Volunteering

Here are some of the ways Minga has volunteered in recent times:

• Donated a half-day guided natural history walk to raise funds for a Syrian refugee family
• Director of the Biosphere Northeast Trails Association, an organization established to expand the network of trails in Victoria County.   The current focus of the association is to work with the Wagmatcook First Nation in the planning and development of a hiking trail to Humes River (+ page 2) and McNaughton Brook Falls in the Humes River Wilderness Area.  I was the lead writer and organiser of a grant application to MEC, assisted with public consultations, wrote an ecological description of the proposed route, led walks into the area, acted as interim secretary, scoped out scenic areas for potential trails, and mapped and wrote up trail reports.
• Vice President of the Board of Nature Nova Scotia since May, 2014.
• Led a group of 24 people on a guided hike to Humes River Falls on May 30th, 2015. The 60 foot falls are within the Humes River Wilderness Protected Area, and at present, are only accessible by bushwacking.
• Led a group of 13 people on a guided snowshoe hike to Humes River Falls on March 21, 2015.
• Led a guided snowshoe hike on March 1, 2015 into the MacRae Brook Nature Reserve in Victoria County for the Winter Active Fest 2015.
• On behalf of the Bras d’Or Stewardship Society, attended a 2 day workshop on biomass at Cape Breton University and wrote an article about it in their semi-annual newsletter, the Blue Heron.
• Wrote an article about the unfortunate closure of a Victoria County hardwood flooring mill for the Victoria Standard.
• Wrote an op-ed in the Chronicle Herald regarding hardwood management in Nova Scotia and the recent closures of 2 hardwood flooring mills in Nova Scotia.
• Submitted a review of a proposal for active transportation routes in Port Hawkesbury, worked with a consultant to plan active transportation links between the strait area community college campus and the town, and worked with a town planner on mapping and reviving the town network of walking trails.
• Led a guided walk to Uisge Ban Falls for the Annual General Meeting of Nature Nova Scotia.
• Ongoing employment support for 2013-2014 NSCC students.
• Helped with fundraising suppers for the Baddeck Volunteer Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary.
• Participation in the “Living Mannequin” fundraisers for the Cape Breton Regional Library