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From the Ground Up: How North Shore Communities Are Rebuilding

Since May 2025, the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (CFNL) has been working with communities on the North Shore of Conception Bay to support their recovery from the wildfires that devastated the area last year.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so generously to all of these recovery funds.

This is the latest update on progress to disburse on both the 2025 NL Forest Fires Recovery Fund and the North Shore Fires Recovery Fund. You can find all previous updates here. 

2025 NL Forest Fires Recovery Fund

The 2025 NL Forest Fires Recovery Fund was established to support the long-term recovery of community organizations and infrastructure from wildfires across Newfoundland and Labrador. To date, it has raised over $170,000. Given the magnitude of the destruction on the North Shore, the Fund will focus on recovery in this area. The Fund is facilitated by the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, Community Sector Council of NL, Municipalities NL, and United Way of NL.

Thank you to all of the Donors and Supporters of this fund, especially ExxonMobil, Equinor, Cenovus Energy, Kraken Robotics, and North Sun Energy, for their very generous donations.  

CFNL has been working alongside the community to guide how this fund would be put to work. We brought community leaders together and asked them what the North Shore meant to them. They told us: people come together here. People look out for each other without asking. Families, beaches, swimming holes, trails. Peace, quiet, the pace of life. Home.

And then we asked what they were missing. The green trees. The lights from the houses that were destroyed. The people who might not come back.

And what was giving them hope. Kids. New growth, green sprouts. Rebuilding. That people and the community are starting to heal. Grieving and rebuilding with intention.

When we asked the community what funding priorities mattered most, they were clear: restore what was damaged, invest in safety and resilience, support healing and wellbeing, and make sure the benefit is as broad as possible.

The projects that came out of those conversations reflect exactly that.

Western Bay Boardwalk ($40,000): More than half the boardwalk was lost. Restoring 320 feet of boardwalk and adding 1,000 feet of walking trail will give people back a place to be outside, breathe, and reconnect with nature and one another.

North Shore Recreation Trails ($66,175): Trail upgrades between Ochre Pit Cove and Western Bay, including culvert work and a warm-up shack. These trails are used extensively by community members and many others who visit this area for a ride or a walk. This will also improve emergency vehicle access to these areas. Restoring and improving them is about resilience as much as recreation, and will connect the trail from the Trans Canada Highway to Northern Bay and beyond.

Dry Hydrant for the Volunteer Fire Department ($25,000): There are no hydrants from Salmon Cove to Old Perlican. Last year, firefighters struggled to access water when they needed it most. A dry hydrant on the northern part of the North Shore changes that, a practical and lasting investment in fire safety for the whole shore. A dry hydrant is a permanently installed, unpressurized pipe system that allows firefighters to quickly access water from a static source, like a lake, pond, or river, into their fire trucks

Town of Small Point to Adam’s Cove ($37,500): Remediating fire damage around Broad Cove and transforming it into a green space with a swimming hole, event area, and dry hydrant for the southern portion of the region.  Broad Cove Park has been where the Town of Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam’s Cove comes to walk, gather, and connect with nature.  This will help support this larger project. You can learn more and donate to support this project here. 

Kingston Community Bench ($3,500): A bench with flowers in Kingston, where the most destructive fire began. A place to sit, remember, and mark that this community got through it.

North Shore Fires Recovery Fund

The North Shore Fires Recovery Fund was created to support those who lost their primary residence as a result of wildfires on the North Shore in 2025. The fund raised over $270,000 from many generous donors. CFNL is disbursing these funds to over 100 eligible households. Cheques to households will be mailed by the end of June. You can find more details on the disbursement of this fund here. 

Thank you to the hundreds of individuals, businesses, and groups who have donated to this fund. It is your many gifts coming together that provide caring support to help fuel recovery. We would like to extend a special thank you to:

  • The North Shore Strong Concert at the Princess Sheila Nageira Theatre for raising over $15,000. 
  • Signal Hill Foundation for their significant $50,000 grant.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees for their very generous donation of $50,000.
  • Jungle Jim’s franchises across the province for donating $10,000 from this fall’s Burger Battle.
  • Port of Argentia for their nearly $10,000 donation.