June is Clean Up Month!

Help Clean Up the Trail!

We are cleaning the Harvest Moon trail from Annapolis Royal to Grand Pre and need your help!  Practice physical distancing while getting some sun, listen to the birds sing, and enjoy nature all while helping to ease some litter pressure off our beautiful trail!

 

We are launching a campaign to clean up the trail during the month of June.  If you walk the trail, take a bag and tidy as you go!  If you don’t walk the trail- bring a bag wherever you walk!

Win Prizes! 

We have gift certificates from local businesses to give away! To enter, send a photo of your litter adventures to jijuktukwejk@gmail.com, or post it on our Facebook page (no IM please). You could win a gift certificate to businesses such as Half Acre Cafe, Get Outside, Frasers Home Hardware, and more!

How to Participate:

Step 1. Find a bag.  Choose a bag to collect garbage on your walk.  This could be a grocery bag or a garbage bag.

Step 2.  Pick it up! Pick up litter however you feel most comfortable.  Some people will pick up the really big stuff, others will stick to smaller items.  Be safe and use your best judgment. Wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly. If something isn’t safe to pick-up, let it be.

Step 3.  Bag it out. Take your waste home, or drop-off your bag at a safe location for pick-up from Valley Waste.

You MUST call or email Valley Waste so they know where to pick up!

Phone: (902)679-1325 Or 1-877-927-8300

Email:  andreag@vwrm.com

Just send a message like this:

“Hi there, we did a garbage pick up today and left some bags at [civic address, or landmark description].  Could you pick them up when you have a chance?  Thanks and have a great day!  We appreciate all you do for the planet!”

If you are leaving garbage bags near the trail, please leave them near a trail/road intersection for easy access.  Thanks!

 

Summer is Coming!

For the summer of 2020, we have a great plan for students to help us learn about the river, so we can better restore and protect it!

We have a project that would be great for a young biologist looking to gain some experience with collecting samples, assessing river banks, identifying turtle habitat, and learning about the streams that come into the main Cornwallis River!  This will be for the position of “Ecology Intern”, and will be a 10 week position based with a local environmental group and their team of students and researchers (one of two potential offices).

The second project is for a student who knows a bit about mapping- this project will be for a young person with experience in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) who can collect existing maps and layers, create a storymap (Check out this storymap!), and help with research on wetlands, agricultural land and pesticides.  This will be for the position of “GIS Intern”, and will be a 10 week position based at the Centre for Ocean and Geographic Sciences in Lawrencetown.

Please check out these job postings for all the details, and see if one would be a good fit for you or someone you know!

Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance – Ecology Intern

Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance – GIS Technician

We are thrilled to work with students each summer – it gives young people a chance to gain experience in their field, and it gives us a chance to learn more about the river!  We hope to hear from you soon!

New Year’s Resolution for the Planet

My new years resolution for the planet was to learn more!  I decided this year to feed my inner student and gain a better understanding of the GREAT things that are happening around climate change.  That’s right there are GREAT THINGS HAPPENING!  There are people and companies doing fantastic things that make my green heart beat a little faster.  Did you know that

• Greenhouse gas emissions in the US  fell 2% in 2019
• Zero-carbon energy overtook fossil fuels in Britain for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.
• Solar and wind are not growing fast enough to meet Germany’s new demand

You can add more learning to your life in so many ways.  Some people like listening to a 10 -20 minute podcast in their car or on the bus on their way to work!  Some people like to receive a newsletter in their email once a week.  Others like to curl up with a good book.  There are also documentaries, if you like to eat popcorn while you are learning!

Here are some of the ways that I enjoy learning- maybe you will like them too!

Podcasts:

The Last Environmentalist

Interviews with people who are making a real difference in the climate change- researchers, protesters, innovators and inventors, business owners and journalists.

Sustainababble

A British comedy about sustainability- if you need to laugh your way through this very serious issue.

Stay on top of news in general – be informed about the world!  Wait There’s More (Global), Front Burner (CBC), Today Explained, Democracy Now and many others.

Newsletters:

The Race to Zero Emissions

Activities or projects that are decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, those that are keeping emissions neutral, and those that have caused emissions to increase.

The Clean Energy Canada Review

Electric cars, resources in Alberta, update on emissions, municipal climate action on pension funds, and more!

Books:

The best books I have read lately have been about hope and inspiration around a changing climate and sustainability.  An older book that changed my life a little bit is called Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller by Jeff Ruben.  A newer book about changing the way we think and act about climate change is called Out of the Wreckage by George Monbiot.  Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth is an exceptional read for those of us who don’t always understand global politics and economics- this explains things pretty simply.  I have a reference book called Drawdown– I pick it up to learn more about a specific issue or resource.  These are easier reads than some of the larger and more intense books such as This Changes Everything and No is Not Enough by Naomi Klein.  Don’t forget you can get these from the library, and/or in audiobook format!

Friends!

There are several meet ups in the valley where you can learn about what’s going on locally.  There is a climate action group that meets every Monday evenings (7-9pm) at the Wolfville Farmers Market.  Come out to the Watershed Alliance events, and keep an eye out for interesting talks at Acadia’s brown bag lunch series.

Learning is a low cost or free way to better understand what’s going on, and can help put you on a path to making better decisions about the planet.  Happy New Year!

Event Follow Up: January Beach Clean Up!

Thank you to everyone who came out to Harbourville and Long Beach to help clean up these beautiful shores!  We were around 40 people in total who picked up lots of rope, fishing gear, water bottles, household waste, and many surprising treasures that shouldn’t be in the ocean.  Thank you – we will host another clean up in the spring!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

2020 – Starting Fresh!

It’s a new year and we are starting fresh!

This past year has been another one for the books!  The Alliance had a fantastic summer student who partnered with the Mikmaw Conservation Group to learn about the watershed, the river, and the Bay of Fundy.  Angelica had a great time and is going back to university full of passion for this amazing valley ecosystem.  We are still going through her work and learning lots of neat things about the state of the river, including a calculation of unwanted fertilizers flowing into the river.

2019 has also been a time to reflect on our work and the direction we are taking to restore the Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River.  We are SO EXCITED to be bringing new faces and new energy into the watershed alliance this year.  We already have some great events planned, including a garbage pick up in January.  We hope you will come out to these events and meet some like minded people, learn a bit about the watershed, and help us restore the river.

There has been some sad news in 2019 about the accumulation of garbage in the beautiful Bay of Fundy, as well as our own work calculating excess fertilizers flowing into the Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River.   We thought we would have a garbage pick up that helped us start the year off on the right (green) foot, and helped clean the Fundy shoreline.  We hope you can come out to this and many of our other events!

• January 4, 2020
• 2:00pm to 4:00pm
• (January 11, storm date)
• Long Beach (Baxters Harbour): Meet just west of the intersection of Long Beach Road and Old Baxter Mill Road.
• Harbourville Beach (Harbourville): Meet at the parking lot near the fish store and the restaurant!

Dress warm, enjoy the sun, and pick up as much marine garbage as you can with friends and neighbours!  We will supply bags and will contact Valley Waste to pick up our bags.

Thanks for your support, and have a happy holiday!

The Watershed Alliance team

Summer 2019… Here We Come!

If you know a young person who would be interested in an amazing summer experience learning about and helping to restore the Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River, send this along to them today!

We are looking forward to an amazing summer program this year in collaboration with the Annapolis Valley First Nation, the Mikmaw Conservation Group and our friends at the Clean Annapolis River Program!

 

 

 

Summer Student Research Assistant

The Jijuktu’kwejk (gee-gee-wok-tok) Watershed Alliance is a partnership of citizens and communities from Berwick to Wolfville in Kings County Nova Scotia, with the common vision of a healthy and sustainable natural environment, and a swimmable, drinkable and fishable Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River. The organization was formed in 2016 and has a strategic plan and a strong volunteer board of directors who are working to achieve this vision. For more information about the Alliance, please visit https://jijuktukwejkwatershedalliance.wordpress. com/ and www.facebook.com/JijuktukwejkWatershed/

Job Description/Responsibilities:

The Alliance is hiring a 15-week student for the summer to work on 2 projects (1 being dependent upon funding). Responsibilities may include:

• Travel to field sites along the Bay of Fundy
• Assisting with tidal barrier assessments and audits
• Assessing freshwater streams for barriers
• Conducting assessments on the Cornwallis River (areas of damage/degradation, evidence of turtle nesting, notable species)
• Visual surveys for Wood Turtles and suitable Wood Turtle habitat
• Planning and conducting community outreach events on the Wood Turtle
• Various other tasks

Requirements/Qualifications

• The applicant must be between 15 and 30 years of age on the start date of the job
• The applicant must have been a full-time student during the previous academic year and be intending to return to full-time studies in the next academic year
• The applicant must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a refugee under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and be legally entitled to work according to relevant provincial legislation and regulations.
• The applicant must have a valid drivers licence and have daily access to a vehicle.
• Interest in the conservation field (experience an asset)

Remuneration: Depending on grants received, interns will receive $15/hour at 35 hours per week. A travel allowance will be provided for driving to field sites

To apply:

Send a resume and cover letter describing why you are interested in this position and tell us about your experience with environmental & scientific research, First Nations culture, Annapolis Valley, and the Jijuktu’kwejk River (experience in these areas are considered an asset but are not required).

Please send them in one document to:

John Brazner, Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance

By post to: 1181 Russia Road, Black Rock, NS B0P 1V0

By email to: johnbrazner@eastlink.ca

Deadline: 12:00 pm May 10, 2019

Support our Summer Programs!

This week, former summer intern Alex Young writes a guest post for you!  Please make a donation today so we can continue to give students an amazing experience, all while working to restore the beautiful Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River!  Click on the “Make a Donation” button on the right!

Hello there, my name is Alex Young. I am a former summer student of the Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance (2017). Working for the JWA was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. My colleagues and I were offered great flexibility and were given our own initiative that summer. There was a lot of trust, but also an open line of communication between the students and Jennifer West, our coordinator. The job itself consisted of mostly field work, but with some office work as well. Fortunately, we had a fair amount of choice when it came to time to choose which days to do which task.  There were many different outdoor activities over the summer. There was plenty of hiking along the riverbanks, and we also learned how to canoe, and took a few trips down the river ourselves. We consulted with experts and got the public engaged with restoring the Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed to a usable, swimmable, fishable river. We also collected as much information as we could on the watershed over the summer, which ultimately made a difference in figuring out how to best restore the river for future generations. I became so invested in the project, that I continued with research into the academic year to try to discover the cause of high levels of E. coli in some areas of the river. I was able to give the JWA data on the levels of E. coli throughout over the seasons. It felt amazing to be able to make a such a difference. Overall, working for the Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance was an extraordinary experience, and a fine choice for a summer job!

 

Sincerely,

Alex Young

Paddle the River With Us!

Join is for an easy float and paddle down the beautiful Cornwallis River! Our wonderful summer students will lead a paddle starting at a location in Coldbrook, details to come soon! Bring your canoes, some paddles and lots of friends and let the experts lead you down the river for a few hours. Feel free to bring a donation to the Alliance too, or to become a member! Stay tuned for more details, but please plan to paddle with us and get to know the river!

August 4, 9am.  (tentative start location) Coldbrook Lions Club Parking Lot, South Bishop Road.

Bring your canoe and paddles, water and a snack for your trip.  Students will be able to help shuttle cars to the end of the paddle route at Lovett Road.

The route will start at South Bishop Road and will end at Lovett Road in Coldbrook.  See maps below.  More information will be posted here as the students prepare for logistics for the event!

Please let us know you will attend through Facebook or by emailing jijuktukwejk@gmail.com

See you there!

We’re Ready to Grow!

Hi there, thanks for stopping by! We are working really hard and your encouragement and support keeps us going every day!

The Jijuktu’kwejk Watershed Alliance is more than two years old, and we are ready to take the next BIG step to help restore the Cornwallis River! This year we plan to hire our first full time staff- they will be doing all the things we haven’t quite been able to get to- launching public programs, coordinating volunteer events, writing grants for more projects and more staff, and generally doing all the great things that will help restore the Cornwallis River! It’s very exciting but a lot of work- we want to make sure we are ready for a person to come on board and start doing great work as soon as possible!

Before that happens, we are having a great time with our three summer interns. Angelica, Mark and Nikki started with us on June 18 and will have 10 weeks to cover projects such as:

• water quality assessments at 10 sites
• learning about the sewage treatment plants along the river
• visiting potential wetland restoration sites around the watershed with McCallum Environmental
• modelling pesticide application to agricultural lands and potential inputs into the river
• searching for rare and sensitive wood turtle habitat
• and much more!!!
• They are a fantastic team and have hit the ground running! This week they were being trained on their new equipment on loan from the Community Based Environmental Monitoring Network in Halifax.

We are so happy to have your support- can we ask you to renew your membership and help us reach our funding goal for our new staff member? Last year our wonderful members contributed $635 to the Alliance, and we are hoping to increase that through some new grants, and also by sharing our work with lots of new people in the valley. If you are able, please consider a membership and donation, but if you are not able, please share our work with your friends, family, and colleagues, and anyone else who cares about the Cornwallis (Jijuktu’kwejk) River!

Most Sincerely and Gratefully,
Jennifer West

Movie: Plastic Ocean

June 8th is World Oceans Day and we are presenting a very important movie called “Plastic Ocean” to bring more awareness about what we throw out, what gets into the river and what is filling up our oceans.

Friday June 8th, 5:30-7:30pm.  Berwick Library.  Food and drinks provided.

A PLASTIC OCEAN begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. In this adventure documentary, Craig teams up with free diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans, uncover alarming truths about plastic pollution, and reveal working solutions that can be put into immediate effect.

This is a joint presentation of the Jijuktuk’wejk Watershed Alliance, North Mountain Coffee, Valley Regional Waste Management, the Clean Annapolis River Project, and the Annapolis Valley Regional Library in Berwick.