The residents of one of Nova Scotia’s oldest African Nova Scotian communities, their 85 historic homes, church and other community buildings will be better protected from wildfire risk with support from the Province for the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust.
Upper Hammonds Plains was settled in 1815 by Black refugees of the War of 1812.
The trust’s work focuses on:
- community-wide action, including a wildfire risk assessment and mitigation plan, emergency planning, a FireSmart Committee, community education, cleanup events and roadside fuel reduction
- individual properties, including free home wildfire risk assessments and the creation of non-combustible zones around homes and buildings
- shared community assets, including measures to protect the community centre, church and new housing, and exploring wildfire sprinkler systems for key infrastructure.
Today, September 4, Rick Burns, MLA for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, announced $199,000 from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund to support the trust’s work on behalf of Timothy Halman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.