Nature Newfoundland and Labrador (http://naturenl.ca) is hoping to find a dynamic and committed individual, awed by the rugged natural beauty of our province, to work with the current Co-Editors of The Osprey, the nature journal of Newfoundland and Labrador. This unpaid position allows both literary expression and interaction with leading naturalists from our province. The Osprey is a published four times per year. It is distributed both electronically and in hard copy to a readership that spans Canada, the US, and Europe. The journal publishes articles ranging from seasonal bird reports and discussions of important undertakings in the province with the potential to impact the environment, to nature photography and poetry. Editing, word processing, and excellent communication skills are required. Experience in basic graphic design and desktop publishing would be an asset! If you’d like to see the latest volume of The Osprey, or if you have further questions, please contact Rita Anderson at rita@play.psych.mun.ca or Justin So at justin.james.so@gmail.com.
Get Involved!
Employment Opportunity: Wellness Program Coordinator
Outdoor Education Employment
ANNUAL NATURENL LONG POND CLEAN-UP
ANNUAL NATURENL LONG POND CLEAN-UP
Nature Newfoundland and Labrador is holding our annual clean-up of Long Pond on Saturday, May 7, 2016, starting at 10:00 a.m. Meet and other campus buildings). We anticipate that Clean St. John’s will supply garbage bags and collection. Volunteers should bring their own gloves and wear boots. For more information, email: naturenl@naturenl.ca
Registration is now open for Cavell Park Community Garden in St. John’s.
If you would like to apply for a plot in this volunteer run garden, fill out a form online at www.CavellGarden.ca.
The Fluvarium’s Junior Counsellor Program
The Fluvarium is seeking Volunteers for our Junior Counsellor Program!
For Youth in Grades 7 – 12
Apply to be a Nature Camp Counsellor and become someone’s hero this summer! The Fluvarium is welcoming enthusiastic, dependable Youth Volunteers to share their love of nature and the outdoors with children ages 6-12. Junior Counsellors will lead and participate in camp activities, ensuring safety and fun for all campers.
Apply today! Applications will be accepted through April.
Call 754-3474 or email kids@fluvarium.ca for more info.
Find the registration form or more details about the Junior Counsellor Program at www.fluvarium.ca
Western Environment Centre 2016 AGM
The Western Environment Centre will host their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on:
Sunday, April 17th
Time: 3pm
Location: Corner Brook (venue TBA)
During our AGM we will do a year in review, update the membership on the financials and discuss where we want to go in the future.
We will also vote in our new Board of Directors and we are always happy to recruit new members to that team. So if you have been thinking about getting involved, drop us a line and we can tell you more about what it means to become a board member.
Hope to see you all on April 17th!!
Two Summer Positions – Oceans Learning Partnerships (OLP)
Oceans Learning Partnership is planning to hire two post-secondary students as educators this summer (May to August) with our partners. One position will be based in Terra Nova National Park with our friends at Park Canada, and the other is a shared staff position shared between Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium, the Ocean Sciences Centre, and our program in Holyrood. The applicants must meet the requirements for the Canada Summer Job grant (student, returning to studies in September, between ages of 15 and 30, legally entitled to work in Canada).Job Opportunity_Marine Educator_2016Job Opportunity_OLP Science Educator_Terra Nova
WEC News – NL climate change advisory group
Are you hearing the buzz? The world is changing. And it is changing fast.
First there was Paris – the world agreed to act on climate change
Then oil prices plummeted (and will likely stay low)
Now even large pro-oil lobby groups like UK Energy are calling for a shift towards renewables
During the first week of March Justin Trudeau will discuss climate change measures with the Premiers during the first ministers meeting.
A new climate change group has formed. The NL Climate Change Advisory Group. And they have sent an open letter in light of the first ministers meeting.
WEC is strongly supporting this initiative and encourages you to contact your MP (see list below) and MHA with a similar message.
This can be a pivotal moment.
Your WEC crew
Open Letter to Premier Ball and Ministers Trimper, Coady and Byrne
February 29, 2016
NL climate change advisory group
Corner Brook, NL
Dear Premier Ball, Minister Coady, Minister Trimper, and Minister Byrne,
The NL Climate Change Advisory Group is a newly formed independent citizens group focused on climate change policy and research specific to the NL context. We were pleased to see a number of climate-related actions in the mandate letter of the Department of Environment & Conservation, and we look forward to working with you in the coming months and years on this major issue.
As you are aware, this past December, the world’s governments negotiated a landmark agreement on climate change that puts the world on a cleaner energy path. The negotiations sent a strong signal to financial sectors and global markets that investments be redirected to low-carbon and climate resilient development. At the closing of the negotiations, Lord Nicholas Stern, the author of the influential Stern Review on the economics of climate change, stated: “A green race is going on [and] if we get this right, it will be more powerful than the industrial revolution.”
Even Energy UK, which represents the big six providers of energy in the UK, says it now supports phasing out coal-fired stations, after years of defending the use of fossil fuels. And they are even going as far as calling for the UK to develop their own version of the German “Energiewende” [Germany’s plan to move to a majority of renewable energy sources].1
Indeed, the green finance agenda is becoming mainstream, and over the last few years we have seen a growing international flight of investment capital from fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive industries combined with a shift to investment policies that increasingly prioritize socially and environmentally favourable development.
Your government has recently come to power under the banner of a “Stronger Tomorrow.” In early March, Prime Minister Trudeau will host a First Ministers Meeting to discuss what path this country will take as we move at both the national and global scales towards a low-carbon and climate resilient future. We trust your government will show leadership at this meeting to help move our province and country into a cleaner, greener economy.
There are many reasons to begin moving towards a green economy right now.
We are currently in a precarious position where thousands of skilled workers are out of work and are moving back to our province where there are not enough jobs for all.
This shift should of course be based on sound information and we recommend that a feasibility study assesses the right mix of green technologies for the NL context, which is then followed by a strong and bold move towards a green economy. This can help address our unemployment problem at the same time as moving us toward a low carbon future.
More specifically, the policies we need include:
- net metering and feed-in tariffs with attractive rates guaranteed for a certain period of time to encourage rapid development for small scale energy producers
- security measures for private and corporate investments in the green energy sector so that a growth in small scale energy production will benefit Canadian manufacturing
- federal and provincial investments in green tech infrastructure
- a tax on carbon that gets reinvested into the green economy
We know that we cannot expect a rebound in oil prices in the near future. Saudi Arabia recently announced in a press conference in Texas2 that they are not afraid to keep oil prices low and that high-cost producers, such as the oil sands, should get out of the market.
It is time for Newfoundland and Labrador to seriously focus on the urgent need to diversify its economy and move away from a crippling dependency on boom and bust industries. Transformational change and green economies are good for business and job creation. We want to work with your government to help make this change happen, for the good of our communities, our province and our world.
References:
Contact information for Members of Parliament:
Newfoundland & Labrador Environment Network 