Introduction to Sandy Lake and The Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park

“Big Sandy Lake” is situated in Bedford, Nova Scotia. The lake is a major water body within the Sackville River Watershed, and it’s health is vital to the ecology of the area.

Like most urban lakes, human activity impacts water quality negatively. Sandy lake is no different, with the general trend towards worsening water quality. It is, however, still possible to reverse that trend if wise decisions are made. A park like this cannot be replaced, but it can be preserved. A park like this benefits everyone because of its outstanding ability to help counter Climate Change and protect biodiversity and its unmatched natural features that serve recreation, education, and health of citizens.

Development pressure is placing the lake and associated wildlife further at risk of accelerating the damage to the lake and system. It is imperative that environmental stewardship is championed to slow and reverse this trend.

Most urgently, a series of events led the Provincial Government to include Sandy Lake watershed lands in their plans to solve the housing crisis in NS. Specifically, the watershed area that contains the 3 main tributaries to Sandy Lake and that protect the health of the entire system through to the Sackville River, have been designated a priority Special Planning Area (SPA) in the PC Government’s housing plan. Citizens and Scientists who know the area and situation well are working hard to have the Province remove Sandy Lake SPA from their housing list and instead preserve it for all time. It is worthy. See the article

The Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park is currently one thousand acres. It has been recognized for nearly five decades, provincially and municipally and in multiple reports and studies, to be a unique landscape worth protecting. The city continues to acquire lands to complete the park, but 1700 acres are at severe risk. In 1971, P.B. Dean was hired to identify areas “Unique in the Halifax Dartmouth area or important on a regional or provincial scale.” The Sandy Lake to Sackville River area was one of seven unique “jewels” – priority areas to be protected for their ecological richness and for community education and recreation. Time is running out for Sandy Lake.

Yet, the area remains unique and ecologically intact. The lakes are bordered by rich drumlins that support magnificent mixed, multi-aged Acadian Forest with significant old-growth stands and striking “pit and mound” topography. A wide variety of natural elements exist all in one place, and they are species-rich, including rare species and important turtle and moose habitat, for example. One is a big marsh lake, one a deep “blue lake” (Most in this part of NS are “brown lakes”) and the third a boreal forest lake, each with their corresponding wildlife habitats (an astounding 11 habitats in total) and all within walking distance of each other.

Just over 1700 acres are waiting for protection. The forests and waterways west and south of Sandy Lake were part of the original park “gem”. They are all that is left of this essential sub-watershed of the Sackville River. This area slated for development is where most of the surface water enters the system. Further settlement within the Sandy Lake watershed would make the lake inhospitable to the migratory fish (including Wild Atlantic Salmon which have now returned to Sandy Lake thanks to 35 years of work by the Sackville Rivers Association.), reduce wildlife diversity, as well as increase flooding downstream in the Sackville River flood plain. Already there are beginning to be closures of the supervised beach due to bacteria levels. So far, there has been no Blue-green Algae, but the trend is toward that.

To understand why it is important to preserve these lands and waterways in more detail, see http://versicolor.ca/sandylakebedford/lakes/

Halifax’s Green Network Plan (HGNP) identified the Sandy Lake area as having 3 important wildlife corridors in the lands west, north, and east of Sandy and Marsh lakes, including in the developer’s property. It is an essential sub-watershed of Sackville River system, which is one of the main natural corridors identified in the Green Network Plan.

Several organizations provide guided nature walks that feature the area’s beauty and scientific assets within Sandy Lake Park, and the area is used by citizens of HRM for multi-recreational purposes through a network of existing trails, including mountain biking, birdwatching, swimming, paddling, fishing, dog-walking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, to name a few. The rich ecosystem has five decades of scientific reports, ongoing.

The community and the public are working to save this irreplaceable natural area. From 2018 to 2020 the developers who own the essential watershed to the west of Sandy Lake were willing to accept a trade for other lands of equal value if the city would work with them for such a win-win solution. Some city councillors and others worked toward that, but key support was not there. The opportunity was lost. If the Province and city will recognize the importance of preserving this area, it is not too late.

We call on all citizens to let the Province and city know this is important to do now – before it is too late. A win-win to benefit all can be found it the will is there. For Save Sandy Lake campaign action please go to:www.sandylakecoalition.ca