Our HRM Alliance

06/02/2026

Did you know that we have a globally rare ecosystem right in our backyard?! 👀🌱 Hike the Greenbelt’s next event takes us into the Halifax Backlands, a unique area featuring rare or endangered plants and animals like the Common Nighthawk. 🦅 Come explore the globally rare Jack Pine Broom Crowberry Barren with us and discover what makes these forests so special. 🌲✨ We’ll also learn about actions you can take to conserve this valuable ecosystem! 🌿💚

🌱 Where: The Halifax Backlands
🌱 When: Thursday, June 11, 6:30-8:30pm
🌱 Terrain: Moderate terrain, average pace

🔗 Register here: http://ecologyaction.ca/get-involved/events/hike-greenbelt

05/31/2026

Join us in exploring the beautiful Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area, a National Urban Park candidate!🌲🍃 For our second Hike the Greenbelt event, we’ll trek up to Fox Lake Lookout. ☀️ Adventuring through classic examples of thriving Wabanaki Forest, the primary forest type in Mi’kma’ki, we’ll learn about the unique local ecology of BMBCL that supports endangered species (like the Mainland Moose) and upholds HRM’s ecological connectivity! 🌿🫎 These greenspaces are vital to the wellbeing of our communities and local environment. Come learn, discuss, and take action to protect these lands from urban sprawl. 🏗

See you there! 👏💚

🌱 Where: Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes
🌱 When: Sunday, June 7, 9:30am-12:30pm
🌱 Terrain: Moderate terrain, a few challenging terrain sections, longer distance, average pace

🔗 Register here: http://ecologyaction.ca/get-involved/events/hike-greenbelt

05/25/2026

05/19/2026

Our first Hike the Greenbelt event is just around the corner! ✨We’re beginning on a high note with a special partnership with HRM’s Environment and Climate Change team! 🌱 Join us at Sandy Lake to learn more about Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that is threatening our local forests and their Eastern Hemlock trees.🌲 Discover what’s being done to protect our precious hemlocks, learn to identify signs of infestation, and take action to protect our local forests from invasives! 👏

And that’s not all! ☀️ We’ll explore why Sandy Lake Park is essential to HRM’s wellbeing, development pressures threatening Sandy Lake, and how you can take action to conserve our critical green and blue spaces. 🍃🐞🐟

💚 Don’t miss out on this incredible hike and learning opportunity! 💚

🌱 Where: Sandy Lake
🌱 When: Thursday, May 28, 6:15-8:15pm
🌱 Terrain: Easy to moderate terrain, slow pace

🔗 Register to join us: http://ecologyaction.ca/get-involved/events/hike-greenbelt

05/15/2026

Experience the thrill of birdwatching on one of the trails!

The Captain William Spry Public Library and The Williams Lake Conservation Company invite you to enjoy the calming sights and sounds of birdwatching with four walks coming up this month:
• Friday, May 8, 8-9:30 am: Clark Kent Trail
• Sunday, May 10, 10-11:30 am: Osprey Ridge Trail
• Friday, May 15, 8:30-10 am: Norawarren Trail
• Sunday, May 17, 10-11:30 am: Clark Kent Trail

Well-known bird identification expert Fulton Lavender will share his knowledge of bird habitats and habits while teaching you effective bird watching and listening skills.

Registration is required for each walk: https://halifax.bibliocommons.com/v2/events?types=59d65af6bfc5882400d98b90

These walks take place on the volunteer built and maintained McIntosh Run Watershed Association trail system through the Halifax Backlands. For more info, call Halifax Public Libraries at 902-490-5244.

05/08/2026

It’s time to dust off your hiking shoes! Spring is blooming, and that means Hike the Greenbelt is back with an exciting lineup of events to kick off our Spring 2026 Series! 🥾🌲☀️

Hike the Greenbelt is a FREE public hiking and event series where we’ll gather in some of HRM’s most ecologically important urban green spaces. 🌳 Together, we’ll explore these beautiful natural areas and why they matter. Discover amazing local ecology, learn about the pressures facing these spaces, and how you can take action the conserve them! 🍃🐛💚

🌱 May 28: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Learning Hike
🌱 June 7: Hike to Fox Lake Lookout
🌱 June 11: Hike to Flat Lake
🌱 June 21: Summer Solstice Hike

We can’t wait to connect with our community, learn, take action, and have fun! ☀️

🔗 Ready to join us? Register at ecologyaction.ca/get-involved/events/hike-greenbelt

05/04/2026

“[…] Areas like Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes, Sandy Lake, and the [Halifax] Backlands would be three absolutely critical natural areas that should be protected in the municipality,” Plourde insisted.

“And also, HRM should be fully implementing its Green Network Plan, which is still lagging behind and lacks a certain amount of teeth. So on Earth Day, it’s good to remind municipalities that they have a role to play as well.”

This fantastic quote in the comes from Raymond Plourde, Senior Wilderness Coordinator with . The people of Nova Scotia have spoken: we want more protected areas! And some of our most valuable in the urban core happen to be the most at risk from development pressures.

Want to see better protections for our local green and blue space? Email Mayor and your local councillor to advocate for stronger protections of these spaces, and to implement the policies of the Halifax Green Network Plan in the Regional and Suburban plans.

Read the full article at halifaxexaminer.ca/environment/majority-of-nova-scotians-want-more-protected-areas-poll-finds/

04/24/2026

🌎 Feeling so grateful for the community members who joined us for our Earth Day Tea Making Forest Walk! 🌲We explored the beautiful Blue Mountain Birch-Cove Lakes trails, learned to ID several edible plants, and made piping hot cups of conifer tea! 🫖 We also learned more about this incredible ecosystem and what development pressures threaten its wellbeing. No better time to advocate than Earth Day! 👏🏼

🌱 Interested in coming on a hike? Our free Hike the Greenbelt Series will be starting this May! Registration will open soon on the events page at ecologyaction.ca

Thanks to and for helping us host this joyful and informative community event! 🌱☕️

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, take action by emailing your local councillor and asking for them to move on the action of the Halifax Green Network Plan! Ecology Action Centre and Our HRM Alliance developed a quick read User's Guide to the HGNP. You can learn more about what value this priority plan holds for HRM residents and nature here: https://ecologyaction.ca/halifax-green-network-plan-users-guide

Passing a Regional Plan and Suburban Plan that have strong, environmental and community policy is critical for our municipality's wellbeing. The best way to do this is by enacting the policies outlined in the Halifax Green Network Plan within these planning documents! Let your councillor know!

Every year on Earth Day, we’re encouraged to reflect and act on our concern for the health of the planet. When Artemis II astronaut Reid Wiseman used his cell phone to record the Earth setting behind the moon on April 6, billions of people were given a glimpse of how tiny and beautiful Earth is when seen from outer space.

Let’s seize the chance, this Earth Day, to take a step back and appreciate the success of the climate movement and the ways that more awareness of human impacts on nature can turn into action. We’ve learned so much about the importance of fighting pollution, protecting clean water and connecting the health of the economy to climate action.

It can be overwhelming to worry about climate and the environment, but the truth is that taking action benefits everyone. Clean air, water and energy are directly connected to the health of people and the economy.

The cause of climate change is clear: human beings burn far too much oil, gas and coal. As we approach 2030 in four years, and 2050 in 24 years, we’re faced with the challenge of moving decisively away from fossil fuels to fight global heating.

Learn more about what we're doing to help the planet at www.halifACT.ca.