What is in the works at the Joggins Fossil Centre this winter

It is easy to understand how the staff of the Joggins Fossil Institute are kept busy in the peak of “tourist season” but when the snow comes and the tourists leave the staff still have significant work on their plates.

The winter is a great time to do all of those things that elude us in our busy season. For instance, our Curator of Palaeontology, Dr. Melissa Grey, has the opportunity to focus more on research and analyze data taken over the summer months. Click here to see the reference of the most recent paper published from the Joggins Institute entitled “The Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage site: a review of recent research”.

There are also many team projects to prepare us for the summer months. Funding proposals for interpreter positions are submitted, events for the coming year are planned, outreach events (March Break) and new exhibits for the gallery are designed. There is also a great deal of preparation for the financial year end: organizing information for an audit, counting inventory in the gift shop, and planning a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. We restock the gift shop, ensure that we market the site, we prepare and annual report which includes a review of the past year and a look to the next year and this year we have to prepare our first report on the status of the site for UNESCO.

Some of our staff even find it busier in the winter months simply because now is the time to do all those things that the summer does not allow for!