HNWTA Board

Effective May 2024

From left to right:
Joshua Cranford – Newsletter
Michelle Labossiere – Treasurer
Jessica Boyd – Chair
Linda Adamson – Trail Monitor Coordinator
Tony Cranford – Maintenance 
Jane McKay-Nesbitt – Membership 

Become a Board Member!

HNWTA is always looking for new people and new ideas to come to our Board. If you are interested in making a difference in your community and would like to see new trails built and greenspaces protected, we would love to have you join us! Don’t worry, you don’t need to commit to the Board right away! Come to one of our Board meetings to see how they run and what work gets done. We’d be so happy to have you bring new ideas and perspectives to the table!

More About Us

Jess Boyd, Chair

I grew up in Timberlea, playing in the woods and swimming in the lake with my siblings. We climbed trees and dug under rocks, we caught bugs and frogs and then let them go. Our explorations taught me to know and to love the Nova Scotian landscape. 

When I settled in Clayton Park in 2015 with my partner, I immediately looked for volunteer activities that would feed my love of nature. So naturally, I found the HNWTA. Pretty soon I joined the board, and I took over the Chair duties from Bob McDonald in 2017.

With the HNWTA and its members I’ve discovered new trails and the process for getting them built, I’ve learned how to write grant applications, and I’ve become aware of the varying needs of so many types of trail users. I’ve learned the difference between type A and type B gravel, I’ve learned how to update a website, I’ve learned about the many different government agencies that regulate trails in HRM, I’ve learned how to Chair meetings over Zoom, but most of all I’ve learned how important our local trails are to the people who live here. 

Come join me on a walk, let’s talk about what you want to see.

Jeffrey Roy, Secretary

My name is Jeffrey Roy, and I am honoured to serve as the Secretary of the HNWTA. I live in Halifax, close to the Armdale Rotary. Serving with the HNWTA allows me to be more immersed in two of my passions: volunteering, and enjoying nature while contributing to a positive fitness lifestyle. I made it my 'mission' in September 2024 to visit and walk all of the HNWTA trails. I began on Monday, September 2 with part of the Mainland Common Trail. I finished on Monday, September 30 with the Mary Clayton Trail. I became more deeply aware of how important it is to preserve areas of nature and trails for residents to visit and enjoy, especially in this time of extensive and increasing development. My favourite trail is the Mill Run Trail; I felt drawn by the sound of the flowing water all along the trail. I have two basic goals for my role as Secretary. One is to attend all meetings of the Board and provide a consistent presence,especially towards a quorum when a vote on something is required. The other goal is to provide as complete a record as possible of each meeting. This will enable others to have a clearer vision of how the Board functions. I am the Vice President of Education at a local Toastmasters (public speaking) club, and I attend meetings of two public speaking clubs in England and one in Scotland. I am on the Board at the radio station CKDU (based on the campus at Dalhousie University) and have my own show on Wednesday mornings.

Michelle Labossiere Treasurer

In June 2020 I retired from my career as an office manager/bookkeeper, loaded my cat and suitcases into my car and drove east from Kelowna BC to start the next phase of my life. Having never been to Nova Scotia I needed to make friends...during the pandemic it was going to be a challenge. While walking in Hemlock Ravine Park I noticed a couple who were picking litter. They explained their role as trail monitors with HNWTA. I was so impressed that I went home and joined HNWTA. Shortly after, I started volunteering as a trail monitor, eventually helping with the newsletter and organizing events such as the Moonlight Hikes and the Nine Trail Challenge. In the spring of 2021 HikeNS contacted HNWTA looking for a volunteer walk leader for their new project called NSWalks so I jumped into that role and continue walking every week with an excellent group of community members who have become friends. It all started by joining HNWTA.

I also volunteer with Elderdog, whose purpose is to help seniors keep their dogs in their own home, by walking their dog each day. It is a fulfilling obligation and I encourage anyone who loves dogs to volunteer.

My other hat as a board member is with the Scandinavian Society of Nova Scotia. We celebrate our Nordic heritage with events and always with coffee! I lead a Søndagstur (Sunday walk) once a month in the HRM forests.

I live with my adult daughter, son-in-law, and grand puppy and travel to see family and friends in BC annually. I enjoy reading, writing and am teaching myself to paint with watercolours, let's just say that my creativity is buried deep!

Linda Adamson, Coordinator of the Trail Monitor Program

I joined HNWTA seven years ago as the trail monitor for Fleetview and Cabin Lake Trails and have been monitoring both trails since. Hiking and walking have been a lifelong joy for me. I love being out in the woods and am delighted to live in a city that values wilderness within city limits. There are few cities that do. I am a retired physiotherapist who strongly believes that proximity to wilderness and trails makes for physically and mentally healthier citizens. Our 9 HNWTA trails are totally inclusive, free, safe spaces. I support with my volunteer time trails like ours and organizations that work towards sustaining our trails. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to walk my trails daily and see the seasonal changes in the birds, animals and plants year after year. It has kept me fit, happy and at peace.