National Geographic Joins Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – NL Chapter to Launch Geotourism Project for Eastern NL

NL Geotourism Nomination GuidelinesNational Geographic Maps has joined organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador to launch the first phase of the Newfoundland and Labrador Geotourism Project that will highlight the world-class natural and cultural attractions of Eastern Newfoundland. The project seeks to contribute to the economic health of communities by promoting geotourism: tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place — its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.

A community-based nomination process will be used to create a National Geographic Geotourism MapGuide for the region. The Eastern Newfoundland area designated for the map stretches from Terra Nova in the north to the Burin Peninsula in the south and all areas on the island eastward, including communities, and private and public lands.

Local residents and visitors are invited to nominate for inclusion in the MapGuide the landmarks, attractions, activities, events and even local foods that define the region’s character and distinctive appeal. Nominations may be made from Oct 12, 2011 to Jan 12, 2012, at www.nlgeotourism.com.

Beyond an open-to-the-public nomination process, the development of the MapGuide calls for oversight by a regional committee. The Newfoundland and Labrador Geotourism Stewardship Council represents an assortment of geotourism perspectives, including community leadership, historic preservation, natural resources, public lands management, indigenous peoples, traditional and local arts, agriculture, tourism promotion and local businesses.

A primary task for the Geotourism Stewardship Council will be to review and sort nomination submissions prior to sending them to National Geographic. National Geographic will have final say on the selected sites.

The National Geographic Society has worked with community-based alliances to develop similar Geotourism MapGuides in other regions around the world. MapGuide projects have been completed or are ongoing in Appalachia, Sierra Nevada (California, Nevada), Central Cascades (Oregon, Washington), Crown of the Continent (Alberta, British Columbia, Montana), Greater Yellowstone (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), California’s Redwood Coast, Four Corners (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah), Lakes to Locks Passage (New York, Quebec), East Tennessee River Valley (Tennessee, Georgia), Guatemala, City of Montreal, Norway, Peru, Sonoran Desert (Arizona, Sonora, Mexico), Douro Valley of Portugal, Baja California, Mexico,
and Northeast Kingdom, Vermont.

CPAWS will be holding community consultation sessions on how businesses can get involved.

Friday, October 28th at 10:30am – Winterton, Fire Hall
Friday, October 28th at 2:00pm – Carbonear, Conception Bay Regional Community Center, Water Street
Tuesday, November 8th at 1:30pm – Clarenville, Clarenville Inn

How to Make a Nomination
1. Create a free account on www.nlgeotourism.com
2. Start your text telling us why your nomination is geotouristic. Tell us about your asset’s connection to the community, its history and how it is unique to your community.
3. Upload at least 1 picture, with dimensions between 500-1000 pixels. You can also upload video, sound files and pdfs.
4. Fill in the correct contact information for the site you’re nominating
5. Map your nomination in the correct place. You can map a single point, line, area or multiple points.
6. When you have completed your nomination, go to the bottom of the page and change your nominations status to “Submit to Editor”and click save.

Tips from the Portal Editor
Tip #1 – Tailor your text to your audience – a visitor. Tell them what’s unique about your nomination and entice them to come see it for themselves!
Tip #2 – Save often!
Tip #3 – Use the formatting tools in the “Text” section of your nomination,including Page Preview. Enter your text directly into your nomination.
Tip #4 – Text is required that describes any historical, natural, place-based or culturally enriching attributes (local people/artists/entrepreneurs/ chefs, local history/cultural heritage/historic site, locally made/produced/crafted, local trails/nature/geological features) and provides a cultural context for the reader, and makes the nomination distinctive and genuinely connected to the local community and Eastern Newfoundland. * A complete nomination has text describing its geotouristic qualities, at least 1 photo, contact information and is correctly mapped.

Below outlines pertinent information about the project and the nomination process.

NL Geotourism For Profit Nomination Guidelines
NL Geotourism Nomination Form

For more information on this project, please contact:

Tanya Edwards
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter
172 Military Road P.O. Box 1027, Stn C
St. John’s, NL A1C 5M3
Tel: (709) 726-5800 Fax: (709) 726-2764
Email: nlgeotourism@cpaws.org
Website: www.cpawsnl.org

Suzanne Dooley
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter
172 Military Road P.O. Box 1027, Stn C
St. John’s, NL A1C 5M3
Tel: (709) 726-5800 Fax: (709) 726-2764
Email: nlgeotourism@cpaws.org
Website: www.cpawsnl.org