NSEN Member Organizations

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ACAP Cape Breton is an environmental non-profit organization that offers the knowledge that Cape Bretoners need to make greener choices. They work directly on practical solutions that help protect and restore our natural environment.

Since its beginning in 1992, ACAP Cape Breton has evolved into a dynamic group that integrates environmental, social and economic factors into projects focusing on action, education and ecosystem planning.

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Over the last thirteen years, a construction debris dump found its way into the very top of our watershed. At first we didn't pay a lot of attention, wishing our neighbor well in his new enterprise and trusting the authorities to look after our best interests.

In 2008 we were still napping when the dump, Arlington heights C&D, applied to become a disposal site for asbestos waste. Disposal of this toxic carcinogen is a big problem for developers, especially in an older city like Halifax. It says a lot that huge trucks make the 325 kilometer round trip to our insignificant community in order to get rid of their burden.

Now Arlington Heights C&D is expanding again, and we are finally waking up. We are calling for a moratorium on the use of Arlington Heights C&D. Let's hit the pause button, examine the science, redo parts of the Environmental Assessment, hold the trucks in Halifax, and take stock of our own priorities.

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The Arlington Forest Protection Society was established in 2020 to protect and conserve forests along the North Mountain of the Annapolis Valley in order to preserve biodiversity, create wildlife corridors, and prevent clear-cutting of mature and old growth forests through the acquisition and/or donation of land to the Society.

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We are a charity dedicated to sparking curiosity for marine life and inspiring a desire to protect our ocean. We operate the Touch Tank Hut, a miniature marine interpretive centre on the Dartmouth Waterfront, and we are working towards opening a permanent community aquarium.

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Cape Breton Environmental Association (CBEA) is a community-based environmental organization, founded in 2017. Its original mission was to help curb Cape Breton’s ongoing illegal dumping issue but has since grown into a diverse organization that offers environmental awareness through education and participation. Since its establishment, CBEA has been responsible for a variety of community-based environmental initiatives.

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The Cape Breton Farmers' Market aims to facilitate economic growth and sustainability for local food and craft producers encouraging more people to live, work and grow in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The CBFM is a not-for-profit co-operative that has been in operation for almost thirty years.

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The Centre for Local Prosperity (CLP) was founded in 2014 as a non-profit organization that works at the intersection of economic localization and climate readiness. The organization works across Atlantic Canada and is one of the lead Canadian partners for Project Drawdown, an initiative that identifies solutions to move us toward the steady decline of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. CLP aims to bring together different people and their ideas and experiences, including through hosting retreats about climate change at the Thinkers Lodge in Pugwash.

CLP runs conferences and community workshops, organizes discussions, and delivers presentations. Topics can include: local currency, living wage, transportation, and food and community hubs. CLP helps communities prepare for the climate crisis and regain control of their economy. CLP encourages practices like import replacement and community land trusts. It works with community groups, businesses, and governments to promote innovative community development initiatives and sustainable business practices.

CLP promotes a New Economic Model that prioritizes localization and treats natural resources as belonging to a commons. The organization aims to shift the economic conversation so that we think about prosperity differently and achieve a better balance between economic development and the preservation and restoration of nature. It engages in education and advocacy work, publishing reports on local economies, sharing stories of local resilience from Atlantic Canada and beyond, and producing films.

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CCL is an international, non-partisan, grassroots organization committed to creating the political will for a livable climate. We strive to create that will by empowering citizens to exercise their right to engage their elected leaders on vital issues.

CCL pursues this goal by organizing and training volunteers in local chapters to take a variety of actions. We focus on building support for what we see as the single most impactful solution to climate change — a national carbon fee and dividend – through direct advocacy to our elected representatives, but also by outreach to media, community influencers, and the public.

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Coastal Restoration Society is a non-profit organization supporting the environmental remediation goals of First Nations, provincial, and federal government agencies. Guided by foundational values CRS has become a leader in industrial-scale restoration and stewardship projects in coastal communities and inland waterways. Our projects model sustainable frameworks for the creation of a professional marine remediation and restoration economy. Throughout all projects, Coastal Restoration Society provides economic stimulus and supports capacity building in host First Nations communities through meaningful employment and contract opportunities.

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The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) is a Tribal Council located in Mi’kma'ki (present day Nova Scotia) and provides programs and services to the eight mainland Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia. Our mission is to proactively promote and assist Mi’kmaw communities’ initiatives towards self-determination and enhancement of community. The CMM’s main office is situated in the Millbrook Mi’kmaw Community and has over 100 employees.

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The Council of Canadians was founded in 1985 and currently has over 150,000 members and supporters in 47 chapters across the country. They work for positive change at regional, provincial, and global levels through collective action & grassroots initiatives. We challenge corporate power & advocate for people, the planet and our democracy.

The Council of Canadians is working to support Indigenous people’s struggles, build a more just society, and protect Canadians against privatization. We run campaigns related to the topics of trade, clean water, climate justice, democracy, and health care. Our website includes analyses, petitions, campaign toolkits, and webinars.

There are four Council of Canadians chapters in Nova Scotia: Cape Breton West, North Shore,South Shore, and Halifax. Chapters typically hold regular public meetings that are open to supporters and the general public. Contact a local chapter if you would like to receive updates, get involved, or start a new chapter in your community.

The South Shore Chapter has been active since 2000 and currently focuses on the Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia, the exploration of what a just recovery could mean for Nova Scotia’s South Shore, and issues around clearcutting and spraying, open pen salmon farming, and inequality in local communities.

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DataStream Initiative is a registered Canadian charity dedicated to advancing freshwater protection through open data flows. Our mission is to promote knowledge sharing and collaborative water stewardship so our waters remain healthy for generations to come. Our core programming includes an online platform for sharing water quality data, data management and water science resources and training, and network building.

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The Deanery Project is not-for-profit co-operative learning centre founded in 2011 with a focus on the environment, creative arts and community. Social justice, equity and inclusion are core organizational values. Located on 25 acres of forest and stunning oceanfront in Mi’kma’ki. It is a year round living laboratory for field research, and a demonstration site of how we might live more lightly with the land.

Bounded by some of Nova Scotia’s largest Protected Wilderness Areas and the NS Nature Trust Wild Islands, it is special gathering place, just 60 km east of Halifax.The Deanery offers its own public programming through workshops, events, camps and retreats. It also partners with a wide variety of groups providing resources to support their specific learning goals. In all we do, we aim to nurture an understanding of, and appreciation for, the natural environment. Permaculture design principals and the arts inform our work, sustainability and stewardship guide it.

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The Diocesan Environment Network (DEN) is a network within the Mission, Outreach, Social Justice Task Group (MOST) of the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Established in 2012, it has three coordinators and approximately 550 people connected to the network, most of whom are Anglicans and most of whom live in Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. It also has members from different parts of Canada and other parts of the world and other faith traditions.

One of the main pieces of work of DEN is to help churches be greener. DEN also provides support to parishes in the form of worship resources for Earth Day, Rogation Sunday, Season of Creation, Blessing of the animals, World Water Day and other special events. The EN provides presentations, workshops, guest preachers, spiritual care in times of climate crisis with individual Anglicans, parishes and groups within the church. We build relationships with those not already connected to the church, ecumenical relations and relations with First Nations people. We advocate on the issue of climate change and support local environmental issues etc.

To learn more about DEN, have a look at its website, newsletter, Facebook group, and YouTube channel. On their special Facebook group, you can also find the Hope & Inspiration Art Gallery, an online art show featuring the artwork of local artists who are DEN members. The gallery aims to encourage appreciation and stewardship of the earth.

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Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is a registered charity whose mission is to conserve, manage and restore wetlands and other important habitat for the benefit of North America's waterfowl, other wildlife and people. Through collaboration and partnerships with other groups, volunteers, industry and various levels of government, DUC engages in habitat conservation, scientific research and public policy initiatives as well as community outreach and environmental education programs.

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For what it’s Earth, we want to change the way individuals in our society treat the environment. Earthub is an environmental organization that spreads environmental awareness and collects everyday items for reuse or proper recycling with the "Items to Keep Out of The Landfill" program! Collection items are kept for end users who can reuse or reimagine these items while diverting them from landfills.

It is our mission to show you what your impact can do to the Earth. Our society needs to hit the reset button to keep the Earth beautiful. Earthub has created a waste diversion system like no other!

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East Coast Environmental Law is an environmental law charity based in Halifax, Nova Scotia that works to support the development and fair application of innovative and effective environmental laws throughout Atlantic Canada. We envision a future in which strong and equitable environmental laws throughout the Atlantic region provide Atlantic Canadians with clean and healthy environments and protect local ecologies for their own sakes as well.

To achieve our vision, we take a dynamic, three-pillared approach that emphasizes public legal education, community collaboration, and legal action. Among other things, the East Coast Environmental Law team responds to community inquiries, carries out legal and policy research, develops educational resources, and creates opportunities to increase public awareness of environmental laws throughout Atlantic Canada. We build capacity in the public and amongst legal practitioners so that we can work together to ensure that environmental laws are strengthened and used effectively throughout our region.

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The Ecology Action Center (EAC) is an environmental charity in Nova Scotia which addresses environmental issues ranging from biodiversity protection and climate change to environmental justice on a local, regional, national and international level. Since 1971, they have been the voice for the environment in their community with the objective to propagate a society in Nova Scotia which respects and protects nature on an environmentally and economically sustainable level. They do so by taking a holistic approach, which encompasses areas such as built environments, marine, coastal and water environments, wilderness, food, transportation and energy, through policy advocacy, community development and building awareness.

In addition to pursuing an environmentally and economically sustainable Nova Scotia, EAC aims to provide up-to-date environmental information through their Media Center and E-Newsletter to engage the public in such dialogues. Overall, they pride themselves on “action” being their middle name as they strive to tackle Nova Scotia’s current and future critical environmental issues.

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Eco Connects is a sole proprietorship social enterprise that delivers workshops, programs, one-on-one coaching sessions, and eco-experiences that seek to rekindle the feeling of connection with nature and inspire action on climate change and the eco-crisis. These services are designed for people who are experiencing climate anxiety and eco-grief who want to take action but don’t know how. We can do one-on-one coaching or I can be a companion while we garden, walk, or shop together with a sustainability focus. Businesses and organisations can benefit from continuous improvement on their sustainability plans through consultation work. They can give their employees natural ways to deal with anxiety, like taking time in nature or taking small steps towards sustainable goals.

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Extinction Rebellion Nova Scotia (XRNS) is part of a leaderless, decentralized, international and apolitical network using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. We have three demands:

1) TELL THE TRUTH - Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.

2) ACT NOW - Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

3) BEYOND POLITICS - Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

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Friends of Nature Conservation Society is dedicated to maintaining the balance of nature for the mutual benefit of people and their plant & animal friends.

Since 1954, when the organization was formed by Martin Rudy Haase to protect a unique island in Maine, Friends of Nature has been dedicated to maintaining the balance of nature for the mutual benefit of people and their plant and animal friends.

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The Friends of Sable Island Society is a charitable organization whose mission is the long-term preservation of Sable Island. We implement education programs including an annual scholarship, support and promote research mainly through the bi-annual Sable Island Conference, and collect and preserve Sable Island’s rich history. We create a community of support by attracting members, and form partnerships with compatible organizations to promote and protect Sable Island. And we advocate for the island primarily as a champion for the Sable Island National Park Reserve to facilitate its success.

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Green Schools Nova Scotia is an exciting initiative brought to you by Efficiency Nova Scotia to enhance environmental sustainability at schools. This free program helps support students, teachers, and the larger school community as they learn to waste less and become more energy efficient.

Reducing energy consumption is the best way to mitigate climate change, and we are focused on energy! While we start from that foundation, we cover a spectrum of environmental concerns including energy, waste, water, transportation, and food. There are five pillars to the Green Schools NS program: Getting Started With Energy, Minimizing Waste, Using Water Responsibly, Living and Moving Green, and Supporting Local.

Green Schools NS connects with over 340 schools and over 28,000 students across the province. The schools include First Nations schools, preschools, private schools, and schools belonging to the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial, and students range from Grade Primary to Grade 12. Engagement officers for the Halifax, Cape Breton, and Valley regions offer free participatory engagements on energy efficiency to classes, as well as support for schools' Green Teams.

Schools can reach out to info@greenschoolsns.ca or 902-407-2513 for more information about joining the Green Schools program, and anyone can access Green Schools NS's many energy efficiency resources.

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The mission of the Halifax Cycling Coalition is to improve conditions for cycling for all residents of Halifax by providing events, education and advocacy support.

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Halifax North West Trails Association is a not-for-profit society whose objectives are to promote the creation, protection and maintenance of trails in Halifax North West.

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The Harrison Lewis Coastal Discovery Centre was founded in 2007 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation of the natural environment and rural living. Located on Nova Scotia's South Shore, the Centre offers outstanding opportunities to explore, research, and experience the living landscape.

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We are an award-winning company with 20 years experience restoring ecosystems and helping inspire people to connect with nature. We envision a world where all people realize their deep interconnection with the earth and possess both the knowledge and capacity to dig deep for ecological solutions to remediate human impacts while creating resilient, sustainable communities.

We do the work by hand and with a loving and caring mindset. We hire our team members from both our local community and from away, which brings people to the East Coast.

We work in a way to not cause harm to any resources and wildlife sharing the space. Whether we're building a raised vegetable garden or we're working on shoreline erosion management, we do this with the least amount of resources and impact on the environment.

We help reconnect people to the places where they live, work and play in a manner that is sustainable and self-serving. We create sustainable partnership with the landowners so they can take care of their land and themselves, and the bigger picture of the planet as a whole.

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Hike Nova Scotia was founded in 2007 as a nonprofit, member-based organization that promotes a hiking culture in Nova Scotia and provides a voice for hikers, walkers, and snowshoers. The organization offers a Fall and Winter Guided Hike Series, as well as a year-round Hiker Challenge, in-person courses and webinars, and an annual Hiking Summit. It is the host for the Nova Scotia chapter of the International Appalachian Trail.

Hike NS also advocates around policies that affect hiking and trails, fighting to make positive changes in areas like safe, maintained hiking-only trails and the protection of natural areas and wilderness. The organization encourages those of all ages to become involved in hiking to benefit from its healing powers and connect with nature. Hiking’s benefits for physical and mental health are particularly relevant as we deal with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Hope for Wildlife is a charitable wildlife rehabilitation and education organization located in Seaforth, Nova Scotia. Since 1997, we have rescued, rehabilitated, and released over 80,000 injured and orphaned wild animals representing over 250 species. In addition to the ongoing provision of care we offer, Hope for Wildlife aims to connect people to wildlife in a positive way through knowledge and understanding. Every year, we respond to over 40,000 callers, texts and emails. We welcome thousands of visitors to our facilities for tours, give hundreds of offsite educational presentations to community and school groups, and collect a wide range of data from animals treated at our rehabilitation center Connecting people to wildlife in a positive way through knowledge and understanding, Hope for Wildlife believes that education through rehabilitation is the key to a sustainable future

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At Islands to Cottages we provide eco-friendly solutions for a simple yet vibrant sustainable living. Islands to Cottages is about embracing a way of life, a state of mind. It is about learning to make do with what we have on hands and adopt the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle wisdom and all of its variations. Repair, reinvent, rethink, renovate, refuse, return to the earth and all in between. It is about protecting our environment, restoring it. Adapting to our surroundings, stretching our resources and learning to live in unison, because we care. And because each and everyone of us can make a difference by making better choices. Islands to Cottages is a place where we tell our stories. Where we rediscover realities sometimes forgotten and reconnect with our inner dreams and aspirations. From inspiring articles and easy tutorials to affordable custom-designed essentials, we provide all the resources you need to successfully start your own journey towards sustainability, one step at a time, right here, in Nova Scotia.

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KAIROS Halifax is Indigenous, settlers and newcomers in the HRM connected with KAIROS Canada, a national ecumenical network of ten religious churches and organizations working together for ecological justice and human rights locally and globally.

KAIROS Halifax supports Mi'kmaw treaty rights, migrant rights, and the human rights of Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territories. KAIROS Halifax has led many non-Indigenous groups in the "KAIROS Blanket Exercise," an experiential learning method raising awareness of Canadian history from the perspective of the Indigenous peoples. Inspired by the Blanket Exercise, the group has developed the "Palestine Land Exercise," which is experiential learning of a history seldom heard.

KAIROS Halifax has a coordinating group of approximately 15 members that meets monthly. It also has an HRM network of about 50 people who receive and respond to notices and initiatives. Get in touch with Linda Scherzinger at lindakseven@gmail.com to learn more or get involve. Visit the KAIROS Canada website to find out more about its work, take action on campaigns, and access resources and webinars.

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Living Earth Council is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization that seeks to build resilience and sustainability in Truro and surrounding areas in light of our changing climate, our addiction to fossil fuels, and the ever-shrinking diversity of nature. Our focus is on the climate emergency, renewable energy and energy conservation, local food, and building community. We raise awareness of environmental issues through public events, presentations, guest speakers, and we organize educational workshops to share skills, resources, and solutions. We welcome collaboration with other groups. We hope to build a future in which people accept the limits of the planet, and live in harmony with the earth, all life, and one another.

To learn more or get involved, visit the LEC website and Facebook page or reach out to lectruro@gmail.com.

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First established in 1990, Nature Nova Scotia is a registered charity and a federation of Nova Scotia’s natural history clubs. The organization 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.

Nature Nova Scotia 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.

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The Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council (NSISC) raises awareness and promotes a coordinated response to the threat of invasive species in Nova Scotia. Our Steering Committee includes volunteers from a variety of academic, government, and non-government organizations. The NSISC builds on the experience of the former Invasive Species Alliance of Nova Scotia (ISANS), which was based at Acadia University from 2007-2012. The NSISC is a recognized provincial chapter of the Canadian Council on Invasive Species (CCIS).

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With the mission of protecting Nova Scotia’s outstanding natural legacy through land conservation, Nova Scotia Nature Trust focuses on saving endangered species and the few remaining great forests, preserving coastal areas and critical habitats for birds, and protecting urban wildlands and freshwater ecosystems.

With over 70% of Nova Scotia being privately owned, including 85% of its coastlines, some of the province’s most treasured and ecologically important natural areas are threatened by urban development. Nova Scotia Nature Trust works with landowners, local communities, other conservation organizations and government partners to steward land, save land, and educate the community on the importance of conserving Nova Scotia’s natural landscapes. The Nature Trust approaches land protection through conservation options such as stewardship, conservation, and land acquisition agreements in addition to the resources provides to land owners.

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Reimagining Atlantic Harbours #RAH2050 is a social enterprise, non-profit league based in Halifax. RAH2050 brings local environmental projects with community-led impact to our shared waters with a simple mission: one story, one data point, one harbour at a time.

We offer pollution prevention education & awareness opportunities at everyone’s shorelines by providing integrated watershed management services.

We deliver narrative-shifting workshops using community-led communications by empowering stewardship voices.

Annually we bring creative and professional high-profile shoreline art and science partnership opportunities to deliver meaningful solutions by convening leadership in public facing, permanent shoreline installations.

Share your story, photo, and community issue with us online today!

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We’re in the business of biodiversity protection and promotion. We want to support life and the richness it brings to all of us. We want to protect what is really valuable now and for the future.

We use 50% of our profits to buy land and we guarantee its protection as a wild space. We have created a not-for-profit foundation to ensure its protection in perpetuity and we pledge to never resell or profit from the land in any way.

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The SLCA has worked since forming in 2013 to save 2800 acres of unique watershed between the Hammonds Plains Road and the Sackville River. The area was identified in 1971 as important to be preserved as a regional park, but decades of events caused it to fall from awareness on the political levels. This important watershed is now slated for housing development which would negatively impact the existing Sandy Lake/Jack Lake park. SLCA works with the Sandy Lake Sackville River Regional Park Coalition to protect the entire area for all time.

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SEED assists communities in greening public spaces that engage participants in developing strong relationships with self and others while enhancing ecological resilience for future generations.

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Scotian Shores is a social enterprise committed to cleaning the shorelines and creating awareness of the ocean’s plastic pollution problem. We have helped inspire thousands of Nova Scotians to join in on removing 120,000lbs (and counting!) of shoreline debris in less than 2 years!

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Sierra Club Atlantic is a vibrant grassroots organization that empowers people to protect, restore, and enjoy a healthy, safe planet. We are your chapter of Canada’s only national grassroots environmental organization, working to bring your community’s concerns to the attention of regional and national leaders. Together, we are a credible, influential voice, working to make a better world a reality.

The Atlantic Chapter works through education and action to green the economy and protect the environment. We engage in projects designed to connect children to nature, protect wildlife and wild spaces, and to offer solutions to climate change.

To learn more, follow us on Facebook and Instagram or email us at atlanticcanadachapter@sierraclub.ca.

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Transition Bay St Margarets is part of the international Transition Movement, and conducts workshops, events and projects that build local community resiliency in an increasingly fragile world.

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UINR is Cape Breton’s Mi’kmaq voice on natural resources and the environment. Forestry, marine science research, species management, traditional Mi’kmaq knowledge, water quality monitoring, and environmental partnerships are among the organization’s responsibilities.

Since 1999, UINR has represented the five Mi’kmaq communities in Unama’ki – (Eskasoni, Membertou, Potlotek, Wagmatcook, We’koqma’q) on natural resources issues, contributing to an understanding and protection of Unama’ki’s ecosystem through research, monitoring, education, and management.

By integrating netukulimk (traditional Mi’kmaq management) with traditional and conventional ways of understanding, known as Two-Eyed Seeing, UINR takes the lead on best-management practices in Unama’ki. They work closely with government and First Nations organizations toward equal participation in natural resource management.

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The Young Naturalists Club is an immersive hands-on nature club for Nova Scotian kids and families, first founded in 2006. We host a monthly event series in communities across the province designed to engage young people in the awesome nature our area has to offer, mostly taking the form of a guided hike or other outdoor activity, and run a number of special events throughout the year.

The club has grown from a handful of families in Halifax to about 450 families in five chapters throughout the province: Halifax, East Hants, Musquodoboit Valley, western Cape Breton, and Dartmouth. Join a chapter near you and learn about lichens, rocks, whales, the stars, and everything in between! Families can join anytime throughout the year.

Contact the coordinator at yncns@yncns.ca if you’d like to volunteer as a guest speaker or field trip assistant. Please also reach out if you are interested in starting a chapter in your region.