I want to use the word ‘accountability‘ in two very different ways.
First, at the time of a municipal election, candidates are seeking to hold local government to account. This week’s The Reader (August 14) includes contributions from Susan Robinson-Burnie (District 7) and Alan Parish (District 3). Meanwhile, from the Municipality, we are now seeing coverage on the new waste management site in West Paradise.
If you will excuse a bit of ‘wordplay’, I would like to address ‘a County ability’.
I continue to be amazed that, at a time when so many of our issues are Geographic in nature (e.g. climate change, COVID, sustainable land management) that the county does not make better use of the resources at both COGS and AGRG. Many of these Geomatics technologies are in high demand (e.g. LiDAR, image analysis, GIS). Annapolis County could showcase a leadership role in municipal land management.
What is stopping us?
Is it the same reason we cannot collaborate with adjoining counties and towns?
In response to my queries, Edward sent me the link to the following TED talk …
It features Chris Fisher, archaeologist and founder of Earth Archive.
Edward’s question: “Could we develop a Nova Scotia Archive as part of the Earth Archive Mission [starting in the Valley]?
YES. And we could start by utilizing the skills, abilities and resources that reside in Annapolis County.
Postscript
Finished reading Randall Fuller’s The Book that Changed America. Fuller describes the impact of Darwin’s Origin of Species on the intellectual community in Concord in 1860. This included Emerson, Thoreau and Asa Gray (the botanist). It was the time of Abraham Lincoln as President and the anti-slavery movement.
If you are a book-lover, check out the documentary The Booksellers on GEM.
Acknowledgements
Edward for the TED talks link. Heather for the help in the garden. Anne Crossman for the updates on the municipal scene. Jon Murphy for news from GoGeomatics.
Reference
Randall Fuller, 2017. The Book that changed America. Penguin-RandomHouse.
Ernest Blair Experiment 
Neat idea, although I am sure that the Province would argue that they already have a ‘Nova Scotia Archive’ and be more then happy to sell you some of it, after you sign a ten page license agreement 🙂
Maybe you have to plant a seed at the municipality level and remind them of what they could do with COGS, AGRG and the other resources in the area. TM
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Effective communication is a two-way street. COGS, AGRG and other resources in the area have an obligation to keep their municipal communities informed, updated and involved — and build that bond. Municipalities, likewise, have a duty to understand, engage, and fully utilize the resources that are on their doorsteps.
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