A local group is working to have Georgian Bay designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Global Geopark, and they’ve asked Collingwood council for help to make it happen.
Tony Pigott, executive director of the Georgian Bay Geopark Network, came before councillors at their Dec. 18 meeting to ask for a letter of support for the formal designation.
“This place called Georgian Bay is not only something unique and significant in Canada, but it is a place the world should recognize as important,” said Pigott. “This is an extraordinary part of the world. (There) is a great generational opportunity here.”
A geopark is a UNESCO-designated area containing one or more sites of particular geological importance, intended to conserve the geological heritage and promote public awareness of it, typically through tourism.
As of now, there are 195 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries. Currently across Canada, there are five with such a designation: Percé in the Gaspe Peninsula east of Quebec, Stonehammer in New Brunswick, Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Cliffs of Fundy in Nova Scotia and Discovery in Newfoundland.
According to UNESCO, geoparks are established through a bottom-up process involving all relevant local and regional stakeholders and authorities in the area such as landowners, community groups, tourism providers, Indigenous people, and local organizations.
The process requires firm commitment by local communities.
If approved, geoparks are given the designation for a period of four years after which the functioning and quality is re-examined during a revalidation process.
Benefits of such a designation include a boom to the local tourism industry. The designation can also help protect the area’s natural heritage features and encourage research and education on the geopark’s environmental features.
“It doesn’t mean that progress doesn’t happen, or development doesn’t happen. It means it happens in a way that manages these precious places,” said Pigott. “There isn’t a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics around Georgian Bay, and we think we can really contribute a pan-Georgian Bay perspective.”
Coun. Christopher Baines put forward a notice of motion at the Dec. 18 meeting for council to support and endorse the aims and objectives of the Georgian Bay Geopark Network and endorse the group’s application.
The motion will be considered at a future meeting of council.
For more information on the Georgian Bay Geopark Network, click here.
