This fall, the Five Bridges Wilderness Heritage Trust organization turns 20. The non-profit group run by nature-loving community leaders was originally founded in 2001 to halt development on the Chebucto Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the original founding volunteer team, Wayne Rogers, 77, remembers its inception well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew that the centre of the Peninsula would soon be an attraction to developers. It was so close to the spreading city of Halifax and there were already expanding subdivisions around its perimeter. We thought, well let\u2019s try and save the middle as public wilderness land. It took ten years, but it finally worked!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2011, after years of working with several governments, conducting studies, touring, and assessing the old growth forests, doing water sampling on the lakes, studying the flora, fauna, and lichen, finally the Nova Scotia government under Premier Darrell Dexter, declared 8,600 hectares across the Chebucto Peninsula forever protected as the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA joyous celebration was held on October 25, 2011, at the St. Margaret\u2019s Centre,\u201d recalls founding member and active Trust volunteer Beth McGee, 79, \u201cWe all wore green t-shirts with \u201cWe Did It\u201d across the front.\u00a0 It was a wonderful time!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the Trust\u2019s Members newsletter, The Bridge: <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fivebridgestrust.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Green-Shirted-volunteers-at-the-celebration-in-2011.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n