St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association

The St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association (SMBSA) provides stewardship and management of the St. Margaret’s Bay watershed. Its mandate includes supporting the Bay’s physical spaces, such as its forests, islands, wilderness, rivers, and trails, but also less tangible assets like the Bay’s culture, history, and heritage.

The SMBSA coordinates community-based programs with more than 300 trained volunteers and over 250 casual volunteers contributing close to 5,000 hours each year. Rather than focusing on rules and enforcement, programs aim to cultivate a shared understanding of how best to engage with these community spaces without “loving them to death.”

The group’s catchment area is the watershed of St. Margaret’s Bay, which includes areas from the eastern side of the Aspotogan Peninsula to the western side of the Chebucto Peninsula.

In addition to its Ingram River Wilderness Area Campaign and Ingram River Restoration programs, the SMBSA manages stewardship programs for Micou’s Island and Troop Island, Bluff Trail, and Eyes on Islands: St. Margaret’s Bay Islands Community Stewardship Program.