Annapolis Community Pool
62 Champlain Drive b0s1a0 Annapolis Royal, NS, Canada

Thank you to everyone who supported us and contributed to the success of the Summer 2020 Pool Season. We truly appreciate all of your support, large or small. Our successful pool season 2020 is the result of your generosity. We especially wish to thank the following donors. Active Community Fund (Government of Nova Scotia) Active Kids, Healthy Kids (County of Annapolis) Annapolis Community Pool Staff... Annapolis Home Hardware Building Centre Annapolis Royal Volunteer Fire Department Annapolis Royal Football Club Annapolis Royal Recreation Canada Summer Jobs (Government of Canada) Community Volunteers Danny McClair Danny Ritchie Friends of Annapolis Pool Society Board Members Fundy YMCA Finn Hafting (Annapolis Innovation Lab) Irving Oil Graves Food Mart, Bridgetown Hutchins Pharmacy Lequille Enviro Depot McCormick Family Miller's Independent Parker Mountain Wind Turbine Grant Paula Buxton Pierre & Christine Igot President's Choice Children's Charity Rob Hodder Royal Robots Simon Bonnington Still Fired Distilleries Inc Student Summer Skill Incentive (Government of Nova Scotia) Town of Annapolis Royal See more

Hello! We want to take a moment away from patting ourselves on the back to share our GOOD NEWS SUMMER REPORT. Even though we had a delayed start, low fundraising due to the lockdown, and a worldwide pandemic to navigate we still pulled it off. Please join us in thanking our staff for helping us to make this season another great one for the books. We are so proud and happy we were able to make this work for the community. 1795 TOTAL visitors came through our doors this summer.

Have you been wondering what that strange hanging-ball thing at the pool this summer is? Well let us introduce you to the newest hard-working member of our team which was designed and installed by Finn Hafting of the Annapolis Innovation Lab (located in the Academy town/library HUB space). IT'S A HORSEFLY TRAP! - what is it?... This strange contraption, which looks like some alternative to tether-ball, is a passive and odorless trap for catching horseflies. Various other traps exist which use scent and mechanical parts to catch horseflies, but these are both complicated and not safe around kids in a pool environment. This trap relies on energy from the sun to heat the ball inside which attracts horseflies. - what is it made of? The trap is made from entirely recycled materials and the cap of the catchment container was 3D printed at the Annapolis Innovation Lab. The catchment container is made from a 2L pop bottle, the funnel and hoop are made from plastic sheeting and bent PVC pipe, the frame is made from scrap wood, and the ball inside is an old yoga ball. - how does it work? Horseflies see in the infrared spectrum which means they are attracted to objects that give off heat. The dark colored yoga ball suspended inside attracts horseflies by being a large, warm body, heated by the sun. Horseflies can’t fly downwards so once a horsefly realizes the ball is not a food source, it is forced to fly upwards and be caught in the catchment container at the top. The container can be easily removed and emptied as needed. - how did you come up w the design? This design is a commercially available product used on horse ranches as a horsefly control system. This product costs $300, however, so a cheaper alternative was needed for the pool. The most difficult part of the design was creating the catchment system at the top so it could be easily removed and emptied, but still effective at catching horseflies. The 3D printed screw top brought this design together by turning the pop bottle into a catchment container that can be easily emptied. - is it working? In short, yes! The trap is quite effective at catching horseflies and keeping them away from patrons at the pool. While the numbers have been reduced, there are still some stray horseflies biting babies, tormenting teenagers, and annoying adults. These traps are often installed in April when horseflies are hatching and installing this trap earlier next year will further improve its effectiveness.

Last week at the pool is next week. Please call if you’d like to reserve some lane swimming or one of our FREE OPEN SWIM hours! 902 532 1777