Come along today and see our new products in the gift shop

Yes, we are open today between 11am and 3pm, so why not come along and see the fantastic new products we have for sale in our gift shop. We are also continuing our sale, so there is still time to pick up a bargain.

Check out our articulated wooden fish by Nova Scotian artists at Virtual Critters. We also have Continental Trees and dragonflies by Canadian Art in Iron and some beautiful fused glass creations by Sharon Laska.

Joyce is once again back in the Roundhouse kitchen, baking up some of her famous cookies and the cappuccino machine is on, Jordan's in the gift shop and Lorna's manning the phones...hope to see you later.

Happy Holidays

We wish you all the very best for the holiday season. Our offices are closed between 23rd December and 4th January (inclusive) but we are open on the 29th December between 11am and 3pm if you want to come along for our out of season open day.

We recommend this Amazing Website

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs have just been photographed and aren't on here yet but just check out this fabulous website, which features images of World Heritage Sites in their amazing diversity.

www.ourplaceworldheritage.com

2010 International Year of Biodiversity

Were you aware that 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) by the United Nations?

What is Biodiversity? Well, in short, Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth or in one particular place or era. It is essential for sustaining the natural living systems or ecosystems that provide us with food, fuel, health, wealth, and other vital services.

Humans are part of this biodiversity too and have the awesome power to protect or destroy it. Right now, we are destroying it faster than we are protecting it and losses are irreversible, damaging the life support systems we rely on to survive ourselves... could well be on our way to making the human race endangered or even extinct. We need to safeguard biodiversity and in order to bring this to light and raise awareness of the urgency for action the UN have appointed a whole year to such.

The fossil record at Joggins contains 195 species — and counting — offering the most comprehensive sampling of the biodiversity of terrestrial life (life on land) in the Pennsylvanian “coal age”. This record includes the plant life which became the vast coal deposits for which this period of earth history is named, as well as invertebrate and vertebrate fauna from both the aquatic and terrestrial realm, all preserved within their ecological context.

The entire food chain of the terrestrial “Coal Age” ecosystem is represented at Joggins, from the primary producers (plants) that captured the energy of the sun, to decomposing detritivores (invertebrates) and ultimately to predatory carnivores (tetrapods).

The record of plant life is represented most notably by standing lycopsid trees that constituted the ecological framework of the wetlands.

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs show a snapshot of life on land 300 million years ago and the vast biodiversity of this place as it stood. If we were to take another snapshot in 300 million years time, what changes would there be? How diverse would the ecology be looking back at today?

The Joggins Fossil Institute is working hard to ensure that we not just protect but enhance the biodiversity of our landscape through many methods including naturalised and chemical-free landscape management techniques.

If you know someone who is interested in making a career from natural landscaping or biodiversity, tell them to keep a watch on our website as we have an interesting 4 month internship opportunity coming up from April 2010 for a Landscape Interpreter, funded through the YMCA/YWCA EcoInternship Program.

For more information on the International Year of Biodiversity visit the Countdown 2010 site

Christmas Sale

Thank you to everyone who came out last evening in support of our Annual Christmas Open House and Christmas Sale.

We had a great evening and there were plenty of shopping baskets brimming with some great deals. We can guarantee that there will be some very happy people on Christmas morning!

We even had people leaving their sick beds to attend...it's amazing the healing power of a good sale.

Don't forget we are open on Tuesday 29th December as a special opportunity blow away the winter cobwebs and we have decided to continue our sale on that date, so if you missed out last night, you will have another chance to shop.

Reminder of our Christmas Sale

Here's a reminder about our annual open house and Christmas Sale on Tuesday 8th December between 4pm and 8pm.

We have our new organic cotton infant t-shirts available in pink, navy and peacock in ages 2, 4 and 6 and great deals on more Joggins merchandise plus 10% of regular priced items.

Joyce will have been working hard in the Roundhouse Cafe to bake fresh cookies and prepare hot drinks. So, why not come along and avoid those crowded malls!

National Geographic Traveler Magazine & Centre for Sustainable Destinations by Melanie Cookson-Carter, Operations Coordinator

I have worked in the international tourism industry for...well longer than I dare say. Sustainable Tourism Development is primarily what my background has entailed, from developing diversification plans post-foot and mouth in rural areas of Lancashire, England, to coastal development and market town initiatives, I tend to have a lot to say about how destinations are managed.

So, when I was asked to participate in the National Geographic Sustainable Tourism Panel, I was thrilled and went about the task of reviewing global tourist destinations that I had visited over the past five years with a professional focus balanced with that of an average tourist and looking forward to how each destination might fare in the next few years. What threats might there be and is the site ready to be proactive and not reactive to challenges.

I found the exercise a great way of piecing together both my travels and the things that I found memorable and things, some unsavoury and some just plain dangerous, which I had chosen to forget.

To quote the website:

"This is the sixth annual survey of destination stewardship to appear in Traveler. Conducted by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations, it revisits some of the iconic places we first surveyed in 2003 and rated in April 2004. We also threw in a few new destinations to keep things interesting.
The condition of any destination is a mix of what local governments, residents, and businesses can control—pollution, cultural quality and authenticity, tourism management—and what they can't, such as natural disasters and global economic meltdowns. After more than five years, how have the scores changed?
At first glance the survey method may seem less than exact. We contact as many experts in pertinent fields as we can and ask them to rate the places they know. We then average their scores and publish the results. But statistical experience shows that group judgment can be surprisingly accurate—the "wisdom of crowds" effect. In 2003, when we conducted our first survey and had about 200 experts on the survey panel, the top-scoring destination was the Norwegian Fjords area, the lowest Spain's Costa del Sol"

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/destinations-rated/intro-text

After completing the survey, which was lengthy and undertaken in two rounds, I was subsequently asked if they could use a quote of mine about Sri Lanka in the NG Traveler Magazine featuring the survey results (December).

Of course I was delighted. Sri Lanka is a precious place, which has suffered internal and natural disasters, which have impacted on the tourist industry. It's a place I feel passionate about. The people are the jewels of the green and lush country and I was happy to share the positives of this wonderful place as well as give my insight into the negatives.

Sure enough, there I am on page...no, you'll have to buy a copy to find out!