Free Guided Tours of Protected Areas

People from across the province will have the opportunity to enjoy guided tours of some of Nova Scotia's protected areas again this summer.

The Department of Environment and Labour, in partnership with community groups, will offer several free tours to participants interested in exploring the province's unique wilderness areas and nature reserves.

Two tours are scheduled for Sunday, June 10, on Canadian Rivers Day.

A paddling tour of the Margaree-Lake Ainslie Canadian Heritage River, Inverness County, will begin at 1 p.m. Paddlers are invited to experience a great Canadian river with a guide by paddling the 13-kilometre section of slow-moving river between Margaree Forks and Margaree Harbour.

"Our province is blessed with pristine beauty and breathtaking wilderness and I am happy that we are able to showcase that to the world," said Brooke Taylor, acting minister of Environment and Labour. "We are committed to protecting our wilderness areas to ensure that they are enjoyed for generations to come."

The Shelburne Canadian Heritage River, Queens County will also be revealed to paddlers through a guided canoe trip that begins Sunday at 10 a.m. Participants can follow in the footsteps of the Tent Dwellers, a fishing expedition group chronicled by Albert Bigelow-Paine in his 1908 book of the same name. The three-to four-hour hike-and-canoe exploration will take in portions of Sand Lake and Tupper Lake.

To register for a tour, or learn more about equipment requirements and recommendations, contact the protected areas branch of the Department Environment and Labour at 902-424-2117 or e-mail <[email protected].>

For a full schedule of tours of Nova Scotia's protected areas or to find out more about visiting protected areas, consult the Environment and Labour website at: www.gov.ns.ca/enla/protectedareas/.