Lake Banook Coordination Plan

BACKGROUND

Lake Banook is a large, freshwater lake located within Downtown Dartmouth. Banook is an anglicized version of the Mi’kmaq word, Panuk, which translates into “the first opening”. As the first lake encountered between the Shubenacadie Canal and the Minas Basin, it is culturally and ecologically significant at a municipal and regional scale. Its near 1000m length and north-to-south orientation have contributed to its recognition as a valuable natural racecourse by international and national paddling organizations. In addition, the lake’s central location and proximity to residential neighbourhoods make it an important recreational hub for the Dartmouth community.

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has selected Lake Banook as the host venue for four previous Canoe Sprint World Championships. To prepare for previous paddling events, there have been significant upgrades to municipally owned facilities. Though improvements were undertaken prior to Canoe ’22, ICF organizers suggested the venue may be overlooked for future events if infrastructure maintenance and upgrades were not provided. The municipality is engaging with the public with the finalization of the Lake Banook Coordination Plan. It is to guide future improvements to the municipally owned parkland surrounding the lake to meet ICF’s infrastructure requirements and the community’s recreational needs.

INTRODUCTION

The municipality is engaging residents on the Lake Banook Coordination Plan. A series of diagrams have been developed that identify improvements to the municipal parkland surrounding the lake. Recommendations are based on previous master plans and internal engagement sessions. The plan contains improvements that are recommended in the following parks:

• Birch Cove Park
• Oakwood Park
• Henry Findlay Park
• Silver's Hill Park
• Lake Banook Regional Park, and
• Kiwanis Grahams Grove Park

The feedback from the survey will be used to refine the recommendations set forth in the final plan which will be presented to Regional Council for approval. Once adopted, the improvements will be implemented over a series of budget cycles.

Click here to review the recommended improvements for each park before completing the survey.

The survey should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It has been divided into two parts:

• Part one asks you to rate your level of support for the overall improvements being proposed within the Lake Banook Coordination Plan
• Part two asks you to identify your level of interest in the parkland identified for improvements and proposed recreational amenities to understand the order in which they should be implemented

The deadline to share your feedback via the online survey is Friday, December 20.

RELATED PROJECTS

In the spring of 2024, the municipality implemented a naturalization pilot project within Birch Cove Park. If you have comments or concerns regarding the project, please contact Beth Bray at beth.bray@halifax.ca or Tracy Jessen at jessent@halifax.ca.

To learn more about naturalization and the project that was implemented in Birch Cove Park, please visit the Shore Up section on Helping Nature Heal’s web page.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For additional information, questions, or to provide direct feedback, please contact the project lead:

Beth Bray, Landscape Architect – APALA Associate
Parks & Recreation
beth.bray@halifax.ca