NSEN updates, member news and events, calls to action, green job opportunities, and more!
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NSEN News & Updates
Member Updates
Calls to Action
Nova Scotia Environmental News
Green Job Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities
Other Information
NSEN Updates
Read the Proceedings from NSEN's Annual Meeting with the Minister of Environment
Our annual meetings between NSEN members and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSECC) provide an opportunity for organized citizens to discuss important issues with top provincial environmental officials, and likewise provide an opportunity for the Minister to listen and learn about the activities and priorities of local environmental organizations of all sizes. These meetings help maintain open communication between Nova Scotians and the government, ensuring our voices and on-the-ground insights are recognized.
For over two decades, the Water Caucus has brought together those engaged in watershed and river health, wetland protection and habitat restoration, ocean and coastal preservation, water quality monitoring and citizen science, aquatic invasive species management, environmental justice, and water governance in Nova Scotia. After a 2024 relaunch, we now have representation from 30+ water-focused organizations across the province, and we are looking to expand!
Our purpose is to foster connection, share expertise, and amplify the voices of water-focused organizations in shaping policy and practice across Nova Scotia. Whether you're interested in source water protection, education, restoration, or advocacy, your insights and experience are vital to this network.
If you are passionate about water and want to join the caucus, please contact us at water@nsenvironmentalnetwork.com. Please extend this email to anyone in your network as well. We’d be happy to share more details and welcome all to the conversation.
NSEN is growing, and we want you to be part of it! With new members, exciting events, and stronger collaboration across the province, there's never been a better time to be connected.
As a member, you can: ✅ Join provincial caucuses on key topics like water, biodiversity, and environmental education ✅ Participate in our annual meeting with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change ✅ Share your events, projects, job postings, and calls to action through our newsletter and social media ✅ Highlight your work in free webinars hosted by NSEN ✅ Recruit volunteers through our Volunteer Hub ✅ Connect with like-minded individuals and organizations at NSEN events
If you're a past member, we’d love to welcome you back! If you haven't yet renewed for 2025, now’s the time. And if you're thinking about joining for the first time, there's never been a better moment!
If you’re unsure about your membership status or would like to learn more about joining, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We’re always happy to connect!
Enjoy the Dartmouth Ice Festival THIS WEEKEND in company of the Back to the Sea Centre.
The Centre will be open on Saturday the 31st from 12:00-3:00pm to coincide with the Ice Fest Street Party on Portland St. You'll also find our pop up at Ferry Terminal Park on Sunday Feb 1st from 12:00-3:00pm.
Five Bridges Wilderness Trust: Save the Date: 2026 Annual General Meeting
Step Into Stewardship — Be Part of Guiding the Future of the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area. The Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust invites community members, supporters, and partners to attend our upcoming Annual General Meeting on March 14, 2026, from 2:00–4:00 p.m.
The meeting will take place at the Estabrooks Community Centre, where we’ll share updates on current projects, celebrate achievements, and outline priorities for the coming year.
As we prepare for the AGM, we encourage members to renew their memberships and support the Trust’s volunteer driven conservation work. Annual memberships are $10 for individuals or $15 for families. You can acquire your membership at the AGM (Cash only) or visit our website linked below. Your membership helps fund trail improvements, conservation projects, and community outreach across the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area — sustaining the wild spaces we all care about.
This AGM is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow wilderness stewards, learn more about ongoing conservation efforts, and help shape the direction of the Trust’s work. We look forward to seeing you there!
Nature Nova Scotia: Seeking Window Tape Demo Sites
Nature Nova Scotia is seeking public spaces such as cafés, libraries, and community centres within the Halifax Regional Municipality that are interested in having free bird-safe window tape installed on 1 - 2 windows to help reduce reflections and make glass visible to birds.
Join Nature Nova Scotia for a hands-on owl pellet dissection event for youth and their families! Owl pellets are not poop! They’re compact bundles of fur, feathers, and bones that owls cough up after eating. Using tweezers and other simple tools, participants will carefully pull apart real owl pellets to uncover tiny bones and even skulls from the animals owls eat.
All welcome to play, listen or snowshoe our trails.
The Deanery Project: Expression of Grief, Loss, and Healing Concert
Saturday, February 1st
Come join us, all are welcome.
NS Walks: Become a Walk Leader. Check out the upcoming training course from Hike NS!
Join our growing network of volunteer walk leaders to help us support more adults in Nova Scotia to get out walking! NS Walks has local community-based walking groups. We are looking for people interested in leading gentle, fun, friendly regularly scheduled walks for adults who are currently less active. Take our free walk leader training to give you the skills and confidence to lead these walks. Most sessions are virtual (join from your home) and some are in person.
Date: Wednesday, February 18th (register by February 17) Time: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m Format: Zoom - Register HERE
Hike NS: Solar Lighting for Trails & Public Spaces Webinar
Hike Nova Scotia will host the Solar Lighting for Trails and Public Spaces webinar with Solar Winds Energy. It will explore how modern solar lighting solutions can safely and sustainably enhance trails, parks, waterfronts and public spaces.
Halifax North West Trails Association: Opening ceremony for the new length of trail built in the Mainland Common
Our board members and community leaders will be there to lead a guided walk and answer your questions.
The ceremony will be Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 1:30 PM. We will meet at the trailhead at 210 Thomas Raddall Drive, Halifaxadjacent to the BMO Soccer Centre parking lot.
Halifax North West Trails Association: HRM's Big Backyard
A talk will be hosted atKeshen Goodman Public Libraryto learn about Blue Mountain - Birch Cove Lakes and other Nova Scotian hiking areas.
Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Calls to Action
Scotian Shores: Join Us Earth Day Weekend in Yarmouth
At Scotian Shores, we believe that data creates change. Every year, our "Ocean Warriors" take on a special challenge: tracking a specific type of debris to see just how much of it is impacting our coastlines. It’s a way for us to turn a simple cleanup into a powerful piece of citizen science. Last year, our focus was on tires, and together we successfully hauled 1,041 tires out of the environment! This year, we are shifting our focus to the smaller but incredibly persistent Lobster Bands. By counting these individually, we can better understand the scale of this specific plastic issue and continue to advocate for cleaner, safer waters.
The strength of our group has always been in our numbers, and last year those numbers were nothing short of staggering. Across the province, we saw a massive surge in community involvement. Here is a look at what we accomplished together in 2025:
Total Debris Removed in 2025: 284,979 lbs Reported Cleanups in 2025: 1,359 across Nova Scotia
Join Us: Earth Day Weekend in Yarmouth Looking ahead, we have a major event on the horizon! We are heading to Yarmouth for Earth Day Weekend (April 24–26) for a massive community effort. This weekend is more than just a cleanup; it’s a celebration of our environment and a call to action.
We need your help! We are currently looking for local volunteers in the Yarmouth area to assist with organizing and logistics. If you are passionate about your community and want to help us make this our biggest Earth Day yet, we would love to have you on the planning team. From coordinating sites to helping manage supplies, there is a role for everyone.
Ready to dive in? If you're in the Yarmouth area and want to help us organize the Earth Day events, please reach out to us directly atscotianshores@gmail.com
There is an inconvenient truth at Sandy Lake, and it threatens everything we’re trying to preserve: The Nova Scotia government plans to trade an irreplaceable natural treasure for convenience.
The government’s plan - the easy path - allows development in the very wetlands and tributaries that feed the lake. Disturb this watershed, and the damage will ripple through Sandy Lake, Marsh Lake, and the Sackville River – and we all lose this rich ecosystem forever. It’s a domino effect we cannot afford. That is the inconvenient truth. The rules of nature.
But it’s not too late. The province can still choose to work with developers to find a better site for housing - one that doesn’t sacrifice our shared future.
Your voice matters.
Contact your MLA: https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles Challenge the claim that lakeside development does no harm - that’s a fantasy. Demand they remove Sandy Lake from the SPA fast-track list.
Thousands of lobster bands are being found along N.S. shorelines. This environmental group says it's hazardous
In 2 weeks of the new year Scotian Shores has already collected 15,000 lobster bands with. The founder Angela Riley said where the bands were once proclaimed as biodegradable, it's now known they pose a threat to animals.
Washed up remains from the fishing industry from lobster bands to lobster traps are having a huge influence on the garbage accumulating on our coast. From the processing plants that have pumping it out into the bay, and fishermen washing off their decks, Scotian Shores, hopes people just try to be a little more careful and for regulations to be more closely monitored.
Hydroponic farm in New Glasgow offers food stability, job opportunities
Summer Street Farm is a controlled environment agriculture facility is the largest wheelchair accessible hydroponics modular firm in Canada. Specialising in leafy vegetables, they donate a large part of their harvests back to the community, to the local food bank, the health authorities, and a local high school's free lunch program.
Their employees have diverse abilities, coming to learn skills of farming based-off their interests, and to contribute to something bigger as part of their community.
Amnesty International joins fight for Nova Scotia dump site cleanup and safe water
Amnesty International has joined a long-standing community fight to bring clean water to a settlement of African Nova Scotians whose properties have wells and are next to an old garbage dump that operated for 70 years in Shelburne.
Starting in the 1940's residential, hospital, and military garbage was piled up and burned for decades, just closing down 10 years ago. There are concerns the dump has contaminated well water and has caused health issues, supported by a ground water report from Dillons Consulting, and with ongoing studies at McMaster and Dalhousie universities being conducted on health effects.
Members of Amnesty’s Canadian office toured the area in late October to hear first-hand stories of historical and ongoing concerns. David Matsinhe, the group’s director, said this is a matter of fundamental human rights — the rights to clean drinking water and to land tenure. After the visit, Amnesty drafted a letter to Shelburne town council and the mayor in support of the residents “as they work to address long-standing environmental and racial injustices” urging officials to provide safe drinking water, a cleanup of the dump site and accountability for what's “widely recognized as a case of environmental racism.”
Assembly of N.S. Mi'kmaw Chiefs buys land put up for sale near sacred petroglyphs
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs recently purchased lands adjacent to a Bedford Barrens petroglyphs to protect it from development and keep it accessible. The petroglyphs feature a Mi’kmaw eight-pointed star and an abstract figure ,with research suggesting they were carved with stone tools, dating their creation to pre-contact.
The Glooscap First Nation Chief Sidney Peters thanked the sellers for giving the assembly time to secure the properties, stating, “Development of these lands without Mi’kmaw control or input could have significantly compromised the integrity of the petroglyph sites and the ability for future generations of Mi’maq to access such a significant area”. The purchase was made possible through funding provided by Wskijnu’k Mtmo’taqnuow Agency (WMA), an economic development partnership between the province’s 13 Mi’kmaw communities.
N.S. artist helps kelp grow in homemade clay pots in underwater art installation
Kelp is a food source and provides shelter for many marine species, but warmer ocean temperatures have decimated its population in Nova Scotia. That's why, Kit Tymoshuk, a Dalhousie University student is mixing their passion for conservation and art to make clay pots that can house baby kelp, keeping it anchored and helping it grow.
Tymoshuk took inspiration from corals, trees and barnacles to make them look like they belong in nature, and sourced the clay from local bogs. After five weeks in Dalhousie's Aquatron , baby kelp started to grow from the top of the pots, and they were ready to be transported to their new home, Cranberry Cove, a popular diving spot near Peggys Cove, in December.
Don't forget that you can check out the NSEN Job Board at any time to see the latest job opportunities with NSEN members. Submit a new position or apply today!
East Coast Environmental Law: Research and Communications Officer
East Coast Environmental Law (ECEL) is seeking a Research and Communications Officer to join our team for a fixed term from March 2 - December 18, 2026. The Research and Communications Officer will work collaboratively with the ECEL team to support key strategic communication and outreach goals.
Location: Anywhere in Atlantic Canada (working remotely)
The Deanery Project is inviting applications for a new Executive Director to lead our Environmental and Arts Learning Centre into its next chapter! The Deanery’s evolution since our start up in 2012 has been shaped by a blend of land-based learning, environmental stewardship, arts practice, and community-rooted work. We are seeking a leader with deep alignment to the Deanery’s values, relationships, and collaborative, community-based approach.
This next phase offers an opportunity to build on strong foundations while welcoming new perspectives, evolving possibilities, and responsiveness to emerging local, regional, and global issues.
The EAC is looking for a Finance Manager to lead, manage, and mentor the Finance Team, ensuring robust financial systems and controls to safeguard organizational assets. The Finance Manager will liaise across the organization, including seven Action Teams, Fundraising, and Operations, and advise at the Senior Leadership and Board level, working to facilitate risk mitigation and informed decision-making at all levels. They will lead in a collaborative manner across projects, effectively communicating complex financial data to diverse audiences.
Location: Hybrid work environment with the expectation to be in Halifax office at least 2 days per week.
We are looking for a self-motivated, dynamic, creative, and enthusiastic individual who is passionate about outdoor learning and getting learners to spend more time outside. The Education Program Coordinator (EPC) works with the Program Manager and Executive Director to assist with coordinating, promoting, and executing our North American-wide events throughout the school-year, such as Take Me Outside (TMO) Day and the TMO for Learning Challenge, alongside other initiatives such as our seasonal virtual workshop series for educators.
Small Holdings Farm is a small-scale vegetable and flower farm in Pictou County, selling primarily direct to consumers through an on-farm store and CSA program (Community Support Agriculture) of over 250 households. This position will have the employee working in production and harvest. Day-to-day tasks include field preparation, planting, weeding, harvesting, and general care for the crops (vegetable and flowers) using hand tools. Work will be physical, including lots of bending, lifting and shovelling, etc. and will take place outdoors in all weather.
Have you visited NSEN's Volunteer Hub yet? This tool is a powerful one-stop-shop where NSEN members can post volunteer positions and our network of volunteers can view and apply for opportunities that fit their interests. Submit a new position or apply today!
Nova Scotia Water Caucus: Outreach and Events Committee Member
Potential Duties
Attend monthly Outreach and Event Committee meetings
Contribute to building a contact list of stakeholders across the water sector and recruit wider participation in the Water Caucus
Research networking events, conferences, workshops, booth opportunities, in person events, and online meetings to share with the caucus
Organize guest speakers and webinar opportunities for the caucus and general public to share their work in the water sector and learn about other's projects
Plan in-person events for the caucus and public for education and outreach
Run a Water Caucus social media page, educating the public, and highlighting different initiatives and events of the Caucus
Take on specific roles based on interests and expertise, including: Co-chair, Secretary, Event Planner, Recruitment/Outreach, Communications
Skills Needed
A passion for raising awareness for water conservation through outreach, education, and/or events
Organization and attention to detail skills
An understanding of the importance of collaboration and advocacy
Familiar with online meeting platforms and forums.
Commitment: 1 hour per month with flexibility for more involvement for specific tasks or projects.
ESCOM & The Deanery Project: Social and External Communications
Potential Duties
Create and schedule social media posts, newsletters, and updates.
Design graphics or visuals to support ESCOM activities.
Create, maintain and update the ESCOM social networks with recent results, events, and stories.
Liaise with media outlets and partner organizations.
Skills Needed
Excellent writing and editing skills, familiarity with social media platforms and scheduling tools, basic graphic design skills (e.g., Canva), comfortable engaging with diverse audiences and responding to inquiries.
Commitment: Up to three hours per week when only monitoring activities are planned. Up to three extra hours per week when special field visits or events are organised.
Visit sites and survey for birds for 30 mins at each site (binos & basic bird knowledge needed)
Attend market booths and encourage volunteer sign-up
Attend events as a back up guide
Skills Needed Binoculars a scope are required for surveying. For data entry, you need attention to detail and need to know how to use google sheets or excel.
February Virtual Certification Workshops Project WET Canada (PWC) is hosting a series of February virtual certification workshops, with two separate sessions offered for each guide:
Getting Little Feet Wet
February 5, 6–8 pm CST
February 9, 6–8 pm EST
Foundations of Water Education and Water in Earth Systems (Combination Workshop)
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