Acadia students and graduates are taking the lead in a new and innovative community partnership in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia to provide environmental education and facilitate community development.

A collaborative effort of the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation, Michelin Tire, the Halifax Regional Adventure Earth Centre and Acadia University has helped bring outdoor environmental education to life in Lunenburg County. Programs are being run at the Morton Centre, a beautiful Acadia field station on Heckman’s Island near Lunenburg.

It started with Cycle Savers, a fun-filled environmental education program for local Grade 4 classes. Coordinated by Megan Beliveau (BRM ESST 2014) and Jen McKinnon, Cycle Savers is a day of outdoor environmental activities led by high school student volunteers who receive intensive leadership training. The participants learn about the air, soil, and water cycles at the Morton Centre and then apply that learning back at school and home in working to implement lifestyle changes to reduce their impact on these cycles.

The summer months included week-long earth adventure day camps, off-site earth education visits, and a high school student environmental program. These are the exciting first steps in fostering the vision for a dynamic, community-oriented, and environmentally thoughtful learning centre.

Located on a remarkable 99-acre property, the Morton Centre was donated to Acadia in 1995 by Harry and Rachel Morton for environmental research and education. Cate deVreede (BSc. Environmental Science 2005, MRM 2011) is taking the ongoing lead in Lunenburg County to develop these programs through the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation. They see the program expanding over summers, providing learning and employment for Acadia students while offering new innovative programs in the community.

Acadia faculty Dr. Ian Spooner (Environmental Science), Dr. Alan Warner and Dr. John Colton (Community Development and ESST) are supporting the efforts.