NSEN updates, member news and events, calls to action, green job opportunities, and more!
If you're having trouble viewing this email, you cansee it online.
Eco-Connections is best viewed in a new browser page. For the best viewing experience, please click "see it online" at the top of this email.
NSEN News & Updates
Member Updates
Calls to Action
Nova Scotia Environmental News
Green Job Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities
Other Information
NSEN Updates
Holiday Warmth and Heartfelt Gratitude
As the year draws to a close, we’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support this year - through donations, sharing our work, or supporting the network in other ways - you made a real difference. Because of you, Nova Scotia’s environmental community is stronger, more connected, and better equipped to protect the places we love.
Help us finish the year off strong and maintain our trajectory heading into the new year!
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!
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: Thursday, January 22nd (register by January 21) Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon Format: Zoom - Register HERE
CLIMAtlantic winter webinar series — Health and Climate Resilience: Physical, mental, and community wellbeing.
January 14th, 2026 - Nurturing connection: nature, mental health, and climate change
Join Wil Brunner of Soft Pine Wellnessto learn about taking intentional steps to reconnect with nature and build community as a way to improve mental wellness and climate resilience
February 11th, 2026 - Mapping our future: How spatial health data can enable climate resilience
Call for Speaker Submissions: Share your approaches and perspectives on climate risks, resilience, and case stories from throughout Atlantic Canada.Deadline: January 23, 2026. Sponsorship Opportunities: Check out the options for becoming a sponsor and supporting this opportunity to network, share success stories, and advance climate adaptation in Atlantic Canada. Stay up to date:Sign up for email updates
CLIMAtlantic is looking for a contractor who can support our engagement staff with organizing our in-person adaptation conference in Halifax, May 27th and 28th, 2026.
If you have experience with event planning, logistics, and implementation, this role may be for you! This position is open until filled.
The Scotian Shores Cleanup Project would like to thank all of its members for a very successful 2025.
Over 275,000 lbs have been removed throughout the year with over 1300 cleanups reported. Exact figures are available on our website at https://www.scotianshores.com
The focus will now turn to the year ahead with our first group event located in Hemeons Head in Shelburne County on January 24th and January 25th. We are always looking for new members and would welcome your involvement. Anyone wishing to be involved can report their own cleanups by visiting https://www.scotianshores.com/facebookgroup
To stay up to date on our future events, sign up for our email alerts by sending an email to scotianshores@gmail.com
Young Naturalists Club Christmas Bird Counts 4 Kids
Inspired by the well-loved, traditional Christmas Bird Count, CBC4Kids engages the next generation of young birders across North America.
We’re so excited to help young naturalists and their families get outside to explore winter birds, learn new skills, and take part in a real community citizen science project.
Dress to be outside. Bring binoculars if you have a pair; the club will have a limited supply available.
Call to all fishing communities to report any Sea Vomit sightings
You might spot this species when scuba diving, fishing, or on the bottom of your boat. Please report any records to us (fundyseavomit@gmail.comor text us at (506) 607-9148) – take a photo along with a sample and freeze it if possible so we can confirm your identification.
Update on Sandy Lake Park… AND downstream in Bedford and Sackville
If you, or someone you know, lives or works in Bedford or Sackville, tell them their community is at increased risk of floods. They need to speak up.
It is irresponsible for decision-makers to ignore this real threat to Bedford and Sackville. Climate Change is promising more frequent and larger storms.
This detailed subwatershed floodplain study must be done before any decision is taken on whether or not to build at Sandy Lake. It is all in the same subwatershed.
We need the political will to do the right thing. We urgently ask you to please do all you can to generate a clear message to the Province.
Individual Submission: Help Save Robie Street's last historic neighbourhood (North to Cunard)
HRM’s $200m plan to widen Robie St for a 2nd bus lane will destroy 12-14 buildings (50-70 homes) and cut an ~80 trees. Widening roads, even for public transportation doesn't reduce traffic or congestion. On Fri, Dec 12 HRM’s demo crew began gutting a newly renovated 7-unit First Nations apartment building at Charles/Robie. Last year 16% of HRM’s unhoused identified as Indigenous (~181), an extreme overrepresentation as Indigenous people are only 3.8% of HRM's population. A recent report finds that 20% of HRM’s homeless identify as First Nations. Research shows that HRM can have BRT without widening Robie especially between North & Cunard. It can use public money for better solutions such as transit priority signals, signalized lane changes, shelters, a Mumford terminal and public safety. Help make that happen.
The Nova Scotia government is working with the forestry industry to salvage wood from the Long Lake wildfire. Despite being burnt the wood retains market value and can be turned into lumber and sided.
More than 85,000 hectares were burnt in the wildfire. The wood will start to decay in 8 to 12 months, so time is of the essence.
First Nations wonder if Canada's decision on eels is best for future of species
Canada announced it would not list the American eel under the Species at Risk Act after over a decade of consideration, instead opting to protect the eel through the Fisheries Act. Listing under SARA would shut down all harvest – commercial, ceremonial, recreational and treaty-based.
In Nova Scotia, where debates over eel population health often pit commercial elver harvesters, environmentalists, treaty fishers and Mi’kmaw knowledge keepers against one another, some say population decline is already visible.
The Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity, which is housed at Dalhousie University's Steele Ocean Sciences Building, recently opened to the public. It is complete with live aquariums, interactive exhibits and a full 18-metre-long blue whale skeleton that hangs from the ceiling. The exhibits were created with Indigenous knowledge, and all information and videos are available in three languages: Mi'kmaw, French and English.
Jennifer Punch, chief operating officer of the Discovery Centre, says "it’s so important for us to appreciate the ocean, and to understand the species that are around us: how to preserve them, how to conserve them and how to celebrate them.”
Mining claims spiked in 2025 following Houston’s push for resource development
After Premier Tim Houston opened his arms to resource development this year, the industry responded. There was a jump in applications for exploration licences in 2025, with 2 large claims being explored for hydrogen and copper. As of Dec. 10, the province had issued 814 licences, with several dozen more pending that could be issued before year’s end, which is almost double the number of licences issued in 2024.
There is a concentration of new claims in Cumberland County where two partnered startups are searching for “white” hydrogen. Another cluster is in Hants County, where multinational mining giant Rio Tinto is hoping to find copper.
'Like dog poo': Historic N.S. garden gets a smelly surprise from tree
For 40 years, staff at Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens thought their ginkgo tree was male. Male ginkgos are typically the only ginkgo tree sold commercially because females produce fruit-like seeds that emit a noticeable odour when they fall to the ground and are crushed under people's feet.
“It has a really obnoxious smell,” said Trish Fry, manager of the gardens. “Something like dog poo or rancid butter or even compared to vomit. It's just, I guess, pretty brutal.” They also learned ginkgo trees can take decades to fully mature, Fry said.
Ginkgos are known just as much for their resilience as their beauty, and nicknamed a living fossil for how long they have been around. The leaves turn from a green to a bright yellow in the autumn before falling all at once and leaving a colour carpet on the ground.
The manager of the historic gardens said there are no plans to remove the female tree.
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!
CLIMAtlantic is looking for a contractor who can support our engagement staff with organizing our in-person adaptation conference in Halifax, May 27th and 28th, 2026.
If you have experience with event planning, logistics, and implementation, this role may be for you! This position is open until filled.
Farmers' Markets of Nova Scotia: Executive Director
FMNS is hiring an Executive Director who is energized by relationship-building, systems development, and cooperative values.
The Executive Director works closely with FMNS’ Board of Directors, staff and team, providing transparent reporting, strategic recommendations, and regular communication to support strong governance.
Centre for Ocean Literacy Collaboration: Ocean Week Canada Partner Coordinator
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Ocean Week Canada Partner Coordinator plays a key role in the successful delivery of Ocean Week Canada (June 1-8), an annual national celebration of the ocean from coast to coast to coast.
The Coordinator supports and engages partners, event hosts, grant recipients, regional hub leads, and ambassadors to ensure smooth communications, strong collaboration, and timely delivery of festival activities. This position also supports the broader Communications and Operations teams to amplify festival visibility, streamline processes, and help capture the festival’s impact across the country.
We are looking for someone with greenhouse management experience who is interested in helping us improve our greenhouse yields, quality and labour efficiency. We grow vegetables year-round in soil using organic practices in our geothermal “climate battery” greenhouses.
In 2026 we are planning to build two more large greenhouses, bringing our total space up to 24,500 Sq Ft. We also have 16,000 Sq Ft of mobile hoop house tunnels. Altogether this is just under one acre of protected space.
Location: Centre Burlington, Hants County, Nova Scotia
Cabot Shores Wilderness Resort and Retreat: Landscape and Garden assistant
The Landscape and Garden Assistant is key to helping to grow a rich, organic assortment of vegetables, herbs and flowers. They will coordinate with the bistro, harvest & wash this produce for the Bistro kitchen, tend is the apple orchard, care for the chickens, maintenance for other sources of compost, and assist in the general landscaping as needed.
Location: near Englishtown/Indian Brook, on Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, NS
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!
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.
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.
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
