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Soil & Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax (SWCSMH)

July 01, 2004                                      

Contents:

• Our inaugural invitation- supported by the Nova Scotia Dept. of Environment (December 20, 1989)
• Snapshot summary of our accomplishments
• Studies/Reports
  • Our valued Partners
• Synopses/Monographs
• Lake Management Modelling
• Educational Tv shows (1988-1996)
• Volunteer Lake Sampling Protocols
  • Our past and not so past lake stakeholders
• Construction monitoring
• Physical lake cleanups
• Miscellaneous activities:
  • Halifax/Halifax County Watershed Advisory Board- WAB
  • Partnership for students
  • Halifax Harbour Symposium
  • Community Stakeholder Committee membership
  • Public Submissions
  • Recreational Fisheries Advisory Councils
• Our contractual participants
• Biodiversity
• Select dealings with the NSDEL

Our Studies/Reports:

To date, in addition to our usual volunteer activities, we have issued several studies/reports since our formation as a volunteer society on 18th December 1989. Some of the studies/reports were conducted by our contractural participants acting under our sponsorship, supervision, and /or assistance.

Synopses/Monographs:

We are producing several synopses/monographs, each one dealing with a particular aspect of Lake Management. We conduct relatively detailed literature search from authorities around the world, especially within various parts of North America, some of whom are our members and/or associates. As time advances, we will be upgrading them with any peer reviewed research at the same time keeping them in a concise format.

LAKE MANAGEMENT MODELLING, a significant project:

Our present significant project is the Predictive Phosphorus Modelling of an astonishing number of lakes, the modelling being based on the combination of the latest research of Dillon et al (North American leader in this aspect) at the Dorset Research Centre, Ontario, Canada, the international `OECD' Management Model, and the USEPA Clean Lakes Program among others. The principal benefit of the modelling is that one can `plan' ahead through development controls, and other means in order to not exceed the `Lake Carrying Capacity' for each lake as desired by genuine lake stakeholders. This modelling on MS Excel and EasyPlot software will is lodged at university libraries, and updates are available from us on request. The modelled values to date have been summarized in our file on Predictive Phosphorus Modelling. For credible international peer reviewed protocols, read our file on Lake Carrying Capacity.

Public education role via Tv:

One of our `past' roles was stimulation of scientific research and provision of scientific information; we endeavoured in every way possible to bring science closer to the public. We had a unique part to play in that we provided scientists, technocrats, educators and administrators with the opportunity to speak directly to the community through the marvel of community cable. Our weekly productions `Science & Nature', `Science Is Your World', and `In Harmony With Nature' were first taped on 15 June 1988. Subjects ranged from the environmental sciences, amateur inventions, mysteries of outer space to various engineering research and developmental projects, as well as general interest topics (eg. stewardship practices, underwater videos of lakes, rivers and oceans). Listing of all the shows taped.

Volunteer sampling:

(Link here for our select past and not so past lake stakeholders)

We carry out field studies of lakes of significance per our Stage-I, Stage-II (and IIA), and Stage-IA sampling protocols.

• Stage-I protocol is a basic protocol developed during 1990 by Dr. John Underwood while he was at the NS Dept of the Environment, by Prof. Dr. Gordon Ogden III while he was at Dalhousie University and by this Co-Ordinator. Stage-I entails independant surface sampling by various lake stakeholders.

• Stage-II protocol is relatively extensive, and evolved over 1991-93 under the leadership of the Co-Ordinator with background in Professional Lake Management. Essentially, Stage-II was derived from the Advanced Protocol of the USEPA Clean Lakes Program, and some of the recces of the OECD. Stage-II was carried out exclusively by the Co-Ordinator (because of the extensive nature) with lake access and facilities provided by the `Lake Stakeholders'.

• Stage-IA protocol was developed during early 1995 and is a compromise between Stage-I and Stage-II protocols. Stage-IA involves independant sampling by various lake stakeholders at various depths over longer periods of time. The reports are prepared by the Co-Ordinator.

Construction Monitoring:

When time and finances permit, we carry out event specific sampling of various components, sediment, nutrients, etc. as needed. Our predecessor group, the Sackville Rivers Advisory Board (amalgamated with this `Society' during 1990), not being a typical `lay-back advisory type', carried out the only ever organized sampling of the Little Sackville River during the period 1988-90. Subsequently, we have carried out isolated sampling events for both the Little as well as the Main Sackville rivers. Our members have carried out sampling for `SS' during peak rainfall events at select discharge points around major construction sites in the sub-watersheds of Morris, Bissett, Second, and First lakes.

Physical Cleanups:

We have organized a handful to date, the principal ones being the underwater and the littoral zone cleanups of Kearney and Settle lakes during the Environment weeks of 1991 and 1994 respectively. We have also been `partners' in some cleanups around Albro and Maynard lakes in Dartmouth as well as varied other lakes all over HRM at a smaller scale.

An upcoming cleanup at Maynard Lake, Dartmouth.

Miscellaneous activities:

• Halifax/Halifax County Watershed Advisory Board WAB

  • Co-Ordinator S.M. Mandaville (Professional Lake Manage.) was invited along with a handful of others to assist Halifax County in developing "terms of reference" during Oct 1995, and these were approved by the County Council during Dec 1995. He continued as the `appointee' until Sept 1996 at which time he relinquished the position in favour of Prof. Jack Burney PhD, PEng lasting to December of 1999.

  • Our other representatives to the H/HC WAB.

  
  

• Partnership for students:

  • We provided some minimal partnership to Alison Sherwood, an undergrad student of the Biology Dept., Dalhousie University during 1994. Our partnership was funding for the chemical analysis of samples collected from four lakes, namely Bissett, Kearney, Loon, and Portuguese Cove. Analysis was conducted by CWRS, TUNS, and the Env. Chemistry lab of the Dept. of Public Health. NS Dept. of Env. was our collaborator. In addition to her class project on the said four lakes, she produced a second report for us on two lakes, Russell and Settle in Dartmouth. Her reports were [VIII] and [IX].

  • We have provided assistance to several other undergrad and grad students at universities and community colleges; see our select email requests we receive.

  
  

• Halifax Harbour Symposium: Our representative was Prof. Dr. Spencer Lee during November 1996. In addition, S.M. Mandaville (Professional Lake Manage.) had attended the Fournier Commission hearings held at Halifax, Herring Cove as well as at Bedford.

  
  

• We were general members of the Community Stakeholder Committee, Regional Solid Waste Management Project set up by the four Metro Halifax municipalities during late 1994. S.M. Mandaville (Professional Lake Manage.) and Evan Crowe were the representatives.

  
  

• Public Submissions: Routinely, we make submissions to various consultation processes of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

  
  

• Recreational Fisheries Advisory Councils: Until about 1997, we had two representatives on these Provincial committees, and they were Ken Doe, Supervisor, Aquatic Toxicology, and Doug McLearn PEng, but both resigned due to their professional responsibilities.

We are interested in supporting the initiatives of the Federal Government as well as of other interest groups in protecting Canada's Biodiversity.

We salute the Chebucto Community Net (CCN) of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for being gracious in hosting our Web site and further we applaud the past, present and future volunteers of `CCN' for their undying devotion in making `CCN' the best community net probably in the whole world!!