SCEP - Trail Development at the Ganong Nature Park- 2007

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at the Quodd Nature & Marine Park

. . . f r o m p l a n n i n g

. . . t o r e a l i t y

St. Croix Estuary Project Inc.2007 - 2008


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eport #2008-2March 2008

im Reeder, Art MacKaySt. Croix Estuary Project Inc.

St. Stephen, NB, CanadaOccasional Report No. 2008-2

Atlantic Coastal Action Programnv ronment ana a

Building Teaching Nodes on the Learning Trail at Ganong Nature and Marine Park


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. ro x s uary ro ec nc. s an n epen en ,community, non-pro t charity that is one of the founding memberso nv ronmen ana a s an c oas a c on rogram .Incorporated in 1992, the group delivers many environmental,e uca ona , an ou reac programs an owns an opera es eGanong Nature and Marine Park located on a 350 acre peninsulan e . ro x s uary an amp awe g oca e on acres onthe Waweig Estuary.

Whidden Ganong and his wife Eleanor owned Todds Point fromun en s ea n . e ore e e , en

became determined to see the property left as a legacy. He madea prov s on n s w ena ng e . ro x s uary roecto buy the property within two years of his death, for a price well

e ow s mar e va ue. en s one con on was a woube made into a nature park.

The property has now been a park since its purchase and manyo er pos ve c anges ave a en p ace as we .

By 2002, SCEP had raised the funds ($350 000 plus anadditional monies used to run the park from 2002 - 2005),and they purchased the land at Todds Point. A committee ofSCEP developed Whiddens vision for the property further.

In 2003, SCEP commissioned a Development plan withsupport from Atlantic Canada Opportunities (ACOA) andEnterprise Charlotte. Basic Design Associates of Sussex

prepared a document that has become the blueprint forthe future of the Ganong Park. At this point , SCEP and itssupporters had already invested 612,000. An application fornancial support to cover this plan was submitted to ACOA.

In January 2006 a grant of $1.288 million was received asthe ACOA contribution to the park development.

Since that time, staff and supporters of SCEP Inc. have been work-ing to accomplish the goals set out to further develop the Park.SCEP Inc. has also utilized this opportunity to rede ne its own rolewithin the region. The Quoddy Learning Centre, our newly con-structed Interpretive Centre at the Park has a new ogo we e evere ects our int

The Qs color re ects the ocean and its shape, the earth, and thesurrounding atmosphere. The tail represents an ocean wave. Themoon image represent creation of tides, the driving force in Quoddy.The Luna Moth (meaning moon in Latin) represents creatures of

he Quoddy Region and their relationship to land, air, and space.

Introduction


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And it is this message - the interconnection of everything Quoddy- that the Quoddy Learning Centre, the Parks trails and teachingnodes will help to interpret for those who visit the park.

This report attests to the work accomplished since April 2007 re-garding;

an interpretive display in the Quoddy Learning Centre promotingMarine and Freshwater education,

the construction of the Marine Learning Pool, accepted by DFO un-der the EIA requirement of the ACOA agreement and,

the construction of the Forest Stream Learning Pool also approvedby DFO under the EIA requirement of the ACOA agreement

Educational Display - the backdrop of the display has been nished.Muralist Patrick Cordier was hired to work with staff on the concept

of the message to be portrayed. He then went to work to design thewalls of the Great Room.

Three of the rooms walls have a panorama depicting this region.e an scape mura as an eyeca c ng w s ; s a so a me ne.

The top of the panorama depicts the sky, iIllustrations of the sunand moon as they relate to tidal rise and fall are integrated into this

.

The middle of the display depicts an oblique aerial view of theland of the Quoddy area as shown in the following pages. Thisis the primary component of the display. It has been prepared onboard that will stand out 8 to 12 inches from the wall, creating a

3D effect and hiding the electrical and other services. Multimediapresentations are in development and monitors will be embeddedinto the display as shown.

The bottom of the wall will depict the plants and animals that occurin shallow water for each of the time periods depicted and thelocation in the Quoddy ecosystem. The area at St. Stephen/Calaisfor example should depict estuary animals such as smelt, alewives,sand shrimp, et., while the Bay area will depict cod, pollock, sharks,e c.

A narrow strip along the oor will depict bottom dwelling creaturesas if you are looking down on the bottom.

Introduction

Interpretive Project Status


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Area to include, Point Lepreau,St. George, east to St. Andrews,

north to Oak Bay

Passamaquoddy and Cob-scook Bays. Islands includ-

ing Grand Manan

obbinston to Calais/St.Stephen. Canadian shore

to Oak Bay

Interpretive Project Planning


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Glacier 15,000 BP

Tundra10,000 BP

e neRed PaintPeoples

10,000 BP

assamaquo y3,000 BP

Taiga15,000 BP

Early Visitors1,000-1604



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um er ng s ng -Today

-

Lumbering and Fishing

This is the period of exploitation that saw theremoval of vast tracts of lumber, the exploita-tion of the sheries, and the rst impact on the

ecosystem by large-scale industrial develop-ment. This portion of the display illustrates thisrich and prosperous period.

he New Exploiters

Building on residual Quoddy resources, new in-dustries threaten to impact the ecosystem, creat-ng a c a enge w ra ona resource- ase

industries. Current coastal air and water pollutionas well as recent and potential developmentsthreaten the rich Quoddy ecosystem.



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January 2008Mural in progress

Mural Planning

Interpretive Project


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The Freshwater Stream educational node is locatedat the mouth of a freshwater stream with a view to thetidal mud ats on Oak bay. Remnants of a stone damfor a millpond remain on the edges of the stream. Thepool was restored using the original stone creatinga site for interpretation of a fresh water ecosystem.

A boardwalk across the stream has been builtand will be put in place in the spring to linkthe existing Auk Hill trail to the east with anewly built trail leading to the John Smith farm. Aspace surrounding the edge of the pool has beenlevelled out to accommodate a group of visitors.

Two panels, yet to be installed, will interpret the culturaland natural history of the site. The natural history panelwill focus on the trees and forest type here, and onthe ecological conditions that are established wherefresh and salt water meet. The cultural history panelwill describe the mill pond that was here originally.

ew ra ohn Smith

o u n d a t i o nd the his-

ric granite

he board-alk haseen und will be in-talled onsite

the spring

he pool haseen restorednd spillwaye u

Freshwater Stream Educational Node


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view to Oak Bay downstream offreshwater pond

freshwater stream above pond

site of previous dam at thelocation of the freshwater pond

Eastern trail to thepond

Freshwatyer pond construction at the site of the olddam, completed under the EIA requirements of the

ACOA agreement, photos 1, 2 & 3

1

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Freshwater Stream Educational Node


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Marine Pool Educational Node

The Marine Tidal pool will be located on the eastern edge of theproperty abutting the tidal ats. Access to the pool will be providedfrom existing trails and via beach access.

Originally designed to be placed in a gulley just above mean highwater, the plan was altered when a meeting was held with a DFOhabitat representative to determine whether or not the EIA that hadbeen conducted was adequate to ensure contruction at this site.We were informed that Provincial permitting would be required inaddition to the original EIA which was satisfactory. Since we hadnot been told this previously, the design and physical location of thisnode was altered to accommodate this concern and to eliminatethe necessity for permitting on the intertidal area. Under the new

plan, permission will be required to ll the pond with salt water. Alternately arti cial seawater can be used and no permit will berequired. Based on these decisions, the construction of the tidepool has proceeded.

The pond will be located on the southern bank of the property facingdown the estuary. Levelling and brush work has been carried outand the large trees located at the top of the slope will provide shadefor the Pool. The beach access will provide a second access pointto the marine trail which will connect the ferry site to the tidal pool.Water circulation for the pool will be provided using a solar-poweredpump.

The Pool itself will be housed inside a 20 foot gazebo, which hasalready been contracted (similar to the photo included here) witha cement oor and a 12 foot berglass pool mounted inside thegazebo at waist height. Water temperature will be maintained in aburied reservoir and salt water circulation will be by pump operatedby solar panel.

Groups of school children and summer visitors will be able to sit

around the edge of the pool and listen and watch while an interpretershows them the creatures from the pool. Two interpretive panels willprovided.

We had, based on previous winter weather expected to place thisonsite through the winter. However, the early and protracted winterthis year precluded any onsite construction work. However, thegazebo has been contracted and will be delivered and installedwhen the grounds dryout, with an aim of early May. Cement work,installation, etc will be carried out by staff at that time. All necessartymaterials were purchased by the original March 31, 2008 deadline.

Approximate design for the tide pool gazebo.

Documents

SCEP - Trail Development at the Ganong Nature Park- 2007