Nature Nova Scotia

By Eleanor Willner-Fraser, NSEN Community Engagement Volunteer

Nature Nova Scotia (NNS) is a registered charity and a federation of Nova Scotia’s natural history clubs. Established in 1990, it has a board of directors that consists of a five-person executive and representatives of its 11 member organizations. NNS currently enjoys the support of a part-time employee, Becky Parker. It works to protect and promote nature in our beautiful province and represents Nova Scotia naturalist organizations at the Canadian Nature Network, an initiative of Nature Canada.

NNS’s current member organizations are the Blomidon Naturalists Society, the Cape Breton Naturalists’ Society, the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, the Friends of Nature, the Friends of the Pugwash Estuary, the Halifax Field Naturalists, the Margaree Environmental Association, the Nova Scotia Bird Society, the Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society, the Tusket River Environmental Protection Association, and the Young Naturalists Club of Nova Scotia. The member organizations’ combined social media reach is close to 20,000 people. The federation also has approximately 115 individual members who are not affiliated with a member organization.

NNS encourages communication and cooperation among naturalists and natural history societies in Nova Scotia. It also collaborates with other like-minded organizations to advocate for the protection of our natural environment. Its work centres around nature education and the protection of natural ecosystems and threatened and endangered species. NNS’s activities include funding, research, letter writing, and serving on committees and advisory boards. NNS normally holds an Annual General Meeting in May or June that also includes educational talks and field trips, although the event was cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NNS operates a Nova Scotia Big Tree site with information and images for big trees in Nova Scotia. The site has instructions for how to measure trees and indicate their location. You can submit tree measurements to NNS’s iNaturalist project. Other issues that NNS has been involved with include mines and minerals, parks and protected areas, and habitat management. Currently, it is involved with the court case protesting the delisting of Owls Head provincial park and follow-up on its successful case against the provincial government about its failure to protect species at risk.

Members of NNS member organizations can join NNS for a discounted rate, but anyone is welcome to join to have a voice in provincial and national nature issues. Visit NNS’s website for more information about the organization, including its position on different issues and links to its member organizations’ websites, as well as resources about Nova Scotia forests.