Water Conservation Blog

So Thankful for Fracktivists!

Submitted by Emma Hebb on Fri, 2011-10-07 16:18

For a while now I've been telling you about fracking and asking you to get involved. First on Victoria Day weekend I asked you to become informed and to submit written comments to the Nova Scotia Government. On the August Long Weekend I asked you to join with protestors across the Maritimes and to rally for the preservation of beautiful provinces-protecting them against fracking.

Thanksgiving weekend will be no different. As I sit currently, along the shores of Skiff Lake, New Brunswick I am so thankful for the natural features that make the provinces of Atlantic Canada such wonderful places to live in. The good water, clean air, rich soils-all which are threatened by fracking.... Read more »

Time to take Fraction!

Submitted by Emma Hebb on Thu, 2011-07-14 14:01

Another week, another fight against fracking. It's hard to believe that this time last year I'd never heard of fracking. It wasn't till CCNB's Stephanie Merrill first told me about it at a water conservation conference last August that I became concerned.

Even more concerning to me was when I heard the province of Nova Scotia was seeking fracking proposals for the Malagash Formation. Growing up in Wallace, Nova Scotia I'm well accquainted with Malagash, the next community to the east along Nova Scotia's precious Northern Shore. I spent time as a child going to Blue Sea Beach (pictured), an amazing beach in Malagash. How will fracking affect those places of my childhood. Reading the local paper "The Light" a few months ago the pages were filled with concerns about fracking.... Read more »

No Frack Fridays

Submitted by Emma Hebb on Thu, 2011-07-07 17:09

Have you seen the video from the Fracking Protest in NB? If not, you should watch it here ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5H9BMy_9t0 ). When I watched it I was astonished at how Minister Northrup seemed to have no idea what leasing the mineral rights to a company means. Though he states in the video that those individuals that say no will not have fracking on their land, I’m not sure how he can guarantee it. I’ve heard that a lot of the seismic testing in NB is being done along the roadside to avoid working with landowners all together, so how can we say “No Means No”?... Read more »

The Fracking Facts

Submitted by Emma Hebb on Mon, 2011-05-23 12:55

Happy Victoria Day everyone. To celebrate I decided to check out the Nova Scotia fracking consultation documents, they can be found at

http://www.gov.ns.ca/energy/oil-gas/onshore/hydraulic-fracturing.asp .

Much to my surprise...or perhaps dismay...both the fact and FAQ sheets seemed a little industry bias. In my discontent I printed them off and marked them up with red coloured pencil. But why stop there? Public comments are due by June 6th, 2011 and all Nova Scotians need to be involved, so I've uploaded my mark-ups to flickr you can view them at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scacc/sets/72157626787659978/ ... Read more »

Water - Not a resource, but sacred

Submitted by Rebecca McQuaid on Mon, 2011-04-04 09:56

Talk to David Suzuki about water, and he’ll tell you it’s not a resource – it’s sacred. And if David Suzuki is telling you something is sacred, well, you better pay attention. So this one’s for you, Suzuk…

Rebecca’s Modified Water Challenge:

Okay, it took me an eternity to get around to doing this challenge. I don’t know why—I was really psyched for it after my first blog post, but then the “can’t-do” attitude started to sink in. I mean, the idea of preparing to do it just seemed like a lot of work:

● How was I going to keep track of my water use?... Read more »

Picture Tour of a Watershed

Submitted by Heidi Verheul on Thu, 2011-03-24 10:06

I was very inspired after reading Emma's post about how close she feels to her watershed, I tinkered away at a google map and came up with this.

Using the frame on the left hand of the page, you can scroll through and sequentially click on each stop of the tour. You can also zoom in on the map.

You can access the google map here.

You can also see larger version of the photos in a slideshow on Flickr here.

Caley Sutherland on Water Conservation in the Real World

Submitted by Rebecca McQuaid on Tue, 2011-03-22 10:30

Dear Sierra Club Members and Supporters,

My name is Caley Sutherland, I'm a Sierra Club intern helping Rebecca co-ordinate the SierraBuddies program in Charlottetown. Not only has Rebecca been a great mentor, she has also allowed me to publish my own water blog under her name.

This blog was really hard for me to write. I'm stuck between being truthful and being overly hopeful, something I believe is a very common occurrence in many personal and greater environmental challenges.

To help celebrate World Water Week, the challenge was to use only 25L of water a day. For one day, a few days, a week, or a month. As long as you could! Although very conscious of my water usage since this idea was brought to my attention, my documentation spanned three days.

... Read more »

Let the Rain Fall Down!

Submitted by Nicole Oliver on Mon, 2011-03-21 16:32

All the melted snow has me itching to get into my garden. I know a few people have been posting pictures of snowdrops and crocuses on their Facebook accounts and I have noticed my rose bushes hyacinths are showing some new growths! But what is stopping me from getting outside and working with the soil seems to be how wet everything is. All year long a brook runs across the South perimeter of our property, cuts across the lawn and under the driveway to a nice swampy area on the North side. Around this time of the year another small brook runs East to West, emptying into the larger brook.

However, the abundance of water doesn’t last and I find my little rose bed bone dry by August. Roses are a very thirsty plant and so are many ornamental species, as any well seasoned gardener would know. But gardening doesn’t have to be so water intensive. There are a few different ways you can reduce the amount of water your garden swallows up in a summer.... Read more »

Of Lakes and Mines: A Sandy Pond Chronicle

Submitted by Nicole Renaud on Mon, 2011-03-21 13:20

For this week’s blog I will be talking about Sandy Pond. The astute Sierra Club website and blog follower will likely have come across the coverage of the issue on the website, but for those who have not heard of the fabulous Sandy Pond Alliance and its worthy cause and campaign, I will not-so-briefly introduce you to the issue.