🗞️ The fight to restore Nova Scotia's eelgrass

Good morning,

It’s all happening, people! Argyle St. between Prince and Blowers is officially closed to motor vehicles until November. That means the only thing hitting that street will be our flip flops, nacho crumbs and beer spillage.

Ok, I might be getting a bit ahead of myself, but you get the idea.

While you’re out and about on these still brisk, but budding, spring nights, check out OutFest, Atlantic Canada’s largest queer film festival. Running until April 28th, it will showcase artists from all over the region and country.

Enjoy that spring in your step on Argyle St. and beyond!

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌦️ 11°

Tomorrow: ☀️ 5°

Next Day: ☀️ 9°

7 day forecast

🚗 Driving today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

ENVIRONMENT

Restoring an unsung hero: How eelgrass is making its comeback in Nova Scotia

When Trinity Nicholas was a child, she would wade through lush beds of eelgrass off the shores of her home in Pictou County to swim in the warm waters of the Northumberland Strait.

Meadows of the green fronds lined the coastline, providing vital habitat for lobsters, crabs, tiny invertebrates and a range of other species, including the eels that were an important part of her heritage on the Pictou Landing First Nation.

Years later when Nicholas learned of a project to help restore the plants to parts of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes, she ventured back to the same site in search of samples. Instead of the healthy seagrass beds of her childhood, she found a desolate, sandy expanse free of the marine life that used to grow around Maliko’mijk Island.

“Eelgrass used to be so abundant around the shores there,” she says from the reserve about two hours outside Halifax. “When we went to do the restoration, it was basically empty. We searched for two days to find eelgrass to use. It’s very depleted and the erosion is only getting worse.”

It is a phenomenon being seen throughout the Maritimes and around the world, as the plant falls prey to warming waters, invasive species, human activities that disrupt the seafloor and pollution. The loss has significant implications for coastal sustainability, biodiversity and carbon sequestration, according to scientists trying to stem its decline throughout the Northern hemisphere. And as the Climate Story Network’s Alison Auld reports, a team of researchers, biologists and Indigenous communities is working to bring it back.

MUSIC

Old Man Luedecke is back off the scallop boat—and sounding as new as ever

Old Man Luedecke was feeling his age. It was the long days of COVID-19 isolation, and as the opportunity for live shows dwindled—let alone international tours and festivals—the Chester, NS, singer-songwriter wasn’t sure he wanted to get back on the road. Ditto for the studio, which had been a constant for the JUNO-winning banjo artist since his 2003 debut, Mole in the Ground. There were other things to do. Time to spend at home. Try something new.

“I was pretty burned out,” he says.

It took a season on a scallop boat—along with an unlikely suggestion from friend and fellow artist Bahamas—for Luedecke to restore his creative spark. And together with the Gold-selling folk artist, he’s crafted what might well be his most inspired work in years: The forthcoming She Told Me Where To Go, out May 24, 2024.

Ahead of the album’s release, Luedecke chats with The Coast’s Martin Bauman about scallop farming, rekindling his love for music and the “quiet good” in things.

🤔 Need To Know

💰 Halifax City Council has approved the municipality’s 2024/25 budget of $1.04B in total municipal expenditures and $306.5M in capital spending. The average residential and commercial property tax bill is increasing by 6.3%—or about $214 for the average single-family home next year.

🚨 Halifax police have identified the victim of Monday’s Halifax Shopping Centre parkade homicide as 16-year-old Ahmad Maher Al Marrach. Police arrested two young suspects in a Halifax Transit bus on North Street, but have not charged either. 

🔥 Firefighters doused a blaze that started on the 10th floor of an under-construction building and sent black smoke billowing above Halifax’s north end Tuesday morning. No injuries are reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

💃 Live Art Dance and Kinetic co-present “Coastal Currents”, celebrating the amazing dance talent of our region. 4 choreographers share wonderfully vibrant work with Kjipuktuk/Halifax audiences.*

🎭 Support4Culture is a proud supporter of arts, culture, and heritage in Nova Scotia. From the Highland Village Museum to Neptune Theatre, see the impact Support4Culture makes here.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY 2024 HALIFAX JUNO HOST COMMITTEE

The show’s over. But the JUNOS legacy will live on.

Before the JUNOS arrived on our shores, our goal was simple: to showcase Atlantic Canada as the vibrant hub of musical talent we all know it is. And now that JUNO Week is behind us, wow, did our region ever come through! Thanks to the musicians, the venues, and especially you, the fans. You showed the entire country exactly what Halifax is and can accomplish. We’re a place where music is as timeless as the tides. We’re a modern people firmly rooted in rich musical traditions. We’re a creative and vibrant destination that will be riding this high for many years to come.

See event highlights here.

🗞️ In Other News

🚨 Halifax police have charged a man with assault and possession of a dangerous weapon after he allegedly stabbed another passenger on a Metro Transit bus. Emergency crews treated the passenger for non-life-threatening injuries.

🛒 Atlantic Superstore is getting mixed reactions to new plexiglass barriers designed to prevent “organized crime.” Loblaw public relations declined to answer if theft was on the rise, or provide data on the issue.

⛸️ Halifax will host the world’s best figure skaters for the 50th anniversary of the Skate Canada International competition. The event will take place from Oct. 24-27 at the Scotiabank Centre.

🍎 Community groups say that despite the downward trend in inflation, many Nova Scotians are still feeling overwhelmed by exorbitant food costs.

🗓️ Things To Do

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 OutFest: The largest queer theatre festival in Atlantic Canada takes centre stage in Halifax with a mix of theatre, dance, music, and comedy. | Apr. 23-28 | 12 am-12 pm | $20

🗓 Court of Nonsense: Catch all the excitement of live improv brought to you by Spontaneity Improv School | Apr. 24 | 7:30 pm | $15

🗓 Stars on Ice: The world’s best figure skaters (past and present) take the ice at the Scotiabank Centre | Apr. 25 | 7:00 pm | $32 plus fees

Have an event to share? Email us at [email protected].

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🎤 💗 Calling all Swifties! Morris East is holding a Taylor Swift themed brunch at its Bedford location on April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

🍹 Montréal’s famed Fait avec Booze (FAB) has landed at Bar Sofia, marking its debut in Atlantic Canada. Beginning Tuesday, April 30th, bartending contestants go head-to-head and put their talent to the test—and you be the judge in taste and style. 

🍋 Looking for something sweet, but with a tangy twist? Try Vandal’s signature lemon meringue donut.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🌊 As Halifax’s population continues to grow and with peak tourism season on the horizon, the province is reassessing how to combat overcrowding on the city’s waterfront. The review comes after a call from Build Nova Scotia to update the boardwalk plan. 

🐻 The Ecology Action Centre is applauding the province’s decision to not allow a spring bear hunt. However, Nova Scotia’s Safari Club chapter says the decision is a missed opportunity.

📕 HRM announced that writer Anna Quon is the municipality’s ninth poet laureate.

That’s it!

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