Revolutionary Ideas Part 11 - A Way to Keep Keji Open In The Winter

One of the best things Nova Scotia has going for it is Kejimkujik National Park.  That's why it was a suprise when Stephen Harper and the conservatives decided to close Keji for the winter this year, as of Thanksgiving Day weekend.  Keji is a beautiful place to take in fall colours, and fall was relatively late this year.  A week or two after Thanksgiving my husband and I went for a hike there, to find, as predicted the smaller access roads were blocked adding an extra few kilometers to our hike.  The colours were at its peak and the entire park was beautiful.  Seems bizarre to me to shut the park for this period, and sad that it is shut for winter camping.  The area that Keji is in doesn't have a lot going for it economically so it seems like a cruel jab to business owners in this area.

The weekend of Jan 18 - 19 some active winter sports folks held an 'occupy Keji' protest, I didn't take the photo above (pinched it off the internet, thanks photographer) but saw the Harper snow statue with crossed arms as I drove by the park on the 19th.

It is sad that at a time when we're wholesaling our resources to China and there is a need for healthy lifestyles that the government would do this.  I get the whole cost-cutting thing, but Canada's national parks are part of what makes this country great, and they give residents and tourists a chance to connect with nature.

So I think I might have a solution.

Now that NS Power is pro-net metering, let's take them up on it.

I stumbled across this video on youtube explaining a relatively recent addition of a microhydro system in Algonquin Park.  The system in Algonquin is too far from the grid to allow for Net Metering, but I have a hunch that this could be realized in Keji at the waterfall near the visitors center.  The station could be between the waterfall and the road, this minimizing any impact to habitat as there is already some infrastructure there.   As explained in the video, water running through a microhydro system is diverted away from the source, in a fish-proof manner, and then returned to the waterway further down.  With the pressing need to be developing more renewable energy sources in Canada, a microhydro station would generate revenue, serve as an educational tool/attraction, and hopefully supply funds and more reason to keep the park open throughout the year. I don't know what sort of power a system at this location could generate but with such expensive power rates in the province my guess it would pay for itself pretty quick.

I might be wrong about this, but hey, its just an idea!  This might be one of those things that becomes more cost effective as technology is improved.

Here's the video: