Category: Event Review

In the June 2021 issue of the Grapevine (p.12) there was a notice of a retrospective exhibit of the work by Dick Groot, photographer at the ArtCan Gallery in Canning. It ends on July 3rd and is open Tuesday- Saturday 10 am – 5 pm.

We took a run up to Canning on Saturday morning.

Dick Groot’s exhibition is titled ‘From Kodak Brownie to Smartphone’. “Dick has been working out of his studio in Wolfville since 2002. His work ranges from tidal landscapes and abandoned mills to street scenes and portraits.”

Dick trained as a survey engineer in the Netherlands. He emigrated to Canada in 1967. He worked at the GSC in Ottawa and later at the ITC, Enschede. As you might imagine our paths have crossed a couple of times, when I was at COGS (1980-88) and later at AGRG (2000-2011).

It was an absolute delight to stop at the ArtCan Cafe ‘Sketch or write in your journal with a drink and dessert’. Browse the books for sale. I could not resist ‘As the twig is bent’ by Russell Elliott. The story of growing up in the 1920’s and 1930’s in rural Nova Scotia (New Ross).

Afterwards, we stepped outside to enjoy Bruce Spicer Park and the Habitant River.

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From the Centre of Local Prosperity News, ‘Climate-induced societal and ecological breakthrough in Atlantic Canada’ a report on the First Dialogue, hosted by the Thinkers Lodge.

“Everything at its core happens locally. And yet all of us live in the same planet. So we must simultaneously be planetarium perspective as well as local perspective. What can we do to facilitate greater engagement by all localities everywhere is to support localities everywhere. So our locality should support your locality, and vice versa.” Scott Leckie.

Acknowledgements

Dick Groot captured the demise of Britex (Centrelea), Minas Basin Paper Board Mill (Hantsport), Windsor Wear Mill (Windsor). Gregory Heming chaired the First Dialogue. Heather and Siqsiq enjoyed the Canning trip. Edward provided the graphics.

References

Dick Groot, 2021, From Kodak Brownie to Smartphone: My Journey in Photography, Gaspereau Press.

Russell Elliott, 1999, As The Twig is Bent, Gaspereau Press.

Centre for Local Prosperity News, First Dialogue June 23,2021, Scott Leckie, Gregory Heming, Rankin MacSween, David Orr.

The Grapevine, June 2021, Issue 18.05, Visually Speaking : sixty five years of Dick Groot’s photography. p.12.

Postscript 1

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ‘Tis Education forms the common mind. Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.’

Postscript 2

Stories behind the lens (Dick Groot)

12A Agricultural Fair (Lawrencetown)

”The Valley has a number of agricultural fairs that are very photogenic. There is a lot of activity with shows of horse pulls, riding shows, show off competitions between youths of their sheep, cows, horses, etc. Though these are all very entertaining to watch, it is sometimes as entertaining to watch the audience. I think the portraits speak for themselves.”

There are signs of change; returning to a ‘new normal’. The Centre for Local Prosperity has announced a four part webinar series under the title ‘Climate-induced societal and ecological breakthrough in Atlantic Canada’. The details are available at their web site.

The four seminars cover these topics for Atlantic Canada.

June 16. Governing for Ecological Citizenship
June 30. Economic Growth at the Crossroads : a shift to a steady state regenerative economy
July 14. Empowering the Rights of Nature Revolution
July 28. An Ethic of Place: a Summary Dialogue

Given, Stephen McNeil has resigned his provincial seat. Given, the number of issues at the municipal level, it is critical that we understand the importance of an ethics of place in the region.

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At the local level, Roger Mosher provided access to his music lists through Dropbox. Roger curated these lists for his Second Life community.

Walking Siqsiq along Highway 201 in Paradise, it is hard not to notice the blooms on the Horse Chestnut trees, and also to enjoy the scent from the Black Locust trees.

Acknowledgements

Bob Cervelli and Gregory Heming for their work at the Centre for Local Prosperity. Roger Mosher provided access to the music lists. Heather and Siqsiq share the walks in the region. Edward added the graphics,

References

Centre for Local Prosperity web site http://centreforlocalprosperity.ca/

Brain Pickings Mid-week Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

Thursday evening, I attended the Gordonstoun Nova Scotia Information Forum put on by Friends of Gordonstoun Nova Scotia (FOGNS) at Cornwallis Park. The moderator was Linda Hume Leahy. FOGNS is a citizen support group, numbering over 600 members.

The one and a half hour presentation was made by Richard Thorne and Kate Cornell on behalf of Gordonstoun NS. The event was under strict COVID social distancing and face mask rules. There were between 60-80 citizens in the audience. Thorne is Acting Principal. Cornell is Development Officer. Consultant, Edward Ferren was in the audience. Because of COVID there was no opportunity to ask questions from the floor.

Richard and Kate provided an in-depth background to the Gordonstoun philosophy, the role of Kurt Hahn and the establishment of Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland. Gordonstoun education for life includes teamwork, responsibility, resilience, achievement and compassion. The experience includes Outward Bound, the Duke of Edinburgh awards, and the Round Square movement. In the words of Hahn, it responds to the six declines of modern youth: fitness, initiative and enterprise, memory and imagination, skill and care, self-discipline and compassion.

The timeline for Gordonstoun Nova Scotia: they will be breaking the ground in late Spring 2021, hiring VP Academic and VP Finance by September 2021. First intake will be September 2022. There will be six hundred students, fifty-plus staff. The students will be Grade 9-12. The curriculum will be part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The school will be not for profit and will offer full scholarships (two for Nova Scotia students and two for non- Nova Scotia students) valued at $78k for each of four years.

There will opportunity for the community to be involved through maintenance of the site, local provisioning and collaboration. The question posed : How are you going to be involved with us? And vice versa?

Overall, there was a lot of good background information. Via the Gordonstoun UK web site there are a range of videos on teamwork, responsibility, resilience, achievement, compassion. From a geographic perspective, there are many similarities between the Annapolis Basin and Moray, Scotland

between mountain and the water

— Kurt Hahn

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Friends of Gordonstoun Nova Scotia for organizing the forum.

References

go to gordonstoun.org.uk to find the link to the videos

check Google for more on Kurt Hahn and his educational philosophy.

Ashley Thompson, SaltWire, 23 October 2020, “Citizen Group Formed in Support of Gordonstoun School”

We went to Annapolis Royal to see the exhibition, Annapolis Basin : Rising to the Challenge by Sally O’Grady and David Colville at the ARTsPLACE.

It is there until December 19th. Heather and I loved the townscape paintings by Sally. David provided the maps in the brochure (adding the geography).

It did make us ‘rise to the challenge’. The challenge is educating our Annapolis County community about climate change, and in this part of Nova Scotia, sea level rise.

I can imagine the following. Sally’s paintings show us the current skyline around the Annapolis Basin. Just think, using the latest estimates of sea level rise, and storm surges, with a projector unit, we could show where these estimates would impact the communities. This would offer a wonderful education opportunity. I am hoping there will be a second edition which gives citizens some idea of the changes in 2030 and 2050, based on the latest science. That’s my challenge!

Afterwards, we stopped at the Great Expectations Books & Cafe. JoAnn had found a copy of Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

We had promised to find it, and send it on to Quinn in Iqaluit. Imagine our surprise in Lawrencetown, when an hour later we received in the mail from Indigo a modern reprint of the same book. Heather had ordered it, not expecting JoAnn to find the missing volume. A bonus for our grandchildren.

The afternoon was capped with a walk with Siqsiq around the French Basin trail.

Next week (Monday 7-9 pm) there is Annapolis County Extinction Rebellion meeting at the Centrelea Community Hall. This will give us an update on the forestry practices in the Tobeatic region. From the feedback to my last blog (Crown Lands), we need to continue to challenge NS Lands and Forestry on their Crown Lands policies.

This map could be the Annapolis Basin. The sailors could be from the new Gordonstoun School.

Acknowledgements

JoAnn for finding the Arthur Ransome book. Sally and David for their challenge. I hope they can take it to the next level.

References

Arthur Ransome, 1930. Swallows and Amazons Puffin Books (1962)

Alistair MacLeod, 1986. As Birds bring forth the Sun and Other Stories. McClelland and Stewart (PenguinRandomHouse).

Postscript

I found a copy of the Alistair MacLeod short stories at the Great Expectations Cafe. Meanwhile, Tony Berger’s book on Ella Manuel continues to inspire me with the local stories from Bonne Bay.

This is written from a Geographer‘s perspective. Nina Newington and the team from Extinction Rebellion would likely have a different, but complementary perspective.

Step 1 Where are the spray parcels? There were three parcels for spraying in Annapolis County. What are their PIDs? (Parcel Identification)

Given the PIDs, they can be located on a map. David Colville at COGS produced a map showing the three parcels on a topographic map base.

Step 2 How do you get to the parcels if you plan to occupy the site?

This requires field work. Driving rough logging roads looking for access points to the spray parcels. Since the decision has been made to occupy, you need good directions and maps to assist anyone interested in the occupation. David added routes to the parcel map.

Step 3 Which residents of Annapolis County will be directly impacted by the spray? i.e. down slope / down wind. The most adjacent citizens live along West Inglisville Road and Highway 201.

We produced an 8 x 11″ handout with a map of South Mountain showing the parcels. On the back, the warden’s letter to the province requesting NO Spraying in Annapolis County. We distributed the handout to citizens in the immediate area. This led to the identification of Mud Lake as part of the Village of Lawrencetown water supply catchment.

Step 4 Once the protest camp was in place, contacted Neil Green about drone photography of the site. This clearly shows the camp on the spray parcel. Release information to the media.

These are only some of the actions. Others include making signs visible from the air, placards, posters. We received excellent support from Integrity Printers, Lucky Rabbit, ARCH and PO bakery.

What are the lessons?

1. Engage other like minded citizens and protest organizations
2. Create products that can be understood by the different groups (i.e. maps)
3. Support community organizations representing citizens e.g. Municipality of Annapolis, Village of Lawrencetown to lobby provincial government.

What next?

We now have had a second small victory – first Burlington and now Eel Weir Lake and Paradise Lake (Roxbury). We know there are 42 sites across the province approved for spraying by Nova Scotia Environment in Amherst. We have stopped 3 sites in Annapolis County and one in Kings County. Where are the other 38 sites?

What do citizens need from this government?

1. A searchable map of all ‘current’ crown land.
2. A map of the crown land that has been made available to the forest industry for harvest.
3. A map of the land that has already been harvested by clear-cutting or ecological forestry.
4. A map of the current clear-cuts. That shows which have already been sprayed. That shows which are designated for spraying. (38 sites). The spray window is September 1 – November 1.

Conclusion

Access to geographic information is critical. We need maps, drone photography, satellite imagery. These resources can help generate input from citizens as part of the decision process. We cannot achieve sustainable Forestry without these inputs. Citizens need to know when crown land has been redefined, and for what purpose.

There is a wonderful role for students at the community college (e.g. COGS) to help make this type of Geographic information available to community groups.

For a different forestry perspective, check out the CBC interview with Ken Gray, the province/WestFor is competing directly with the small loggers in SW Nova Scotia.

The bottom line … we need to start respecting the landscape, it’s inhabitants and fellow citizens. No clear-cutting and no spraying. There is a better way.

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge the efforts of Heather Stewart. She was instrumental in the design of posters, placards and sandwich boards. She also conducted much of the door to door contact with residents. I want acknowledge Nina Newington in her communication and coordination role. Politically, Timothy Habinski and Council, Brian Reid and the water supply committee for Lawrencetown were the interface with the provincial government. Thank you. Finally, Larry Powell for his excellent video and Neil Green for dramatic drone imagery. Edward Wedler for adding the graphics. He understands Remote Sensing too.

Postscript

Camping out in a gravel pit in a clear-cut, listening to coyotes, makes you appreciate the plight of the homeless in our cities. Reminds me of George Orwell’s book ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’.

This Tuesday, Annapolis County municipal council voted unanimously to send a letter to the provincial Ministers of Lands and Forests, and Environment to stop aerial spraying of glyphosate in the County. In particular, three parcels owned by Freeman Lumber Ltd: two in Roxbury adjacent to Paradise Lake and one next to Eel Weir Lake.

This weekend, a map was produced showing the three parcels on a topographic base.

Also, on the weekend, I finished reading Brenda Thompson’s book Tales from the End of the Old Military Road.

I found these two paragraphs relevant today.

“Most local people were disgusted and referred to the clear cuttings as ‘moonscapes’. The land looked barren, scary as if the world we knew was coming to an end And this was what the new world would look like. The new world was called Clear Cutting and everything in the path of the monsters, save one ridiculous little patch of trees was sheared, ripped and slashed down. Trees, brush, nests, dens – it did not matter to the Monsters. All of it was to be killed.” p.134.

“The local people had tried hard to convince both their government and the corporations that logging could be done in a different manner, a responsible manner which did not have land looking like a war zone with animals, birds and even mushrooms losing their habitats. The government listened but were politically beholden to the corporations.” p.135.

What can we do?

Over two years ago, I have posted a couple of blogs.

Community monitoring of the landscape, 21 January 2018 (Drone video link HERE).

The Five Little Pigs, 04 May 2018 (Drone video link HERE).

These blogs have links to drone video of the clearcuts on South Mountain taken by Neil Green.

What can we do today in 2020?

We can encourage Annapolis County Municipal council to represent the interests of its citizens. DONE.

We can obtain maps of Annapolis County which show all theparcels that have been clearcut, their ownership and spray schedule.

We should notify citizens living down stream/ down slope of the spray parcels.

We should work with forestry companies to adhere to ecological forestry practices, especially in those watersheds containing rural communities.

Acknowledgements

The support of the Annapolis County Municipal Council. The Burlington team and the Extinction Rebellion group for dogged determination. Edward supplied the blog graphics.

Postscript

Heather joined me on a road trip this evening (Wednesday). From our house on Hwy#201, we went up the Trout Lake Road to the Crisp Road and to Hwy. #10. Turn off to Trout Lake Road. Drive logging roads to Roxbury, from Roxbury to Hwy #201 and home. Total distance 39 km. Time 6 pm – 7:40 pm. We were in a Honda CRV. Only recommend for high clearance trucks.

Reference

Brenda Thompson, 2019. Tales from the End of the Old Military Road. Moose House Publications.

Heather and I, along with a number of other Annapolis County residents, went to the Burlington Community Hall in Kings County to hear about the protest against aerial spraying of glyphosate of 115 acres of land owned by Five Islands Forest Development Ltd.

At the meeting, it was confirmed that the property owners no longer intend to spray. In the words of Don Osburn:

“We are asking Nova Scotians to stand up and join us to get the province to agree to end the spraying of herbicides on the woodlands in Nova Scotia. It has to stop. It’s unsustainable. We’re in a climate emergency. That’s all there is to it.”

— Don Osburn

As residents of Annapolis County, we are asking our municipal council to pass a motion to stop clear cutting and aerial spraying in the county. We know that there are parcels scheduled for spraying in the Inglisville and Paradise section of South Mountain.

The next steps are to identify the parcels on a map, their size, ownership and the schedule for spraying. We need to know where organic farms/orchards and operations exist. The spray season has started September 1st. We need to come up with a citizen action plan.

In Burlington, Leo Glavine, MLA for Kings County spoke against the spraying of glyphosate. We need the same leadership in Annapolis County, at both the municipal and provincial table. In Burlington, Nina Newington from Extinction Rebellion, and resident of Annapolis County, spoke against clear cutting and aerial spraying in Nova Scotia.

In the words of Dave Gunning, “What shall I do with these hands of mine?“

Acknowledgements

Cathy and Rick Ketcheson joined us for the drive to Burlington. Nina Newington, Jane, Olga and Stephanie were also there from Annapolis County. Edward joined us in spirit.

References

Ashley Thompson. Kings County News. September 3rd.

Dave Gunning, These Hands, 2012.

Living in Annapolis County, one of the many pleasures is to be able to support local businesses. It is a joy to go to the D’Aubin Family Meats market and purchase smoked bacon and fresh-made sausages.

This week, Susan Robinson-Burnie organized a ‘meet and greet’ at Paul and Fiona Hubble’s farm. There were six Annapolis County municipal election candidates from six different districts in Annapolis County. The venue had a number of positives:

• the opportunity to meet neighbours on Hwy # 201.
• to hear questions from like-minded citizens of District #7.
• to recognize that candidate councillors from different districts represent a collective demand for change.

Of course, there were a few things missing, from my perspective.

We are hearing about the prospect of forest spraying on South Mountain. If this goes ahead, it will impact all of the watershed flowing into the Annapolis River.

If the municipal council represents the interests of the citizens of Annapolis County.

1) What is the voice to the provincial government on forestry land-use practices?
2) Does the county have a land-use plan?
3) Do we have a land-use planner?
4) How do the concerns of Annapolis County citizens get voiced at the provincial table? Through Stephen McNeil?
5) Is Annapolis County, the only municipal unit that does not have input into provincial land use plans?

It seems time for citizens to be heard at both the municipal table and the provincial table.

Indeed, do we really need two tables? One balanced on top of the other?
Does that not result in a lack of accountability to the citizens ?

How does it work in other geographies, larger in size, or with a greater population?
Are we suffering from the Nova Scotia factor? Our history, our geography?

Postscript
We recommend the forest walk around First Lake outside of Annapolis Royal.
Park at Highway #101 and enter across the road. Follow the signs.

Acknowledgements
Edward for his graphics. Heather for her concern about the spraying.

Before COVID, on Friday evenings I would meet with Roger Mosher at the End of the Line pub. Today, rumour has it that the End of the Line Pub has been purchased by the Lunn’s Mill Beer Co. team. Perhaps, in the Fall, we can anticipate drinking local beers at the renovated End of the Line pub in Bridgetown. Hopefully, we will still be able to drink a beer at Lunn’s Mill.

On Friday, Roger hosted a gathering at his house in Centrelea. He gave us a tour of his ‘forest garden’. Bill Crossman arrived with two boxes of books that he had read in recent years.

Heather picked out:
Jared Diamond’s Upheaval: Turning points for Nations in Crisis.
Roger Bregman’s Humankind: A Hopeful History.

Three books caught my attention.
Randall Fuller’s The Book that changed America: How Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation.
J.B.MacKinnon’s The Once and Future World: nature as it was, as it is, as it could be.
Jonathan Manthorpe’s Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s campaign of influence and intimidation in Canada.

To date, I have just started Fuller’s book. It opens with a description of a New Years Eve dinner party in Concord, Massachusetts in 1860. Attendees are Sanborn, Brace, Alcott and Thoreau. The four men discuss Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life’.

“The copy of ‘On the Origin of Species‘ that Brace brought with him, belonged to his cousin, Asa Gray’.

From Thoreau’s journal:

“To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise.’

“A man receives only what he is ready to receive………We hear and apprehend only what we already half know.” p.12.

It was a wonderful act of generosity for Bill to bring the two boxes to our gathering in Centrelea.

Postscript

From Emergence Magazine, a conversation with David Abram. The Ecology of Perception.

“Falling in love with the local earth is the deepest medicine”

This weekend, Heather and I managed to get away to Kejimkujik National Park for a canoe on the lake. Sunday, we challenged ourselves with a bicycle ride to Middleton and back. Finally, from my fitness session with Cathy at Healthy Bodies, I am practising the art of ‘walking backwards’ to strengthen my left hip joint.

Acknowledgements

Roger for his hospitality. Bill for access to the boxes of books. Heather for sharing the weekend activities. Edward for the graphics.

References

Randall Fuller, 2017. The Book that Changed America: How Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation. PenguinRandomHouse.
J.B. MacKinnon. 2014. The Once and Future World: nature as it was, as it is, as it could be. PenguinRandomHouse.
Jonathan Manthorpe, 2019. Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s campaign of influence and intimidation in Canada. Cormorant Books.
Jared Diamond, 2019. Upheaval: Turning points for Nations in Crisis. Little Brown & Company.
Rutger Bregman, 2019. Humankind: A Hopeful History. Little Brown & Company.