Nova Scotia wilderness eco-lodge wins 1st annual sustainable tourism award

Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia has won the 1st annual Parks Canada Sustainable Tourism Award at the Crystal Tourism Awards of Excellence ceremony hosted by the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia in Halifax on November 27, 2007.

The criteria established for the Parks Canada Sustainable Tourism Award reflect the three pillars of sustainable tourism; development-economic viability, environmental sustainability, and cultural appropriateness.  The awards committee found that Trout Point had made a substantial contribution to practicing and promoting sustainable tourism in Nova Scotia by:
Demonstrating a commitment to excellence and encourages an appreciation of and respect for, our natural, cultural and aesthetic heritage
Striving to achieve tourism development in a manner which harmonizes economic objectives with the protection and enhancement of our natural and cultural heritage
Cooperating with colleagues and the industry in promoting sustainable development
Offering tourism products and services that are consistent with community values and the surrounding environment
Fostering greater public awareness of the economic, social, cultural and environmental significance of tourism
Trout Point, which opened in 2000, operates an 8-room log and stone Great Lodge as well as cottages adjacent to the Tobeatic Wilderness Area in Yarmouth County. The Tobeatic is the largest protected area in Atlantic Canada and forms part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Since opening, Trout Point has engaged in numerous sustainable tourism practices, from using bulk dispensers for high-end BVLGARI amenties and thus eliminating the use of tiny plastic bottles, to encouraging recycling and having a grey-water system that feeds its on-site vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. The Lodge also encourages use of the Tobeatic and other natural areas among guests and is in the process of working with the Department of Environment & Labour to upgrade the local trails into the Tobeatic using a wilderness standard. The Lodge hires the majority of its workers from the local community and supports local farmers.
Trout Point also counts as one of the more luxurious properties in Nova Scotia. “We believe that environmental sensitivity does not have to mean a diminishing of guest comfort or service,”said co-owner Charles Leary upon learning of the award. Trout Point's other chef-proprietors are Vaughn Perret and Daniel Abel. The trio authored of The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia (Toronto & New York: Random House, 2004) and have offered culinary vacations at the Lodge for 8 years. Trout Point Lodge has been awarded a 4.5 star rating from Canada Select, a 5 Green Key rating from the Hotel Association of Canada's ECOmmodation program, and been classed as the No. 2 culinary vacation destination in the world by concierge.com/Condé-Nast in 2007. Only 4 hotels in Canada have a 5 Green Key rating.