This spring, the municipality's Environment and Climate Change team, in partnership with TransCoastal Adaptations (TCA) at Saint Mary’s University and the Ecology Action Centre, will launch a new project called Living Lakeshores. This project aims to increase the resilience of freshwater shorelines in the Halifax region and build community understanding of natural restoration approaches in sensitive ecosystems.
The municipality will be offering free shoreline naturalization training to residents, delivered by TCA.
This training is based on the Green Shores initiative and will give residents the skills and knowledge to contribute to climate adaptation and help municipal staff implement green infrastructure projects.
Please note that each training has a maximum capacity of 20 people.
Anyone can participate, but people near lakeshores are especially encouraged to enrol.
Living Lakeshores training
To encourage care for the natural environment and share the skills of shoreline naturalization, the Environment and Climate Change team invited residents to enrol in free Level 1 training sessions. Participants that completed Level 1 training were invited to take part in free Level 2 training.
The next Green Shores™ training will be happening at the North Preston Community Centre. Our first community restoration project will take place at Kinsmen First Lake Beach in the fall. Check this page for updates.
To register for training, visit the TransCoastal Adaptations website.
The value of naturalization
Projects like Living Lakeshores promote resilient shoreline management through nature-based solutions. As the impacts of climate change become more frequent and intense, the municipality is committed to combatting flooding along our shorelines.
By aligning with ecologically-sound practices, installation projects like Living Lakeshores allow us to adapt and address climate change, while also sharing educational resources that empower residents to contribute to climate action.
The value of naturalization for maintaining healthy shorelines lies in the way that it:
- preserves and restores physical processes, like the natural flow of water and the movement of sediment
- maintains or enhances natural habitats and biodiversity along the shoreline
- prevents or reduces pollutants entering aquatic environments
