Diane N. Buhay

Informal Learning at Stonehammer and English Riviera Geoparks

Geoparks are a relatively new concept with the Global Geopark Network being established in 2004, and extensive data has not yet been collected from geopark visitors to determine if these sites contribute to public awareness of geological topics. In many ways, geoparks are similar to zoos and museums and serve as centres for informal learning. They provide geological, historical and cultural stories and allow scientists to contribute to informal learning by communicating their research to the general public in an understandable fashion using a variety of methods. One mandate of the UNESCO-supported Global Geopark Network is the promotion of geoeducation. Geopark visitors who are science literate are better able to fully appreciate and understand geological significance. In the current study, we surveyed visitors’ awareness and knowledge of the geopark and geology/earth science and compared responses from visitors at a newly established Global Geopark (Stonehammer, Canada) and an established Global Geopark in England (English Riviera). Regardless of the fact that the English Riviera Geopark was more mature and therefore had more opportunity to develop and promote its educational programmes, the results of the current study did not indicate that there was a higher awareness and/or knowledge levels among geopark visitors to an established geopark. This may simply be a result of the hype and attention given to the establishment of a new “attraction” in a community and, if so, would confirm the importance of continuous promotion.

Sir Charles Lyell’s travels in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1852

Abstract Geologist Sir Charles Lyell made a brief visit to New Brunswick, Canada, during his 1852 visit to North America. Lyell traveled to Albert Mines during the peak of the albertite controversy, visited the Reversing Falls and graphite mines in Saint John, and took a steamboat trip up the Saint John River to Fredericton where he visited his friend, Lieutenant Governor Sir Edmund Head. Lyell’s friendship with Head likely had a long-term effect on the development of geological sciences in New Brunswick and Canada. New Brunswick newspapers followed Charles Lyell’s travels through the province and expressed hope that Lyell’s observations on the geology of New Brunswick would cast a favourable opinion on the province’s geological wealth and foster economic development. Resume Le geologue Sir Charles Lyell a effectue un bref arret au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada, au cours de sa visite de 1852 en Amerique du Nord. Lyell s’est rendu a Albert Mines au moment culminant de la controverse au sujet de l’albertite; il a visite les chutes reversibles et les mines de graphite de Saint-Jean; et il a remonte en vapeur le fleuve Saint-Jean jusqu’a Fredericton, ou il a rendu visite a son ami, le lieutenant-gouverneur Sir Edmund Head. L’amitie de Lyell et Head a probablement eu un effet de longue duree sur l’essor des sciences de la terre au Nouveau-Brunswick et au Canada. Les journaux du Nouveau-Brunswick ont suivi les deplacements de Charles Lyell a l’interieur de la province; ils ont exprime l’espoir que les observations de Lyell sur la geologie du Nouveau-Brunswick engendreraient une opinion favorable sur la richesse geologique de la province et qu’elles favoriseraient le developpement economique.

Turning a Forgotten Geological Heritage into a Geological Park: Developing Stonehammer Geopark

Stonehammer Geopark, North America’s first member of the Global Geoparks Network, developed in a region with a long history of geological exploration and a tradition of public education in the geosciences. The remarkable geological complexity centred on the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, nurtured a homegrown group of professional and amateur geologists in the early 1800s. Many became internationally known for their work, and the institutions they created were at the forefront of research and public education from the middle nineteenth to early twentieth century. By the 1920s, it had mostly disappeared from the community. By the end of the twentieth century, geoscience heritage was largely a forgotten part of the community’s understanding of its past. The creation of a global geopark has brought stories of the region’s geology back to the public attention by providing geological interpretation of existing parks and trails that had originally developed largely because of the scenic geology. Storytelling, bolstered by researching the lives and contributions of those people in the community who made the geology internationally known, is seen as an important part of reviving a community sense of its geoscience heritage.