Port Hood Park Concept Design: Community Feedback Needed

Following a community open house on June 3, the Municipality of Inverness County and Glenn Group Landscape Architects and Park Planners are inviting additional public feedback on a concept design for a new community park in Port Hood.

This follows an initial survey in April, where nearly 250 people shared their ideas. Based on that input, Glenn Group developed a draft concept, which was presented during the June 3 open house. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and offer further suggestions.

Now, a second online survey is available until July 10th for those who couldn’t attend the session. Residents can review the proposed design and share their thoughts on specific features such as play areas, recreation spaces, green space, accessibility, and more.

The draft design includes a central splash pad, accessible playgrounds, shaded seating, walking paths, and other family-friendly features. The concept design, background information, and survey can be found at www.invernesscounty.ca under the Projects tab.

“We’re grateful for the ideas and feedback shared so far, the consultant team is using it to help shape a park that residents are excited about,” says Deputy Warden Lynn Chisholm, who is a member of the community park planning committee. “While the construction timeline hinges upon securing the necessary funding, we are taking important steps today towards making this county wide asset a reality.”

Anyone with questions can contact the project team at construction@invernesscounty.ca or call toll-free 1-866-258-0223, option #5.

Municipality of Inverness County to Host “Walk YOUR Way” Event in Support of Autism Nova Scotia

 

The Municipality of Inverness County is inviting all residents to participate in the upcoming Autism Nova Scotia Walk YOUR Way event on Saturday, June 7th, 2025. Walk YOUR way celebrates neurodiversity and encourages community inclusion by bringing people together in support of autistic individuals and their families in Inverness County.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, June 7th, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Inverness Education Centre Academy, 59 Veterans Memorial Court, Inverness, NS.

This inclusive, age- friendly walk and community gathering will feature fun, family- friendly activities and a BBQ by donation. The event is part of Autism Nova Scotia’s ongoing mission to create understanding, acceptance, and opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum across the province.

Proceeds and donations from the event will help support Autism Nova Scotia’s Strait Area Chapter who services the region and will support the work across the province, helping to fund programs, services, and advocacy efforts that make a meaningful difference in the lives of autistic individuals and their families.

About Autism Nova Scotia:
Autism Nova Scotia is a provincial organization dedicated to supporting people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as their families, caregivers, and professionals. With programs that span the entire lifespan, from early childhood to adulthood, the organization works to create inclusive communities where individuals on the autism spectrum are supported, understood, and empowered to thrive.

About the Municipality of Inverness County:
The Municipality of Inverness County is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible community for all residents. Through the creation of its first EDIA strategy, the municipality aims to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, have equal access to services, programs, and opportunities.

 

Public Engagement Session – Port Hood Park

You’re invited: Port Hood Community Park Public Engagement Session

Work is well underway on designing a new vibrant community park project in the heart of Port Hood. To support the ongoing design process, residents are invited to attend a public engagement session to learn more and share their input.

Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Location: St. Peter’s Parish Hall, Port Hood

What to expect:

Design consultants from Glenn Group Landscape Architects and Park Planners will present potential design concepts based on community input gathered to date, including feedback from a recent online survey. This is a chance for residents to view the initial plans and provide additional ideas or comments to help shape the next phase of the design.

Next steps:

Following the engagement session, a revised design will be developed. Once finalized and funding is secured, the project will move into the construction phase.

For more information or if you have questions about the project, visit Port Hood Community Park Project, email construction@invernesscounty.ca or call 1-866-258-0223, select option #5.

June Physical Activity Challenge Announced

Municipality of Inverness County Gears up for ParticipACTION Community Challenge

The ParticipACTION Community Challenge presented by Novo Nordisk, is back, and the Municipality of Inverness County is ready to get moving!

This national initiative encourages individuals and communities across Canada to embrace the benefits of physical activity, both for health and for fun. The challenge also brings a significant opportunity: the chance to be named Canada’s Most Active Community and earn a $100,000 prize to invest in local sport and recreation activities.

The Municipality of Inverness County is calling on residents to take part!

Here’s how you can join the movement:

• Local organizations: Register your June physical activity programs and events on the ParticipACTION website. Track participation to help the municipality’s chance of winning.
• Individuals: Sign up on the ParticipACTION website and take the pledge to be active throughout June, whether at home, school, work, or in your neighbourhood. Every step counts!

“We’ve consistently been ranked among the top communities in Nova Scotia, and we’re ready to push even harder this year!” said Jason Calder, Recreation Program Coordinator. In fact, in 2023 Inverness County was crowned the Most Active Community in Nova Scotia. This year, we are aiming to be the most active in Canada!”

Municipal Challenge

To support the ParticipACTION Community Challenge, the municipality will also be running a physical activity challenge throughout June. Starting June 1, residents can submit their minutes of activity (e.g. 120 minutes of activity) by email to recreation@invernesscounty.ca to compete for prizes of fitness equipment and gift cards from the Recreation & Community Wellness Department.

Participants are also welcome to include photos with their submissions to help celebrate active living in our communities. Sharing a photo is optional, but submitted images may be featured on the Municipality’s Facebook page.

About the ParticipACTION Community Challenge

The Community Challenge is a national physical activity and sport initiative that encourages everyone in Canada to get active throughout June in search of Canada’s Most Active Community. The challenge is open to all communities and individuals, ultimately recognizing Canada’s Most Active Community and awarding it $100,000 to support local physical activity and sport initiatives. In addition to the national winner, there is also a prize for the most active community in each province and territory as well as organization prizing.

The ParticipACTION Community Challenge presented by Novo Nordisk is proudly funded by the Government of Canada and Novo Nordisk.

 

Community Park Coming to Port Hood

April 17, 2025

Municipality of Inverness County to Build Community Park in Port Hood – Launches Survey

The Municipality of Inverness County is excited to announce the launch of a vibrant community park project in the heart of Port Hood – alongside a public survey designed to gather input. Whether you live in Port Hood, learn in Port Hood, work, shop, play, or visit, we want to hear from you.

Thanks to a generous donation of land by Ted & Hermina vanZutphen, the future Port Hood Community Park will be located at the corner of Main St. and Wharf Rd., on the site of the former Port Hood Consolidated School.

The Port Hood Community Park will be thoughtfully designed with the community – and especially its youth – in mind, as a hub of activity, connection, and fun.

“The Municipality’s vision is to create a people-centric park that is inclusive, accessible, and builds upon the natural beauty and energy of the space – a place for gathering of all ages and abilities”, said Melanie Beaton, Deputy CAO, Municipality of Inverness County. “The Municipality recognizes the generous donation from Ted & Hermina of this land, for what will become a well-loved park, creating a legacy for generations to enjoy.”

Design consultants, Glenn Group Landscape Architects & Park Planners, have been hired to design the park.  To help guide their work, residents are invited to complete a short survey and share their ideas for the space.

The survey will remain open from Thursday, April 17 to Thursday, May 1, 2025. Paper copies will also be available at the Municipal Administration Building, located at 375 Main St., Port Hood.

After the survey closes, the consultants will use the feedback to develop potential park designs.  A public engagement session will be held later this spring, where these design concepts will be presented, and further input gathered.

Following that, a revised design will be prepared and once approved and funding is secured, the project will move into the construction phase.  Updates will be shared with the community as the project progresses.

A Planning Committee has been formed to guide the planning and construction phases. This group includes members of the community with support from members of Municipality of Inverness County staff. Glenn Group consultants will provide support and direction throughout the planning and construction phases of the project.

“We want to create this park in collaboration with our community.  We are asking people to fill out the survey so that the community will better understand the benefits of creating a space like this for our youth, and see themselves in its design,” says Port Hood Community Park Planning Committee Member, Ardell Hawley.

If members of the public have questions about the Port Hood Community Park Project, visit Port Hood Community Park Project, email construction@invernesscounty.ca or call 1-866-258-0223, select option #5.

Litter intervention project: Celtic Shores Coastal Trails

The Municipality of Inverness County partnered with the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail Association to design and install anti littering messaging at 3 trail heads.

The association is 1 of 5 volunteer associations that manages the 92 km trail system stretching from Port Hastings to the Community of Inverness. These trails are multi-use trails that combine outdoor recreation, local history, and culture. There are over 30 trail heads and access points along the trail. Due to the number of trail access points, some of which are in close proximity to Route 19, they receive a wide range of waste and litter.

The goal was to reduce littering at trail heads, on trails, to identity the form of behavioural messaging that proves the most effective on Cape Bretoners and determine which items are the most littered.

 

Read the report below for the recommendations and conclusions of the study.

Report: Litter intervention project, Coastal Trails [pdf]

Complete streets: Active transportation is coming to Inverness

Inverness, Nova Scotia, March 12, 2024 — A network of new trails and reconstructed sidewalks will be established in Inverness after a combined investment of $14 million from the federal and provincial governments, and the Municipality of the County of Inverness.

Announced by Parliamentary Secretary Mike Kelloway, Minister Allan MacMaster, and Warden Bonny MacIsaac, this project will give residents more options for walking and cycling while reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the community.

Inverness will get 2.97 kilometres of new multi-use pathways and trails. Additionally, 3.7 kilometres of sidewalks will be built or reconstructed along Central Avenue and Veteran’s Memorial Court. Once complete, this project will improve cyclist and pedestrian safety and increase the connectivity and walkability of Inverness.

“Today’s announcement is another massive boost for the economic development of the municipality,” said Warden Bonny MacIsaac.

“A total of $14 million is being invested by the three levels of government, to create an active transportation network promoting healthier, more economical and more environmentally-friendly lifestyles. It will make this community an even more inviting place to live, work and do business,” she said.

Active transportation is about decreasing the need to rely on personal motor vehicles by increasing opportunities and incentives for people to choose other modes of transport. Pedestrians, wheelchair users, cyclists and public transit users all benefit from a ‘complete streets’ approach to infrastructure planning.

Complete streets are roadways designed to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for all users. They feature elements such as sidewalks, bike lanes and crosswalks that prioritize the needs of non-motorized transport alongside those of motorists.

This approach to community infrastructure planning allows people to get their daily exercise on the way to work, school, or gatherings, while promoting social equity among vulnerable communities and reducing the carbon footprint from motorized transport.

In addition, the Inverness Active Transportation Network project foresees the installation of amenities such as bike parking, benches and picnic seating, improvements to multi-use trails and recycling/waste receptacles. All of this is designed to create a more inviting and accessible community at the human scale, while fostering civic pride, social engagement and economic activity.

The Inverness Active Transportation Network project addresses multiple societal challenges. It is fully aligned with federal and provincial objectives to increase access to clean energy transportation and build connected, resilient, and equitable communities.

The project will support economic development in Inverness County by enhancing community connectivity and elevating the image of Inverness, to reflect its commitment to sustainability, inclusivity and prosperity.

External links
Government of Canada press release on this announcement

 

Enjoy the outdoors – and be tick aware!

Summer and fall in Nova Scotia are wonderful seasons where people spend countless hours outdoors at the many beautiful beaches, trails, parks, and wooded areas across our province. As we take in these natural riches we should also be mindful of the presence of ticks. These small insects – sometimes as small as the period at the end of this sentence – are found across Nova Scotia and can cause tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease and anaplasmosis.

Nova Scotia Health asks everyone to help promote tick safety and the prevention of tick-borne diseases, by spreading the word in your communities.

Here are some steps that people can take to protect themselves, especially in grassy, wooded, or shrub-covered areas.

• Apply insect repellents containing DEET or Icaridin to exposed skin and clothes.
• Follow directions on the package carefully. Infants under the age of six months should not use these products.
• Please visit Personal Insect repellents – Canada.ca for specific instructions.
• Wear light colored, long-sleeved shirts and pants, closed-toed shoes, and tuck shirts into pants and pant legs into socks.
• Keep lawns mowed short.
• Put playground equipment in sunny, dry places away from wooded areas, yard edges, and trees.
• Check your whole body for ticks when possible (especially armpits, ears, knees, hair, groin) and take a bath or shower within two hours of coming indoors. This makes it easier to find ticks and washes away loose ones.

What to do if you find a TICK on yourself, your child or your pet

If you find a tick on your body, remove it as soon as possible to lessen the risks of infection. Here’s how to remove them safely:

• carefully grasp the tick with tweezers as close to the skin as possible
• gently and slowly pull the tick straight out without jerking, twisting or squeezing it
• clean and disinfect the site with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide
• dispose of the tick in a sealed plastic bag and put in the garage
• do NOT burn, squeeze, or coax a tick’s mouthparts from your skin using other methods

eTick.ca : free tick identification service

eTick.ca is a free service that can identify the type of tick usually within 24 hours. Though Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in Nova Scotia are transmitted by the blacklegged (deer) tick, not all black-legged ticks carry disease and not all blacklegged ticks have black legs.

Risks and symptoms

Blacklegged ticks that are attached to someone’s skin for at least 36-48 hours pose the highest risk of transmitting the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. One of the earliest and most common symptoms of Lyme disease is a rash that’s often shaped like a bull’s-eye that occurs on the same site as the bite. Other symptoms of Lyme disease may include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches and occasionally irregular heartbeat, facial paralysis, weakness, confusion, and seizures.

Symptoms of other tick-borne diseases can include those listed above for Lyme disease, as well as abdominal pain, vomiting, and/or jaundice.

What can you do?

If you’ve been exploring outdoors, especially in wooded areas, forests, areas where tall grasses and/or shrubs are present, or have found a tick on your body, and show these symptoms, see a healthcare provider. Symptoms for tick-borne diseases typically appear within a few days to up to five weeks after you have been bitten.

There is no vaccine for tick borne diseases in Canada, however, there are antibiotics for the tick-borne diseases that are known to be in Nova Scotia. If a tick has been attached and is swollen (has been attached for more than 36 hours) you may be eligible for antibiotics to prevent an infection. You can visit a pharmacist, or a physician or nurse practitioner, to see if you need antibiotics.

For more information on tick-borne diseases, please visit: https://novascotia.ca/DHW/CDPC/lyme.asp

Thank you again for supporting efforts to make our communities aware of how they can practice tick safety.

On behalf of

Dr. Jesse Kancir, MD MPhil CCFP FRCPC
Regional Medical Officer of Health, Eastern Zone
Public Health, Nova Scotia Health

Aging well

With more than 30% of the resident population aged 65 and over, senior wellbeing is an important consideration for the Municipality of Inverness County.

Municipal Staff and Margaree Forks Co-op team up to make a difference on Earth Day

Every year on April 22, Earth Day activities mobilize 1 billion people in more than 190 countries.

The Municipality of Inverness County leads many initiatives promoting environmental and climate sustainability, like diversion of solid waste from landfills and conservation of water.

This Earth Day, the Municipality’s Waste Services staff teamed up with Margaree Forks Co-op to bring resources and useful information directly to community members.

Nicole Latimer is a solid waste educator with the County. She said, “it’s brilliant to get out in the community so people see us, can ask us questions, and know that we’re working on their behalf.”

The team at Margaree Forks Co-op have been celebrating Earth Day for many years and it has become quite a tradition locally.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Faye Tompkins said, “we live in an area of outstanding beauty, and people here have a strong connection to nature and the environment.

“The Co-op team are happy that we can help raising awareness for planet-friendly activities locally, and we’re happy to donate environmentally-friendly products for the prize draw, because it makes it easier for our shoppers to do their bit for the planet,” she said.

Leah Ingraham was the lucky grand prize winner. Three other prizes were also distributed.

Local residents came armed with questions on all sorts of subjects from heavy garbage, to what can be recycled or reused, and what to do about household hazardous waste. “Batteries, for example, never belong in the garbage,” said Ms Latimer.

“Improper disposal of household batteries has led to facility and truck fires and poses a serious risk to the environment and our health. Look for a battery recycling box near you or bring them, with your other household hazardous waste, to our drop off event on May 27th from 8am-12 in Strathlorne,” she added.

One of the County’s priorities is to let people know about the Recycle Cape Breton app, which you can download on any mobile device. Amongst other things it contains a “Waste Wizard” that lets you search over 600 different items that can be diverted from landfill.

The County also supports clean up activities, like the Trash Bash that’s taking place on May 6 in Margaree organised by Live Life In Tents. If you want to join or organise a community clean up, either register online through the annual Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up get in touch directly waste@invernesscounty.ca.