Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
The water temperatures are getting colder, and for sea turtles, this could be bad news. If a sea turtle ends up in water that's 10 C or below, it could become cold-stunned, which is similar to hypothermia but for turtles, according to April Nason, the education and outreach co-ordinator for the Canadian Sea Turtle Network in Nova Scotia.
Hope Shanks has seen more than her fair share of the effects of climate change. At least once a year, the bookkeeper for the restaurant and shop in Halls Harbour, N.S., has to help clean up after water from the Bay of Fundy breaches the seawall, sweeps across the parking lot and floods the restaurant. Most recently, on Christmas Eve, the Halls Harbour Lobster Pound was inundated with more than a metre of water.
The Mi'kmaki Water Walk is underway around the Bay of Fundy. The 40-day, 994-kilometre ceremonial walk began May 24. It's in honour of water as a sacred life force. Walkers started in Overton, N.S., near Yarmouth, and it will end in Blacks Harbour, N.B. Ducie Howe is a Mi'kmaw grandmother from the Sipekne'katik First Nation and she's leading the walk. CBC's Information Morning Halifax spoke with her on Thursday when she was in Brooklyn, N.S. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ocean energy firm Sustainable Marine today announced it has delivered the first floating in-stream tidal power to Nova Scotia’s grid, successfully harnessing the enormous tidal currents in Canada’s Bay of Fundy. The news marks a significant milestone both for the company and Canada’s broader marine energy ambitions, Sustainable Marine CEO Jason Hayman, said: “Achieving ‘first power’ to the grid from our new platform in Grand Passage signals a real inflection point for our business. It crystalises the journey we’ve been on, following almost a decade of rigorous research, development and testing.”
Recent flooding in Halls Harbour has helped illustrate that issues surrounding storms and sea level rise in the community have to be addressed. Like many other Kings County communities, Halls Harbour experienced flooding on Feb. 18 and 19. A heavy rain storm and melting snow combined with the high tide to flood Highway 359, leading to a temporary road closure.
The village of Alma continues to be under a boil-water order first instated Friday. Early Friday morning, a lighting storm took out the electronics that control the village water pump. Restaurants closed that morning, and by Saturday the pump was back up and running. But residents were asked to continue to conserve water and to boil it before ingesting it. Alma Mayor Andrew Casey said the village needs three consecutive good water tests taken 24 hours apart to lift the advisory. Until then, residents must bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before ingesting it, brushing their teeth or washing food.
