NOVA Chemicals Community Nature Trail

In 2013, NOVA Chemicals announced it would create an environmental legacy project to commemorate a significant milestone for the company. The outcome is the NOVA Chemicals Community Nature Trail – opened in Fall 2015 – an 89-hectare (220-acre) area that reflects the province’s Water for Life strategy and wetland policies. The area near their Joffre Site petrochemical facilities demonstrates how wildlife habitat, agricultural, industrial and recreational land uses can exist harmoniously together. With 26 interpretive signs sharing the Taking Care with Our Land message, the five-kilometre trail system provides an excellent opportunity for people to connect with nature. Never tilled for agricultural use, the land is home for native grasses, willow, poplar and aspen stands. It also supports wetlands and has natural drainage channels to Jones Creek, offering great habitat for birds and wildlife. The new stormwater-management system built as part of NOVA Chemicals’ recent rail-yard expansion to the west enhances the wetland and habitat capability.