National Volunteer Week (NVW) pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time and energy. This year, NVW is from April 7th – 13th and the theme is: “The Volunteer Factor – Lifting Communities”. To help say ‘thank you’ to volunteers, Volunteer Canada has developed programs to access resources and products that can be attained through their web-site: http://volunteerhalifax.ca/ or by Twitter at #NVW2019 or on their Facebook page: @VolunteerCanada. There is plenty of information and ideas on how to foster more volunteerism in our communities. In our own area be sure to contact “Volunteer Halifax” at https://volunteer.ca/ that links people with local non-profit community organizations, supporting persons with disabilities, new Canadians, corporations and professionals to connect to organizations in and around the municipality, helping individuals develop skills to advance their careers, and developing knowledge resources that support effective and efficient volunteer capacity. Connect with them through e-mail at: info@volunteerhalifax.ca . Each year the Mayor and Regional Council recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals and groups who volunteer their time and skills to provide services and programs in our HRM communities. Due to a publication ban, this year’s list of HRM Volunteers is embargoed until mid-April, so I will provide a complete list of those honourees from our district in my May 2019newsletter and they will be posted online at. www.halifax.ca/volunteerservices/

This is a Rezoning Application by Kiann Management Limited for its property on Hwy #7, west from Parker Lane, Porters Lake from its current RE (Rural Enterprise) Zone to CD-2 (C&D Materials Processing Facilities) Zone to allow for a Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Processing Facility. The report will be on the agenda for the HRM Harbour East Marine Drive Community Council (HEMDCC) on Thursday, April 4th at 6 PM at the Lake Echo Community Centre. For more info, refer to: www.halifax.ca/business/planning-development/applications/case-19800-highway-7-parker-lane-porters-lake-pid Or the HEMDCC Agenda Page at: www.halifax.ca/city-hall/community-councils/harbour-east-marine-drive-community-council

The Earth Day Network is asking people to join its “Protect Our Species” campaign. Their goals are to:

• Educate and raise awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.

• Achieve major policy victories that protect broad groups of species as well as individual species and their habitats.

• Build and activate a global movement that embraces nature and its values.

• Encourage individual actions such as adopting plant based diet and stopping pesticide and herbicide use. More details about this campaign can be found at: www.earthday.org

As reported back in August 2018, Issue #249, the Province has finished its Coastal Protection Plan consultations( from June 26th – August 17th, 2018) and released its summary report on that process: https://novascotia.ca/coast/CoastalProtectionLegislationConsultationReport.pdf . Now we must await subsequent legislation and regulations that should provide clear rules on what can and cannot be done in areas next to the coast. The NS Dept. of Environment will have to work closely with municipalities and others to develop these regulations that will define how this legislation will work. This will impact any new proposed construction activity that maybe near the shorelines that are likely to be threatened by coastal erosion, rising sea levels and storm surges.

This spring, the NS Adopt a Highway will be kicking off its 2019 cleanup season with the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up: the province’s largest litter reduction initiative. Registration is now open at www.nspickmeup.ca or by calling 902-843-3553. They will provide groups with everything needed to run a successful litter clean-up event including supplies, information on how to coordinate your event and a data card to track results and be sure to post ‘before & after’ photos of your pick-me-up locations and post to social media using the hashtag #GladToCleanUp. After registering, groups who require pick-up of waste collected by HRM will have to call311 (at least two weeks in advance of the event). Full details are available at www.nspickmeup.ca

“Ship-to-Shore” campaign aims to engage commercial fishers to address concerns regarding waste disposal practices at sea and the lack of waste management resources at fishing harbours. To date, Ship-to-Shore has landed in over 160 fishing harbours. More details and information about this program can be found at: https://clean.ns.ca/programs/waste/ship-to-shore/

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is a global event that celebrates citizen scientists, biodiversity and our environment while providing valuable information to scientists about our natural world. Cities from across the world compete over four days (April 26th-29th) to see who can make the most observations of Nature, find the most species, and engage the most people taking pictures of wild animals, plants, and all other life. Participants in the CNC are encouraged to download the online platform iNaturalist ( https://inaturalist.ca ) to record observations. Use your mobile device or a camera and desktop computer, individuals simply snap a picture of a tree or frog or lichen and upload the photo to the iNaturalist site. The Halifax event will take place throughout the entire municipality. The CNC-HFX committee will be hosting several iNaturalist training workshops in advance of the event including April 6th (10:30am – 2:30pm) at the Fair banks Centre, Shubie Park, in Dartmouth. More details on the Clean Foundation web-site www.clean.ns.ca or on the CNC-HFX Facebook Page @CityNatureChallengeHFX or contact the CNC Halifax Co-Chairs: Dave Ireland, davehireland@yahoo.ca or Mary Kennedy: cnc2019hrm@gmail.com

HRM sends out its tax bills to all property owners twice a year. The Interim bill was mailed mid-March and is due on Tuesday, April 30th. The final bill will be due October 31st. If you have any enquiries about your tax bill, please call the Halifax Contact Centre at 311 or go on-line to: http://www.halifax.ca/taxes/index.php

Emergency Preparedness (EP) Week is May 5th – 11th. On Saturday May 11th, from 10AM -1PM, the thirteenth annual ‘JEM Jamboree’ will be at the Porters Lake Atlantic Superstore parking lot. The purpose is to continue promoting awareness in emergency preparedness and community readiness. Our local Joint Emergency Management (JEM) Teams are looking for volunteers. For more details about them please go to: https://www.halifax.ca/fire-police/fire/emergency-management/volunteer-during-emergency