Long Lake Provincial Park Association – Who are we and what do we do

The Long Lake Provincial Park Association is a group of community minded volunteers who stepped forward to care for a new accessible park planned for Long Lake in Spryfield. The association is made up of a executive board and several committee chairs and members.

The Spryfield Business Commission’s Bruce Holland was initially contacted by Councillor Steve Adams to be the catalyst in gaining access to Long Lake Park, which was something that local residents had been asking for. Once the Spryfield Business Commission negotiated the original Operating/Management Agreement with the help of MLA Brendan Maguire. Developers Polycorp and Atlantic Developments agreed to work with all parties to develop the Lakeview trail system. Holland organized the LLPPA then the LLPPA became the Management/Operating Organization for a section of the provincial park. This section of Long Lake Provincial Park that LLPPA is responsible for is bounded on the east side of Long Lake from the grassy area near the Dam on Old Sambro Road, along Northwest Arm Drive to the north side of Withrod Lake.
Though the park is cared for by LLPPA, the area is still under the control of The Department of Natural Resources and subject to the rules governing Provincial Parks in Nova Scotia. Like all parks in Nova Scotia, the section that LLPPA cares for, must be closed to vehicle traffic during the winter months, and the park is not maintained during the winter. This is the same as Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park, Laurie Park, and all other Provincial Parks. Many people still use these parks during the winter months, but there is no snow clearing or winter maintenance done and users are using them at their own risk.
The ongoing maintenance to this section of the park is either done by hired help when funds are available or by volunteers. There are no funds available to LLPPA from The Department of Natural Resources budgets, and as the park is provincial, the city of Halifax has no responsibility to provide funds or maintenance.
This spring before the park could be opened LLPPA had to fix approximately 27 sections of trail that had washed out, remove 19 trees that had either fallen or invaded the trail sections due to high winds over the winter. Repair damage to the pit toilet in the main parking lot, and remove garbage that had been left in our parking lots.
Garbage is one of our main problems in the park, not garbage from people using the park, but household garbage that is being dumped illegally in the park. This has been an ongoing problem since the park opened, summer and winter; we do not have the funds to keep cleaning up garbage that people can put to the curb on collection day in their neighborhoods. Solving this issue will be our main focus this summer; we will be looking at the possibility of installing cameras and investigating any garbage dumped in an effort to bring those responsible forward to answer for this activity. We are also having a problem with the pit toilet in the main parking lot, people are putting diapers and clothing into the system, this causes us extra cost when the septic system has to be pumped. Please only use toilet paper in the toilet area.