Geoheritage Reports
Establishing a Geoheritage list for Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotian approach to establishing a geoheritage list (Table 2 of this document) is collaborative and consensus based. The Geological Services division of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (NSNR&R) serves as facilitator. As in Québec, Nova Scotia entertains open nominations for inclusion on the geoheritage sites list. Such an approach in Nova Scotia was deemed to be essential to achieve wide support for the strategy from both the geoscience community and the wider public. The designation of a geoheritage site in Nova Scotia promotes awareness of the site and does not involve legal restrictions on land use, as is the case in Québec.
Geoheritage in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia has long been recognized for its rich and diverse geology, a heritage that defines ourlandscape, is reflected in our industrial history, and has influenced some of the greatest ideas that have shaped human understanding of our place in the history of life. Lessons gleaned from the geological and fossil record at Joggins (See Figure 1 of this document) by Sir Charles Lyell and Sir William Dawson, for example, informed Charles Darwin (1859) in one of the great works of humankind, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Locally, communities across Nova Scotia commemorate the pride and sacrifice of its people in miners’ museums. This discussion considers the need and means to recognize and celebrate this rich heritage.