By: Sabrina Gannon, Chair of the Lunenburg County Community Health Board
Lunenburg County Community Health Board (LCCHB) would like to take the opportunity in this final issue of the Lunenburg Barnacle to thank the team who brought this publication to life for the past three years and brought the opportunity for the LCCHB to connect more directly with community. 2025 was a year of growth and ambition for the board, which saw us double in size, launch a new health plan, provide wellness funds for projects to help address and improve food security, senior wellness, and equity in our county, and also share the ongoing work of the Thinking Beyond Band Aids Coalition. We would not have been as visible without the Lunenburg Barnacle and its readership. Thank you! The LCCHB will remember our contributions to this project fondly as we move into the new year and look forward to supporting the next wave of community-focused projects in Lunenburg County. 2026 brings a lot of promise for new projects and partnerships with the LCCHB that we’d like to share.
We have an updated timeline for our community wellness fund grants that provides a bigger application window for community groups seeking funding for their new projects! This year, our wellness fund application website will open on February 16, and the deadline to apply will be April 15 at 5 pm. More information on these funds is available at https://www.communityhealthboards.ns.ca/wellness-funds, and our coordinator’s contact information is listed at the end of this article if you have any questions.
We are working to bring Elder Wisdom Benches to Lunenburg County. LCCHB member and secretary Larissa Darrah had this to say about the Elder Wisdom Benches project: “I am most excited to see the development of our Elder Wisdom benches project and supporting our community partners in bridging intergenerational communication gaps. This project is especially interesting because we will be reaching out to both youth and elders to participate in shaping the project, allowing them to have a say in how their resources are developed. I hope this project will be effective at connecting our youth and elders to each other and to their community by building a place where they can both belong together.” This initiative was brought forward by another board member and supported through our existing community connections. Stay tuned for updates on the project progress by checking the LCCHB Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lunenburgcountychb. If you have a space or interest in hosting a future bench, please reach out and let us know.
When asked, “What is something joining the LCCHB has brought to your life?” Darrah shared that, “Being a member of the Lunenburg County Community Health Board has brought me closer to my community. I grew up in small communities not unlike the ones in Lunenburg County, and when I moved to the city, I felt disconnected from the people and world around me, but moving back to a rural area, I feel those grounding connections once again. Joining the board gave me a way to be part of this community and even use my skills to give back to it. Being a member of the board has also helped me grow as a person, opening new opportunities for learning and has made me feel like my actions have meaning.”
In 2026, the LCCHB will continue to be a community connector, providing this kind of enrichment for both our members and the community, and we look forward to supporting community efforts in Lunenburg County.
