A new Boat School is to be built at Canada’s Maritime Museum of the Atlantic after a combined investment of more than $6.5 million from the federal government and the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation.
The new Boat School is currently under construction, and will be integrated into the Maritime Museum site on the Halifax waterfront.
Once complete, museum staff will provide workshops and programming in boatbuilding and sail training at the new facility for at-risk youth from the Mi’kmaw, African Nova Scotian, and immigrant and refugee communities, as well as young women.
Programmes for the Boat School are currently run out of smaller boat sheds on the Maritime Museum site, part of the Nova Scotia Museum family, which limit the number of youth who can take part.
Green standards
Due to its location over the harbour, the new Boat School will be exposed to possible flooding and hurricanes.
As a result, the construction will incorporate climate resistance features, including being built high enough to withstand sea-level rise and strong enough to survive a Category 2 hurricane.
The building will also incorporate energy-efficient features including triple-pane windows and a high-efficiency heat pump system.
The facility is projected to meet the standards of the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC).
“Our Foundation has been inspired for years by the passionate commitment of Maritime Museum leaders and staff to creating a Boat School for kids-at-risk from marginalised communities throughout Nova Scotia,” said John Hennigar-Shuh, President, Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation,
Financial support
“Sharing this Boat School dream and its community values with our generous donors, led by the Province of Nova Scotia, the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings programme and Irving Shipbuilding, has led to an outpouring of financial support for the Boat School’s construction and its programmes which has been both breathtaking and humbling.”
Funding for the new Boat School has come from private sector companies, foundations and individuals who have contributed $4,686,000 to the project – $3,061,000 for capital costs and $1,625,000 for the programmes.
In addition, the federal government is investing $3,269,400 in this project through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) programme, while the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation is contributing $3,275,000.
