LED Roadway Lighting Reaches Australian Market

Amherst’s LED Roadway Lighting (LRL) continues to expand its global trade with announcement after announcement of new projects, ranging from a trial with England’s South Wales Trunk Road Agency to a project outfitting a street adjacent to Puerto Rico’s capital building with its Satellite Series SAT-96M fixtures. With each new project comes energy savings for the company's clients and great awareness of the sustainability efforts being developed by companies in Nova Scotia.

LRL fixtures will soon be lighting up streets and roadways across Australia, thanks to a new partnership between LRL and PECAN Lighting Ltd. (PECAN), an Australian-based street lighting company specializing in solar applications. Together, LRL and PECAN will bring energy efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solutions to the streets of Australia.

"LRL is very pleased to be working with one of Australia's leading green technology firms," said Charles Cartmill, founder and CEO of LRL. "It's always exciting when you enter into new markets in different countries. We look forward to working with PECAN, in introducing our highly reliable street light fixtures, and helping cut down Australia's greenhouse gases (GHGs) and reducing the country's carbon emissions."

Is your community interested in learning more about LED lighting? Stay up to date with LRL via their website, or follow them on Twitter at @LEDRoadway.

  NS LED Conversion

On April 18 Premier Darrell Dexter announced that Nova Scotia’s roads and highways will soon be lit exclusively with LED lighting, which will reduce energy costs and lower greenhouse-gas and mercury emissions.

"Nova Scotia will become the only province or state in North America to ensure only LED streetlights are used on its roadways," said Premier Dexter. "Nova Scotia is already recognized for our efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The switch to LED streetlights is just another example of what the province is doing to help the country meet its greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets."

The province will introduce legislation to mandate the use of energy-efficient lighting across the province.

There are about 120,000 roadway lights in Nova Scotia. Most are owned and operated by Nova Scotia Power, with about 10 per cent that belong to municipalities. Research by the province and Nova Scotia Power shows that switching to LED lights will create energy savings of more than 50 per cent.

Read more about this announcement at gov.ns.ca.

Clean Tech Capital

Companies developing and implementing clean technology in Nova Scotia will have greater access to capital through a $24-million provincial fund announced recently by Premier Darrell Dexter.

The fund will be managed by Innovacorp, through its High Performance Incubation business model. The model has a proven track record of driving companies' performance by progressively funding them as they meet operational milestones.

"Knowledge-based companies like those in the clean technology sectors create good jobs, help grow the economy, and are vital to Nova Scotia's future prosperity," said Premier Dexter. "This fund will support the growth of emerging clean technology companies and move the province in a new direction forward."

Clean technology includes renewable energy, energy efficiency, air and water quality solutions, and recycling. It represents a range of products and services intended to provide superior performance at lower costs, while minimizing negative ecological impact and using natural resources responsibly.

Read more at gov.ns.ca and find a summary, video and audio clips from the April 13 announcement on the social media release page.

Productivity Training Gets a Boost

Nova Scotia businesses can further improve their productivity and competitiveness with assistance from a new program under jobsHere, the province's plan to grow the economy.

Members of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Nova Scotia Division will receive $101,760 for training. The province is contributing $46,185 of that funding through the Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive, one of two incentives under the Productivity Investment Program. The remaining funding will come from other government partners.

The funding will enable Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to offer Lean certification, which is training that improves productivity and ensures operational efficiency, to its members around the province.

"Increasing the skills of our workforce is one of the keys to making sure Nova Scotians gain the skills they need to make our workplaces more productive and successful," said Marilyn More, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. "Programs like this one are helping support businesses as they work to meet the challenges of today while preparing to seize the opportunities of tomorrow."

The certification training will help workers identify ways they can make their manufacturing facilities and other businesses more efficient. This will help their organizations save money and improve competitiveness.

Read more at gov.ns.ca

Tech Idol Introduces Employers to Student Talent

As the technology sector continues to grow in Nova Scotia, a group of successful companies within the sector have come together to challenge the province’s students to wow them with their tech talents.

Digital Nova Scotia, together with Equals6.com and a number of industry partners are hosting the first ever Tech Idol student software developer competition.

Open to all provincial high school, college and university students and new graduates, the competition will allow students to showcase their talents with some of the most innovative and creative tech companies in Nova Scotia.

Offering cash prizes, the competition is positioning itself more as an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with potential employers and participating companies to identify new and emerging talent.

Visit TechIdol.ca for full details.

Museum Tweets Titanic Distress Calls

Nova Scotia’s Maritime Museum of the Atlantic put a modern twist to a historic tragedy on April 14 as staff tweeted a real-time re-enactment of the wireless distress calls between the ship and the region’s radio operators. Tweets began at 11:55 p.m., the exact time the mammoth ship was reported to have struck the iceberg that would eventually result in it’s disastrous sinking.

The event was a dry run for next year’s centennial of the Titanic’s sinking. NSMMA staff undertook the project as they explore how new technology can be employed to educate and inform people of this and other historic events.

150 of the 1,500 Titanic victims are buried in Halifax, the largest number anywhere in the world.

Visit cbc.ca for the full story. Visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for more details of their other projects, exhibitions and events.

Landowners Learn to Harvest the Wind

Landowners across Nova Scotia are being invited to learn more about the potential to capitalize on the province’s growing wind energy sector.

Scheduled for April 29th in Port Hawkesbury, Harness the Wind 2011 is a one-day wind energy workshop that will provide information to people interested in installing wind turbines on their property or leasing land to wind developers, on a small, medium or large scale.

Read more about Harness the Wind.

MSVU Appoints Learning Disabilities Chair

Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) has recently appointed Dr. Jamie Metsala as the first Gail and Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Learning Disabilities. This endowed Chair is the first of its kind in Canada, and will provide Mount graduates with enhanced knowledge and skills to identify and teach children with learning disabilities in a classroom setting.

“The appointment of Dr. Metsala as the Chair in Learning Disabilities is an important part of the Mount’s commitment to research and education,” says Dr. Ramona Lumpkin, University President and Vice-Chancellor. “With the generous contributions of our supporters, the Mount is positioned to play a lead role in developing new understandings and responses to learning disabilities.”

The Chair in Learning Disabilities will be involved with teaching, research and course development in the Mount’s Faculty of Education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Metsala’s research and programming initiatives will have a positive and lasting impact on public education practices and on the children and families who struggle with learning disabilities.

MSVU will host the Atlantic Conference on Learning Disabilities taking place May 12-13, 2011. This conference will bring together more than 25 experts from the Atlantic region in the fields of psychology, education, justice and social work. Presenters will offer practical advice on how to support the learning, emotional and behavioral needs of youth with learning disabilities. Among the presenters is keynote speaker Danny Glover who will speak about his experience living with a learning disability. To learn more about the conference visit Bridgeway-Academy.com.

Increased Autism Supports

Nova Scotians living with autism and their families now have access to enhanced programs and services that will provide them with the best possible treatment, support and care.

Premier Dexter announced details of the province's Autism Spectrum Disorder Action Plan on April 12. This plan is one of the most comprehensive action plans in the province's history dedicated to enhancing services for people and families living with autism. The plan represents $5.5 million in new investments, including $4 million over two years to fully fund the Early Intensive Behaviourial Intervention (EIBI) program.

"We know that programs like EIBI make a difference, and providing this to every child who needs it is the right decision for Nova Scotia families," said Premier Dexter. "Our plan focuses on programs and services that will make a lifetime of difference for children, adults and families living with autism so they have the support that will make a difference now, and for the rest of their lives."

Read more at gov.ns.ca.

Atlantic Business Summit 2011

The Atlantic Business Summit is a unique networking and learning experience where business and political leaders of the Atlantic region converge for one day of discussion and interaction in Toronto, a high-concentration area for regional ex-pats.
On Thursday, June 2nd, East Coast Connected (ECC) will host the 4th Annual Atlantic Business Summit at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery Centre. Past Summits have included keynote addresses from Hon. Frank McKenna, Don Tapscott (author of Wikinomics) and John Risley. This year will be no different - with a finalized keynote to be announced very soon.

This year the Summit focuses on 'Innovation, Cooperation and Leadership in Atlantic Canada's Energy Sector.'

Early Bird Sale ends May 02, 2011 at Midnight. Visit easctcoastconnected.ca for full conference details and ticket information.

NS Artists Dominate 2011 ECMA’s

Nova Scotian artists and music industry professionals took home 32 of 43 awards presented at the 2011 East Coast Music Awards held in Charlottetown, PEI April 13-17. With such an exceptional showing, there’s less question than ever that NS is a dominant force in the east coast (and Canadian) music scene.

Read more from the Chronicle Herald.