CCN Back Issues Vol 7 Issue

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Coastal Communities Network (CCN). It seems an appropriate time to see how we began, where we've been, and so perhaps gain a sense of where we might go from here. What follows can only be a very incomplete look at CCN's history. Inevitably, there are sure to be projects we've undertaken and efforts we've made to further the interests of coastal and rural communities across Nova Scotia that will not be included in this account. We apologize in advance for this, and express our hope that at some time in the near future, resources can be mustered for a more comprehensive look at CCN's history. But here, at least, is a start. Knowing where we've been is essential to knowing where we're going.

In the early 1990s, coastal communities across Nova Scotia were reeling from the effects of the collapse of the groundfishery. A group of concerned people, made up of community activists, trade unionists, church and municipal representatives, and others who cared deeply about the future of their communities, held a series of meetings to explore what might be done. At the time, Wayne Edgar worked as Field Worker for the Extension Department of St. Francis Xavier (St. F. X.) University in Antigonish, and he found himself organizing those meetings.

"The start of it all may have been the situation in Canso, where National Sea closed its plant in 1990," Wayne remembers. "But as people from other parts of the province came together it was immediately apparent that what was happening was far bigger than the problem of any one community. There was clearly a province-wide emergency unfolding."

That early group, which called itself the "Coastal Fishing Communities Network," decided that what was needed was a provincial conference to deal with the serious issues facing the province's coastal communities. But, before that could be done effectively, a series of regional workshops was needed in order to set the agenda for the broader gathering. Funding was secured from church and trade union organizations, from St. F.X., and from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and in the autumn of 1991 six workshops were duly held across the province. Then, in early February a three-day conference entitled "Fishing For a Future" was held in Dartmouth. More than 150 people met to discuss the future of their communities. It was agreed that an organization was needed where people from coastal communities across the province could meet regularly to discuss common problems and to work toward common solutions. Thus was born the Coastal Communities Network. Membership was open to representatives of any organization interested in the economic and social well being of the province's coastal communities.

In its early years CCN worked in close partnership with the St. F. X. Extension Department, and much of Wayne's work was aimed at CCN's organizational development. (CCN would continue to benefit from Wayne's energies until he left the Extension Department in May of 1997 to become Executive Director of Tatamagouche Centre, a residential learning centre affiliated with the United Church of Canada.) In its early years CCN's work was focussed very much on fisheries issues. Monthly membership meetings were (and still are) held in Truro, where members came together from across the province to voice their concerns, and to share strategies and successes. Local workshops were held to educate community activists on fishery-related issues and to teach organizational skills. Annual conferences were held through the mid-'90s, and much work was done to further the concept of community-based management of fisheries resources (then called "fisheries co-management"). A regular newsletter titled Coastal Network News was produced during those early years that shared important information for both those still active in the fisheries and those who had been displaced by the collapse of stocks but who wanted to find alternative ways of making a living in their own coastal communities. In 1995, CCN's present Executive Director, Ishbel Munro, was hired. In October of the same year, Coastal Communities News, "The Magazine of the Coastal Communities Network," began publication.

CCN's monthly membership meetings have always been open to one representative of each of its more than 200 member organizations. In cases where the member organization lacks the resources to pay travel costs to monthly meetings in Truro, CCN will do so. In 1995 the Nova Scotia Women's FishNet was established by women in coastal communities in Cape Breton, along the North Shore, and in Annapolis, Digby, Guysborough, Halifax, Shelburne, and Yarmouth counties. The FishNet's primary concern is for "the sustainability of coastal communities and the impact of recent changes on women, their families, and their communities." Though organizationally independent of CCN, women active in different areas of the province have often piggy-backed FishNet meetings onto CCN membership meetings. Mary DesRoches has been active over the years in both CCN and the Nova Scotia Women's FishNet. "I remember that CCN provided support that helped the Women's FishNet get off the ground," she remembers. Today, the Nova Scotia Woman's FishNet continues to grow from strength to strength.

Though still focussed primarily on fisheries issues, by 1996 CCN members were looking more broadly at strategies for community economic development (CED) and building partnerships with community development agencies. In 1997, organizational work began on a province-wide conference on CED to be held at White Point the following year. Regional seminars were held at thirteen locations across the province during the winter and spring of 1997-98, and then in May of 1998, "Building Our Future: Respecting Our Past" brought more than 210 community leaders and government representatives together at White Point. The Final Report on the White Point weekend was circulated widely among government officials and CED activists across the province.

Among other things, the "White Point Report" called on CCN to further develop its organizational structure. Up to that time, every CCN member organization was, in effect, a Director of the organization. Through the summer of 1998, CCN established a Board of Directors distinct from its general membership to see to internal organizational matters. CCN refined its mandate (see the back cover of this issue) and developed its set of twelve Guiding Principles.

The White Point Report also called on CCN to accelerate its efforts to expand its vision beyond its original focus on purely fishery-related matters (while not neglecting the importance of the fishery to coastal communities). CCN membership expanded to include forestry and agricultural-based organizations.

Through the years, CCN has remained very active in efforts to preserve the wharves, lighthouses, and other navigational aids that remain vital to the province's inshore sector. CCN has conducted surveys and organized public meetings regarding the state of wharves across the province, and it continues to lobby to protect "our highways to the sea." (There may or may not be any direct link to our lobbying efforts, but it is interesting to note that in his 2000 federal budget, Finance Minister Paul Martin found $10 million for the maintenance of wharves.)

In 1999, CCN partnered with the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society to have October 2 of that year proclaimed "Nova Scotia Lighthouse Day" in the provincial Legislature. Lighthouse Day has continued each year since, with various lighthouse-related events held across the province. There are hopes that Lighthouse Day may become an annual celebration.

September 17, 1999 was the day the Supreme Court's Marshall Decision struck the region's coastal communities like a thunderbolt. Overnight, the fishery had changed. In New Brunswick, tensions between Native and non-Native communities boiled over into violent confrontations at Burnt Church. That there wasn't similar violence in Nova Scotia may have been, at least in part, due to the strong position CCN took in the days after September 17. CCN Chair Arthur Bull appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to urge calm, open dialogue between Native and non-Native communities, and mutual understanding. Citing an agreement worked out between Native and non-Native communities in the weeks following the Marshall Decision, Arthur pointed to what CCN saw as a central lesson: "that it is the people centrally involved – the fishermen, the communities, both Mi'Kmaq and non-Native – who have the responsibility and the wherewithal to reach solutions."

In light of this philosophy, Heritage Canada approached CCN about a project to develop a dialogue among Nova Scotia's four major cultural communities: the Mi'Kmaq, the Black, the Acadian, and others of European descent. This project, which became known as "On Common Ground," involved a series of inter-cultural meetings on community-based management of natural resources, where people from the different cultural groups spoke openly of past and present feelings of unequal treatment. As well, in the Digby-Annapolis area, a series of "Dialogue Dinners" was hosted by each of the four cultural groups, who took turns hosting participants from the other three groups. Finally, in May of 2000, people of the Eskasoni First Nations' Reserve in Cape Breton hosted a weekend of cultural sharing with non-Native fishermen and others of various backgrounds.

Since the Marshall Decision, CCN has also worked with the St. F. X.-based Centre for Community-Based Management to help develop an Atlantic Movement for Community-Based Management.

CCN has recently partnered with the Provincial Literacy Coalition to create the Coastal and Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia. Federally incorporated, this new organization should soon begin handing out seed grants to grassroots community organizations working for the betterment of life in rural and coastal communities.

As it has grown, CCN has gained the respect of both community activists and governments. Years ago, members rued the fact that CCN had no voice at the decision-making table. Now, governments and other organizations want to hear from us more than our staff and volunteers can manage. CCN members and staff have engaged in a series of National Rural Dialogues with other rural Canadians and both federal and provincial government departments. One of CCN's most recent focusses has been to work toward the establishment of a National Rural Network. With assistance from The Rural Secretariat of the federal Department of Agriculture, a founding meeting that will include rural groups from across the country is scheduled to take place this spring.

The past ten years have seen many changes in the communities of coastal and rural Nova Scotia. There have been great improvements in some aspects of our rural and coastal life. But, some old problems persist and new ones arise regularly. In its ten years of growth, CCN has tried to help coastal and rural communities grow and prosper, to find ways around obstacles and to cooperate together for the betterment of us all. Our first decade has given us a lot to chew on. We hope we are well nourished for the challenges of the next ten years.

Community Wharf: Bridging Land and Sea

At least five communities in Nova Scotia go by the name of Little Harbour, and as the name would indicate, none of them are plagued with the problem of urban sprawl. And, like the other four Little Harbours I can find in my trusty book of Nova Scotia maps – the ones in Guysborough, Halifax, Pictou, and Richmond counties – Shelburne County's community of that name is not on any main, or even secondary, highway.

To get there from any point east in the province, you drive along the South Shore on Highway 103 as far as Sable River. There, you turn onto Highway 3 and drive a few miles until you see a road to your left with a sign pointing in that direction to "Rockland, Little Harbour, East Ragged Island." Go about four miles down what locals call the West Middle Sable Road and you're at the Little Harbour wharf.

Lobster fisherman Bill Williams serves on the Board of the Little Harbour Harbour Authority, a volunteer group formed to take over the wharf some years ago when the Small Craft Harbours Division of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) began getting out of the wharf maintenance business across the region in the early 1990s. "Our Harbour Authority was one of the very first on the Atlantic coast," Bill says.

The Little Harbour wharf makes up something of a community of its own. Ten lobster fishermen use the wharf as a home base. Three of them live in Little Harbour itself, with a similar number from Shelburne. Bill lives in nearby Allandale, while other lobster fishermen using the wharf live in Louis Head, Jordan Falls, and Lockeport. As well, a Little Harbour harpoon swordfisherman uses the Little Harbour wharf as his base of operations.

Bill's wife Christine provides Bill and me with coffee at the Williams' kitchen table on a clear and crisp winter morning. "Over the years," Bill tells me, "the working population has decreased in this area. At one time, there was a shipbuilding industry here in Allandale, along with a train station, two lumber mills, and a fish plant. They're all gone now. The few young families that live in this area generally commute to jobs in Liverpool or Shelburne. After Grade Three, all the kids around here go by bus to school in Lockeport."

While many of the young people who grew up in this part of the province have moved away to find work, there are other people attracted by the natural beauty of the area. As in many parts of rural and coastal Nova Scotia, "summer people" are buying up prime properties in the area around Little Harbour. "In the few hundred yards between the Rockland Road and our house, it used to all be woods," Bill says, "but now there are four private roads leading to ocean properties owned by come-from-aways. I used to hunt in those woods, but there aren't any deer there now. So I have to do my hunting on the landward side of the highway."

Despite the forced change to his hunting habits, Bill doesn't begrudge the summer people their little bits of Nova Scotian paradise. "These people come in here, buy land by the shore, and then spend money to improve it," he says. "They're putting money into the community, and that provides work for local people, so I don't have any objection at all to these people. Sure, a lot of them are here only a couple of weeks or so, and so we don't get a chance to really know them. The ones that I've come to know, though – they're all fine folks. They wouldn't dream of putting up 'No Trespassing' signs. Which is a good thing, because people round here will insist on having access to the shore, no matter who owns the deed to a place."

The 40-member South West Nova Fixed Gear Association is an organization of area groundfishermen. It gets an annual quota of goundfish from DFO and then divides it up in approximately equal portions among its membership, made up mostly of longliners, along with a few handline fishermen. Despite the fact that Bill sold his licence a couple of years ago after 25 years in the groundfishery, he still serves as the organization's Chair, while Christine carries out its secretarial duties. "Each member pays $250 annually to be a member of the Association," Christine says. "That gives us an annual budget of around $10,000, which is just enough to pay people's expenses to get to our meetings. Neither of us are paid for the work we do, but that's no big deal. Most folks tell us 'Thank you,' and we appreciate that."

The Williams' son Borden comes in the side door and joins us. (Another son, John, is a writer currently living in the United States.) He's a Shelburne resident who fishes lobster from the Little Harbour wharf from late November to sometime in the spring. The rest of the year he does carpentry work in the area. "I got into lobster about ten years ago, when it cost about $70,000 to do so," Borden tells me. "Now, it costs a lot more than that."

Bill picks up on that theme. "The biggest problem in the fishery here now is to figure out who is going to be fishing ten or fifteen years down the road. My son here is the exception to the rule," Bill gestures and goes on, "but most of the people fishing in this area are going to be retiring in a few years. The cost of getting into the lobster fishery has been escalating at an alarming rate in recent years. I don't know who is going to be able to take our place when people my age retire."

Well fortified with caffeine, Bill, Borden, and I pile into Bill's car and drive to the Little Harbour wharf. A quick walk along the wharf shows that the sea is taking a heavy toll on the structure. "In the next few years, this wharf is going to need to have a lot of money put into it if people are going to keep fishing from here," Bill says. Borden, who serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Harbour Authority, tells me that over the past few years the people who fish from here have put about $20,000 of their own money into the wharf to keep it minimally serviceable as a base of fishing operations.

Just a few hundred yards from the wharf, we drop in at the home of Dale Richardson, who fishes both lobster and swordfish and is actively involved in several local community organizations. He serves on the Board of the Harbour Authority, and is also Chief of the Little Harbour and District Volunteer Fire Department. Last year, its fourteen members responded to five fires along the West Middle Sable Road. Dale is also on the Board of the Little Harbour and Area Recreation Association, which runs a community hall. "We put on dances and other fund-raisers there for the fire department," Dale says. "People also gather there for quilting, suppers, and wedding receptions and the like."

As if these involvements weren't enough to keep Dale busy, he also serves as Vice-President of the Scotia-Fundy Swordfish Harpoon Association, which has about 190 members scattered from Maine to Cape Breton. Dale's summers are spent in that fishery, while his winters are taken up with lobstering. He has seen dramatic changes in the Shelburne County fishery over the years. "Time was," he says, "about ten percent of the active boats you'd see were fishing lobster. But now, it's just short of 100 percent of the boats you see that are after lobster. And, who knows what the future will hold? When I came out of high school in the early 1970s, it cost about $5,000 to set up in the lobster fishery. Now, it will run way into six figures, and there aren't many people who have those kind of resources. So, people just won't be able to make a living in the fishery."

After our visit with Dale, it's back to the Williams Allandale homestead where Christine has sandwiches on offer for lunch. The talk inevitably drifts back to the uncertain future of the local fishery. "There's ten or so seasonal jobs at a fish plant in Little Harbour," Bill says. "It's all lobster. And there's a shellfish aquaculture operation near East Jordan. But, other than that, there's not much work around here anymore. It's hard to say what the future will bring."

The future certainly does seem clouded for Little Harbour and area. But if people like the Williams family and Dale Richardson have any say in the matter, there will always be some here who manage to wrest a living from the sea.

Hants to the World

It's common knowledge these days that in order to make connections with people, to conduct a business or access information, you have to make use of the new information technology that is at our fingertips. Time was, a lot of important information was hard to come by, perhaps requiring a trip to Halifax to visit a library or government office. Well, times have certainly changed. Today, anywhere there's a phone line, there is access to masses of information. And, even if you don't own a computer, you can surf the internet at any of the many Community Access Points (CAP Sites) across the province. The real challenge today is to make sense of all the information.

That is precisely what the Hants Regional Development Authority (RDA) has set out to do by developing www.hantscounty.com. The mission of the Hants RDA is to advance local business development by providing sustainable, county-wide economic development through community initiatives and activities. This website profiles culture, community, and commerce in Hants County, which is one of the first counties in Canada to have achieved this electronic milestone. Here, under one electronic "roof," is everything you could possibly want to know about Hants County, organized in a number of easy-to-use ways. "Hants at a Glance" will connect you with community web sites, schools, libraries, information for visitors, and a map of the County. It will even give you the current weather, along with the upcoming forecast.

The Hants RDA used to compile a new directory of local businesses every few years. By the time the latest version was printed, it would be out of date because of new business launches and closures. The website's online business directory has solved that problem. You can search it by keyword, by business category, or by community. Looking for a contractor in Cheverie? There's Ervin Brown Construction. A photographer in Nine Mile River? Tompkins Photography. Here you'll find wineries, welders, and well drillers, accountants, artists, and audiologists. In all, more than 2,500 businesses and community groups are listed, along with contact information. That's a lot of enterprising people, spread all over the County.

One of the most interesting and popular links at www.hantscounty.com is "Hants County People: Where Are You Now?" Here, Hants County folks who have moved away – as well as many who have stayed put – can bring people up to date on where their lives have taken them. A 1986 graduate of Windsor Regional High School writes of her life raising a family and working as a paralegal in New Zealand. A man who left Elmsdale 60 years ago to join the air force writes that, although he has never returned to live, "not one day has passed in all those years that I don't remember my roots." Another man writes from Austria about how much he is looking forward to coming home for a visit. A woman who grew up in Centre Burlington writes from Toronto about how much she misses home. Others write to enquire about old friends, or to do genealogical research. And they all leave their e-mail addresses, so there have surely been many more contacts made and much more information shared than you can read among these hundreds of contributions.

The Hants RDA recently held a series of meetings to develop a five-year strategic planning process for regional development. People who were unable to make it to any of the community meetings were able to voice their opinions through the website. This has allowed more grassroots input than might otherwise have been the case, and should be reflected in the RDA's five-year plan.

The website also includes a directory of health services, a festival and events link, important information for the voluntary sector, and a description of Hants County firsts, big-gests, oldests, and onlys. Here, you'll discover that Kings/Edgehill is the oldest independent school in Canada, and that the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built in Canada came from a Maitland shipyard.

Funded in part by Human Resouces Development Canada, the Hants County website was launched as part of a street fair last fall, and, with input from those who use it, is being continually refined and updated. As the people of Hants County look forward into the 21st century, it's good to know that they are equipping themselves with excellent 21st-century tools.

For more information on the Hants County website, pay a visit, or call the Hants RDA toll-free at 1-877-284-2687.

Humans, Hiking, Heritage, and History

Nova Scotia's largest Provincial Park is also one of its newest and most rugged. It's in a relatively isolated corner of the province, a place where steep wooded hills rise from cliffs overlooking the powerful tidal waters of the upper Bay of Fundy. Opened in 1998, Cape Chignecto Provincial Park near Advocate Harbour is managed and operated by the Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association (CREDA) and a volunteer Park Management Board under the terms of a ten-year agreement with the provincial Department of Natural Resources. Together, CREDA and the Management Board run the Park without annual financial assistance from the province.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Management Board recently received the 2001-02 Nova Scotia Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy Visionary Award under its Group Award category. This award is given in recognition of "innovation, creativity, and commitment to marine protection." The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment sponsors the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy Visionary Awards. These are given annually to an individual and an organization from each of the five states and provinces bordering the Gulf of Maine. Criteria for selection suggest that the nominated activities have long-term positive effects on the Gulf of Maine in the fields of science, education, conservation, or environmental policy.

The Management Board won the Nova Scotia Group Award because of its commitment and dedication in building a cooperative community initiative to preserve, manage, and protect 4,200 hectares of unique coastal wilderness in the Advocate area. The Park is a local heritage property, and human activity within its ecosystem is being managed to create a better economic future for the community through sustainable management practices.

At the same February ceremony in Truro that honoured the Management Board, this year's Individual Award was given to the late Walton Rector in recognition of his commitment to the creation of the Park. The long-time resident of Advocate and Cumberland Municipal Councilor was instrumental — along with fellow former Councilor and past Management Board Chair Ruth Allen — in convincing the province to acquire the land for the Park in 1991.

Meanwhile, visitors to Cape Chignecto now have more outdoor adventure options available to them than ever before. A number of strategic priorities have been identified and acted upon since 1998. These have included building a coastal back-country wilderness cabin, walk-in tenting sites and facilities, completion of a coastal back-country wilderness loop trail with appropriate campsites, and the construction of an access road and parking for the walk-in tenting sites. The completed cabin is located at Arch Gulch, while a second cabin, along with a bunkhouse, is planned for Refugee Cove. The cabins can sleep up to four people, while the bunkhouse will be able to accommodate up to twelve campers. The addition of remote, roofed accommodations will provide better service for Park users, and will extend the tourism season.

Construction of an inland trail was finished during the 2001 season. This completed a 60-kilometre back-country wilderness-loop hiking trail. A total of 39 back-country campsites are located two to four hours apart along the coastal trail. With the completion of an access road and parking lot at New Yarmouth, hikers also have access to 27 walk-in campsites. Other facility improvements include two firewood shelters, a drilled well, and four privies with vaults.

Visitors will also notice several improvements to the park's entry area and the completion of a long-awaited Interpretation Program. As identified in the Cape Chignecto Provincial Park Management Plan and Marketing Strategy, the development of an Interpretation Program is a key component in efforts to give visitors a greater understanding and appreciation of the Park. It will also allow people to explore the Park more selectively and to conduct themselves in an ecologically sensitive manner. While Cape Chignecto provides an outstanding wilderness hiking experience, it now offers even more: an innovative and professional interpretive concept that gives visitors a more exciting and memorable experience of this natural area. Interpretive opportunities abound within the Park: its dominant themes are geology and landscape development, climate, tides, forest and plant ecology, wildlife, and human use and settlement.

The Interpretation Program has led to many improvements, including detailed trail maps, individual site information, and a combination of display panels and audio-visuals that highlight the area's unique natural and human history. One of the Park's main shortcomings, identified in earlier visitor surveys, was the lack of a well-documented trail map. Now, good maps and associated print materials enhance visitors' understanding and appreciation of this spectacular part of Nova Scotia, and at the same time address important safety concerns. The Program has also enhanced the visual appeal of the Visitor Centre at the Park entrance, with new flooring, painting, and signage. And, there is new revenue-generating potential in a coin-operated, high-powered telescope on an observation deck.

During its first three full years of operation, the park has annually attracted between 2,200 and 2,600 visitors from across Canada, the United States, and elsewhere to this geographically isolated area of Nova Scotia. During 2001 visitors came from all ten provinces, 34 American states, and nineteen other countries. The Park has acquired a well-earned reputation as one of the best coastal hiking trails on the Eastern Seaboard, and as one of the top ten trails in Canada. It's well worth a visit.

Rebuilding Downtown

Strategies are being explored that, if they prove feasible to implement, might re-invent the commercial cores of Glace Bay and Sydney and significantly impact the way local residents, visitors, tourists, and potential investors view these communities for years to come. Visions created for the revitalization of downtown Glace Bay and downtown Sydney will allow both of these historic and vibrant communities to enter a new era of development that could have a substantial effect on ongoing attempts at marketing development, strategic economic planning, business recruitment, and the attraction of additional investment.

"The enthusiasm greeting the development of this strategy and the positive input from the community ensure we will have an achievable plan for the future of downtown Glace Bay and downtown Sydney," remarks Rick Beaton, Vice-President of Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC). "The benefits from the investment of time and energy in the process will be far-reaching and it's good to see the cooperative spirit driving the venture."

"The communities of Glace Bay and Sydney are at a crucial point in their development," comments Eileen Lannon Oldford, Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority (CBCEDA). "These research strategies are supported by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, Human Resources Development Canada, the Nova Scotia Department of Economic Development, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, CBCEDA, and private-sector partners including EDS Sydney Centre, MTT/Aliant, Nova Scotia Power Inc., and Stream International Inc."

CBCEDA is acting as facilitator for the revitalization of downtown Glace Bay and of downtown Sydney, two separate and distinct projects under one umbrella. It has been active in the coordination of working committees that were organized early in this economic development process. Each working committee has participated with CBCEDA to develop parameters to select companies that will carry out infrastructure work in its respective community.

A business partnership including CBCL, Trifos Design Consultants, and Maureen Carroll & Associates was chosen to roll out the revitalization of downtown Glace Bay. Another partnership including EDM, Communication Design Group, and Acres International was the successful proponent for the revitalization of downtown Sydney. Meetings were held earlier this year, and these corporate partnerships will continue to work with their respective working committees, with the public, and with project partners to ensure that a Draft Proposal is completed by mid-March, participate in a Draft Review shortly thereafter, and deliver a Final Report by the end of March.

For more information, contact Eileen Lannon Oldford (1-800-818-2201 or info@cbceda.org) or Rick Beaton (1-800-705-3926 or rbeaton@ecbc.ca).

On Not Going Down the Road

Throughout my not inconsiderable years, I've had the good fortune to travel beyond the Maritimes a fair bit. I've been in ten provinces and 24 American states. I've walked streets in 24 countries in North Africa, Western Europe, and West Africa. I've visited the French colony of St. Pierre and Miquelon and the fiercely independent island nation of Cuba. No, I've not been everywhere – far from it – but I think it's fair to say I've been around more than a little bit. Much of this travel happened while in my 20s, but I also racked up a fair number of frequent-flyer points in my 30s and now well into my 40s. And through all these years of travelling, my love and appreciation of where I live, of Nova Scotia in particular and of the Maritimes more generally, has also grown. Now, I know I'll never live elsewhere.

I can't help but feel that this makes me luckier than so many others. Through the past 100 years and more, hundereds of thousands of Maritimers have been forced to move elsewhere to find work. In my grandparents' generation, it was usually to New England or elsewhere along the American Eastern Seaboard that people from here looked for work. In my parents' day, it was to Ontario, and among my own generation it has been in the oilfields of Alberta or the growth centres of British Columbia where we've sought refuge. In a real sense, Maritimers have, for generations, been refugees. Economic refugees, in fact.

I don't know if there was a precise time – I doubt there was an exact moment – when I knew that I would never be among those refugees. But, as I've grown through my 30s and into my 40s, the self-knowledge that I could never live contentedly elsewhere than in Nova Scotia seemed to evolve to a point of rock-hard certainty.

Sometimes I meet people in other places, or of other places, who ask me why this is so. The degree to which I'm able to answer that question clearly (or otherwise), varies from time to time, and from mood to mood. Usually, I speak of my sense of belonging, of the distinctive culture of the Maritimes that makes me comfortable here. (One slight, but necessary, digression: I am white, and English-speaking, so I must qualify what I refer to as "Maritime culture." What I really refer to is white, anglophone Maritime culture, although I must acknowledge the added richness brought by the cultures of the Mi'Kmaq, Acadians, Blacks, and others to the broader Maritime culture. I'm also male, but let's not get too complicated, okay?) Sometimes I talk about my sense of the continuity and connected-ness of past and present as it relates to this place and culture. And yet other times, in the spur of the conversational moment, I'm lost for the right words. At times like that, I'm likely to recommend a book of fiction written in the early 1950s entitled The Channel Shore, penned by Charles Bruce. For me, Bruce's imagined and multi-layered historical story conveys, in a way that no few sentences or brief paragraphs could, why I know that here, is for me.

Maybe, though, my taste for here isn't so complicated. Maybe it's got to do with ego. I'm not a religious person, but I think the root of my value system is that people should try to leave the world a better place for the things they've done while they're here. When I was younger, I rushed out to change the world. I pretty quickly learned that it isn't any one person that makes for change – only broad social movements can do that. So, I became involved in working with others to try to improve things. And I realized that there is a great deal of wisdom in the phrase "Think globally, act locally." It may be true that "all the world's a stage," but whatever my bit part in the play of life turns out to be, the stage it will unfold on is Nova Scotia. It's where my worth will leave a positive mark. Or otherwise.

So, my attachment to here can perhaps be boiled down to what – if anything — I become, in memory. And if there is to be any positive memory of what I leave behind me, it will be Nova Scotian memory.

So, maybe it is just my ego. But thank goodness I have the great fortune to work with other Nova Scotians through the Coastal Communities Network. It helps give me a fighting chance.

Growing Good Citizens:
"A Fun and Cool Experience"

When you've lived long enough to look back at a stretch of life approaching a half-century, there seems to be a natural human tendency toward smugness in the knowledge of one's years. There is much that is dangerous in this. It can well serve us old fogeys to remember that there is a wisdom in the fresh perspective of youth that, though quite different from what we might see as the "wisdom" of experience and life lived, has every bit as much value. If, after all, we are together going to make the world a better place, it will be young people that will be doing most of the bettering. They, after all, have a luxury of time that folks my age can only envy.

And so it's uplifting to see young people develop a taste for changing the world. This can happen spontaneously in a young person. But even then, it will pay a society back in spades if there is a supportive environment to further nurture that tendency. In Nova Scotia, the HeartWood Institute, a non-profit, charitable organization based in Dayspring, just downriver from Bridgewater on the east side of the LaHave River, is doing much good work in just that sort of nurturing. One of its main goals is to link youth leadership and community development in order to foster healthy communities. These are fine words and good intentions, but what, in very practical terms, do they mean? I set out for Dayspring one morning in an effort to discover, not everything HeartWood has done and is doing since its founding back in 1989, but rather, what is happening there on one winter afternoon during March break.

HeartWood leases space on a hill overlooking a LaHave shipyard from the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. Its buildings are surrounded by a system of trails so people can enjoy the surrounding nature. I make my way up the stairs of HeartWood's Program Building to a large room where I find a group of 15-20 young teens. They are in the midst of a skit of some sort, and I see a man in a funny hat carrying around a small box. Written in large letters on the box are the words "R. I. P.: I Can't." The young people then make a list of all the "I Can'ts" of their lives. Then, the box is passed around, and each person rips up their "I Can't" list and puts the pieces in it. Next, everyone finds some relative solitude and makes a list of their dreams for the future. Finally, the entire group moves outside, where a small bonfire is blazing. There, people share their dreams for the future as everyone's "I Can't" list is joyously burned and the kids all clap, shout, and laugh.

When I get the opportunity for a few words with the man in the silly hat, I find out that I've barged in on the last day of a three-day Youth Leadership Training Workshop. Brian Braganza, a Program and Community Outreach Coordinator at HeartWood, tells me that this group of young people is made up of roughly equal numbers of students from a Berwick junior high school and Lunenburg County youth. Brian and fellow HeartWood staffer Sandra Luken, along with interns Kate Abriel and Becky Lavers, are serving as workshop facilitators.

It's lunch time, so we all make our way to another building and gather around a common table by the kitchen. Everyone seems to be talking to everyone else, but I manage a few words with Jason, a young teen from Oakhill, Lunenburg County, who is working on an elaborate cartoon. "This HeartWood thing sounded like fun," he says, doodling, "and I think that our time here will make it more likely that I'll achieve my dreams." I don't think Jason's dreams involve professional cartooning, but as I look at his work while we chat, it occurs to me that they well could.

Out of the apparent anarchy of lunch-table talk comes a common wish to end their three days together with a game of "Rocks," a test of strategies that involves working together to achieve team goals. But, in order to make time for the game, people agree to work cooperatively and efficiently to clean up the living, sleeping, and eating quarters they've occupied for three days. So, tasks are assigned and volunteered for, and they set to their work.

While the young people are so engaged, I find a few moments to speak with Heather Reid, a Resource Teacher at Berwick and District School who has given up a large chunk of her March break to come support the Berwick students. "HeartWood has been involved with our school's Grade Seven camp for the past four years," she tells me. "This week is the next step for these Grade Eight students. HeartWood is extremely user-friendly, and it teaches the kids a lot about the importance of working as a team. Everyone who takes part in HeartWood's programs benefits. HeartWood helps build the leader within us all."

(This three-day course began by getting the young people to know, trust, and communicate with one another. On Day Two they decided to go out into the community and make a difference. They broke into four groups, two of which decided to go to seniors' homes in the area and do volunteer work. One went to a local artist's shop and helped her clean out her shed, while the fourth went and cleaned up the grounds around a local apartment building.)

While they're getting their things together, I talk to a couple of the Berwick students. "Before I came here, I didn't even know what a leadership skill was," Zabrina tells me. "I tend to speak before I think, but yesterday when we went to a seniors' home, I really had to listen. This lady asked me to write a letter and I had to be sure I got it right. She is in her 80s and she grew up without electricity or TV. The way she grew up, that's really alien to me. I really learned from listening to her. I used to think that there were two kinds of people – loud ones and quiet ones. Now I know that there are all sorts of people, and that sometimes I talk too much. I'm trying to learn to think before I talk."

"Everybody here learned to open up a lot over these few days," chimes in Zabrina's friend Monica. "I'll leave here with a new perspective. Learning to be a team with new people – that has been amazing, a fun and cool experience. The way we are growing up in Berwick – well, now I know that it might not be the same for people elsewhere."

After lunch, we all make our way back to the Program Building and lie on the floor in a circle. We play an elaborate game of intertwined hands, and of slapping and thumping the floor. The idea is to move the flow of activity in an agreed way, and I find myself listening intently for audible cues from others. Despite my best efforts, I'm among the first to make two mistakes and so be out of the ever-decreasing circle. As I watch the others lying and listening, slapping and thumping, it occurs to me that I've rarely ever had my ears so acutely cocked.

Next, the Berwick and Lunenburg County people break into separate groups where they decide what, as a group, they want to do when they get back to their own communities. As I walk, a silent eavesdropper, from group to group, I can't help but notice that everyone is completely engaged in the discussion. The Berwick group shares the same school, so it naturally focusses on doing something beneficial in that environment. The Lunenburg County group decides to formalize its existence as the Bridgewater and Region Action Team (BRAT). They hope to meet with other groups of young people in their part of the province who have been through the HeartWood experience, raise a bit of money – perhaps through a car wash – and then decide on various forms of community service. The Berwick group – which is made up of Grade Eight students at a school that runs from Primary to Grade Nine – remembers the difficulty many of them had making the transition from Grade Six to junior high, which can be an intimidating environment to a young person. They decide they will go talk to the Grade Six students to try to smooth their transition into the junior-high environment.

The two groups meet as one for a last time to share ideas and plans with one another. The Berwickers tell of their plans for the Grade Sixers, while the Lunenburgers tell of their plans for BRAT. Berwick and Lunenburg County, they all agree, aren't nearly as far apart as most had thought, and there are many vows to keep in touch, both individually and as groups. It's plain that, in just a few short days, strong new friendships have been made and new energies developed in all of these fine young people.

Finally, they form a "closing circle" and pass among them an apple and an onion. Holding up the apple, each person says what was best about their HeartWood experience: holding up the onion, what could have been better. The onion gathers only regrets that three days hasn't been enough, with an occasional complaint about having to get up too early. (These are teenagers, after all!) The apple gets many words about the value of new and old friendships, determinations to work to better their communities, and pledges to spread the word about the HeartWood experience. Lastly, there's mugging for a group picture, then it's out to the field for that final and well-earned game of "Rocks" before their homebound transportation arrives.

I manage to collar Brian in his office and learn that he earned a diploma in Parks and Forest Recreation in his native Ontario before following his dream to Nova Scotia. "I always wanted to build a straw-bale home," he says, "and I knew a friend who was building one here. So, I came down in May of 1995, and spent part of my summer doing volunteer work here at HeartWood. I wanted to do work involving outdoor recreation, and the idea of youth leadership training initially scared me. But I got involved with a course that fall, and it changed my life. What a wonderful thing it is to be involved in – helping young people discover their passions."

Brian hasn't yet built his straw-bale house, but the way he talks of it, I know he will. As I head home from Dayspring, I think of each of these energized and motivated young people as a pebble thrown into the pond that is their community. The ripples of enthusiasm and good works will certainly be felt in Berwick and Lunenburg County. Thanks to HeartWood. And the energies of youth.

What is described above is but a fraction of the valuable work HeartWood does to nurture excellent young citizens in communities across the province. Environmental education, wilderness adventure, relating school curricula to local realities – these are just some of the ways HeartWood works with young people for the betterment of our communities. For more information, call 543-8531, or visit www.heartwood.ns.ca.

Coastal Communities News is published bi-monthly by the Coastal Communities Network, a non-profit society registered in the province of Nova Scotia.

Coastal Communities News is made possible by the generous efforts of many volunteers, and by financial contributions from Human Resources Development Canada, and by donations and in-kind contributions from the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Culture, as well as from member groups and organizations.

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Join the Coastal Communities Network

Our Mission Statement

"A Large Voice for Small Communities"

How to Become Involved
in the Coastal Communities Network

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Community Wharf: Bridging Land and Sea

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Growing Good Citizens: "A Fun and Cool Experience"

Coastal Communities News

Join the Coastal Communities Network

Our Mission Statement

"A Large Voice for Small Communities"

How to Become Involved in the Coastal Communities Network

Growing Good Citizens:
"A Fun and Cool Experience"

How to Become Involved
in the Coastal Communities Network