Tour de COGS

Thursday, I met with the new Principal, Gord MacKenzie, for the NSCC Annapolis Valley campus (Middleton and Lawrencetown). He follows on from Wayne St.Amour. At the same time, Monica Lloyd has replaced Michael Purcell as the Site Manager for the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS).

My objective was to make sure Gord, who had responsibilities for Trades at the IT campus in the City, had an appreciation for the history behind both COGS and AGRG. Some of the background is available at the Story of COGS website, managed by Ted MacKinnon. A second objective was to discuss the need for a new relationship between the broader community and the college in post-COVID times.

In return, Gord gave me a tour of the new addition to the COGS building. It is a three story structure. On the ground floor, the two innovation spaces are labelled the Drone Makers Space Lab and the Industry Access Lab. The other two floors provide accommodation for a total of 40 beds: a double, three four-bedroom pods and six single bedrooms. Twenty bedrooms on each floor. The expectation is that the accommodation can be rented by industry partners engaged in technical education , through short courses.

Gord anticipates a formal opening of the Innovation Centre in September, or soon thereafter.

In my conversation, I stressed the importance of community involvement. This has several dimensions:

• the academic community, including current and retired faculty living in the region

• graduates of COGS since its renaming in 1986

• the business community which uses similar or compatible technology

• the local community, businesses and residents working in Annapolis County, and beyond

My vision, post- COVID, is of a much broader definition of community and, yet, at the same time, emphasizes both the technology, and the geography of rural Nova Scotia. This includes resource management in an ecologically sustainable manner of our forests, geology, agriculture, fisheries, within the changing global climate.

Certainly, I would be willing to assist in the identification and inclusion of these ‘communities of interest’ and ‘communities of place’.

We enjoy a remarkable landscape. We have the potential to redefine a much more inclusive culture.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Gord Mackenzie for the tour. Thanks to Wayne St.Amour for finding the funding for the new extension. Thanks to past faculty and researchers who believed in the technology. Current faculty support student projects, with both industry and the community. Edward added the graphics. He was instrumental in Ride the Lobster, and shared the Road to Georgetown.

References

The Story of COGS go to thestoryofcogs.ca

MapAnnapolis blog go to mapannapolis.ca