At the 2025 Nature Nova Scotia AGM in Debert, our board and members discussed the need for a fundamental shift in how Nova Scotians view and engage with nature. Powerful voices in government and industry would have Nova Scotians believe that their well-being depends on unsustainable resource extraction practices and status quo land use planning, that solving the cost of living crisis means giving up on the biodiversity and climate crises, on arts and culture, and on community. We know that a healthy environment and healthy economy go hand in hand. Many Nova Scotians already know it too. We need these Nova Scotians to act. We need Nova Scotians to put nature first.
What Is A Culture Change Movement?
A nature-first culture shares a commitment to caring for, stewarding, and protecting the lands and waters we love. Citizens view stewardship as being rooted in respect, humility, gratitude, and social justice. It values fairness, collaboration, and collective well-being, with decisions guided by multi-generation thinking and meaningfully integrated with calls to truth and reconciliation. A nature-first culture doesn’t view human wellbeing as being in conflict with the natural world, but people as part of an interconnected living system.
A culture change movement is an antidote to the sense of isolation, despair, and powerlessness many of us feel when we see environmental destruction on the enormous scales we are seeing today. We are recruiting allies and champions of nature and mobilizing them into actions that shift public perceptions and encourage action taking.
Although changing culture may seem like an audacious goal, we are already most of the way there. How often do you take small actions out of love for the nature around you? Many Nova Scotians are already participating in a nature-first culture, whether its the small ecological woodlot operator writing their MLA about public lands clearcutting, or the bird feeder enthusiast gently approaching their neighbour about their outdoor cats, or trailblazing champions like Bob Bancroft taking our governments to court. We want to amplify these actions and encourage more Nova Scotians to put nature first.
You Can Help
Join the Nature Nova Scotia Culture Change Committee
This group of Nature Nova Scotia board members, staff, and volunteers are spearheading our work identifying and engaging nature allies, stewards, and champions in actions that move us closer to a nature-first culture. Help us improve our understanding of the issues most important to Nova Scotians, the opportunities available to us, and connect us with the nature champions who can mobilize other Nova Scotians. Apply to join our committee online, it only takes a few minutes!
Be A Nature Champion!
Nature Champions are catalysts – bridging science, community, and lived experience – shifting public perceptions of nature so that stewardship becomes a shared joy and responsibility. They are storytellers, action takers, and example setters.
Nature Champions use their voice, relationships, and influence to help shift attitudes, values, and beliefs in ways that deepen stewardship and strengthen collective responsibility. They tell stories that help people reconnect with place, reflect on our interconnectedness with nature, and reimagine our place within it – not apart from it. They spark conversations, invite participation, connect people and ideas, and inspire visible action that turns care into commitment.
Check Out These Nature Champions!
Bob Bancroft has been writing and speaking about wildlife issues in Nova Scotia for decades, on CBC, in Saltscapes, through his record breaking term as President of Nature Nova Scotia, for long enough that many consider him to be a foremost authority on just about any nature topic. He and partner Alice are also longtime forest stewards, donating nearly 30acres to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick in 2022 and, in 2007, winning woodlot owner of the year in Nova Scotia for their commitment to ecological forestry principles on their Pomquet woodlot. You can learn more about the benefits of land donation and easement agreements by checking out organizations like the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, or Nova Scotia Working Woodlands Trust
Hope Swinimer is a household name in Nova Scotia, known for her decades long wildlife rehabilitation work and the television show that covered her inspiring actions. Nobody understands the need for healthy intact ecosystems better than Hope. In 2026, we partnered with Hope to become one of our first Nature Champions and to launch “Hope For Wild Spaces”, communicating the connections between wildlife rehab and nature conservation at home and using Hope’s voice to reach more Nova Scotians. Learn more at www.hopeforwildlife.net
Are you our next Nature Champion?!
Are you a storyteller looking to share a nature call to action with your following? Is a nature-first attitude already a pillar of your work? Are you new to nature conservation but want to engage the arts and culture communities?
Reach out! Email putnaturefirst@naturens.ca
Be A Nature Steward
Nature Stewards are everyday Nova Scotians who choose to care for and make room for nature in their lives and communities. You don’t need special expertise or a public role. It can be as simple as protecting a patch of habitat, planting native species, creating space for wildlife, learning more about nature, reducing your impact, or supporting others who protect wild spaces. Every action matters. Together, these everyday choices can help create a province where caring for nature becomes part of who we are.
Check Out These Nature Stewards!
The St. Margaret’s Bay Island Community Stewardship Program is a network of volunteers who monitor, steward, observe and report on the community usage, wildlife observations and other noteworthy aspects of the islands of St. Margaret’s Bay. Eyes on Islands Stewards are members of the St. Margaret’s Bay community, and beyond, who possess a strong sense of community ownership and values with regard to the ecological integrity and diverse historical usage of the waters and the islands of St. Margaret’s Bay. Learn more and join the community effort!
In the last 50 years, North American bird populations have dropped by more than 25%. Much of this loss is due to habitat degradation but, in our cities, it’s also because of direct threats like roaming cats, vehicle collisions, and window strikes. Nature Nova Scotia and the Bird Friendly Halifax Coalition are working to turn this trend around by engaging residents in our largest city in voluntary stewardship action for birds right at home! Residents put up anti-window-strike kits and provide feedback to inform ongoing research. Join Operation Window Strike or help get new kits distributed to more homes.
The North Nova Forest Owners Co-operative is a private forestry co-operative bridging the gap between forest owners, logging contractors, and sawmills in Nova Scotia, providing woodlot management and marketing services for its members. About 300 woodlot owners in the Cumberland, Colchester and Pictou Counties steward over 75,000 acres. Ecological forestry practices are at the heart of the work the co-operative does, prioritizing long term forest health and business sustainability that reflect the values and desires of its private landowner membership. You can learn more about their work and how everyday Nova Scotians are stewarding forest ecosystems in this province by checking out their website.
The award-winning Wooden Monkey restaurants in Halifax and Dartmouth prioritize locally grown organic produce and source products from local farmers who share their commitments to human health and the environment. Jumpstarted by Hurricane Juan in 2003 and the dual realization that our food system is so worryingly delicate while local farmers struggle to get food to table, founders Lil MacPherson and Christine Bower set out to bring healthy local food to Haligonians. Years later, diners in both Halifax and Dartmouth can enjoy a night out and feel good about their impact on our planet and on rural Nova Scotian communities. Learn more about their journey.
The Young Naturalists Club is a province-wide natural history society for kids and families that engages young Nova Scotians in hands on nature learning. Their Nature Guardians program engages two small teams of “tween”-aged nature lovers in Halifax and East Hants in action for nature. Whether it’s urban green space plantings, water quality monitoring, or bat box building, the Nature Guardians turn conservation science into action achievable in an afternoon! Learn more and join one of the Nature Guardian groups.
Give Capacity To Our Movement
Culture change is hard, long-term work. Help us identify more nature champions and shift Nova Scotian understanding, values, and perceptions around nature.
Donate To Our ‘Put Nature First’ Fund
Support the work of our Culture Change Committee and the initiatives our champions take on. Make a tax-deductible donation and help us organize more Nova Scotians into action for nature.
Become An Ally
Show your support for a ‘Nature First’ society by joining our network of culture change allies. Allies give capacity to our work by volunteering their reputations and connections, space, time, and other resources to push our movement forward. Need some inspiration? Ally Peak Experiences is providing in-kind culture change planning expertise to our Committee. Ally Hike Nova Scotia shares ‘Nature First’ messaging with their network of outdoor enthusiasts. Allies at the Wooden Monkey and Big Spruce Brewing have donated meeting space for our strategizing and planning sessions. Want to become an ally? Reach out to Frank at putnaturefirst@naturens.ca
Help Us Understand Nova Scotians’ Values & Desires For Nature
Complete one or more of the input surveys below or send us a short video or photo capturing the place, wildlife, or moment that makes you feel most connected to nature. Whether it’s a playful fox, a favourite hiking trail, a spectacular sunset, a funny event, or your backyard birds, your story can inspire others to discover, appreciate, and protect the wild spaces we all cherish.
“In What Way Does Nature Come First For You?”
“Share A Stewardship Success Story With Us”
“Wisdom Of The Crowd: Designing A Nature-First Initiative”
Send photos or videos to Frank at putnaturefirst@naturens.ca
Share your survey response(s), photos, or videos by December 18th, 2026 and we’ll enter you into our nature-first contest!
Here is a list of our current prizes for best stories, feedback, or photo/video: a $ 200.00 gift certificate to the Wooden Monkey restaurant in Dartmouth, a $ 200.00 gift certificate to the Wooden Monkey restaurant in Halifax., a $ 750.00 gift certificate for a resiliency mindset assessment from Peak Experiences – The Learning Company, $ 200.00 gift certificate for a tree basket (diversity of native trees) from the North Nova Forest Owners Co-op greenhouse, and more prizes to come…
Rules: The contest is open to residents of Nova Scotia. Participants under 18 must have permission from a parent or guardian. All photos and videos must be your own original work and taken in Nova Scotia. Enter as many times as you like by completing one of the five “input” areas – simply ensure each entry is unique. By entering, you grant Nature Nova Scotia permission to share your submission, with appropriate credit, on its website, social media, and other promotional materials related to the initiative.
People Are Part Of Nature. Join Us.
