Restoring a Community Space

Rae Gunn did not grow up in Scotsburn, Nova Scotia. Still, her voice catches when she talks about it. “How would I describe it?” she says when asked about the small village in Pictou County. “I would say it's well known for its sense of community. I get emotional talking about it. I didn't even live here as a kid, but it is still really special to me.”

Rae moved there nearly 26 years ago because her husband, whose family has long ties to the area, wanted to return. Over time, Rae became president of the Scotsburn Recreation Club, a volunteer-run organization that has helped shape the centre of the community for more than 40 years.

The club began in the early 1980s with the construction of a tennis court and ballfield. The park sits beside the elementary school and near the intersection of three trail systems. For years, it has been where children played ball, summer students ran day camps, and neighbours stopped to talk.

Then Hurricane Fiona hit.

The Recreation Club’s hall was damaged beyond use. Volunteers worked through insurance claims and difficult decisions, but the loss also forced people to ask: What does Scotsburn need now?

A NEW VISION

A survey made it clear that residents wanted to strengthen what was already at the Scotsburn Trail Head Park. The courts had aged. The ballfield needed attention. The park had outhouses but no accessible bathrooms. Trails were drawing more visitors each year, and the park was becoming a trailhead hub without the infrastructure to support it.

The project found an important partner in The Sobey Foundation. The Foundation’s $25,000 contribution, announced in the fall of 2025, is helping move the work into its next phase, including the completion of the pavilion interior, barrier-free bathrooms and programming space.

For Rae, the partnership carries meaning beyond the dollars. “Living in our community for 26 years, I have seen the impact that The Sobey Foundation, Sobeys and the Sobey family have had on our community. So for this project to be considered and supported is very rewarding.”

Support from The Sobey Foundation builds on funding from the Municipality of Pictou County and the Province of Nova Scotia, along with insurance proceeds from the hall damaged during Fiona. Together with donations from Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital Foundation, community members and in-kind support from local businesses, the work has continued. 

REBUILDING THE PARK

Phase one of the project began last summer. The tennis courts were replaced with new multi-sport courts that accommodate tennis, pickleball and basketball. The pavilion began to take shape on a new site in the park, framed with local lumber stained during community work evenings.

When the timber frame was ready to lift, volunteers invited residents, including some who had served on the committee 40 years earlier, to help raise it into place. “We made sure that there were lots of opportunities so that people could be a part of it,” Rae says.

Places like our Trail Head Park in Scotsburn matter because they are open to everyone. They are where neighbours and visitors can gather, play, volunteer, and build the connections that make our community strong.

Rae Gunn, President of the Scotsburn Recreation Club

Support from The Sobey Foundation and other partners will help fund barrier-free bathrooms and flexible programming space at the pavilion. Accessible pathways will link amenities across the park, making it easier for wheelchair users, parents with strollers, and older adults to move independently. Signage will guide visitors who arrive from the trails. The park is also home to the Scotsburn Community Food Forest, a permaculture demonstration site where volunteers grow perennial food and medicinal plants. 

Volunteers have been the heart of this project. Gord Calvin coordinated much of the construction work, community members showed up again and again to help, and the board remained committed to the vision. Together, they made the project possible.

“We are a charitable organization,” says Rae. “We’re dedicated to providing the residents of Scotsburn and surrounding areas an opportunity to improve their health and wellness, and that will also help to develop the economic and community strength of the region.”

For Rae, success is simple. “I would love for our park to be the same sort of gathering place that libraries have become. I want people to know that they will always find something to do. Whenever you're there, you run into a friend or a neighbour. You can stop and chat, and just take your time.”