Blockhouse, Nova Scotia

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Blockhouse in Nova Scotia

Blockhouse is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Lunenburg Municipal District in Lunenburg County. It was named after the blockhouses constructed by Captain Ephraim Cook to protect colonists following a raid in 1756.^[1] The final blockhouse in the community burned down in 1874.^[2]

Blockhouse is home to the oldest Waldorf-focused school in the Atlantic provinces.^[3] An independent school, it is based on theoretical foundations laid down by Rudolf Steiner and adheres to the principle that any child desiring a Steiner education (referred to as Waldorf education in North America) should receive one. It offers K-9 education and is linked to the Waldorf-inspired Lunenburg County Independent High School, in Mahone Bay.

A sustainability project was launched in Blockhouse in 2012:^[4] This was a non-profit, sustainability and community integration project. Working under the conditions of a lease granted by Lunenburg County Council, volunteers worked to show how an abandoned 16,000 sq foot municipal building could be transformed into a community hub: creating recreation space for families, working towards a community kitchen, presenting traditional methods in growing and preserving foods, incubating small, local businesses and dedicated to permaculture ideals and processes. Work occurred with straw baling, earthen plasters, use of surplus books in walls and floors for insulation, and experiments with solar showers. This was visionary project that had gained members across Canada and attention from around the world. It also received antagonism from immediate neighbors, was unable to maintain or increase its local support and folded in 2015. The land has been privately purchased and the future of the site is not commonly known.

Blockhouse is home to the Hinchinbrook Farm Society.^[5] This is a non-profit charitable organization and provides programs in therapeutic riding and Horse Boy Methods. Year-round equine assisted learning and activities for children with disabilities or on the autistic spectrum.