Author: nlened

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Memorial Presents: Whose Pine Clad Hills? Forest Rights and Access in Newfoundland and Labrador

Time:  7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Location:  LC-301, Library and Computing Building, Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook
Description: It’s a question that has become more and more pressing with the decline in the province’s pulp and paper industry. In order to move forward with confidence, the issues of private vs. public access and how these impacts on long-term sustainability must be addressed.

Led by Dr. Rainer Baehre, professor of Historical and Social-Cultural Studies at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University, this public forum will discuss the historical context of forest property rights in Newfoundland and Labrador, compare forest policies in this province with those from other jurisdictions, and discuss the creation of the Model Forest in western Newfoundland.

The forum will also feature presentations by Dr. Sean Cadigan, professor of history at the St. John’s campus of Memorial University, Dr. Erin Kelly of the Environmental Policy Unit at the Corner Brook campus, and Sean Dolter of the Model Forest of Newfoundland and Labrador.

These presentations will be followed by a discussion session with the audience.
Sponsor: The Harris Centre
 

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Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) 2011 National Conference

“Exploring the Socioecological in Education and Culture: Becoming Active Participants in Change”

The 2011 Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) conference will focus on exploring the issues of learning and being active in society AND our environment. The word ‘socioecological’ foregrounds the intertwined nature of environmental education with cultural and social justice issues. We need to continue to consider our environment and our place in it as integrated. It is time for more decolonising narratives to be brought forward and explored within the field of environmental education. Learning and activism are the contexts within which socioecological ideas will be explored. Learning extends beyond the K-12 education system. All aspects of formal, informal and non-formal education are welcomed and open for discussion. Activism is broadly considered as taking opportunities to be actively engaged in socioecological expression. The urban and rural interface in education, sustainable living practices, and political activities are welcome opportunities for exploration of this socioecological learning theme.

EECOM website >> Full Conference Info


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NLEN Year in Review 2010

The NLEN is pleased to launch its 2010 Year in Review. With this publication we‘ve taken a snapshot of some of the incredible work being carried out by member organisations of the Newfoundland and Labrador Environment Network.

In addition to the stories submitted by our member organisations, we have also sought to highlight some key environmental issues and events in 2010. We‘ve include feature stories on Hurricane Igor, environmental management in our offshore oil sector in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, and efforts to protect Sandy Pond on the southern Avalon Peninsula.

Download report: NLEN Year in Review 2010 (pdf 3.6 MB)


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Auditor General calls for improved accounting of province’s environmental liabilities

In a report released Friday, January 21, Auditor General John Noseworthy has repeated his call for a centralized inventory of contaminated sites in the province. The report indicates that Government’s environmental liability is likely higher than the $21.1 million reported. There are problems regarding the identification of contaminated sites and the determination of remidiation costs. To access the report, click here >>

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In the news: CBC reports “Newsprint mill cancels NL tire-burning plan”

Montreal-based newsprint producer Kruger Inc. has withdrawn a proposal to burn used car tires as an energy source for its western Newfoundland newsprint mill.

In a terse statement Friday, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said Kruger had withdrawn an undertaking that had been filed under provincial environmental review legislation.

For complete story >>

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Participate in a new North American environmental nonprofit salary and benefits survey

NORTH AMERICA’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE SALARY AND BENEFITS SURVEY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Key Decisions During Turbulent Times Require Great Information

 

Dear Environmental Nonprofit Colleague:

 

Now is your time to help yourself and other environmental nonprofits in North America by completing your organization’s survey.  The more environmental nonprofits that participate, the more helpful the data will be for all of us!

 

The Training Resources for the Environmental Community (TREC) survey for North American environmental nonprofit organizations is the only survey that will provide you with the comprehensive information needed to make employment and people decisions during these difficult economic times.  Plus, you’ll have access to information that can be used to make better, more informed decisions on your salary and benefits costs.

 

[CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE NOW] Participation is open to all sizes and types of environmental nonprofits—from a one-person staff to national organizations.  You must have at least one employee who works 30 hours or more to participate.

 

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER—organizations that complete both the salary and the benefits section of the survey will receive your country’s full salary and benefits survey and executive summary survey free, a $268 value. 

 

WHAT CAN THE SURVEY HELP ME DO?

 

You may be asking yourself two questions at the moment:

1.  Why all the fuss about a compensation and benefits survey?

2.  Is it worth my time and resources to spend the approximately 30 – 60 minutes to complete the survey?

 

Although total compensation is one of the lower ranked factors of employee engagement, it quickly rises to the top of employee dis-engagement if it is off-base, significantly non-competitive, or administered inequitably within the organization.  Compensation can be a highly emotionally charged issue if it is not handled correctly.  One of the reasons total compensation is relatively low as an engagement factor is it is expected by employees to be fair and competitive.  Fair and competitive compensation is considered by many employees to be a condition of employment.

 

Participation in the survey helps you to know…

·         Is my total compensation package (salary and benefits) competitive?

·         Am I managing my internal compensation in a balanced process between what the organization can afford to pay and the “value” of various roles or positions within the organization?

·         As a leader, do I know if the offer I am making to a key candidate is good enough to seal the deal?

·         For USA organizations, are we in compliance with new IRS 990 compensation guidelines?

 

No one can know the answers to these vitally important questions without valid, timely data and the know-how to use them. 

 

The TREC 2011 Salary and Benefits Survey results also provide you with valuable cost and turnover data within the non-profit environmental sector for the first time.  New data items in the TREC  2011 salary and benefits survey provides compensation cost per employee, benefits cost per employee, compensation as a percentage of operating budget, benefits as a percentage of operating budget, and a breakdown of the costs of major individual benefits being offered such as healthcare.

 

We encourage you to take the time to complete the survey, as soon as possible, as it will greatly benefit your organization and all environmental organizations in North America.  If you have any questions or challenges during the completion of this survey, please to call or email the Bluewater Non-profit Solutions–TREC help desk.  The survey closes February 25th.

 

We wish to thank our collaborative partners–Institute for Conservation Leadership, Sustainability Network, and New England Grassroots Environmental Fund–for their generous assistance in the outreach effort for this project.  We also wish to thank the Canadian HR Council for the Nonprofit Sector, for their generous support of modifications to the survey to accommodate Canadian benefits.

 

Thank you for helping us to create this valuable resource for the North American environmental nonprofit community.

 

All the best,

 

Dyan Oldenburg                      and                              Donna Neusch Ph.D.

Executive Director                                                      Director of Evaluation/HR Sr. Associate                    

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[March 3 – April 15] Lower Churchill Hydro Project – Joint Review Panel Public Hearing

OTTAWA – January 14, 2011 – The Joint Panel reviewing the proposed Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation Project announced today that the environmental impact statement (EIS) along with the additional information submitted by the proponent contains sufficient information to proceed to the public hearing on the environmental effects of the project.

The public hearing will begin on March 3, 2011 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The Panel invites and encourages all interested parties to participate.

The public hearing will give interested individuals and organizations the opportunity to hear about the project and its potential impacts and to provide their views to the Panel. The hearing will also allow the proponent to present the project and to offer clarifying information as required.

To ensure that the hearing offers all parties an opportunity to participate, the Panel will hold three types of hearing sessions:

  • General hearing sessions will be held in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and in St. John’s. Participants at these sessions may share with the Panel their overall views and conclusions on the project and its potential impacts. Presentations at the general sessions may be on any aspect within the scope of the review.
  • Topic-specific sessions will take place in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Topic-specific sessions will be more focused and will provide an opportunity for participants with a special interest or knowledge to share their views with the Panel on the following subjects: Project need, purpose and alternatives; reservoir preparation, filling, operation and decommissioning; aquatic environment; terrestrial environment; economic impacts; social and cultural impacts; and environmental management, monitoring and follow-up.
  • Community hearing sessions will be held for the communities of Mud Lake, Northwest River, Sheshatshiu, Cartwright, Rigolet and Nain. Sessions will be held in Sept-Îles for the Aboriginal communities in Quebec. Some of these sessions will be carried out through video-conferencing.

Community sessions will allow participants an opportunity to present to the Panel their views on the impacts of the project and on issues of importance to local communities. The hearing process will be adapted to the needs of the community where possible.

The hearing will be completed within 45 days. The public hearing procedures which outline how the sessions will unfold were recently issued and are available on the public registry.

Participants who wish to make a presentation to the Panel at any of the hearing sessions will be asked to register with the Panel secretariat 10 days in advance of the hearing sessions. Registration will begin once the dates for the hearing sessions are made public.

The Panel will soon provide further details on the hearing session dates and locations along with more information on registration and filing submissions for the hearing.

More information on the panel review is available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry, registry number 07-05-26178.

Nalcor Energy proposes to construct two hydroelectric generating stations with a total capacity of just over 3000 megawatts (MW) on the Lower Churchill River, together with transmission lines to connect the two generation sites to the existing Upper Churchill Project. The proposed generation stations would be located at Gull Island (2,250 MW) and Muskrat Falls (824 MW).

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Media may contact:

Lucille Jamault
Manager, Communications
613-957-0434

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Lieutenant-Governor’s Greenwing Conservation Award

Ducks Unlimited Canada is seeking nominations for the Lieutenant-Governor’s Greenwing Conservation Award. This award is intended to recognize outstanding contribution to wetland conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador. If you know a hard-working conservationist who deserves recognition please nominate them! The nomination criteria and nomination form are available through the following links.  (Deadline for nominations: Friday, February 11th and the award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, March 22nd.)


Nomination criteria:

Click to access crit_nl.pdf


Nomination form:

Click to access nom_nl.pdf