Valentines protest Sandy Lake development

Supporters of the Ecology Action Centre were hoping Valentine’s Day cards they made on Feb. 11 would make a difference in protesting the Sandy Lake development in Halifax.  

The membership-based environmental charity urged area regional councillors and Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Andy Fillmore to protect Sandy Lake from a proposed 6,000-unit build at a card-making event.  

Dozens gathered around craft tables well-stocked with collage material at the Wonder’neath Art Society in Halifax to protest the proposed multi-use complex on 600 acres of undeveloped land in northwest Halifax Regional Municipality.

With cut-outs and craft supplies, organizers at the centre say they hoped this act of “craftivism” would raise public awareness and put pressure on policy makers to protect Sandy Lake.  

Event attendee and Sandy Lake visitor Christie Hagerman said it’s important for Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Andy Fillmore and MLAs to know how much the area means to her.  

“It’s ridiculous that the city isn’t doing more to protect it,” Hagerman said.  

Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park comprises 1,000 acres of municipally protected urban wild space near Hammonds Plains, a community 20 kilometres northwest of downtown Halifax. Another 1,800 acres are up for development in the area, including the west side of the lake where a Clayton Developments project is proposed.  

 The Ecology Action Centre said the area is a vital ecosystem, as it’s home to some of Nova Scotia’s last old-growth forests. Appropriately named for its uncommon sandy bottom, Sandy Lake’s rare conditions make an ideal habitat for the Atlantic salmon’s spawning grounds, as well as other endangered species’ habitats.  

“It’s cleaning the air we breathe, it’s filtering the water that’s going into our waterways. It’s supporting the species that are keeping our food web healthy and sustained,” said event organizer Jillian Ramsay to The Signal on Tuesday.   

Ramsay said pollutant runoff from developments can acidify the lake, causing algae blooms and risking ecological degradation. To prevent this, the Ecology Action Centre has partnered with 30 organizations belonging to the Sandy Lake-Sackville Regional Park Coalition to advocate for the expansion of the park’s borders to include the threatened area.  

In 2021, the provincial government designated the area a “special planning area” to help address the housing crisis. The designation is intended to fast-track development by shifting decision-making from Halifax Regional Council to the provincial government.

Construction was set to start last spring, but the designation has made the current stage of development unclear — an uncommon situation for a project of this size, said Kortney Dunsby, senior co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre.  

In a previous statement, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr said the special planning areas are “removing red tape and speeding up development. The process is working, and these new designations will bring more housing … to Nova Scotians, faster.” 

While Dunsby acknowledged the need for housing in Halifax, she said efforts should not be concentrated in “greenfield sites” that have never been developed or aren’t already serviced by utilities and transit. 

Dunsby said the use of valentines is an affirmative model of activism to network with new policy makers in municipal and provincial governments from the fall elections.  

“I think it’s important to start by trying to build relationships first,” said Dunsby. “It’s starting from a place of education and connection, trying to build relationships and trying to find common ground.” 

The Ecology Action Centre was to send the notes in time for this year’s Valentine’s Day.