What is Sustainability?
"Sustainability" means, simply, living in a way that can be sustained: continued for the foreseeable future without using up irreplacable resources. In terms of the Growing Green Festival, we approach sustainability as a goal. Our intent is to help create a future in which our community is living within the means of our environment, while continuing to thrive and provide people with their basic needs.
Few people would disagree that they want a future for their children that is just as good, if not better, than the one that exists today. But creating that desired future is not that simple, because of a number of global and local problems that are threatening the health of people and the places they live. These include:
- Environmental concerns such as climate change, the destruction of wildlife habitat, and the pollution of air and water
- Social concerns such as access to basic services such as health care, food, shelter, and education
- Cultural concerns such as a maintaining community bonds, fostering a sense of community identity, celebrating culture & diversity, and protecting our heritage
- Economic concerns such as ensuring decent living standards for all, high levels of good employment, and encouraging learning and innovation
Sustainability acknowledges that these issues are a very real threat to our community. Through recent consultations with the Bridgewater community, members of our town made it clear that we want to live in a community that is clean, vibrant, and a good place to live and work. We want to have a community that both meets today’s needs and prepares for the needs of future generations.
In addition, good sustainable practices:
- Are healthy and safe, and promote people’s overall physical and mental wellbeing
- Help other people in our community meet their basic needs too (e.g. building skills & capacity, fair
- labour standards, reduce poverty, etc.)
- Improve relationships and cooperation between people, and increase our sense of community
- Support the local economy
- Increase our ability to be self-sufficient
- Improve the places where we live (e.g. making them safer, more beautiful, and more accessible)
To learn more, or to learn skills and techniques to move toward sustainability in your personal life, simply come to the Festival and visit some of the booths of our many sustainability educators! There's lots to know, and lots of people here in the Bridgewater area who are happy to help. We look forward to seeing you there!
Volunteer!
Volunteer with the Growing Green Festival! There are lots of fun and interesting things to do to help make this community event a big success. To volunteer, please contact our office at 541-4390 or send an email to
Open volunteer positions will be listed here soon...
Contact Us
To learn more about the Festival, please contact us at
Faxes can be sent to (902) 543-6876, with attention to "Growing Green Festival"
Our mailing address is:
Growing Green Festival
c/o Planning Department
Town of Bridgewater
60 Pleasant St.
Bridgewater, NS
B4V 3X9
Festival Champion
The Nova Scotia Department of Environment is proud to be the Festival Champion for the 2013 Growing Green Festival! Their display at our street fair will focus on oil tank safety, as home heating oil is so prevalent in our area and as oil tank spills cause significant environmental damage. Spills are avoidable, so come down to King St. on August 17th to learn how to make sure yours is safe and spill free! There will be two fiberglass oil tanks on display at the street fair. One will be painted at the street fair as a community art project, so come and add your own brushstrokes! This oil tank will then be given away in a drawing, so make sure you enter! The second oil tank will be painted by an artist from our community during the street fair, then given away to a non-profit organization chosen by the Department of the Environment. If you would like your organization to be considered, contact Elisabeth Bailey at
A message from the Department of the Environment:
Oil tanks can store heating oil safely for several years if they are installed correctly and if you take proper care of them. If you use an oil tank, you need to check the outside of the tank for rust or signs of damage; protect the tank from weather, plants and anything else that might damage it; and have your heating system and oil filters checked each year by a certified company.
For more information, and a homeowner checklist to help you do an oil tank system check-up of your tank, check out our Homeowners Guide.
Introduction
The 5th annual Growing Green Sustainability Festival is growing... again! Our theme for this year is "Building a Sustainable, Local Economy: Take the Next Step!" This unique festival is dedicated to sustainability. It is a fun and colourful introduction to the idea that all people can live within the Earth's means, while meeting their basic needs. The Festival is organized by the Town of Bridgewater, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, the Department of Environment, and many community volunteers, organizations and businesses.
On the evenings of Tuesday, August 13th and Thursday, August 15th the festival will feature free, entertaining films with a sustainability theme. Friday, August 16, kicks off with a free concert and opening ceremonies in downtown Bridgewater featuring amazing local talent. On Saturday, August 17, from 10-3, Bridgewater's main street will transform into a fun and educational space. Featuring our largest line-up yet of exhibitors and vendors, educational activities, delicious farm-fresh foods, and lots to do for children and youth. Music is provided by the Bridgewater & Area Performing Arts Society. The day wraps up with a fabulous "Close to Home" pig roast featuring featuring creative in-season local foods at Wile's Lake Farm Market!
Concurrent events at multiple venues include an educational "sustainability tour" around Lunenburg County, a sustainability art show at the Blockhouse School, and free indoor and outdoor films. Grow Green with us - it's going to be fun, active, educational day! Admission for most activities is free!
Ever wondered how people power their cars on veggie oil or make their own clothing from scratch using recycled materials? Enthusiastic community members, organizations, and businesses are there to show you how you can do it all yourself using the best of traditional and modern techniques.
We look forward to seeing you there!
About the Organizers
The Growing Green Festival is administered and funded by the Town of Bridgewater and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. Numerous community and business partners make the event possible through their in-kind and financial support. The Festival is planned and managed by a team of community volunteers working in partnership with their local government.
Other Festival parners helping to make this year's event a success:
- Bridgewater and Area Performing Arts Society
- Bridgewater Farmers’ Market Association
- Cinema Politica
- Fresh Air Films
- Helping Nature Heal, Inc.
- Lunenburg Makery
- Mateus Bistro
- Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
- Select Nova Scotia
- South Shore Chapter of the Council of Canadians
- South Shore Public Libraries
- Wile's Lake Farm Market & Bakery
The following principles are central to the meaning of the festival, and permeate everything we do:
Green Educational Local Fun
The following are practices that we use to design our event:
Inclusive Healthy Interactive Inspiring Shared Effort
Sponsors
As a non-profit event with limited funding, the Growing Green Festival cannot continue to operate without the generous financial and in-kind donations of our Festival Sponsors.
We are pleased to announce that this year's Festival Champion (presenting sponsor) will be the Nova Scotia Department of Environment. Our generous Festival Champion has contributed over $3000 in support to our event! One of the criteria for our Festival Champion is that they are a socially and environmentally conscious business or organization, with a demonstrated track record of supporting non-profit community initiatives. Click here to learn more about what the Nova Scotia Department of Environment is doing to create a greener province. |
This year we have also received $1500 from Helping Nature Heal, Inc in addition to $1500 worth of in-kind services.
Finally, the following businesses and organizations have provided this year's event with in-kind sponsorship. That includes everything from assistance with advertising, to providing tables, to supplies and prizes, and many other necessities that we can't do without:
- The Lunenburg Makery
- Bridgewater Farmers' Market
- South Shore Public Libraries
- Fresh Air Films
- Cinema Politica
- South Shore Council of Canadians
- Bridgewater and Area Performing Arts
- Wile's Lake Farm Market
- Select Nova Scotia
- Mateus Bistro
- Windhorse Farm
In order to help cover part of our Festival costs, we are always seeking individuals, businesses and organizations who wish to become Sponsors. All Sponsors receive the equivalent of a charitable receipt for income tax purposes. Each year we also look for in-kind support (supplies, items, prizes, etc). Contact us for more information about sponsorships.
Previous Festivals
Find out more about the Growing Green Festival from previous years: