Municipal Initiatives & News
HRM Places First In National Sustainable Cities RankingsCongratulations to HRM on its first-place ranking as the most sustainable medium-sized city in Canada by Corporate Knights Magazine! The ranking identifies Canadian cities with the smallest environmental footprint based on five categories: ecological integrity; economic security; governance & empowerment; infrastructure & built environment, and social well-being. Initiatives such as the Harbour Solutions Project, pesticide-use reduction program, composting and recycling systems, and the Alderney 5 Geothermal Energy Project were some of the significant initiatives in HRM's excellent ranking. HRM is Canada's Fifth Most Sustainable CityCongratulations to HRM! It has received national recognition for its sustainability efforts in the Corporate Knights magazine’s Second Annual Ranking of Canada’s Most Sustainable Cities. HRM is ranked 2nd in the medium cities category and 5th overall in the country, moving up from 17th in 2007. Initiatives such as the Harbour Solutions Project, pesticide use reduction program, composting and recycling systems, and the Alderney 5 advanced geothermal energy project were some of the significant factors in HRM’s excellent ranking. Town of Annapolis Royal: Environment Week 2007 InitiativesCoinciding with Canadian Environment Week, Annapolis Royal organized a week-long program of tours and activities to celebrate cultural and natural history, called "Environment and Sustainable Living". The program emphasized the links between cultural and natural history and how a healthy environment is critical for a vibrant and economically and culturally sustainable community. For more information, download their The Environment Week Brochure (241 kB). Town of Berwick: Seeking to be a "Model Energy Community"Launching Berwick's "energy future" for $105,000 - which could cost the town just $5,500 - is the target of a handful of new projects, big and small. For information go to the Daily Business Buzz's article, Berwick could be " a model energy Community". Town of Kentville: Carbon Offsetting Policy for Air Travel by Elected Officials and Municipal StaffThe Town of Kentville is the first municipality in the province to pass a carbon offsetting policy for air travel undertaken by its municipal officials and staff. The town will off-set the carbon dioxide emissions that are created by burning fossil fuels in flying. The town will purchase credits to fund carbon offset projects, such as tree-planting. To view, download the Kentville Carbon Off-Setting Policy. Town of Lunenburg Vs Town of Mahone Bay in CFL Bulb BattleIn June 2007, the towns of Lunenburg (Mayor Laurence Mawhinney) and Mahone Bay (Deputy Mayor John Bain), went head-to-head in a friendly, energy-efficiency battle. The Town of Lunenburg came out the winners. “Conserve Nova Scotia handed out 8,300 free compact fluorescent light bulbs to townspeople as the event kicked off – 2,500 were picked up by folks in Mahone Bay, while 5,800 people showed up at town hall in Lunenburg for their freebies.” Executive director of the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation, Brooke Cook, said the foundation measured the environmental footprint of the two towns during the contest using three criteria: mileage put on town vehicles in June and July, power usage and the amount of air travel by councilors.” At the end of the challenge, Mahone Bay had created 18.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions while Lunenburg had put out 14.81 tonnes. From: South West Shore Development Authority Energy office January 29th E-newsletter Town of New Glasgow: Making Strides in National Climate Protection ProgramIn February, 2008, officials of the Town of New Glasgow presented the Town's climate protection achievements at the FCM Sustainable Communities Conference in Ottawa. New Glasgow is one of approximately 155 communities across Canada that have signed onto the FCM’s Partners for Climate Protection Program. However, they are one of only twenty of municipalities nationally to reach the 4th stage of this five stage program milestone, placing New Glasgow in the top 15 per cent of municipal units. To read the full media release on this achievement, click here (98 kB). Town of New Glasgow: 12 Months of Energy SavingsIn April, 2007, the Town of New Glasgow launched an innovative Energy Calendar, called "New Glasgow's 12 Months of Energy Savings", that focuses on a different energy opportunity and tips for each month of the year. Download a copy of the EnergyCalendar (2.5 MB). Municipality of the District of Argyle: The Pubnico Point Wind FarmArgyle is currently home to the most wind turbine generators in the Province (17)! Pubnico Point is unique in the sense that it is the recipient of a lot of wind on a regular basis. The Pubnico Point Wind Farm has initiated the construction and operation of these farms, which can produce a measurable percentage of SUSTAINABLE power for the entire Province. Municipality of the District of Clare: The Clare Energy Project
Municipality of the District of Guysborough: Creating a Municipal Green Fund for Local OrganizationsIn 2007, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough adopted a new policy on the establishment of a Municipal Green Fund for environmental related activities/projects within the Municipality. The amount of funds allocated for this Green Fund is established annually by Council as part of the operating budget and is based on the tonnes of solid waste received at the second Generation landfill in the previous year. Under this policy an amount of $14,000 was budgeted in the 2007/2008 fiscal year for activities/projects which qualify for funding. In the fall of 2007 an amount of $5000 was approved by Committee to fund the restocking of local lakes with trout from the Fraser’s Mill Fish Hatchery. In the spring of 2008, as part oaf the budget process, Council will again determine funding under this Municipal Green Fund. Groups, organizations, or individuals may submit an application for funding of environmental related activities/projects within the Municipality. As shown in the policy, all applications for funding under this policy within the 2008/2009 fiscal year must be received no later than March 31, 2008. Municipal Vehicle Idling Initiatives Across the ProvinceMunicipal Vehicle Idling Initiatives across the Province Eco Kings Action Team - The Eco Kings Action Team is a collaborative of the Municipality of the County of Kings, the Towns of Berwick, Kentville, and Wolfville with the Kings Community Economic Development Agency, Valley Waste Resource Management, Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce, and Eastern Habitat Joint Ventures. The Eco-Kings Action Team, along with municipal councilors and high school students, will be visiting Wolfville, Kentville, Berwick, New Minas and Greenwood to spread awareness about the effects of vehicle idling on our health and our environment. To see the media release on this event, click here. Town of Kentville - Has been working towards an Idle-Free Town since late 2006. In January, 2007, the project was officially launched at an event that included a showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" and several guest speakers. Flyers on the project were sent in Utility Bills during January and May, along with radio promos. Kentville Schools were declared Idle Free Zone in January. Town Council endorsed an Anti-Idling policy for staff and elected officials in June. Kentville has been behind the adoption of idle-free zones across the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board, and the concept of idle-free zones at school sites was approved in principle by the Board in June, 2007. For more information, visit the Environmental Advisory Committee page. Town of Antigonish - In January, 2007, the Town of Antigonish
adopted an Environmental Policy on Idling of Vehicles. Operators of
town-owned vehicles are instructed to turn off vehicles when practical
to do so, and the public is requested to reduce idling activity. Download the Environmental Policy on Idling of Vehilces (38 kB) Town of Annapolis Royal launched an Anti-idling campaign in 2006. Annapolis Royal continues to be an idle free town and encourages residents and visitors to decrease their idling by at least 5 minutes a day. Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) launched their campaign
"Ladies and Gentlemen: Stop Your Engines" in April 2005 to increase
awareness about the issues related to unnecessary idling and to assist
drivers to change their vehicle idling habits. Access details on HRM's Town of New Glasgow engaged its employees in June, 2007 in an Anti-Idling Campaign. An anti-idling workshop for over 40 town employess was held. In October, 2007, anti-idling was promoted at a workshop for over 220 bus drivers from the Chignecto-Central School Board. Nova Scotia Municipalities Proactively Plan for Wind Energy Through UNSM's Wind Energy Development ProjectBoth the Municipality of the County of Cumberland and the Municipality of the District of Shelburne have been awarded funding to participate in a unique pilot project involving wind energy development in Nova Scotia. The project, led by UNSM's Municipal Sustainability Office, has received $80,000 from the Department of Energy to help the municipalities identify zones where the installation of large wind turbines is to be encouraged, discouraged or prohibited. The funding is also intended to increase public involvement around wind energy and educate Nova Scotians about the province's renewable energy and environmental goals. To meet provincial renewal energy targets, it is expected that the number of large wind turbines installed in Nova Scotia will increase significantly in the coming years. This project will help facilitate proactive, planned development of the wind energy in the two municipalities, while demonstrating the benefits to their local communities.
The primary project goal is to engage municipal government, residents and local businesses in determining general areas within each municipality where the installation of large wind turbines is appropriate and not appropriate, and what policies, bylaws and guidelines should apply to wind energy development. The Municipality of the County of Cumberland and the Municipality of the District of Shelburne have initiated work to complete three main project deliverables by December 31, 2010. These include the development of:
The success of this pilot project may result in the province expanding the initiative to other municipalities. Sustainability Initiatives in the Strait-Highlands RegionThe Strait-Highlands Region, which includes Inverness County, Richmond County and the Town of Port Hawkesbury, joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program in 2005, with the Strait-Highlands Regional Development Agency (S-HRDA) taking a lead role in this path toward sustainability. Through the pooling of resources, each partner municipality is now benefitting on several levels from being part of a more sustainable region. The PCP program provides municipalities with a framework to set and meet greenhouse gas emission targets through five steps: completing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, setting a reduction target, developing an action plan to meet the target, implementing the plan and monitoring progress. The three partner municipalities completed their emissions inventories and accepted a 20% emission reduction target for municipal operations by 2015 (the community sectors - institutional, commercial, residential, industrial and transportation - are challenged with a 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the same time period), The S-HRDA completed PCP's third milestone with the development of the Strait-Highlands Green Action initiative in the spring of 2009, which sets out plans for meeting the reduction targets. Currently, the S-HRDA is assisting the region's municipalities and their communities in year two of the implementation milestone of the PCP program. The Strait-Highlands Region is an innovator in many areas, including in the creation of a successful partnership among its municipalities to work towards completing all five milestones of the PCP program. It was also one of the first areas of Canada to perform comprehensive energy asset mapping to identify potential sources of renewable energy in the region. The Energy Asset Mapping Project also includes a guide for businesses and homeowners detailing how various technologies work and what the expected payback is for each option. For more information on the Strait-Highland Region's initiatives, please visit: http://strait-highlands.ns.ca/ |
The Municipality of the District of Clare has identified renewable resources as one of its primary focuses for economic, environmental and social development. The Project has involved the preparation of a Community Energy Master Plan, including undertaking an energy audit and corporate and community greenhouse gas emissions inventories, identifying demand-side management opportunities, evaluating renewable energy opportunities, identifying specific opportunities for renewable energy production, analysis of specific opportunities, recommendations for development and a framework for growth.