HRM’s Regional Plan 5 Year review

APPENDIX I – HRM Regional Municipality Planning Strategy Draft 4, Jan 2014

APPENDIX J – 2013 Community Health Plan

APPENDIX K – Reaching Out for Mental Health: From a Rural Perspective

Musquodoboit Valley Business Plan June 2012

In 2011 the Agricultural Society saw an opportunity to become more involved in the future of the Musquodoboit Valley and take a lead in facilitating a community strategic planning process. They formed a sub-committee to undertake a strategic community planning initiative for the Musquodoboit Valley. The intent was to engage the community in discussions about what the future of our community should be and to create a strategic plan that works towards our vision. The goal is to develop a sense of pride in our community and provide a stronger economic situation.

The sub-committee has been working hard since November 2011 on Phase 1 of the initiative. Phase 1 began with initial meetings in the community to help determine what the topics of the discussion groups should be. Key community leaders were then invited to attend discussion group meetings on 9 different topics. From these meetings a better understanding of the issues and challenges each group faced and key ideas they had for future developments was gathered. Numerous meetings were held in January, February, March and April where various speakers were brought in who could provide other community perspectives, educate our residents on the topic and provide opportunities and ideas for discussion. Gathered research was shared and discussions were held with the groups to find out where they see opportunities in the future. These topics areas included; Small Business, Technology, Local Food, Community Housing, Forestry, Health & Recreation, Local Energy, Tourism and Community Promotion and Local Governance. Here is a summary of the findings and recommendations for moving forward.

Forestry

Since forestry has been a major part of the economy of the area, a group of woodlot owners has stepped forward willing to work in the interest of all of the many woodlot owners in the Valley, to find ways to better utilize the resources that may exist on their woodland.

The past few decades has seen a great increase in production of timber and fibre for pulp in Nova Scotia. This has put a major strain on the resource and has caused our woodland to be over-harvested in many cases. With the global demand for solid timber and paper products now declining, woodlot owners find themselves selling wood at prices that are near the cost of production, leaving nothing for their own pockets or the local economy.

The depleted resource coupled with depressed prices has brought about a change in mindset to many forest producers. There is a consensus among the community meeting attendees that current forest industry practices are unlikely to be sustainable. It is becoming clear to many that a woodlot should not necessarily be converted into an even aged stand of a single softwood species to harvested every 50 years, (as would be the practice of the major industry companies), but should be more diverse and produce a bigger variety of timber and non timber products that are less susceptible to low commodity pricing.

The public meetings regarding forestry have generated many opportunities for alternative forest products. A presentation by an expert in non-timber forest products has created a great awareness of the commercial potential of various decorative, medicinal, edible and nutraceutical products that can be found in the Acadian forest. There was potential identified within the meetings that included; eco-tourism, value adding to existing products, value streaming of timber products, etc.

It is the consensus of the committee of the Middle Musquodoboit Agricultural Society and the “working” group of woodlot owners, that research and development of higher value and alternative forest products, i.e. balsam fir oil, novelty items, etc., and the enhancement and value adding of traditional products such as; maple syrup and hardwood lumber, needs to be conducted. The need for a research coordinator/ consultant to explore the potential of niche markets for alternative product has been identified as being critical to the future of our resource based, local economy.

The coordinator/consultant would need to determine from the group what timber and non-timber products are available in the region, seek out matching opportunities, suggest marketing methods (such as the development of an online presence to market specialty wood availability), present the opportunities to the group and help them explore ways to capitalize on these opportunities.

A larger group of woodlot owners would be invited to explore these opportunities presented and it would be ideal if woodlot owners could work collectively to supply for various niche markets.

These market opportunities will allow woodlot owners to see the potential and possibilities when looking at niche markets. This will encourage them to think differently about their woodlots leading to a desire for better management, education, more market development and collective action to supply speciality markets.

Small Business

Small business has long been recognized as the driving force of the Canadian economy. The Musquodoboit Valley is no different. Small business owners in the region provide important services, jobs, money/spending and support to the local economy. We have an Artisan co-operative, a woodlot co-operative, small farmers (beef, poultry, produce, goat milk, syrup, etc...), store front businesses, home offices, service businesses, crafters and those selling products on commission. (like Avon, Pampered Chef) These businesses operate all around us but as residents we may not know they even exist nor do they become top of mind choices. Our small businesses need more local support and avenues to market their products and services.

A simple listing of the businesses in the region and encouragement to local residents and businesses to buy locally can only have a positive impact on our economy. We plan to develop an online business directory of local businesses. This directory would start off as a simple non-graphic listing that could be printable in pdf form from the website. Search engine optimization of the site would allow our businesses another avenue for catching organic searches on topics relative to their business. We would also encourage the development of local business boards (physical in key places within the community) and events that highlight the businesses. (like the co-op is doing) This initial directory or listing will be compiled by a community facilitator. The directory will be created by a local website developer using a simple word press template that allows for businesses to manage and submit their own listings. Listings would be monitored by HRM Recreation staff to ensure they are accurate and approve the listing.

Some small business operators are seasoned business veterans who will be looking to pass on their business to their family, others are new business operators who want to supplement their income, don’t want to travel outside the community to work, like the rural lifestyle provided in our area. These businesses need to be nurtured to become strong businesses that are less dependent on local customers. With the evolution of social media and online marketing the opportunities have changed and understanding these opportunities can result in strong business growth without having to move from the community. We propose to offer a series of training programs focused on developing a growth strategy and online presence. This program developed and delivered by Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship, is a 4 month program that combines workshops, online training and business counselling to teach a business to focus on a growth strategy and to use the available technologies to support this strategy.

The program provides the businesses and co-operatives with hands-on training and development of their specific businesses. They learn about target markets, unique selling propositions, strategies for growth, action planning as well as understanding and being able to use facebook, SEO, websites, etc....

The program would be opened to 15-20 businesses in the region and would start in October 2012. This type of program will bring many of these businesses into the 21^st century. Accessing this kind of business training typically requires businesses to travel to the city and since the demise of the Halifax Regional Development Agency business counselling services have not been heavily provided. ACSBE has run this program in other areas of the province with great success. The in-depth understanding of the value of these new online technologies and the ability to spend 4 months with a business counsellor actually working on the development o their business has taken the businesses who have participated in the program to a whole new level of business. The impact of this training program will have long term affects on the survival and growth of these businesses.

We live in a community where many of us have access to land that could grow our own food. We live next door to dairy and beef farmers, goat farmers, people who raise chickens, pigs and those who have eggs for sale. There are a number of people who live here or have moved here who want to farm, grow their own food, make a living and enjoy a country way of life. With all this right here we are still not a strong buy local community. We need to change that.

We propose to develop ways to match consumers (who want to buy local) with small producers (who want to sell locally).

This includes;

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  create a local food guide that highlights the local producers in the area
  
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  work with producers to explore the Community Share Agriculture selling approach
  
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  work with the local co-op to encourage the selling of more local products at the store
  
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  develop and implement a buy local marketing campaign locally
  
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  get producers to work collectively, with support from the co-op, to develop a farmers market concept
  
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  encourage and support community garden projects
  

What outcomes do we expect?

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  More people growing food to sell locally
  
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  More people making a living from their farming
  
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  getting more people to work together
  
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  more use of fallow land
  
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  more food available locally
  
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  supporting families to learn to eat and cook healthier
  
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  eventually these producers might grow their target market to surrounding areas
  
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  potential “Masstown Market” or “Withrows” to encourage people to the area, economic impact
  
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  stronger local economy
  

• 
  marketing support $$/experience
  
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  help to organize farmers market (facilitate the group to plan) $$/time
  
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  support for producers who want to grow (training, support) $$/time
  
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  experienced mentors
  
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  co-op willingness to participate (key food retailer)
  
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  community support
  
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  Local food guide $$
  

It is important to the people and the economy of Musquodoboit Valley to support our own local businesses and food producers. Our focus this spring is to promote the local producers of our area. Finding ways to let locals know where they can buy food locally, the benefits of buying locally and the impact it can have on a community is at the root of our desire to develop and implement a buy local campaign for the Musquodoboit Valley.

The development of a local food guide, both online and in print, would provide us with the information about the producers and their ability or willingness to sell locally. Gathering this information and then sharing this information with the resident of the community will provide a connection between the local producers and consumers in the area. During this process we could also promote and encourage producers to list themselves with Select NS.

This guide could be distributed at local events, at local businesses (or further afield), mailed out directly to residents, provided to tourists, hunters, fishermen, cottages and more. The guide can also become more than just a listing, it becomes and agricultural awareness piece. As with many other food guides produced around the province it could contain facts about buying local and how to get involved.

What we need to do;

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  determine purpose and intent for local guide
  
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  get information from the local producers (who and how)
  
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  develop a plan for marketing this summer
  

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  sampling products
  
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  place cards given out at local businesses
  
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  could the co-op be the face of the buy local campaign (posters, cards, etc...)
  
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  special events to promote local food (church suppers, festivals, etc...)
  
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  local food online promotion and ordering
  
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  farmer’s market
  
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  publish blubs in NS Dept of Agriculture newsletter and federation
  
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  distribute information through churches
  
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  at the hospital
  
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  major promotional plans at the Exhibition
  
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  Work with 4-H and agriculture awareness groups
  
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  chefs cooking with local food
  
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  food booth at exhibition that cooks with all local food
  
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  through the Towncryer
  

Residents of the Musquodoboit Valley know the natural beauty, heritage, culture, outdoor recreation and rural life style that this region has to offer, but do we want to share it. Is Tourism an industry worth growing in our community? What impacts might it have on the economy or on the untouched natural beauty of the region? We need to look at what we have and what others might be interested in coming here for. What unique experiences could we offer? We could then decide if we have what it takes to become a tourist destination and develop a strategy to develop the tourist industry in the Musquodoboit Valley. This could create opportunities for more tourism attractions, business start-ups, jobs, spin-off spending by tourists, utilization of existing community facilities, social enterprises and more.

This all starts with asking the community its vision for the community. This would be done through an open workshop that invites existing groups and residents to participate. This would be followed by an in-depth look at what is needed to become a tourist destination. NS Department of Tourism is able to provide a workshop on this topic and has developed a self-help guide for communities to facilitate this process.

Community Promotion and Coordination

The work done in Phase 1 of this initiative has taught us that a community needs to be involved and aware of what is happening in the community. It is also important to provide opportunities for residents to contribute to the development of the community in whatever ways they can.

Coordinating amongst community groups provides opportunities to share resources, work on similar issues, spread out the work and work together for the good of the community. Working along-side the tourism group, the community needs to develop a brand or identity allows the community to promote itself to tourists, business investors, residents, consumers and others. We need to look at who we need to promote our community to and for what reason.

With this brand we also need to determine what our community currently offers to residents and tourists. In Phase 2 of the initiative, which is supported by Community Jobs and Facilities Improvement Fund, a business directory, local food guide, community group directory and community events calendar will be started. This information provides an opportunity for collaborative promotion and we hope to encourage community groups to look for ways to work together to promote the area. This would allow us to be more efficient and possess a stronger voice. The development of community marketing plan would be the next step in this process.

Communication amongst groups and residents is critical to this process and we are seeking opportunities to maintain constant communication in our community through various online and offline methods. The methods are yet to be determined.

Volunteers

Volunteers are the backbone of this community. Many residents sit on various boards and committees working to ensure we have recreation and learning opportunities for our kids, healthcare services, outreach supports, spiritual guidance, senior activities, cultural events, community events and much more. The volunteers are over worked, underappreciated and constantly asked to do more. It has never been more important to look at our volunteer pool and to find a way to better manage these skilled resources and to recognize them for the contributions they make to our community.

The innovative piece of this project is the use of co-operation and collaboration to drive the work being done by community groups and eventually businesses in the community. To think about one central mechanism (possibly a specific community group) who can contact the various media outlets on behalf of all the groups in the Musquodoboit Valley once a month to list upcoming events is exciting. This would take the onus off 20 individuals and place it on one group to handle this task. The group handling the task will become efficient at this piece and will gradually find more opportunities and better methods. With the emergence of social media our community needs to find a way to benefit from this trend but as individual groups it will be much harder to accomplish. Collectively it will be easier. The skills needed for this function (promotion) can be taught and shared with others therefore increasing the community’s capacity. This new approach lets community groups focus on what they are good at instead of trying to do and know everything.

This process will allow groups to gain a better understanding of who does what, and where they fit into the bigger picture of the community. The micro-volunteering model will exist both online and in a physical location to better include all members of the community. We believe that a micro-volunteering system in the future could allow us to draw on the skills of people who have lived here, whose family was born here, who value the rural-life style and could become one of the cornerstones of our community promotion.

By creating this kind of co-operation using on and offline methods, the community will have more stream lined approach to tackling challenges and working together. It will allow organizations to share information better, reduce redundancies and create new opportunities that to date they’ve been too busy to explore. Overall, it is process that will increase the efficiency of the volunteer base, compared to the ad-hoc nature of the community as it currently exists.

We have applied to the NS Rural Communities Foundation to fund the hiring of a Volunteer coordinator.

Youth

Youth have been mentioned at the meetings on numerous occasions. Community members want to involve youth more in the community but don’t know how. We know that they have ideas and skills to share but are struggling to actively engage them in current groups or find consistent leadership for youth involvement at the community level.

A core group of five organizations (Musq Valley Family Resource Centre, Metroworks, Middleton United Church, HRM Recreation and Public Health) have begun discussions about how to engage youth in the community. They have come up with a youth challenge for the summer of 2012 to encourage youth-led activities and plan to use this momentum to bring youth together in the fall through a forum to discuss youth issues and ideas for community. It will be through this process that we will know what youth feel is important and how the community and youth can be connected together on their terms. Funding will be sought to help this group’s efforts to work with youth.

Healthy Community

We know that to have a healthy community we need health services, recreation, housing and arts & culture. We are fortunate that we have a number of groups and people who are committed to health services, recreation and arts & culture. We have explored some of the programs and funding available to help develop community housing projects. We are able to share this information and support groups interested in pursuing a community housing project.

There are already active energy projects in the works by private organizations and we did not see a specific role for this group to play at this point in time.

Although many people in the Musquodoboit Valley are being served with High speed internet, there are still many who are not. Nor is the high speed service equal to the services provided to other areas of the province. We see an opportunity to continue to lobby for

A summary of the library survey results have been sent to the consultant hired by Halifax Public Libraries, the Halifax Public Libraries Board and to Steve Streatch, Municipal Councillor in the hopes that they will understand our need and desire for a public library in the Musquodoboit Valley.

The next step in this process is to determine who (existing community group or individuals) will act as the lead for each project. The lead will work with hired facilitators to support the moving of their initiative forward. The lead for each project will sit on combined group who will meet quarterly for the purpose of communication and sharing. This information will also be reported back to the community so they are involved and informed. The group will also seek funding opportunities and supports for the various projects.