Nova Scotia Change Makers

Nova Scotia is the home of the hard working, talented and tenacious. Here are their stories.

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Amelia is passionate about connecting kids with nature and outdoor play. With the support of the community, the Nature Learning and Play Space was created to give kids a place to have fun, explore, and enjoy the outdoors.

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Tina Hennigar & the Now Lunenburg County team have a plan to bring people to Lunenburg County. Step 1? Find the perfect camper.

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Tammy Buchanan is opening doors for women in the plumbing industry. Oh, and fixing sinks too. Check out her story!

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Mike Johnston’s REDspace makes everything from Emmy-winning iPad apps to games and health care applications. See how this Bedford company creates a fun, creative atmosphere that makes people want to work there.

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A Nova Scotia company is squishing styrofoam into giant blocks and selling it to be made into new products -- creating jobs while protecting the environment. Hear the Valley Waste story.

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LakeCity Woodworkers is a social enterprise in Burnside making furniture while making change. It helps people with mental illness build skills and independence, and improve their quality of life by crafting high-quality, solid wood products.

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Cuban food in Yarmouth! Michael Carbonell is manager of The Shanty Café, a restaurant in Yarmouth that serves up ethnic food and provides job opportunities to Nova Scotians who face employment barriers. 

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“I just thought, why not us?” Hear how John Allen of Propeller Brewery “learned the hoses” and helped some other craft breweries like Uncle Leo’s along the way.

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Lyons Brook, Nova Scotia is home to an upstart microbrewery with a family history. Meet Carl Whiffen in part one of the story of Uncle Leo’s.

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Marjorie works with older Nova Scotians to help them live healthy, active and engaging lifestyles. She is passionate about challenging ageist attitudes and debunking myths.

“We often think of older adults in ways that aren’t true. Older adults are out there doing good in their community, they’re working, they're volunteering, they’re caring for their older parents, they’re caring for grandchildren…they’re doing a lot for Nova Scotia.”

Marjorie is an active community member, who spent most of her career working as an occupational therapist.

“I think we can be leaders here in Nova Scotia, and come up with really innovative ways to ensure that older adults can live and age well in their homes and their communities, to participate in the life of the community in any way they can.”

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Kathleen Quinlan feels she was called to Nova Scotia. She packed up her home and moved from Montreal to set up her business, Fiore Botanica. Now based in Lunenburg, Kathleen attributes her move to Nova Scotia to the proximity to the ocean, being able to live and work in a rural community, and a better tax rate than that available in Montreal.

“People always think the grass is greener in other places, but we have green grass and an ocean. It’s beautiful here.” - Kathleen

Check out Kathleen’s business at https://www.fiorebotanica.com

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A year ago, when Dave Culligan was looking for opportunities in Nova Scotia, he launched a passion project he calls Project 365. Every day Dave releases a video to Instagram and Facebook, and he’s gotten thousands of shares. Now companies are connecting with Dave to help them create online video content that connects. “Change your attitude,” says Dave, “And the possibilities and opportunities are endless.”

Check out Dave’s project 365 https://www.instagram.com/dave.culligan/

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Maddi MacDonald wants to make people feel welcome in their workplaces. As a co-founder of Positive Spaces and a current Positive Spaces facilitator, Maddi works with public servants to raise awareness and knowledge about the LGBTIQ+ community.

“I believe strongly that if we’re better informed about issues facing the LGBTIQ+ community, then as public servants we’ll be better able to serve the public,” says Maddi. “Every public servant is a person who leaves work every day and enters a variety of different settings and spaces...Positive Spaces helps them understand the challenges faced by LGBTIQ people in those spaces, outside the workplace. People really learn where they fit in the world.”

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At 17 years old Rachel Creighton wanted to change the stigma around mental illness at school. She started a mental health support group for students from grades 7 to 12.

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Daniel chose to start his big data company, USP Lab, in Halifax. As a newcomer he’s committed to meeting as many Nova Scotians as he can, to identify opportunities and get closer to the community. ‎

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Will Martin co-found WoodsCamp out of a passion for our forests, the forest industry and family forests in particular. WoodsCamp, which launched just six weeks ago, uses technology to help land owners better understand their forest, and what opportunities exist for them. Why WoodsCamp? Will believes, “The sharing economy idea is an interesting one … in order for WoodsCamp to work, it has to create value for the land owners, loggers and mills.” While the WoodsCamp timbre brokerage is in its infancy, interest has been strong and Will hopes to expand the business to other areas across the country. http://www.woodscamp.com/

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 Isaac Greenberg is in his second year of studying sustainability and economics. With friends Tobias and Yoon he went on an entrepreneurial journey. StartupBus invites teams from across North America to come together, jump on a bus, conceive a business and build and launch a startup.

The three friends raised money from their community and corporate donors to make this adventure happen. On the bus Tobias and Isaac formed a team: GlassTable. GlassTable conceived an app that connects farmers with fresh ingredients to local restaurants. This idea, and their entrepreneurial spirit got them all the way to the finals.  Check out http://www.glasstableapp.com/