Progress & Team
Three-Year Foundation
Over the last three years, the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark has completed a foundational phase of research, knowledge development, scientific validation, engagement, and collaboration. The work, enabled by philanthropic support and research and development grants has built a unique educational and resources platform for shared understanding of one of the most significant geological regions on Earth: Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
Led by University of Toronto geologist Professor Nick Eyles, the initiative has translated the Bay’s 2.7 billion year record into eight “Deep Time Zones” — a powerful educational structure that makes this geological history accessible to the public, to teachers, to youth, to communities, to tourism partners, to researchers, and to decision makers.
Through Mitacs-supported research and applied LiDAR analysis (the most extensive LiDAR image examination ever undertaken on the Great Lakes), the initiative has established a high-resolution geophysical mapping of the Geopark (5 cm resolution). At the same time, the Geopark (through Dobbin International) has developed a comprehensive geospatial database of more than 100 biophysical, ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic thematic datasets for the Geopark region.
These two innovative geospatial databases (LiDAR and Geospatial) can support watershed and river basin planning and management, geotourism and conservation planning, climate resilience modelling, and support better land use and land cover decision-making across the region. Use this link to see Geospatial Planning and Envision 2030
The Aspiring Geopark has also begun — carefully, respectfully, and in partnership — to build collaborative pathways for Indigenous narratives grounded in Two-Eyed Seeing. This is supported by the award-winning Indigenous design agency Design de Plume who will be initiating dialogue and co creation with Indigenous organizations and First Nations across the region.
The initiative has also carried out extensive geotourism development and outreach — with 9 regional forums and the creation of a Geotourism Toolkit and Code of Conduct — positioning responsible, community oriented tourism and stewardship not as threats, but as a model for tourism that can strengthen and protect the region in the face of growing pressures.
And it has established the structure and team to continue the initiative’s development and consultation efforts.
Board and Advisory Group
The Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark is a registered not for profit organization that works in strategic partnership with the Charitable platform Small Change Fund.
It has been guided by a largely volunteer team with deep connections to the region; a multidisciplinary team of scientists, Indigenous leaders, planners, conservationists, tourism experts, and communications professionals working together to explore the geological past and create a sustainable future for Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
Board
Together, this diverse team blends scientific excellence, Indigenous knowledge, conservation expertise, tourism innovation, and creative communications to advance a shared goal:
to tell the story of 2.7 billion years of Earth and human history—and to use that story to inspire a sustainable future for Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
Discover the DEEP TIME geology of the Georgian Bay Geopark
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 1
The Huronian
Ocean
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 2
Continents
Collide
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
DEEP TIME Zone 3
The Ancient
Himalayas
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 4
Tropical
Seas
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 5
The Limestone
Coast
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 6
Ice Ages &
Early
Cultures
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 7
The Meeting
Place
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 8
Mindo Gami Great
Spirit Lake
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.