A Vision for the Annapolis region

As a Geographer, I think of the Annapolis Valley as a physiographic unit. Travelling from Halifax, you enter the Valley around Windsor on Highway #101. It is bounded on two sides by North Mountain and South Mountain and extends down towards Digby. It also includes the Fundy shore.

Despite, the recent i-Valley definition, my definition includes Annapolis County and Annapolis Royal.

From an educational perspective, Annapolis County has much to offer the region. At the recent COGS conference, the resources at both Middleton and Lawrencetown demonstrated national significance. Middleton campus is the home to the Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG). The Lawrencetown site has a long tradition of teaching Geographic Sciences (Surveying, Cartography, Planning, GIS, Remote Sensing and the associated IT). There is now a plan to establish an Innovation Hub and residence at COGS.

Other educational dimensions include the Environment and Agriculture Technology Laboratory (EATLAB) and access to Geomatics technologies as part of the corporate NSCC SEATAC initiative.

All of these activities bode well for education and research in the Annapolis Region. It links to high school activities in Annapolis Royal. If we are successful with Gordonstoun School, the resident expertise in the County can offer pathways from secondary school through to graduate work. There is an existing joint Masters degree in Applied Geomatics between Acadia University and the NSCC.

What is needed to support this vision?

1) we need to extend the Valley Computer Fibre Network and high-speed Internet throughout the Valley region.
2) the expertise at i-Valley should not stop at Middleton.
3) the Innovation Hub at Lawrencetown needs to be part of the Valley network.
4) Municipal government needs to work with the existing educational institutions to support all citizens in the larger geography.
5) the Geomatics technologies at the NSCC should be used to address sustainability issues in the region.

Ultimately, better collaboration, better communication, and leadership that respects the needs of all citizens in the larger region.

Many years ago, John Wightman, former Principal at COGS, created a non-profit entity, CANMAP. That acronym remains relevant today!

Acknowledgements

To those colleagues who have worked hard, to build up the educational resources in the region.