LITTLE CURRENT—A small but influential group gathered at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre to learn more about a proposal to create a UNESCO Global Geopark that would include Georgian Bay, Manitoulin and the North Channel.
The presenters, Mike Robbins, tourism lead, and Brian Plumstead, former Grey Country Tourism Manager, explained that Geoparks are areas recognized for their exceptional geological heritage, showcasing unique natural landscapes for education, scientific value, and beauty. Geoparks are a vital component of the Global Geopark Network, with UNESCO Global Geoparks focusing on protection, education and sustainable development while involving local communities.
Among the attendees of the presentation were representatives from LAMBAC, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, Manitoulin Streams, Nature Conservancy of Canada and Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates.
Mr. Robbins, the key speaker and tourism lead on the Geopark initiative explained that the guiding principles of the effort align with the Indigenous principles of The Dish with One Spoon—a principle that “represents land, and the aspiration for land use and water shared peacefully and beneficially for all.” The spoon signifies people coming together to uphold the vision of a lasting relationship to share and care for the land and water, and Two eyed seeing, where Indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives, traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge melds both world views, the Seven Grandfather Teachings that invoke a spirit of working together: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility and wisdom, as well as the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People—the right to be involved in decisions impacting their lands and right to conserve and protect their territories in a meaningful way.
Mr. Robbins explained that each geopark have different criteria and that the process for designating one involves “a very rigorous process to achieve UNESCO’s education.”
The group of volunteers driving the process have been at it for two years now and it will likely take at least that amount of time to complete, but they have obtained initial status.
Mr. Robbins then went into how many geoparks currently exist in the world (229 in 50 countries). “Yellowstone and Yosemite are both geoparks, and there are currently five in Canada. “There are a number of aspiring geoparks as well,” he said. “One is in Niagara.”
“It’s a Grassroots initiative at this point and we’re reaching out to First Nations, to the tourism industry, to try and engender support and gold from others all around the bay,” said Mr. Robbins. “The whole initiative started by the geologists at U of T. The driving force was Professor Nick Giles, who’s probably the foremost expert on the geology of the Great Lakes and is the author of a number of books, coffee table books, etc., on the geology of Georgian Bay.”
Mr. Robbins stressed that the geopark initiative is not aimed at setting up a body to impose regulation or the imposition of restrictions on the area. “We want to see Georgian Bay protected, and we see the UNESCO Geopark as an opportunity for another layer of protection, not through legislation or anything like that, but through education and research.”
The tourism lead explained that region contains several geological regions that are “internationally significant.”
“I always thought geology was a pretty dry subject until I got involved with the geopark and started to listen to Nick Isles and Kirsten, one of his students, who’s now a graduate, a PhD.” For him, the geology came alive.
“The reason that it’s internationally significant is that within a drivable distance by car, you can dive back into 2.7 billion years of Earth’s history and the influence of that geology on human adaptation,” he said, noting human interaction, that we currently know of, stages back at least 13,000 years. “You can walk on up in the North Shore area that’s 2.7 million years old, half the age of the Earth, then you’ve got down the Eastern Shores, the 30,000 Islands, which are essentially the roots of what used to be mountains higher than the Himalayas.”
These areas are, according to Mr. Robbins, “hugely significant and have an incredible human application story associated with the geology and the ecosystems that result from that geology. The geopark is an opportunity to tell those stories and help protect the geological heritage.” Mr. Robbins noted that the region is an area currently at risk from the growing population of the Greater Toronto Area.
“It’s already exerting pressures on Georgia Bay in different ways,” he said, “and then we’ve got climate change. Without action, we’re going to see this environment of Georgian Bay’s unique natural jewelry be degraded, so we have to be proactive.”
Enter the geopark concept which he says will assist in protection by adding layers “through research, education and through reconciliation.”
Tourism, he asserts, is “a form of reconciliation, by helping to develop the Indigenous tourism sector. There’s a significant opportunity for more Indigenous tourism.”
But the proponents of the geopark concept want to see tourism develop and expand in a more responsible way and hope to “push the tourism industry towards more responsible approaches to the environment and culture.”
“Tourism is all about storytelling, right? When you really think about it, we all travel. We’re all tourists. And we all learn about a destination, or we should. That’s not always the case because mass tourism has a huge influence all over the globe in many destinations. Unfortunately, that’s the way the industry has gone. Politicians think of numbers, absolute numbers, and think if they increase visitation to their destination, by whatever means (that is a good thing).
The boundaries of the geopark are massive and encompass a number of geological regions within the proposed watersheds. The proponents, with the help of geologists, have divvied up the region into a number of geo-sites.
“So, we’re going from the 2.7 billion year-old European Ocean down to the 13,000-year-old glaciated remains in southern Georgian Bay,” he said. “One point two billion down through layers section on the east coast (of Georgian Bay), there are over 150 geosites that are identified around Georgian Bay–and that’s excluding any cultural geocytes that the Indigenous communities will hopefully identify going forward—sites that they’re willing to share, stories that they’re willing to share.”
“We narrowed it down to these signature sites, and all of these signature sites have important geological stories to tell that are already in managed locations like Provincial Parks,” he said.
The geopark steering group have set up a website to explain the concept and communicate progress being made.
“We have been successful in receiving some government funding, so we’ve actually implemented five projects,” said Mr. Plumstead. “Many of those we believe are transportable to the North.”
The group has been moving forward with signage, bicycle routes and a geo tourism toolkit, including digital signage and apps. The group are proposing setting in place kiosk-style signage in three locations. Each kiosk has two sides, so one side will tell the big story, the top-level stories of each and then the flip side will be more local.
“We’re completely redeveloping our website,” he noted, “And we’re very excited. We’ve retained a designer, an Indigenous woman, as we start down the road of telling stories we want to make sure that Indigenous stories are told through the decisions lens and I think they’re able to tell us with that.”
“Up here, the situation is different again, so we have to recognize that,” said Mr. Plumstead. “In tourism sectors, the geopark is to develop tools, a toolkit that will help move the industry into more responsible direction, and we, with the funding from feds, data for the southern part of the bay and a consultant, a woman, a very great young woman who is helping us develop, analyze the best practices globally in geopark and others types of the protected areas and destinations and trying to develop a toolkit that becomes best practice tourism in natural areas.”
“Our intent is to develop a suite of educational and voluntary compliance tools for the tourism industry for tourism operators,” said Mr. Plumstead. “For those involved in marketing and planning and development of tourism for their allies, marketing organizations, and for tourists, the visitors to Georgian Bay, to educate them before they come.”
The duo noted that tourism has been taken over by large organizations and government entities, with few decisions about who can come to a region and how it’s being taken out of local hands.
The geopark group assert they are not looking to create any “bricks and mortar” base of operations, simply a grassroots group of people from around Geogian Bay with common interests.
“We’re going to try and utilize what exists,” he said. “All the interpretive museums facilities that are around the bay and those in provincial parks and start telling some of the geopark stories. Use existing infrastructure and add another layer of stories—a geological heritage of Georgian Bay and how that’s influenced the history and culture.”
They are also cognizant that one size does not fit all, and so are seeking input from the Northern region of the proposed geopark catchment. To that end, the geopark proponents are seeking to make presentations to local municipal councils and bands in order to dispel some misunderstandings and interpretations that are out there about the geopark proposal and how it will impact Manitoulin and the North Shore.
