‘TWO-EYED SEEING’; USING LIDAR TO DOCUMENT AND ILLUSTRATE 11,000 YEARS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY IN GEORGIAN BAY – First ever Geocultural Atlas of Georgian Bay – Kirsten Kennedy , Dr Nick Eyles (University of Toronto) – with Jamie Hunter, Jack Contin and Peter Storck
Building on their individual legacies, and a shared history of excellence in storytelling, exploration and education, The National Geographic Society and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society have reinvigorated their long-standing collaborative efforts to create this initiative. The Trebek Initiative funds storytellers, educators, conservationists and researchers whose projects aim to preserve Canadian and Indigenous land, wildlife, water, culture and history.
Georgian Bay, Ontario is a unique North American ecosystem now recognized as an Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark in acknowledgement of its diverse geology and landscapes. By virtue of its position along the edge of the Canadian Shield, it has been at a crossroad of cultures since people first visited the shores of then Glacial Lake Algonquin, 11,500 years ago. Thus began a long-lived interconnection between an evolving landscape and First Ancestors that has persisted in the histories and traditions of the many Indigenous cultures that have called Aki and Georgian Bay home, like the Huron-Wendat, Council of Three Fires, Haudenosaunee, and most recently the Metis People. Embracing the principle of ‘two-eyed seeing’ to reconcile the Indigenous perspective from geomythology and history with state-of-the art mapping technologies, Kirsten will map geo-cultural sites identified by local Indigenous and archeological partners with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. Work completed to date shows that LiDAR imagery reveals hitherto unseen details of a site’s physical setting in a highly visual and accessible format. The results will inform planning of the UNESCO Geopark and associated educational and conservation activities. As a final educational product, LiDAR images, geomythology, and maps will be curated into a large format physical and digital atlas of “geo-cultural” sites around Georgian Bay.
DEEP TIME’ is the themed expression of how exploring and understanding the past helps create a better future. The unique DEEP TIME story and its eight geological chapters encourages both visitors and residents to know the past, celebrate the present and help create a more resilient future for the Bay and its many communities.
2.7 billion years
Sault Ste Marie to Serpent River
The ancient mineral-rich rocks of the North Channel record the breakup of the planet’s oldest supercontinent – and the birth of the Huronian Ocean.
1.8 billion years
Serpent River to Killarney
The Group of Seven’s white rolling quartzite hills are the stumps of mountains formed when landmasses collided to form supercontinent Nuna
1.3 billion years
Killarney to Honey Harbour
The waterscape of the 30,000 Islands exposes the deep crustal roots of the immense Grenville Mountains formed when North and South America collided.
500 million years
Manitoulin Island
Much of North America was covered by warm shallow seas, teeming with early marine life that left fossil-rich limestones on Manitoulin Island.
350 million years
Tobermory to Wiarton
Within the last 2 million years, the Bruce/Saugeen peninsula was scoured by Ice Age ice sheets that cut deep valleys into the face of the Niagara Escarpment such as at Owen Sound.
13,000 years
Collingwood to Wiarton
The raised beaches of glacial Lake Algonquin surround the coast of southern Georgian Bay like staircases and hosted the camps of caribou-hunting Paleo-Indians 11,000 years ago.
Last 10,000 years
Collingwood to Honey Harbour
The ancient hard rocks of the Canadian Shield meet the softer limestones of the ancient seas creating a stark contrast in landscapes, ecosystems, and a diverse cultural history unique in North America.
4,000 years to today
Waters of Georgian Bay
In 1615 Samuel de Champlain called Georgian Bay ‘La Mer Douce’ (the sweet water sea). An early map also portrays it as Karegnondi, derived from ‘lake’ in the language of the Petun First Nation.
