“Shepherd was a localist of the best kind: she came to know her chosen place closely, but that closeness served to intensify rather than limit her vision”
Robert MacFarlane p.x. The Living Mountain.
Yesterday (Sunday) we joined a Zoom conference with Nina Newington and a small group from the Extinction Rebellion. The topic was Forestry and the position of the Provincial government. Today, there are additional topics of local concern, particularly access to Health Services and the Internet.
Thinking about the relationship of citizens and community groups to these global concerns it struck me that you have to start at the local level. If we are going to develop a new ‘land ethic’ then perhaps we should be expressing these concepts to the municipal government. If we want to change the political process, more openness, decisions based on best practices and science, let us work at the local level.
If we want to understand our Geography, let’s start with Annapolis County. Let us map the changes in our land use, whether Forestry, Agriculture, Fisheries, Mining. If we are concerned about the health of our citizens, let us map our demography; let us know the location, number and size of long-term care facilities in the County. Let us know and understand the population at risk.
Nan Shepherd described her relationship to the Cairngorms. Ernest Buckler described his relationship to the Mountain and the Valley. Can we not start with the Geography of Annapolis County? Can we not develop a different relationship between the Municipality, the landscape and its citizens. If we conducted that experiment in this county, we could share the lessons, positive and negative, with other counties. Make comparisons, and hence improve the overall provincial picture.
In Annapolis county, we have the added advantage of access to the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS).
Although today, Lawrencetown is a ‘ghost town’. Nothing is open. NO post office. NO XTR gas station. NO Shakes on Main, NO In Your Back Pocket Thrift store. NO Winemakers Tavern. NO COGS. And yet, we anticipate a new Health Centre later in the year. That is a fine example of citizen engagement.
Acknowledgements
Nina Newington for hosting the Zoom meeting. Municipality of Annapolis for their comments on previous blogs. Edward Wedler for his graphics touch.
References
Nan Shepherd. 2011. The Living Mountain. Canongate Books
Ernest Buckler.1952. The Mountain and the Valley. Henry Holt. NY.
Ernest Blair Experiment 