We welcome you to join the Georgian Bay Geopark and Traditional Knowledge (TEK) Elders to learn more about “Geotourism combining innovative science-based research with traditional indigenous knowledge” and what it means for Geotourism around the bay and opportunities for all stakeholders, partners and communities.
Keynote speakers include Douglas Neasloss and Gisele Martin from the Great Bear Rainforest and Melissa Peters Director of the TVO series “Secrets of the Forest”.
We are also seeking your ideas on how to develop the story of your unique community to create a vibrant resilient Georgian Bay community with sustainable tourism.
“Geotourism combining innovative science-based research with traditional indigenous knowledge”
September 25, 25
Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre, Little Current, ON.
To book rooms please call Manitoulin Hotel 1-705-368-9966 or email reservations@manitoulinhotel.com please refer to Georgian Bay Geopark Conference 2024.
Sept 25
1 – 5 pm: presentations confirmed shortly
5:30 to 6:30 pm: Great Bear Rainforest Presentatonpm networking
7 pm: Dinner followed by KEEPERS OF THE LAND a documentary of Klemtu, BC
Sept 26
8:30 to 10 am: TEK Elders – Melissa Peters, Director Secrets of the Forest
10 am to noon: Facilitated Workshop to solicit ideas/action steps for Geotourism
For more information, please email georgianbaygeopark@gmail.com
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.
