of the Delap’s Cove Wilderness Trail.

Given the fire ban in Annapolis County, Heather and I were doubtful whether the event would go ahead.

We took our chances, from Annapolis Royal, across to Parker’s Cove on the Bay of Fundy, then the shore road to Delap’s Cove. We were rewarded with a very well-organised, inclusive community event.

Welcome and Introduction
Debra Ryan, Director, Community Development and Master of Ceremonies.

Smudging Ceremony
Dustin Stevenson, Delap’s Cove Black Indian Pioneer Society.

Proclamation
Christine Igot, Town Crier

Remarks
Warden, Diane Leblanc, Municipality of the County of Annapolis
Dustin Stevenson, Councillor, Delap’s Cove Black Indian Pioneer Society
Cliff Drysdale, Vice Chair, Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association (SNBRA)
Unveiling of Amazing Places Designation

Cake Cutting

Bohaker Trail Hike
Cancelled, because of fire ban

Music
Lynnea Rose

Heather and I have had a long-time association with SNBRA. This ended when we left for Haida Gwaii, and subsequently, Iqaluit, Nunavut.

We returned to the region in 2000, when I became Senior Research Scientist at the Applied Geomatics Research Group (NSCC,Middleton).

Our ‘sense of place’ has remained strong, over the forty years.

After the community event, we stopped in Annapolis Royal for a coffee at the Sissiboo Café. Returning to Middleton on Highway #201, we turned off at the Spurr Road in Round Hill. I was interested in taking the West Dalhousie road via Gibson Lake to gain a sense of the fire’s extent west of the community. Gibson Lake Cemetery is where Ernest Buckler is buried (see post EBLES Meeting).

The drive served as a reminder of the isolation of the settlements along the West Dalhousie road. The same is true of the road to Delap’s Cove.

Postscript

In the future, when the fire ban is over, we must hike Charlie’s Trail. We have hiked the Bohaker Trail several times. It is one of our favourite trails in Annapolis County.

Acknowledgements

Edward is away, painting in Bear River. As part of the Smudging Ceremony, Dustin Stevenson provided an excellent handout on the First Nations world view.