TALKING ABOUT MPAS IN WOLFVILLE

Published on Mar 20 2019

A couple months ago I visited the Wolfville Market to meet with folks and talk about the conservation work of CPAWS Nova Scotia. At the market, I met Dr. David Kristie, the Director of Research at the K.C Irving Environmental Science Centre at Acadia University, who invited me to come back at some point to speak with students at the university about marine protected areas (MPAs). I happily accepted this invitation, of course, so recently I headed back to Wolfville to meet the students and to talk about marine protected areas.

We talked about all sorts of issues related to marine conservation, and MPAs more specifically. This included the pending new MPAs in the province at Eastern Shore Islands and Fundian Channel-Browns Bank, but also the nearby Bay of Fundy, which is severely lacking in MPAs. It often comes as a surprise to people that despite being a well-recognized natural treasure, the Bay of Fundy is not properly protected, leaving the majority of the marine environment vulnerable to industrial activities. There seemed to be a similar sentiment in the room that we often hear, “what do you mean the Bay of Fundy isn’t protected?”

In addition to speaking with the students, I also got a tour of the K.C Irving Environmental Science Centre and the associated botanical gardens and herbarium. During the tour I learned about the diverse array of environment-related research projects that students are doing. On this particular day, the grounds of the garden were covered with a thick blanket of snow, so I am looking forward to going back in the summer to visit the outdoor collection, which includes plants from 9 unique habitats that are found in the Acadian Forest region.

One of my favourite parts of my job is spending time in communities and meeting people who are actively engaged and committed to making a positive impact both within their community and the surrounding environment.

If you are interested in learning about the K.C Irving Environmental Science Centre, you can find out more here. A big thanks to Dr. David Kristie and his students for the very warm welcome I received.