News
Congratulations 2024 Award Winners!
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From left to right: Roxy Peterson (Town of Kentville), Steve Wells (Amherst Little League), Michelle Richards (Cross Country Ski Nova Scotia), Marlene Melanson, Robin Norrie, Craig Langille (Town of Kentville), Chris Kendrick (Avon Sport & Social Community)
Missing from the photo: Alnaas Community and Youth Development Association and W.E.B.S Creative Closet, who, unfortunately, could not be there with us.
WOW! What a night!
Congratulations to all the 2024 award winners. Your dedication was inspiring, and your stories were touching. It was easy to tell you all care deeply about the communities you are involved in.
This year, we had:
Avon Sport and Social Community win the Bluenose Achievement Award
Cross Country Nova Scotia Ski Ambassadors win the Mayflower Community Cooperation Award
Town of Kentville: Hemlock Wooly Adelgid win the Connecting People with Nature Award
Town of Kentville, Neighbourhood Outreach Program Coordinator win the EDIA Award
Amherst Little League win the High Five Nova Scotia Champion
Alnaas Community and Youth Development Association win the Event/Program Excellence Award
W.E.B.S. Creative Closet win the Heart of Recreation Award
And two big special congratulations to Marlene Melanson, who won this year's Professional Achievement award, and Robin Norrie, who won the Honourary Lifetime Member Award, for their outstanding, significant, and consistent contributions to recreation in Nova Scotia in their 30+ years in the sector!
Marlene has built a strong community of passionate recreation professionals through her roles with the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, where she is currently the Recreation Director. A strong leader, she leads from behind, giving those around her opportunities to gain experience and confidence. Marlene, you have been an integral part of so many innovative projects across the province, and it's obvious from the number of testimonials that so many look up to you and are lucky to call you a friend and mentor.
Robin, we were honoured to have you attend and accept your prestigious award of Lifetime Member. The many smiles and hugs you received are a testament to the difference you have made and the long-lasting impacts you have had on all of us across the province. Your dedication and commitment to the vision of recreation have shaped many rec professionals today and have ensured the Nova Scotian rec sector is set up for success provincially and nationally.
Thank you, winners, for all you continue to do to help lead healthier futures through recreation. We can't wait to see you and your projects continue to make a difference.
Building Resilience in Times of Crises
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Exploring the evolving role of recreation in challenging circumstances
By Rick Gilbert
A resilient community, whether defined by geography, interest, experience, or identity, is one that has the resources to help prevent, withstand, and recover from emergencies. Resilient communities can adapt despite disturbances caused by emergencies and return to acceptable levels of functioning.” (Full Report: The Chief Public Health Officer of Canada’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2023)
Introduction
In recent decades, the recreation sector has experienced more change than we are used to. We’ve taken on new imperatives such as physical activity, active transportation, and healthy eating in public settings, often in new partnerships with sectors such as Public Health, Natural Resources, and Transportation/Public Works. We’ve also built new partnerships with traditional allies such as sports and parks worked in new ways to address inequities faced by women and girls and Indigenous people and addressed anti-racism in our sector. Our long-term direction, for the first time, has been articulated through a National Recreation Framework and just as we were tapping into the power and potential of that movement, we were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic that sent our society and our sector into a tailspin.
Statement Regarding HIGH FIVE® Changes in Nova Scotia
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Recreation Nova Scotia (RNS) has been a committed partner in delivering the HIGH FIVE® quality assurance program for over twenty years, working as an authorized provider to support the program in the province of Nova Scotia. This has involved marketing HIGH FIVE®, managing trainers, and administering the program in the province.
RNS's role as an authorized provider will end on December 31, 2024.
As HIGH FIVE®, Recreation Nova Scotia, and the sector have adjusted to economic and technological changes over the last few years, service adjustments have been made to the education program across the country. This, in part, led to HIGH FIVE® undertaking a business review over the last couple of years, which RNS had the opportunity to feed into.
The business review concluded in Spring 2024, and the consultant’s recommendations were endorsed in early Summer 2024. These recommendations included a significant shift in the delivery of HIGH FIVE® in Nova Scotia and eight other provinces and territories that operated similarly to RNS. This decision was communicated to RNS on September 10, 2024, without any immediate opportunity for discussion or questions.
The main change we foresee is that HIGH FIVE® will shift to a direct delivery model, delivered by HIGH FIVE® National (managed by Parks & Recreation Ontario). Course and trainer logistics will shift away from RNS to HIGH FIVE® National. We will engage with HIGH FIVE® National in the coming months to further understand this change.
RNS remains committed to supporting the recreation sector with high-quality training and education that meets the needs of the province's residents with a sustainable and accessible delivery model.
In the coming weeks and months, we will seek to hear more from those affected by this change and better understand the sector's education needs in Nova Scotia.
For any questions, queries or concerns, please contact
Michelle Richards hired as new Regional Physical Activity Consultant for Cape Breton Region
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We’re delighted to announce that Michelle Richards will take on the Regional Physical Activity Consultant (RPAC) role for the Cape Breton region. Michelle will be responsible for supporting and leading projects related to the Let’s Get Moving strategy in the region, contributing to a culture of movement and improving population levels of physical activity.
Michelle comes to RNS/CCTH with extensive experience in recreation at the community, municipal, provincial, and national levels. She has a passion for getting people of all ages active for life in all four seasons and a deep understanding of building collaborative relationships and networks.
Michelle’s vast and varied experience in the field includes working with Cross Country Ski Nova Scotia as the Cape Breton Ski Ambassador, running summer surf programs with the Municipality of the County of Richmond, and serving on the boards of Hike Nova Scotia and the Surfing Association of Nova Scotia.
We look forward to welcoming Michelle to the team. She will start on Thursday, October 3rd, and can be reached at
Welcome Michelle!
Highlighting: Municipality of Clare Pride Month Event
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I've never been able to be so myself; this is the best day ever!
Event Participant
This month, Recreation Nova Scotia is recognizing the efforts of the Municipality of Clare as a part of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Highlights series. In June, the Municipality's Recreation Department planned and hosted Pride events in the community. The event was a new addition to the Municipality's Pride Month activities. The Municipality flies the Pride flag and has hosted activities in the past, but this was the first full-day event for Pride. Though attendance at the event was low, this is an excellent example of how organizations commit to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, even when experiencing challenges and hardships.
The Municipality's Pride Event included a "Frenchy's Fashion Show," a "Pride Float & Paddle," and a community event which included music, face painting, a temporary tattoo station, and lawn games. The Frenchy's Fashion Show was a private youth event with members of the community's Gender Sexuality Alliance to find outfits from local thrift stores and gather at the Lion's Club to get dressed up, receive a drag makeup tutorial from a local drag performer and sing karaoke. The event was kept private to create a safe space for youth to participate, which was much appreciated by those in attendance. One participant told an event leader, "I've never been able to be so myself; this is the best day ever!"
Organizer Jessica Martin leaned on community partnership in planning the event and tried to include as many community members and organizations in the planning as possible. She also took advantage of another event in the community, "Pride was the first day of our local Burger Week. So, we had two burger week competitors come to the venue for a Burger Cookoff." She said that the Burger Week event had the highest attendance, which created an opportunity, "Where most attended to try the burger and not participate in Pride, they still had exposure to Pride festivities and the community. It may be a small win, but it's a win nonetheless."
After the event, Martin performed a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis with the help of staff. During this exercise, staff shared why they felt the turnout was lower than hoped, "Summer staff voiced that it wouldn't matter how awesome the event is, as soon as people in Clare hear "pride" they're not going." She said staff were disappointed with the turnout after working hard to plan and host the event.
Martin says the event was necessary for the community and went beyond the one-day event, "As a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, I wanted to make sure people knew people like them were out there and gathering." Martin will continue to move forward and plans to host Pride events in Clare again next year, "While participation was low, I'm proud to be in a community that encourages these activities on a municipal level. We will continue to expand our pride activities next year!" Martin feels that consistency will help in the future, "I think having more exposure to Pride and inclusive activities will help switch the dialogue slowly."
EDIA Highlight Story: Richmond County's Point Michaud Accessibility Project
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Richmond County is working with its recreation department to make Point Michaud an accessible beach for anyone with mobility issues by purchasing two Mobi-Chairs and Mobi-Mats. A project like this doesn't come without its challenges, and Sharla Sampson, Richmond County Active Living/Community Engagement Coordinator, offers some advice.
"Our project will provide more accessible access to the Point Michaud Beach for all persons with mobility issues."
- Sharla Sampson, Richmond County Active Living/Community Engagement Coordinator
September's Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Highlight comes from the Island of Cape Breton, where one municipality works to improve beach access for people with disabilities. Richmond County's Recreation Department has purchased two Mobi-Chairs and two Mobi-Mats to make Point Michaud an accessible beach.
Mobi-Chairs are chairs that float and roll on the beach, designed to assist people with mobility challenges in accessing natural waterfronts. Mobi-Mats are installed over the sand to facilitate more accessible travel for the chairs towards the water or to make walking across the sand easier for everyone. Equipment is available at no cost to users, benefiting the County residents and tourists. Each Mobi-Mat is 100 feet long with hardware to secure them in the sand. The mats are portable and made from 100% recycled materials. The Mobi-Chairs are designed with everyone in mind, including wheelchair users, people with special needs and even children, to be convenient, portable, and comfortable.
Richmond County is home to various age groups that can benefit from this equipment, from families with young children who need assistance accessing the beach to older adults or anyone with accessibility barriers. This project has allowed more people to enjoy a supervised beach and the outdoors.
The project has its challenges. Active Living/Community Engagement Coordinator Sharla Sampson says the surf at Point Michaud is rough, which created an issue with securing the mats, "Our mats are installed to the water line and, as such, need to be checked frequently for wrinkles, rocks and debris given the impact of the surf." Another challenge has been finding resources for summer staff to educate users on using the mats and chairs.
If you are considering undertaking a similar project, Sampson has some advice. "Reach out to community groups who have executed similar projects to obtain first-hand knowledge of their successes and challenges." She says it is essential to prepare for the installation and removal of the mats and have proper storage for them. The mats take up much space when stored for the off-season. For this reason, Richmond County purchased rollers, which made setup and removal much more manageable.
The Point Michaud Beach accessibility project was supported by funding through the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. The municipality secured 50% of the project's cost through the Community ACCESS-Ability Program.
For more information on the ACCESS-Ability Program and how it can help your community projects, visit the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.