Site Supervisor Jonathan Sheppard at Kejimkujik’s solar array. Photo Parks Canada

Power consumption at Kejimkujik is now as green as its renowned forests.

Since May, the national park and historic site has been generating enough power onsite using solar panels to meet the needs of campers in Jeremy’s Bay campground.

Site Supervisor at Kejimkujik, Jonathan Sheppard says this makes Keji the first park in Canada to go net-zero.

“The power that’s actually consumed by visitors and the number of visitors we have here is actually a hard category of greenhouse gas emissions to reduce because it’s up to individual choices and equipment and gear and stuff,” said Sheppard. “So, the principal for this one, for offsetting it, allows us to generate an equivalent amount of power so that when visitors come here, they know that their experience is powered by the sun and basically it’s a net-zero camping experience.”

Power is not stored at Keji but is sold to Nova Scotia Power and purchased back, creating a net-zero exchange.

Generating over 12,000Kw per month, the 100Kw solar array is made up of 272 photo-voltaic panels and covers a 40 x 60 metre area.

The array is located in a clearing near the front of the park out of view of visitors on the site of a former weather station.

Kejimkujik solar array viewed from above. Photo Parks Canada

Sheppard says the location was chosen after consultation with Mi’kmaq partners.

“They were involved in the archaeology around this project. We did that collaboratively,” said Sheppard. “They were very supportive of the benefits of this project but because we’re also a national historic site that’s designated so because of the Mi’kmaq cultural landscape, they were also interested in making sure that when you came into the park you didn’t see a big piece of infrastructure.”

The solar project was funded through an almost $600,000 Government of Canada investment to support greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts and clean technology.

Sheppard estimates at the rate the array is producing power, that investment will be paid off in 20 years.

And perhaps most importantly, over their projected 35-year lifespan, the panels will be responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 3,300 tonnes, the equivalent of taking 1035 cars off the road.

Sheppard says since the pandemic people have sought connection with the outdoors and it’s important to make that experience as enjoyable and green as possible.

“There’s a direct link between the visitor’s experience here in the campground and the knowledge that their experience is powered entirely by the sun,” said Sheppard. “That, for us, provides a really neat connection between a visitor understanding their visit in the context of the larger picture, not only of protecting a national park but the work to mitigate against climate change as well, while they’re here.”

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Front country rustic cabin at Kejimkujik National Park. Photo Parks Canada

It appears staff at Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site will be busy this year.

The park began accepting reservations on February 17 and 9,167 camp sites were booked almost immediately.

Acting visitor experience manager Mark Schmidt says the number of reservations is down slightly from 2020 but that’s to be expected.

“We’re roughly 17 percent less than we were on our opening of reservations last year. Now the one thing I do have to point out though is, we opened our reservation system in February this year. Last year it was in April. It was closer to the opening of the park, there was still a lot of uncertainty about travel beyond the provincial borders.”

Schmidt expects the number of reservations will exceed last year by the time April rolls around.

Kejimkujik closed part of its camping for the 2020 season to install new washrooms and underground infrastructure.

It was the first major renovation in the park in 50 years.

Schmidt says they’ve been hearing rave reviews from people about those upgrades and the park continues to improve the visitor experience.

The Ukme’k trail, which means ‘twisted’ in Mi’kmaq, is a 6.5 km trail connecting the visitor centre to the Mersey River trail that was updated in 2021 to not only improve the experience for hikers but expand its appeal to other users.

“It’s a multi-use experience in that it’s something that’s meant for all levels of users. But it also incorporates unique features specifically for mountain biking,” said Schmidt. “So there’s a handful of really cool optional features that will test the skills of mountain bikers that are out there.”

Schmidt says he’s most excited about the newly constructed Mills Falls Bridge which takes visitors from the Mill Falls day-use area across to the Ukme’k trail.

“It’s the first of its kind in Canada, in terms of the type of bridge that it is,” said Schmidt. “It’s actually placed in a way that you’re on the lower part of the falls so you have this feeling, like when you’re standing in the middle of the bridge, that you feel the power of the water underneath you.”

Schmidt says there are still many sites available, and others will open as people’s plans change and they change their reservations.

While summer is the peak time for visits to Keji, Schmidt says people shouldn’t miss exploring the park during the shoulder seasons as well.

“The park is amazing and different in all seasons,” said Schmidt. “So, if you come in the summer you need to come back in the fall because it’s such a different experience. I encourage everybody to get out and enjoy themselves.”

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One of the test holes at Kejimkujik Seaside. Photo Ed Halverson

Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia are working together to preserve Mi’kmaq heritage before renovations begin at Kejimkujik Seaside Park.

The park has been closed since October 20 to repair infrastructure damage as a result of Hurricane Dorian.

Some trails will be repaired, and others rerouted.

Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia, as represented by Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO) along with Boreas Heritage Consultants have planned all aspects of the archaeological dig together to ensure the Mi’kmaq perspective is at the forefront.

KMKNO staff archaeologist Kait MacLean says it’s important to preserve and protect Mi’kmaq heritage.

“One of the ways that we can protect Mi’kmaq heritage is to locate it. We know that Mi’kmaq people were here, we know that Mi’kmaq people would have used this landscape. Being able to protect that heritage before infrastructure goes in is really important to us. The work that we’re doing with Parks Canada allows us to have that Mi’kmaq perspective into how the work is planned and how it is undertaken,” said MacLean.

A 10-person team from Boreas Heritage consultants is digging test holes at five metre intervals along the proposed trails to ensure nothing of significance is being disturbed.

Archaeologists Rebecca Dunham and Kait MacLean at Keji Seaside. Photo Ed Halverson

Parks Canada Terrestrial Archaeologist Rebecca Dunham says construction crews won’t have to wait too long to begin their work.

“Things are moving along pretty quickly. Probably will be another couple of weeks. If something is found though, things change. They’ll be more tested required and that may prolong the actual testing timeline a bit. It will be a few weeks anyway,” said Dunham. “The construction crews will move along as the archaeology is completed. It will be a progressive process.”

MacLean says by working together, Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia have ended up with what she calls, better archaeology.

“Through this process we’ve found sites in areas where Parks [Canada] previously wouldn’t have necessarily thought were high risk areas or would’ve necessarily looked,” said MacLean. “I think that’s a real positive outcome of this, is that we’ve been able to see real achievements from it. We have found sites that previously would’ve been unrecorded. I think that’s a great success.”

Crews will continue to work on the trails through the end of the year.

Keji Seaside is expected to reopen in January.

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One of the many views along the trails at Kejimkujik Seaside Park. Photo Parks Canada

Anyone looking to enjoy the fall colours at Keji Seaside will be sadly disappointed.

Kejimkujik National Park Seaside will be closed starting Wednesday October 20 to repair damage the park suffered during Hurricane Dorian.

Site Superintendent Jonathan Sheppard says extensive trail washouts and coastal erosion from the 2019 storm has forced Parks Canada to close off the Port Joli Head Trail since it hit.

“For us it just really bought into clear picture the challenges that we face with coastal infrastructure in a time of increased, both frequency and also, intensity, of storms,” said Sheppard.

Kejimkujik received just over $1 million dollars in federal funding last year to help rebuild parts of the inland park and the seaside.

Sheppard estimates the number of visitors to Keji Seaside at between 15 and 20 thousand every year.

He says waiting until after the main tourist season had ended to begin work made sense to lessen the impact on visitors.

It also gave the park time to develop a plan that didn’t just rebuild what was already in place but one that also considers the impact climate changes will have on the visitor experience in years to come.

“We’re not just filling the potholes and putting like with like,” said Sheppard. “We are really looking at what it means to build a climate resilient trail network in a coastal area.”

Sheppard says parts of the trail will be moved further inland to avoid erosion, the routing will shift to avoid some hills, making it more accessible and some areas will be reinforced with rock to keep the trail from being washed away by storms.

This is not the first time part of Kejimkujik has been closed for repair in recent years.

Jeremy’s Bay Campground in the inland park was shut for all of 2020 to refresh facilities and infrastructure that had been used since the 1970s.

Sheppard says during that shut-down, Kejimkujik staff learned it was easier and safer to complete large-scale renovations without visitors around.

Sheppard expects work on Keji Seaside to wrap up near the end of December.

Visitors will once again be welcome to walk the trails and explore the coast early in the new year.

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MP Bernadette Jordan. Photo Ed Halverson

The Government of Canada continues to support Kejimkujik through a series of announcements.

This week, the MP for South Shore-St. Margaret’s and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan announced 2,000 trees will be planted in Keji as part of government’s initiative to plant 2 billion trees across the nation.

Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site is surrounded by Acadian forest and Jordan says the species of trees to be planted are chosen based on what is appropriate for the location.

“It’s important that when we’re planting trees were doing it in collaboration with the communities to make sure that we’re planting the right trees. It’s not just about planting a tree, it’s about making sure that you’re putting the right ones for the environment that you live in and that you work in and play in so that they match what we need to see,” said Jordan.

Keji will see several species like red oak, yellow birch and sugar maple planted to help the Acadian forest become more resilient.

Government has set targets for the 2 billion tree planting initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12 megatonnes annually by 2050, while also generating up to 4,300 jobs.

At the end of June Minister Jordan was again at Kejimkujik to announce $1.16 million in federal infrastructure renewal funding to help rebuild part of the park damaged by post-tropical storm Dorian in the fall of 2019.

Visitors will see a new climate-resilient, permanent pedestrian bridge built along the Mersey River trail after the former floating pedestrian bridge at Mills Falls had become susceptible to storm damage following Dorian.

Unfortunately for some visitors, the Mills Falls day-use park and part of the trail will be closed while the area is under construction.

Jordan explains any construction in a national park comes with challenges.

“Getting the infrastructure into the park, they don’t want to put in a road, so of course, there’s a lot of different things that they have to do to make it work and it’s very exciting to see it happening in Keji,” said Jordan.

Dorian also damaged the Seaside trail network causing coastal erosion and trail undercutting, washouts, strewn boulders, and loss of headland surface.

Part of the announced funding will cover the cost of repairing damage to both the Harbour Rocks Trail and the Port Joli Head Trail at the Seaside.

These announcements come on the heels of the reopening of Jeremy’s Bay Campground. The area was closed for a year to update water infrastructure and washrooms dating back to their original construction in the 1970s.

The federal government poured $10 million into Kejimkujjik to bring that infrastructure up to modern standards.

Jordan calls that money well spent.

“Everybody loves Keji, I don’t know anybody that doesn’t. It’s an absolute jewel in Nova Scotia. We’ve invested significantly in Keji in the last six years, making sure that they have what they need to continue to grow and meet the needs of the park.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Front country rustic cabin at Kejimkujik National Park. Photo Parks Canada

Campers looking forward to booking their summer excursions in Canada’s national parks will have to wait until spring to do so.

Parks Canada has announced campsite bookings, which normally open in January have been pushed back to April due to COVID-19.

Visitor Experience Manager at Kejimkujik National Park Sophie Borcoman says they want to give campers flexibility in their planning because of the uncertainty around what the pandemic precautions may look like next year.

“This year, across the country, we’re giving visitors the opportunity to make more informed decisions for their vacation plans for 2021 by not opening the reservation system until April,” said Borcoman.

The pandemic has been a bit a boon to Kejimkujik as people looked for ways to get out of the house.

“We had a lot of people coming out, especially from Halifax, who wanted to have an experience outdoors and be outside, and for many of them, it was the first time for them to experience Keji, this summer,” said Borcoman.

That experience looked different this year as Keji’s main camping area, Jeremy’s Bay, was closed for extensive renovations.

Washrooms, wastewater management and water treatment plants and the accompanying infrastructure that had been in place since the 1970s was torn down, dug up and replaced with modern facilities.

Borcoman says because most of the renos were being done outside, their contractors were able to work through the lockdowns and they’re on track to re-open the campground this spring.

New water treatment facility at Kejimkujik. Photo credit Parks Canada

The number of visitors to Keji was about a third of what the park would normally see in the summer season, but Borcoman is impressed that many people came out to enjoy the national park even without facilities.

“The fact that the front-country campground was closed, it didn’t seem to affect the backcountry at all,” said Borcoman. “So we had really good visitation in our backcountry this season. People had lots of space to do their own thing in a socially distanced way.”

Borcoman said the park will close for the winter but the gates will be open and people can still enjoy the trails for hiking, skiing and snowshoeing.

The reservation system will be open for summer bookings at 8:00am Friday, April 23.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

Three generations of the Labrador family paddle the newly finished canoe. Photo credit: Ed Halverson

A gathering of friends and selected media were on hand to watch a master Mi’kmaq canoe builder launch his biggest vessel to date.

Todd Labrador spent the summer at Kejimkujik National Park crafting a 21 and a half foot long birch bark canoe along with his daughter Melissa, her husband Corbin Hart and grandchildren Nakuset and Tepkunaset.

Labrador said the high-sided canoe is three feet wide, and even at 21 feet long, doesn’t come close to those his ancestors built, some of which reached up to 30 feet in length.

“You know they would’ve paddled across the Bay of Fundy, along the Atlantic coast to Prince Edward Island and to Newfoundland in birch bark canoes,” said Labrador.

The canoe has no seats but is built to fit five adults sitting or kneeling low, which helps to keep it stable.

“If you put lots of weight in a canoe it also makes it very stable,” said Labrador. “So this canoe, you know, I always say it will take the mother, the father, the grandparents, the children and a moose.”

It’s that ability to transport a large number of people and supplies along the regions many waterways that made the birch bark canoe the equivalent of the modern day station wagon.

Labrador family members daughter Melissa, grandchildren Tepkunaset and Nakuset and Todd with canoe. Photo credit: Ed Halverson

Building a canoe of this size was a learning experience for Labrador.

While he still used traditional materials such as birch bark, spruce root and cedar, most of which are sourced locally, he needed to learn how to apply heat in just the right way to make the thicker bark bend the way he needed.

Before he took up the craft, Labrador said it was over a hundred years since the last birch bark canoe was made in Kejimkujik.

He has built a dozen canoes ranging in size from two feet up to seven feet. Many of those are in museums or on display on First Nations. He is not sure yet where this canoe will make its home.

“We always say in the end the canoe will end up where it’s meant to be. But I’m going to paddle this canoe as often as I can and eventually it may end up in a museum or a First Nations community,” said Labrador. “That would be really nice if it did, where more people can enjoy it and see what their ancestors did. Maybe bring some good energy into the community that it goes into.”

He has a close connection to Kejimkujik national park having grown up about 20 minutes away on the Wildcat First Nation.

Todd Labrador and his grandson Tepkunaset smudge the canoe before launch. Photo credit: Ed Halverson

“It’s very special. It’s always a very powerful, spiritual feeling when you paddle a birch bark canoe. But to paddle it here where my ancestors were, actually my family for generations going back, they lived here. They would’ve been on the same beach that we’re standing on today. It’s very, very powerful and special,” said Labrador.

He is pleased to be able to share the experience of building canoes with his family so they can continue to carry on the tradition.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson