Environmental Groups Med". 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY GARY SCHNEIDER 
     
    
   
   
    
     It is often hard to know where the dividing line is between an in- 
     
     terest in natural history and concern for the environment. Sometimes it 
     
     is very distinct - you can be an avid naturalist and not be worried 
     
     about nuclear power plants. At other times, one interest goes hand in 
     
     hand with the other. The recent concern over the damage to streams that 
     
     feed into the West River by Maritime Construction Ltd. of Charlottetown 
     
     was raised by naturalists, fishermen and environmentalists. 
     
    

    
     On May 8-11, Diane Griffin and Linda DeMone of the Island Nature 
     
     Trust and I were in Ottawa at the 10th annual meeting of the Canadian 
     
     Environmental Network, a coalition of groups across the country con— 
     
     cerned with everything from the preservation of South Moresby to the 
     
     contamination of groundwater in the Maritimes. About 140 people from 
     
     all ten provinces and both territories came to gather and share infor- 
     
     mation and to meet other people with the same interests 
     
    

    
     While we don't have to physically deal with sour gas from Alberta 
     
     .wells ruining our farms or the low-level flights in Labrador harming 
     
     the caribou, but many of the issues raised concerned us on local as 
     
     well as national levels. Some of the workshops were: Wildlife Manage- 
     
     ment in Canada, Wildlife '87: Gaining Momentum, Conservation Stategies 
     
     Across Canada, and Native Views of Conservation. There were meetings on 
     
     the Environmental Protection Act, Computer Networking, Local Economy 
     
     Trading Systems(LETS), Herbicide and Pesticide Use in Canada, and many 
     
     more, far too many to attend them all. The CEN rented the facilites of 
     
     a Katimavik camp in the Gatineau Hills, a relaxing atmosphere that made 
     
     it possible to have informal meetings with workshop leaders and members 
     
     in between meetings. 
     
    

    
     The keynote address, "The Role of the Citizen Scientist", jointly 
     
     presented by Carleton University professor Heather Menzes and Nova 
     
     Scotia writer Donna Smith was a wonderful combination of humour and ser— 
     
     iousness, inspiring and entertaining at the same time. They stressed the 
     
     need for information, but through experience have learned that ordinary 
     
     people have large roles to play in making our environment fit for all 
     
     kinds of life, and that the "experts" do not always have the answers. 
     
    

    
     Monday, May 11, brought meetings with NDP Environment Critic Bill 
     
     Blaikie, Liberal Environment Critic Charles Caccia, and a 2% hour ques— 
     
     tion and answer period with Tom McMillan, Minister of the Environment. 
     
     er. McMillan seemed very open although I don't know how he could be so 
     
     relaxed facing that many people asking him for answers on a wide range of 
     
     subjects. He was quite ready to say he didn't know about something and 
     
     would reply to the questioner personally at a later date. He was quite 
     
     well informed on most of the subjects and was commended by all for his 
     
     hard work in trying to save South-Moresby from being logged. 
     
    

    
     The Canadian Environmental Network is setting up a computer network 
     
     across the country so that different groups will be able to communicate 
     
     and share information more easily. A modem has been purchased for the 
     
     computer at the Island Nature TruSt office at Beaconsfield and several 
     
     people are now in the process of learning how to use the system. I am 
     
     the CENfs representative on the National Steering Committee (replacing 
     
     Diane), and if you have any questions on the network or environmental is- 
     
     sues that I can help with, please let me know. My address and phone num— 
     
     ber (evenings and weekends) are on page 2 of this newsletter.