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 in the Shubenacadie Canal and the Minas Basin, the lake is culturally and ecologically significant at the municipal and regional scale. The lake’s central location and proximity to residential neighbourhoods make it an important recreational hub for the Dartmouth community. Additionally, the lake’s near 1km length and north-to-south orientation have contributed to Lake Banook recognition as a valuable natural racecourse by international and national paddling organizations.

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has selected Lake Banook as the host venue for four previous Canoe Sprint World Championships. To prepare for previous padding events, there have been significant upgrades to municipally-owned facilities. However, prior to hosting the previous event, Canoe ’22, ICF organizers suggested the venue may be overlooked for future events if the infrastructure required to host an international paddling event was not provided.

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 common improvements that are recommended in several parks:

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

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

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.

Join us at our upcoming public open house:

Monday, December 2, 2024
5-8:30 p.m.
Kiwanis Grahams Grove Community Building (45 Grahams Grove, Dartmouth)

RELATED PROJECTS

In summer 2024, the municipality’s Environment and Climate Change and Parks divisions 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