The Rural Municipality of Hanover

PREFERRED VENDORS n Bothwell Cheese www.bothwellcheese.com Started in New Bothwell, Manitoba in 1936 by a group of local dairy farmers, Bothwell Cheese has grown steadily over the last 82 years from a small dairy cooperative to one of Canada’s largest inde- pendently owned cheese manufacturers. Bothwell Cheese prides itself on providing Canadians with premium cheese made with all-natural ingredients, and 100% Canadian milk. n Tri Me Cabinets & Millwork Ltd. www.trimecabinets.com THE RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF HANOVER ments,“we can break ground within the next five years.These large projects that can cost over $10 million, and we’re at the mercy of the federal and provincial governments for matching funds. So, we’re hoping that we can raise our money, here, lo- cally, our one third, and look for two thirds from the provincial and federal governments.” One recent community project that Hanover com- pleted with only local help was the Tourond Creek Discovery Center northwest of Kleefeld.“We had an older landfill that was decommissioned several years ago,”Lahaie recounts.“Once a landfill is de- commissioned, that land is considered a liability to a municipality; there’s not much we can do with that land.We can’t sell it off.We have to keep it forever. So, there was an idea to turn that land into a park, the Tourond Creek Discovery Center, in partnership with the local conservation district and school divi- sion.They put in some infrastructure there to use as an outdoor classroom, to get back to nature.There are trails; there are places where they can learn about nature outside the classroom.” Another example is when the RM joined forces a fewyears ago with the Seine Rat River Conservation District to develop a new nature park near the town of Mitchell - the Rosenthal Nature Park, an abbreviated version of the six-eco- systemTourond Creek Discovery Centre. Living in harmony with nature, as well as with one anoth- er, is a point of pride in the Rural Municipality of Hanover. “Hanover is a unique place where livestock, agriculture, and population growth have lived in harmony,” says Lahaie.“You see other municipalities where there is a lot of tension when livestock operations move into highly populated areas.Here, it’s been very successful and we are proud that our residents don’t mind the occasional odor or sound.They’re living in harmony.That’s one thing we are very proud of in Hanover.”