[News] Possible Nova Scotian United Nations geopark a hidden gem

[Personal note: The UNESCO team has been on site these past few days and I'm sure they're amazed by what they've seen. You can visit the Cliffs of Fundy Aspiring Global Geopark facebook page -- https://www.facebook.com/fundygeopark/ -- to get updates. Let's hope that they'll join the Canadian Geopark family¹!]


from The Chronicle Herald - published June 25th

Evaluators from UNESCO will be in Cumberland and Colchester counties in late July to evaluate the proposed Cliffs of Fundy Aspiring Geopark as a potential UNESCO Global Geopark. - Tourism Nova Scotia Evaluators from UNESCO will be in Cumberland and Colchester counties in late July to evaluate the proposed Cliffs of Fundy Aspiring Geopark as a potential UNESCO Global Geopark. - Tourism Nova Scotia


Maybe we should turn left at Truro once in a while.

Many, if not most, Haligonians escaping the city on a summer road trip just sail through the hub city on their way north to P.E.I., New Brunswick or central Canada, or east to answer Cape Breton’s siren call.

There are highway signs, though, that tease the knowing traveller west, to places like the beguiling Great Village, the incomparable Five Islands Provincial Park, the natural wonders of Parrsboro and at the southwestern tip of Highway 209, the spectacular views at Cape d’Or Lighthouse.

We’ve slighted all the marvelous places in between by not mentioning them, of course, but the point is that the Parrsboro shore is another of our great undiscovered wonders.

Some of the people who live there want to do something about that.

As detailed in a story in Tuesday’s paper by Darrell Cole of the Amherst News, officials from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, are due to visit the area this summer to evaluate it designation as a Global Geopark.

It’s a project of a group called the Cliffs of Fundy Aspiring Geopark, and if the evaluators approve, the group will be able to market the area around the world to adventure tourists. It will also attract infrastructure funding to develop various sites.

It would be Nova Scotia’s first geopark, joining other Canadian sites like Stonehammer in New Brunswick and Tumbler Ridge in B.C.

The idea is to recognize geologically significant areas, protect sensitive sites and promote sustainable tourism to these places. Globally, there are 145 geoparks certified by the UN agency in 40 countries.

The cliffs along this shore reveal Canada’s oldest dinosaur fossils, evidence of the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea, and, as we all know, some of the world’s highest tides. The area is also home to the legendary Mi’kmaw figure Kluskap and has been inhabited for more than 11,000 years.

Organizer John Calder, who was also involved in efforts to have nearby Joggins named a UNESCO World Heritage site, said his group is confident they’ve done everything necessary to pull it off, and is nervously excited about the agency’s visit.

We offer kudos to all those who’ve worked on this project, and look forward to the eventual unveiling of Nova Scotia’s newest tourism and heritage mecca.


¹ Canadian Geopark family comprises of Stonehammer Geopark (Southern New Brunswick), Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark (Eastern British Columbia), and Percé Geopark (Eastern Quebec).


Original Source -- https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/editorials/editorial-possible-nova-scotian-united-nations-geopark-a-hidden-gem-326568/

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