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- Posted by Raissa Marks
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The documentary film, Every Living Thing - experiencing a bioblitz, will take you on an amazing journey of what it's like to spend four weeks over two summers exploring all aspects of nature – fish, insects, plants, fungi, reptiles, amphibians and mammals - that live in NB’s own Grand Lake Protected Natural Area.
Celebrate the UN Decade of Biodiversity – host a film screening in your community!
Unlike reality TV, this documentary film features real scientists speaking about real issues affecting real people living in real communities.
Every Living Thing was produced by NB-based company, Flower Power Production, in collaboration with the New Brunswick Museum's BiotaNB program. BiotaNB is a 20-year biodiversity research project to identify and catalogue as many species in the province of New Brunswick, before human encroachment and climate change intensifies. The NBEN is partnering with Flower Power Production to promote community film screenings of this film across Canada.
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- Posted by Raissa Marks
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Pre-budget Provincial
New Brunswickers are invited to attend upcoming public meetings focused on priorities for the 2017-18 budget. November 16-December 5
Electoral Reform Provincial
The Commission on Electoral Reform is looking at alternative voting systems, voting age, and other election rules. Deadline: November 30
Navigable Waters Federal
Review of the previous government’s changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Deadline: December 7
Environmental Protection Act Federal
Comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of theCanadian Environmental Protection Act. Deadline: December 1
Charities Federal
Modernization of the rules governing charities and their political activities. Deadline: December 9
Environmental Assessment Federal
Comprehensive review of Canada’s environmental assessment processes. Deadline: December 18
Fisheries Federal
Review of the 2012-13 changes to the Fisheries Act made by the previous government. Comments welcome on restoring habitat protections that were lost and also on incorporating modern safeguards. No deadline mentioned but the committee responsible is submitting its report in “early 2017”.
National Energy Board Federal
A targeted review of the NEB’s structure, role and mandate under the National Energy Board Act. Deadline: January 17
Clean Air Act Operating Approval – Irving Provincial
Renewal of the Approval to Operate for the Irving Pulp and Paper Limited Reversing Falls Complex in Saint John. Deadline: March 7
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- Posted by Raissa Marks
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November 22, 2016
Fredericton – The New Brunswick Environmental Network celebrated its 25th anniversary over the weekend. During the celebration, special recognition was given to seven groups that have been members of the network for 25 years: Atlantic Salmon Federation, Vertige at Mathieu-Martin High School, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station, Nature NB, Nature Trust of New Brunswick, and Trees International.
There are now 100 citizen-based environmental groups from across New Brunswick in the Network. “It was a double milestone,” said Raissa Marks, Executive Director of the NBEN. “It was perfectly fitting to approve the membership of our 100th group during the 25th anniversary event.”
“Nature NB is excited to have been part of the NBEN for 25 years,” said Vanessa Roy-McDougall, Executive Director of Nature NB. “The NBEN's diligent work over the years has allowed us to connect with other environmental groups and has made our efforts to conserve New Brunswick's natural heritage even stronger."
Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, added that her group is “...proud to have been part of NBEN for 25 years. The Network's groups and their members, including the Conservation Council, represent citizens from all over the province and by working together, we've become a strong united voice for clean water and air and for a thriving, greener economy.”
Youth environmental groups have always been an important part of the Network, as explained by Mylène Chavarie of Vertige at Mathieu-Martin High School, “Vertige is extremely proud to be part of the NBEN. The resources provided by the Network have been useful to us over the course of the last 25 years. Our committee is honoured to have been part of the NBEN since the beginning.”
Laurie Murison, of the Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station, reflected back on the last 25 years. “We were happy to join a network of New Brunswick environmental groups 25 years ago. At that time, communication among groups was limited to phone calls, mail outs, or meetings. The need to connect with others, and the chance to learn new skills, was beneficial and desirable. The development of a strong network in New Brunswick over the years with increased membership has strengthened our resolve to remain a member.”
The 25th anniversary celebration, held in Fredericton on Saturday November 19, was attended by over 100 people representing 53 environmental groups from around the province.
The Network’s mandate is to improve communication and co-operation among environmental groups and between these groups, government, and other sectors.
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Contact:Raissa Marks, 506-855-4144, raissa.marks@nben.ca
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- Posted by Pascale Léa Ouellette
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While the challenge this year ended on October 21, you can still vote!
Go to the challenge page and scroll down to the challenge submissions. Voting is as simple as clicking the upward arrow (^) on the challenges you want to vote for! Voting ends November 18th.
Thank you for supporting youth and community conservation efforts!
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- Posted by Mary Ann Coleman
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Do you ever stumble across a blue “protected natural area” sign when you are hiking in the woods? I do. And I always wonder what protected area I’m in. And whether I’m entering it, or leaving it.
So, what on earth is a protected area? Protected areas are preserves for nature and wildlife habitat. People can use them for recreation, like hiking, and, in most protected areas in NB, for fishing and hunting too. Industrial activities like forestry and mining are not allowed.
In New Brunswick, 4.7% of the land is currently protected areas. 4.7% sounds pretty good - until you take into account the fact that Canada has signed the international Convention on Biological Diversity and is committed to protecting 17% by 2020. Hmmm, that’s only 3 years away. And how do we stack up against the other provinces? Well, we are second to last, with only PEI trailing behind us.
To learn some tips from other provinces, three were invited to a workshop last February. Of the three, Alberta is in the lead with an impressive 14.4% of its land protected, Nova Scotia next with 12.16% and Quebec has 9.16%. New Brunswick is similar to Nova Scotia, about the same size and about half of the province is Crown land. Surely with all this Crown land in NB we can do our fair share to preserve nature and wildlife habitat for future generations. If they can do it Nova Scotia, we can too!
At the protected areas workshop, participants from conservation groups, universities, First Nations, government, municipalities and business generated new ideas to get New Brunswick to the international benchmark. Read the report of the workshop to find out more! Tell us what you think!
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- Posted by Raissa Marks
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Read the full article on NBASGA's website, here.
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- Posted by Mary Ann Coleman
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How far is it from your home to the nearest clearcut? And is that clearcut on the list to be sprayed this year? You can check out the online map and zero in on this piece of information if you want. But, let me warn you, you really don’t want to know. For me, the spray planes will be about 2 km away. And the runoff from the sprayed area will go downhill into the brook that runs right by me and hey, guess what else, water from the brook irrigates my vegetable garden. Hmmm…..yum. Not to mention any aerial drift that makes it my way.
One of the more amazing things about this whole scenario is that we pay for the spray with our tax dollars. The Auditor-General, in her 2015 report, criticized the government for losing $53.67 million in the last 5 years on its forest operations due to silviculture costs, including spraying. She didn’t have anything good to say about clearcuts and recommended that we do less, not more. She noted that selective and partial cutting methods are recognized as the best management practices and they also protect water, wildlife habitat and preserve biodiversity.
What is the connection between clearcuts and spray? Clearcuts are sprayed with herbicides and then they are planted in softwood trees. In NB, the natural forest includes both hardwood and softwood trees. After a cut, both types of trees will grow back on their own from the seeds and seedlings that are in the area naturally. Herbicides kill hardwoods, but not softwoods. Softwoods make better lumber so the goal of spraying is to kill the hardwoods - dead in their tracks.
And what happens in other places? According to the government’s report, glyphosate use here is different from everywhere else. Worldwide, 90% of glyphosate is used in agriculture. In NB, 61% is used in forestry, 27% industrial (think NB Power and DTI), and 11% is agriculture. The report found that 40% of the forest land cut in NB in 2014 was sprayed with glyphosate. The Canadian average is 11%. And Quebec, which cut almost 3 times more woods than NB, did not spray at all!
More info
Link to the GeoNB online spraying map (When you get into GeoNB, click the okay button on the bottom right. If you click on the hyperlink, you get a forest company perspective video. Once you are on the map, to see the planned spray areas you will need to zoom in and wait a bit.)
Link to government report on glyphosate and responses from environmental organizations
Link to November 2015 Statement from groups calling for a new Crown Lands and Forests Act
Link to Stop Spraying NB
Link to Conservation Council of NB
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- Posted by Mary Ann Coleman
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So, what’s the hold up? Why aren’t environmentalists falling all over themselves on this? Why hasn’t someone launched a big public campaign? It’s almost like it is too big! It seems like even long-time environmental activists feel like they don’t know enough. After all, climate change is not most people’s expertise. That being said, everyone knows its potential impacts on the area that they do work on – water, forests, air, endangered species, health.
Climate change is the backdrop issue lurking in every environmentalist’s mind. Whatever issue is your passion climate change plays a role. If you work to improve the environment by direct action such as restoring a river or protecting precious habitat, that good work could fall from the climate wrecking ball. If advocating for protecting human health from chemical exposure or changing forestry practices is your thing, climate change scenarios make the doom and gloom situations much gloomier. Plus, if you start to think about your grandchildren, it is hard to maintain any sense of optimism whatsoever.
Right now we are all invited to raise our voices. Let’s raise them together and show that dealing with climate change is as important as it gets!
For more information…
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- Posted by Raissa Marks
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- Federal Support for Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure
- Mitigating the Impacts of Severe Weather
- Chemicals in Consumer Products and Cosmetics
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- Posted by Marie-Pierre Poirier
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On March 1st 2016, the NBEN, in partnership with the NB Food Security Action Network and Farm to Cafeteria, hosted a provincial conference to explore the links in between food security, education and sustainability.
Food security is a new theme for the Sustainability Education Alliance of New Brunswick (SEA-NB), but was extremely well received. Over 80 participants representing schools, school districts, postsecondary institutions, NGOs, local food banks, and provincial government departments attended the event.
Over the course of the day, the participants got the chance to hear about some of the exciting educational initiatives around food security that are happening in the province, played and learned outside with the “Great Minds Think Outside” team, and left with heads full of ideas on ways to expand education around food security in NB following great discussions and a fantastic keynote address from Michael Carr.
Thanks to our partners and to everyone else that contributed to the planning and organizing of the event.
You can read the report here!
