Category Archives: EVENTS

More formal than ‘ACTIVITIES’. Very much an EVENT as it CTC 250 events.

Jamie Simpson – How Cities Protect Trees By Law

“trees aren’t just ‘pretty things to look at” a nice short film by Uytae Lee about our urban forest https://shorturl.at/choDH

Halifax – Ki’jupuk is known as the ‘City of Trees’ but FHC worries for how long. Hundreds of Halifax Common trees (Bell Rd, Robie St, University Ave) and throughout the city are being cut. Governments, both municipal and provincial, plan these tree cuts as if trees can just be replaced.
 
Jamie Simpson’s Law of the Urban Forest presentation at the Oct 2024 AGM tells us what other cities do to preserve and manage urban trees. Jamie’s experience is as a lawyer, forester, and writer (three books), most recently writing forest stewardship plans for the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia – all with a passion for exploring our natural world (and sometimes eating it). He’s the ideal person to help bring many threads together. Please view the slides to see what we can do to make comments to HRM Staff and Council about our keeping our Common trees?
 
FHC believes the best way to keep the beauty, environmental and health benefits of our urban trees is to protect and care for the ones that we have, by law. It takes at least 269 saplings to do the environmental work of an existing tree that is 1m in diameter. That’s about the size of a small adult. In 2023, HRM planted ~2600 new trees in 2023. That would replace the work of 10 1m trees. Each new tree HRM plants costs almost $1000. Each one faces many obstacles to thriving- pollution, extreme heat and cold, drought, disease, insects, and accidents.

 

Walk Around the Common – June 23/21 4-6pm

Join us for a Walk around the Common – June 23rd @4pm – to mark the 258th anniversary of the Halifax Common, a gift ‘to and for the use of the inhabitants of the town of Halifax as Commons, forever.”  We’re following the German tradition of a Grenzgang –when people walk around a property to check the borders and to protect it against intruders. We all need to become familiar with our collective Common and help protect it for future generations. Details below…

The North Common is about 20% or 1/5 of the 240 acre Halifax Common grant.(David Garrett)

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Walk the Common Link Pathway

The Common Link is a pilot pathway that links the green spaces within the Halifax Common – Victoria Park, Public Gardens, and the Halifax Common North.

 The Common Link is a pathway currently being developed to link the green spaces within the Halifax Common – Victoria Park, Public Gardens, and the Halifax Common North. See pathway on the attached map. Friends of Halifax Common are excited to be working with the Common Link folks who have taken inspiration from the Boston Common’s Emerald Necklace and are working to to re-connect Halifax’s green space.

The walk is about 4 – 5 km long and takes ~ one hour to complete.  Consider joining the Common Link Association to help with this important initiative.

HRM Planning Information Meeting – Wednesday Dec 7th 19 proposals at 1 meeting

Please attend this important meeting and make comments on the 19 proposed developments…

The classic 3-storey Coburg Apartments, is an Edwardian-era building on the South Common that is under threat from the Two developers hope to erect 16 & 30 storey and 20 & 26 storey high-rises in the single block between Carlton, College, Robie and Spring Garden Road under debelopment agreement applications. targeted growth area- Spring Garden Road bounded by Robie, College, Summer Streets and Camp Hill Cemetery.

The classic 3-storey Coburg Apartments, an Edwardian-era building at Spring Garden and Robie, on the South Common,  is one of a dozen+ buildings that will be demolished by two developers if their plans for 16 & 30 storey and 20 & 26 storey high-rises in the single block between Carlton, College, Robie and Spring Garden Road are approved.

Most of the 19 proposals are for highrises that break existing height restrictions and are out-of -scale with neighbourhoods. They’ll cause dozens of affordable small-scale, mixed-use residential units, commercial spaces & historic houses to be demolished. This will harm Halifax’s Common in various ways. Examples are:

  • 13 storey on Robie, Cunard – Compton
  • 14 storey on Robie St, Pepperell – Shirley
  • 16 & 30 storey on Spring Garden Rd & Robie west of Carlton
  • 20 & 26 storey on College & Robie St west of Carlton

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Come for a Walk on the Common Link – October 24, 2015

You are invited by the recently formed Common Link Association to join us for a walk along a newly proposed ‘Common Link.’  This route is designed to connect the green spaces and blue vistas through the heart of Halifax.  Please come and support our efforts to create and promote a continuous, easy-access loop through the existing trails within the Halifax Common (including Victoria Park, the Public Gardens and North Common) as well as the Citadel.  This walk is free and open to all.  Bring friends.

A greenway in the heart of the city.

A greenway in the heart of the city.

When? 10 am Saturday, Oct 24th, 2015
Rain date: 10 am Sunday, Oct 25th, 2015
Where? Victoria Park at Spring Garden Road/South Park St. by Robbie Burns Statue Statue.
Why? To enjoy and promote the creation of The Common Link, a continuous loop trail.
Who? Walking enthusiasts and all others who are interested.
How long? Approximately 1.5h.

Membership:   Should you wish to be a part of the initiative to develop The Common Link you are invited to start the process by becoming a Common Link Association member.
Please RSVP if you plan to join us, by sending an email to info@halifaxcommon.ca and writing ‘CONFIRMED’ in the subject line so we know numbers in advance.

100 in 1 Day Halifax – June 6/7, 2015

50 perimeter flags and 4 corner gardens where to mark when we enter or leave the Halifax Common. This SW corner is at Robie & South Streets.

The SW corner of South & Robie has 1 of 50 perimeter flags & 4 corner gardens to mark when we enter or leave the Halifax Common.

For FHC 100 in 1 Day  is the perfect way to Celebrate the Common. To remind Haligonians of the Halifax Common’s real size the Friends have marked the perimeter by hanging approximately fifty small flags silk-screened with “Halifax Common” and an outline of its shape.  And as well the group has marked the four corners of the Halifax Common by planting small garden boxes and installing painted signs.

“The flags around the perimeter and four common corner gardens at South/Robie, South/South Park, Cunard/Robie, and Cunard/North Park are to help remind us when we are entering or leaving the 240 acre Halifax Common,” said participant Jyelle Vogel. “Everyone will be surprized at how large our Halifax Common is,” said Vogel.

“Halifax isn’t just giving away the common green space, its now privatizing the blue space on and around the perimeter by permitting developers to build out of scale high-rises so they can sell the luxury view to their paying clients,”  says Peggy Cameron, Friends of Halifax Common, Co-chair. “This changes the experience of being on the Halifax Common by blocking the view, the access to light and Continue reading