NS Government Release:
Mulgrave Road Theatre is receiving $500,000 from the Province’s Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund to create a net-zero community space and performance centre.
Agriculture Minister and MLA for Guysborough-Tracadie Greg Morrow made the announcement today, September 1, in Guysborough on behalf of Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman.
Mulgrave Road Theatre will renovate and expand the former Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation building in Guysborough to create a new arts and culture facility for the community and the region. The net-zero facility will have solar heat, LED lighting, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, be designed to conserve water, and will use solar energy to generate electricity. The facility will be an environmentally sustainable, welcoming and accessible place. It will also be an example of how community spaces can reduce greenhouse gases, improve Nova Scotia’s environment and provide social benefits to Nova Scotians.
“I want to congratulate Mulgrave Road Theatre on their vision and leadership to create a net-zero space,” said Minister Morrow. “Projects like these demonstrate local, community action to reduce carbon emissions and waste and make our communities greener, healthier and more sustainable. Our government’s Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund helps make community-based solutions, which address climate change and create a better tomorrow possible and inspire all of us to make the changes required to create a better tomorrow.”
The new space is expected to be complete by March 2026.
The Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund is available to municipalities, non-profit and community organizations, post-secondary institutions and First Nations communities to help them respond to and prepare for climate change impacts and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re so grateful to the Government of Nova Scotia for this tremendous contribution, one that allows us to be not only cultural leaders but also environmental leaders, and moves us closer to making our vision a reality for the people of our community and our region.”
– Emmy Alcorn, Artistic Director, Mulgrave Road Theatre
“The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, through the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, is pleased to support the creation of a net-zero performance and community space in Guysborough. The Mulgrave Road Theatre project is funded through the mitigation stream, which supports projects that seek to avoid or reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to Nova Scotia’s targets for emission reduction.”
– Juanita Spencer, CEO, Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities
Quick Facts:
— Mulgrave Road Theatre was established in 1976 and has produced more than 75 new Canadian works
— the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund was established on October 27, 2021, as part of the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, the government’s legislated commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, respond to climate change, transform how Nova Scotians produce and use energy, make homes more energy efficient and more
— the fund provides $15 million over three years for projects that help communities adapt to climate change, mitigate its impacts and help Nova Scotia reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
— the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities was selected through a request for proposals process to develop and administer the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund on behalf of the government
Additional Resources:
More information on the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund is available at:
https://nschallengefund.ca/
Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act:
https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/environmental%20goals%20and%20climate%20change%20reduction.pdf
News release – Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities to Deliver Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220414003
News release – Government Invests in Mulgrave Road Theatre:
https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220328008
