Friends of Crescent Beach, Green Bay, and Area Society

2020 Updatewww.crescentbeach.ca

P.O. Box 148 Lahave NS B0R 1C0Check us out on Friends of Crescent Beach, Green Bay, and Area Society

Greetings everyone. Normally by August, we would have held our Annual General Meeting, but 2020 has turned out to be far from normal. Covid 19 has drastically rearranged priorities and forced us to change the way we do things. Crescent Beach and all other beaches in the province were closed to all human activity from March 22 to May 16. It was wonderful to get back on the beach in May, but many restrictions continue. Consequently, we were not able to hold an AGM this year, but have chosen to communicate through the newsletter and our website (crescentbeach.ca) The Board of Directors will remain much the same as last year. The financial report can be found on our website. The board met 6 times since last August. Garbage continues to be a problem issue. While a significant improvement in the amount of garbage left on the beach has been noticed, dog poop bags and other garbage continues to be left around the bins from October to June when no pick up is done despite signage that makes that quite clear and asks beach goers to kindly take their garbage away with them. This year reduced staff at Risser’s Provincial Park meant that park employees were unable to empty the bins at either end of the beach from June to October as had been done in previous years. FOCB board members have taken this task on and are voluntarily emptying the bins twice a week. These volunteers deserve many thanks. A bulletin board has been erected beside the garbage bins for beach and community related information. (Thanks, Dave Hughes.) In March concerns were raised about the issue of the development of open pen fish farms along the south shore; Green Bay and the mouth of the LaHave River were reportedly being considered among potential sites. FOCB began plans for a public meeting and purchased 30 signs for distribution. The company most involved, CERMAQ, has since abandoned its plans for the time being, but other groups could still get involved. A major concern of the board continues to be the issue of dune preservation. While we have been fortunate there have been no bad storms in the past months, the dunes remain very fragile, particularly in the middle section. Some snow fencing was placed in 4 areas this past month to catch some of the sand that has been blowing through the dunes and across the road. Another 2 rolls of fencing will be bought and installed in the coming months. In addition, there are plans to plant more rose bushes in the spring. On behalf of the board, I thank everyone for their support and look forward to a better year to come.

Submitted by Michael Robb

Chairperson’s Annual Report

The 2019 season came to a close with Dorian

A winter’s day at Crescent after a storm

A good day to

walk the road

Covid 19 closes the beachOn March 22, 2020 Premier Stephen

McNeil announced that all public

beaches and parks would be closed to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. For Crescent Beach

residents and frequent beach

visitors, this was unwelcome news, but very few defied

the order.

Some walkers took to the back beach road instead.

It was hard to stay off the beach, but being close was better than nothing. The salt air is good for

the soul regardless.

2020 was a beach season unlike any other

March 2020 brought about changes to our province with the arrival of Covid 19. Beach walkers and visitors could not find solace at the beach and even

those who wanted to sit in their cars were not allowed as it invited the possibility of a gathering. A few tickets were issued at Crescent Beach by the

RCMP. Seeing the beach closed was a strange sight for residents as cars and people would normally be seen year-round. On May 1st many parks were able to re-open. 'We need to feel that fresh air, a little freedom. The

keyword is a little,' said Premier Stephen McNeil. Beaches remained closed. "Most of us don't have a beach in our community and would have to

drive a fair distance to get to one…” said Dr. Robert Strang. Two weeks later, the great news was announced that the beaches were able

to open and the Green Bay beaches were busy as of May 16th!

It was a happy day across the

province, Canada’s

Ocean Playground

When Crescent Beach reopened, people came...

Cermaq wanted to open shop, but they weren’t welcomeCermaq looked at Green Bay as a potential site for an open pen fish farm. A scheduled FOCB public

meeting was cancelled due to Covid 19 restrictions. The board planned to

hold a virtual meeting, but on April 9th, the great news came that Cermaq would not be expanding into Nova Scotia after all. FOCB and other

interested groups around the province could breathe a sigh of relief...for now.

Conserving Cape LaHave IslandMeasuring about 2600 acres, Cape LaHave Island is the

largest of the LaHave Islands. It is an uninhabited and undeveloped island and, thanks to MODL and the Nova

Scotia Nature Trust, we hope this beautiful place is preserved for current and future generations.

https://www.lahaveislandsmarinemuseum.ca/

After a series of public meetings, last fall MODL council passed a motion to work with Nova Scotia Nature Trust to create

a conservation easement for Cape LaHave Island. The project is going ahead, although the team will follow public health guidelines. A team of

scientists gathered data on the island this summer and they are now compiling

their findings for the Nature Trust to establish a baseline for future

stewardship of Cape LaHave Island. The Nature Trust is also working with Birds Canada and Canadian Wildlife Service.

There will be a virtual community consultation process set to begin soon to

help inform the development of the conservation easement. Please visit

engage.modl.ca for details. The Friends of Crescent Beach, Green Bay and Area

Society welcome this good news!

You can learn more about the Nova

Scotia Nature Trust at nsnt.ca

(Information found on page 9 of Municipal MATTERS, September 2020)

https://www.lahaveislandsmarinemuseum.ca/capeisland.html

Garbage continues to be a problem

Care of garbage during the season was handled by FOCB volunteers. They had to bag up the garbage left behind. From October to May, there is no pick-up so please take your garbage home. Let’s keep our beaches beautiful for

everyone to enjoy.

Post Tropical Storm Teddy

Teddy brought rain and wind, but was not near as devastating as originally forecast.

Visitors of a different kind- Pings in Green Bay!

“Great white sharks spark fear and excitement on

Nova Scotia's South Shore.” CTV Atlantic

“OCEARCH’s Expedition Nova Scotia 2020 will build on the work from two prior successful expeditions that tagged and sampled 17 white sharks off the province’s coast.” https://www.ocearch.org

“This trip is really for the Canadian people. It has been incredible to see Canadians getting so excited to learn about sharks in their waters.”Dr. Bob Hueter, OCEARCH Chief Scientist

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/local/three-great-white-sharks-venture-very-tight-to-nova-scotia-shores-485371/

New Crescent Beach Community Bulletin Board!

Spreading community events is easier (and better for the environment) now that the FOCB has built and installed a bulletin board. The section on the right is for community members to post events and news. The section on the left is for FOCB to post news. This is a much better option than stapling flyers to posts.

Thanks to David Hughes for building

and installingthis positive addition.

Better late than never

Thanks to the DNR for, once again, bringing porta potties to Crescent Beach. Although the arrival was later than usual

due to Covid 19 restrictions, these welcome comforts were delivered once

public health gave the go-ahead. We are appreciative of these toilets for public use

and hope to see them again next year.

Photo Gallery The Crescent Beach area is a popular setting for professional and amateur photographers. Here are a few

from this season.

Perspectives from the air and water What a view from above! Photos anyone?

Friends of Crescent Beach T-shirts for sale

$15.00 each

Men’s sizes M, L and XL

Women’s sizes S, M, and L

To order:

Contact Jean McHarg

521-7895

jmcharg@eastlink.ca Profits go to the FOCB

Society to help take care of the beach.

Membership

Board of Directors

● Harold Adams● Kirsten Ellis● Deanna Harlow● Paul Harlow● Dave Hughes● Jean McHarg● Bob Reynolds● Mike Robb● Peter Romkey● Andrea Witzke

We are looking for new members and ask that past members renew their membership. Annual cost is only 10.00 per person or 20.00 for a family. Lifetime memberships are 100.00 per person. Please see our website for details on how these funds are used to take care of the beach. www.crescentbeach.ca

If you enjoy your Green Bay beaches, please consider becoming a member and getting involved. Stewardship will help protect your

happy place.

Chairperson: Mike RobbTreasurer: Jean McHargSecretary: Dave Hughes

We’re looking for stories for next year’s Spring update. What brought you to our area to live, work, play, or visit?

When I was a child, my parents took our family to the beach. We visited beaches all over the province. When I moved back to NS from Ontario, I brought my

children to Cresent Beach often. I made a vow to myself that someday I would live in this community, one I had come to love. Fast forward a couple of decades and

my husband and I had the opportunity to purchase our forever home within walking distance of the beach! Now, we are permanent residents and active in the

community. We look forward to the end of all Covid 19 restrictions so we can get back to community gatherings like firehall breakfasts, dances, picnics in the park,

and more! Stay safe and healthy everyone. See you at the beach!

Deanna Harlow, Editor