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Located in the former Mahone Bay School, the heart of the community. Mahone Bay Centre is an historic building brought to life each day by the artists, businesses, fitness programs, and vast array of community programs offered for all ages. Whether you’re interested in renting our beautifully renovated spaces, participating in programs or visiting a variety of local businesses and practitioners, the Mahone Bay Centre has something for everyone!

Mahone Bay Centre: The Story So Far and the Next Chapter
Our efforts to reduce energy costs & carbon footprint

There’s no denying that COVID-19 has made the last 30 months difficult. Beyond obvious health challenges, the pandemic put the financial squeeze on many while simultaneously isolating us from friends in our community.

At the same time many Canadians — and governments — began to recognize the serious impact of climate change. The recent brush with Fiona, which thankfully missed our area for the most part, serves as a reminder that we can’t just carry on the way we have in the past.

To their credit, all three levels of government have recognized the necessity of providing financial help with climate change. And many of us have taken advantage of programs by upgrading the insulation in our homes, installing heat pumps and switching to energy efficient lighting, among other moves. These programs helped us reduce energy bills and lower greenhouse gas emissions. They also helped keep the green energy industry — a critical part of our economic future — active during the pandemic.

Similar programs were made available to non-profit organizations such as the Mahone Bay Centre (MBC). Over the past two years, we have invested nearly $400,000 in four separate projects to improve the energy efficiency of our entire building, while increasing user comfort year-round. Our energy bills are expected to drop by over 60 percent. Oil consumption should also fall dramatically.

The MBC Board of Directors had tough decisions to make: if we’d done nothing, we might have threatened the long-term sustainability of the Centre. We would have been forced to raise our rental fees to offset the higher energy costs. This would ultimately have run the risk of making space unaffordable to individuals and groups who use MBC on a regular or occasional basis.

Not all the project funding came from government. In fact, more than one-third of the cost of the geothermal project that will heat the old school building in the winter, and cool it in the summer, came from a very generous $50,000 anonymous donation to the

MBC, and more than $`17,000 from the Centre’s capital reserve fund. The bulk of the funding for the $180,000 project, which was completed under budget, came from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

ACOA also contributed two-thirds of the funding, along with Efficiency Nova Scotia (ENS), to an earlier energy-saving project completed last fall. After more than 110 years, the attic of the grand old building had more insulation added. While that may seem a small step in the overall plan, it had a significant impact on our oil consumption last winter. If the price of oil hadn’t gone through the roof, (pardon the pun), our energy bills would have declined with that project alone.

In addition to the Efficiency Nova Scotia (ENS) rebate help for the $13,000 attic insulation project, which was completed with some MBC volunteer labour, ENS also provided rebate credits for the two remaining projects that are scheduled for completion in the next month. ENS was encouraged by and supportive of MBC’s overall plan to reduce our carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels. Early in 2022, ENS committed to providing rebate credits towards the $46,000 project to upgrade all the inefficient lighting to LED technology.

Similarly, ENS made significant contributions to install heat pumps in the newer (1961) addition. This project will cost just under $150,000. A tip of the hat to the Town of Mahone Bay for installing — at no cost to MBC — two new power feeds from the street to run the geothermal system and heat pumps.

The Mahone Bay Centre’s Board of Directors offer our sincere thanks to government officials who made the completion of these projects possible, to the contractors who worked diligently to get the work done, and to the Centre’s tenants and visitors who put up with short term pain (and noise) for long term gain.

Now that most activities inside the MBC have returned to pre-pandemic levels, we trust you’ll be aware how much more comfortable you are, whether you’re working out in CentreFit, taking in an art class or playing Mahjong in the library. But you may also notice — especially if you enter the building from the Fairmont Street side — that the exterior is in dire need of fixing up. The rear wall of the old school must be repaired in the spring and summer of 2023, and it will be an expensive project. We need the community’s support to complete this necessary maintenance.

We also have plans (dreams may be a more accurate description) to improve recreational opportunities and landscaping around the building. We intend to work with the Town of Mahone Bay and Mahone Bay United as they complete the new Community Field and walking track adjacent to our Centre. With the continued support of the community, we intend to make what’s already a meaningful Mahone Bay destination even more inviting — a true gathering place for all residents of Mahone Bay and the surrounding area.