Why do jokes about the Maritimes always involve changeable weather? What happens to important local weather knowledge as people age? The Fundy Biosphere Reserve knew that the climate of the region, and the people who worked outside all of their lives, had a story to tell.

For the past few years, the FBR has been leading important work on Climate Change, gathering and analyzing data on how the climate has evolved and how it will impact our region as it continues to change.

Why do jokes about the Maritimes always involve changeable weather? What happens to important local weather knowledge as people age? The Fundy Biosphere Reserve knew that the climate of the region, and the people who worked outside all of their lives, had a story to tell.

For the past few years, the FBR has been leading important work on Climate Change, gathering and analyzing data on how the climate has evolved and how it will impact our region as it continues to change.

From thought-provoking videos on the realities of climate change in our regions and how citizens can play a role in shaping our future, to forests conservation research, our work aims to produce public education materials and important capacity-building resources for our communities, so that they are better equipped to plan for and face climate change.

Climate Change in Atlantic Canada Videos 
Across Atlantic Canada, coastlines and communities are being adversely affected by climate change, and as temperature, sea level and storm surge increase, adaptation initiatives are being planned and implemented to navigate the impending storm. Listen to their story.

The Whitney Journals Documentary Video 
All over the Fundy Biosphere, people can become “citizen scientists” by regularly recording nature observations, like the Sussex-based Whitney family did for nearly 40 years on their farm. The FBR analyzes this data in order to chronicling the effects of climate change on the local environment. Learn more.

Forests of the Future in the Fundy Biosphere Reserve 
By planning ahead for climate change and planting tree species that have a better chance to thrive, we can help ensure that our urban and rural forests remain healthy. Learn more about how the FBR is working to create climate change resilient forest corridors throughout the reserve and encouraging municipalities, towns and landowners to plant tree species that will be better suited to our changing climate.

Videos and Lesson Plans

Book a Presentation and Training Session in Your School

Schools can request a free presentation and training session for their teachers by Fundy Biosphere Reserve staff on how to use these education materials in their classrooms. Contact us info(at)fundy-biosphere.ca

About this Project

Students in New Brunswick classrooms tend to learn about complex or major scientific events in the context of the United States or in the tropical rainforests of Brazil. The Fundy Biosphere Reserve wants to change that.

We’ve thus adapted our The Whitney Journals film, along with a series of short documentary videos about climate change in Atlantic Canada produced with Dr. Ian Mauro, to be used in middle and high school classrooms to give students an opportunity to learn about climate change from experts and locals with decades of first-hand experience.

The goal was to create a resource that teachers can use, with engaging lesson plans and materials, to foster environmental awareness and scientific literacy among their students.

While phase I of the project helped us determine where within the New Brunswick curricula - in both English and French - our materials were best suited and how to effectively deliver them, phase II allowed us to take this information and translate it into fully written lesson plans and materials for teachers to use with very little preparation needed. Since the fall 2015, we entered phase 3 of the project, dissimenating the materials as widely as possible througout schools in the province - as well as throughout the Atlantic Provinces. 

This project was made possible thanks to financial support from the Environmental Trust Fund. 

Sustainable Tourism has been a key project for the Fundy Biosphere Reserve as tourism is a major industry in the area, and enhancing the industry to make it both economically and environmentally sustainable fits well with the mission of the FBR.

We have delivered several projects in the past relating to sustainable tourism in the regions.

Municipalities are increasingly developing green plans and sustainable development plans with the aim of decreasing the ecological footprint of their communities. This is due, in part, to regulatory obligations as large amounts of infrastructure and development funding is, or will be tied to such plans. Also, more and more citizens are requesting green plans and putting pressure on municipalities to improve their environmental performance. Therefore, there is a need for a forum that would allow municipalities to share ideas, discuss new and innovative projects and learn more about the importance of sustainability plans, on local and regional scales.

For this project, the FBR is building on the outcomes of a recent conference called Adaptations and Actions, held in February of 2009. This conference identified the need for municipalities to develop sustainability plans, and highlighting the lack of information provided to the municipalities on the contents of these plans. The objective of the Sustainable Development Forum for Municipalities is to provide the opportunity for municipalities in the FBR to learn about sustainability planning.

PROJECT CONCEPT

The Sustainable Development Forum for Municipalities was a one day event reserved for municipal governments and community planners within the FBR to learn about Integrated Community Sustainability Planning. Each municipality had the opportunity to present and discuss their own sustainable development initiatives, and learn from others best practices. Through presentations, discussions and networking activities, it was hoped that municipalities with common objectives would generate new ideas and launch new projects together with shared resources. One of the main outcomes of this exercise was the building of a consensus between municipalities that more resources need to become available as well as information pertaining to the obtaining the access to funding.

Denny Richard also presented “Thinking Green”, a presentation on how the town of Bouctouche conceptualized a series of environmental initiatives within their communities. Mr. Richard spoke of challenges, strengths and weaknesses as well as the general steps needed to build such plans. He also explained several of the initiatives taking place in Bouctouche in addition to demonstrating where the town was headed in terms of sustainable development.

Kuli Malhotra from Antigonish Sustainable Development also provided a presentation on the process of implementation as well as available funding sources to conduct initial studies. Some discussions on the importance of a regional approach for sustainability plans occurred, as the activities in one municipality will have significant impacts on the surrounding areas.

All in all, the day was a success. Many issues and concerns were highlighted and the most pressing problems were established. The day ended with a general feedback that the FBR needs to provide more resources to the communities in the biosphere region as well as the methodology on how to get funding for Intergrated Community Sustainable Planning and other sustainable development initiatives.

OUTCOMES OF THE EVENT

1. Sharing of knowledge, experiences on best practices.
2. Provide municipalities with information on sustainability plans.
3. Discuss regional cooperation in sustainability plans.

EVENT LOCATION AND TIMELINE

The Sustainable Development Forum for Municipalities was held:
June 25th, 2009 starting at 9:00 AM and ending at 4:00 PM.
Memramcook Institute,Memramcook, NB.

ADVISORY PLANNING COMMITTEE

• Yves Gagnon, Chair – K.C. Irving Chair in Sustainable Development, Université de Moncton
• Andrew Spring, Executive Director, FBR
• Paul Bogaard, Vice Chair, Fundy Biosphere Reserve
• Yolande LeBlanc, Memramcook
• Tania Kotyk, Project Assistant, FBR
• Heather Hawker, City of Moncton

CHAIR OF THE EVENT

Paul Bogaard, Vice Chair, Fundy Biosphere Reserve

PARTICIPANTS:

The Sustainable Development Forum for Municipalities was reserved to the 14 municipalities in the FBR, represented by the mayor (or other elected official) and/or an employee (responsible for the environment).

Municipalities

• City of Dieppe
• City of Moncton
• City of Riverview
• Fort Folly First Nations
• Town of Sackville
• Town of Sussex
• Village of Alma
• Village of Port Elgin
• Village of Dorchester
• Village of Hillsborough
• Village of Memramcook
• Village of Petitcodiac
• Village of Riverside Albert
• Village of Sussex Corner
• Village of St Martins
• Village of Elgin
• Village of Salisbury

Additionally, other New Brunswick Agencies, local Community Economic Development Agencies, and other stakeholder groups were invited to attend.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The mandate of the Fundy Biosphere Reserve (FBR) is to enhance community sustainability and resource decision-making capacity through education, outreach, environmental and socio-economic monitoring and research. The overall goal is the conservation of the cultural heritage and natural resources of the NB upper Bay of Fundy region while helping to reconcile changing human-environmental issues and concerns. In order to achieve this, the FBR works with a cross-sectional diversity of stakeholders in the region to promote sustainable development and the conservation of biodiversity through its outreach and communication activities.

PROJECT CONCEPT

NGOs play an important role in our region by promoting awareness, educating the public and conducting research on a wide range of environmental, economic and social issues facing our communities. A large quantity of information and resources are made available by these organisations through various outlets such as public meetings, seminars, reports, brochures and websites. Such information, resources and knowledge could be used more efficiently through partnerships and collaborative projects between NGOs. The Sustainable Development Forum for NGOs is a one day event reserved for NGOs who wish to briefly present their projects and activities to other organisations, while at the same time learning about other’s activities. The goal is to share knowledge and ideas with similar organisations in the FBR region. Through discussions and networking activities, it is hoped that organisations with common objectives or initiatives will generate new ideas and launch new projects together, with shared resources.

OUTCOMES OF THE EVENT

1. Enhancement of dialogue between NGOs with a mandate aligned with the objectives of the FBR.
2. Sharing of knowledge, experiences and operating practices.
3. Be a catalyst for new collaboration and synergies on common ideas and projects.

The Local Food Project centers around our Local Food Forum that took place March 21st, 2010. This forum was a one day event that brought together farmers, restaurants, tourism operators, NGO's and other interest groups to discuss the local food issue. This Forum had a great turn out, and brought excellent discussion to the table.

The Local Food Forum aimed to educate the attendees on Local Food issues, such as access, education, distribution, food security as well as what initiatives that are taking place in our communities plus what still needs to be done. Another discussion included ideas on what could be done to promote and distribute local food throughout the Fundy Biosphere Reserve. The presenters of the Forum shared knowledge and promising practices regarding activities supporting our local food system, and addressed strategies and opportunities surrounding local food.

Across Atlantic Canada, coastlines and communities are being adversely affected by climate change, and as temperature, sea level and storm surge increase, adaptation initiatives are being planned and implemented to navigate the impending storm. This is their story.

In 2011, with funding from the NB Environmental Trust Fund, FBR Conservation Program Manager Ben Phillips began to interview local climate knowledge-holders, such as beekeepers, farmers, snowplow drivers, fishers, gardeners, and First Nations elders. The project also included some climate data  analysis to explain these local trends in our weather, such as temperature highs and lows, snow fall and melt dates, number of drought days, and rain event amounts and duration.

The project rapidly evolved into an exciting collaboration between the FBR and Dr. Ian Mauro (previously the Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change at Mount Allison University, now Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Winnipeg).

Ben’s interviews were documented by Dr. Ian Mauro’s multimedia research team, along with other weather and climate related content from Atlantic Canada. Working with Mauro’s team, a year’s worth of video footage has been carefully assembled into short documentary films, which aim to increase awareness about the real world experiences of coastal communities, and how they are on the front lines of climate change and responding to it.

New! Planting Guide for a Climate Change Resilient Forest

By planning ahead for climate change and planting tree species that have a better chance to thrive, we can help ensure that there will be healthy and beautiful trees in our neighborhoods and parks as well as in the forest, to be enjoyed by generations to come. If you would like to plant trees on your land, please take a look at our informative pamphlet below. 

Forest of the Future in the Fundy Biosphere Reserve  
Planting Guide for a Climate Change Resilient Forest
(PDF version - for viewing online)
(PDF version - for printing your own pamphlet)

There are also many great resources on how to plant trees and how to ensure trees remain healthy and thrive on the Trees Canada website.

Our Work - Climate Change Resilient Forests

Since 2013, the Fundy Biosphere Reserve has shifted its climate change work to focus on conservation and ensuring forest health in our region.

Through our Climate Change Resilient Forest Corridors Project, we have identified climate change resilient tree species and mapped out where those species are currently located within the Biosphere Reserve.

In the summer of 2014, we planted 2,500 climate resilient trees in key areas in the reserve to create forest corridors between the Reserve's protected areas. These corridors will allow wildlife to pass through more easily and also ensure that the forests continue to thrive as the climate changes.

We also hosted free outdoor workshops, where we presented our research and connected with the public, encouraging communities and local landowners to plant climate resilient tree species on their lands.

We continue to work closely with communities within the FBR. We’ve hosted open houses and other events to share climate change adaptation expertise and materials and we continue to disseminate our research findings. Many communities in the FBR are developing Green Plans or Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs), and can benefit from more information about climate change adaptation planning. 

Research report and maps - Climate Change Resiliency in Tree Species in the Fundy Biosphere Reserve

Report
Our report provides details of how our research on climate change resiliency in tree species within the Fundy Biosphere Reserve was carried out and gives all the project results. Tables and figures give important analysis of the results, including non-native species from southern Maine. A range of results for different climate change scenarios and various time periods are provided. Most importantly, the context of the recommendations are outlined.

Read the report here: Climate Change Resiliency in Tree Species in the Fundy Biosphere Reserve Region

Maps
Click on the maps below to enlarge and/or download. 

This "Resiliency Category Map" (below) illustrates the overall climate change resiliency score for each forest stand. Although there are five categories, only the categories of "prosper", "persevere", and "decline" are displayed here because we have so little forest in the extreme categories. Keep in mind this map provides results for a moderate climate change scenario (RCP 4.5) during the 2041-2070 period. Do you see what you expected?

This "Resiliency Percentage Map" (below) exhibits the individual forest stand percentages of trees that fall into the top two climate change resiliency categories of "proliferate" and "persevere." This map also provides results for a moderate climate change scenario (RCP 4.5) during the 2041-2070 period. Notice that the most resilient forest matches the other map with the most highly resilient blue shaded forests on top of the Caledonia Highlands.

This "Forest Corridors Map" (below) presents the areas where wildlife corridors would best be placed so they stay forested and healthy into the future. These corridors would allow wildlife to shift territories, migrate and transition to more appropriate climatic zones as the climate changes. Our forest resiliency layer was combined with a landscape resiliency layer as the basis for corridor placement, connecting protected areas and areas outside the FBR. This is a first draft of the corridor map and we are looking for your feedback and how we can incorporate "working lands" into an effective wildlife corridor system. Do you own land in these proposed corridors? What kind of wildlife do you see there?