Category: New thinking

One of the benefits of relatives in foreign countries is that you receive input from other places. This week, my brother sent me the link to a podcast series, On the Map from BBC Radio 4.
It was prepared by Mike Parker. Of the ten episodes, two caught my attention. Podcast #8 described the current thinking at the UK Ordnance Survey with regards to digital mapping. The second, Podcast #9, described the role of StreetMap in updating these maps. Throughout the series, Parker raises the question: Whose Map is it Anyway?

We can apply these concepts and the related technology to mapping in Canada, and particularly Nova Scotia. For example, here in the Annapolis Valley, who has the responsibility for updating the civic address file, or adding new roads and trails? who maps changes in land use in Annapolis County?

In the world of GIS, features on a map are defined in terms of point, line, polygon. I can imagine the following mapping needs.

Point
The Winemakers Inn is scheduled to open in downtown Lawrencetown in 2019. How will the attributes of this business be attached to the civic address?

Line
In the Book, Waterfalls of Nova Scotia, there are a couple of pages dedicated to Eel Weir Falls. Who will GPS the trail from the parking lot to the Upper Falls?

Polygon
The Municipality of Annapolis has expressed concern about the changes in our forest cover as the result of intensive harvesting. Who will map the extent of the cuts? Similarly with agriculture, who is mapping the new vineyards and orchards?

The county is fortunate that the Centre of Geographic Sciences lies within its boundaries. This represents a resource for training and trained citizens. It offers the possibility of access to new technologies: LiDAR, UAV and GPS, as well as the related software.

There are several examples of positive outcomes from this relationship e.g. MapAnnapolis, as well as local innovations. This week, I received a copy of Touring Annapolis, Venue guide for Artists produced by Annapolis Venues. It includes a reference map of pubs, eateries and community halls (including Centrelea Cinema).

My suggestion is: take a 15-minute break and listen to each BBC Radio 4 podcast. Look at the new map products and ask the question, can we do more; especially, with regard to the changes which are impacting our landscape and the lives of its inhabitants?

On the Ernest Buckler front, I want to share a couple of books that crossed my desk this week. Margaret Atwood published Moving Targets, Writing with Intent 1982-2004. It includes two essays that struck a chord.

1. Great Aunts. Atwood describes a visit with her Great Aunts to Ernest Buckler’s house in the early ’70s.
2. George Orwell: some personal connections. Atwood describes how in 1984 she began writing The Handmaid’s Tale and the influence of Orwell’s books on her writing career.

The second book is Nova Scotia: Window on the Sea. It combines a text by Buckler with photographs by Hans Weber. While the text and photography can stand alone, it would be interesting to see a map of the photo locations. The book was published in 1973 – forty-six years ago. Perhaps we need an updated photographic version for the fiftieth anniversary.

Acknowledgements

To my brother, Peter, for the link to the BBC Radio 4 podcast series. To Anne Crossman for access to her collection of Ernest Buckler books, To Edward Wedler for his graphics contribution.

References

BBC Radio 4 Podcasts On the Map On the Map

Annapolis Venues Annapolis Venues

Margaret Atwood. 2004. Moving Targets Writing with Intent. 1982-2004.House of Anansi Press.

Ernest Buckler and Hans Weber. 1973. Nova Scotia: Window on the Sea. McClelland and Stewart.

There is considerable discussion about ‘smart cities’, but what is the impact of these technologies on a rural lifestyle?

What needs should be addressed? One need is transportation, another is health care. At what point does technology-access, designed for an urban lifestyle, detract or destroy rural values? In Annapolis Royal, at the Library, we see the reality of an Innovation Lab, as part of a Community Hub. It gives everyone access to a range of modern communication technologies.

This week, courtesy of the Internet, I received George Monbiot article on ‘dark money”. In return, this had me thinking about the money behind the Gordonstoun project. Is the Annapolis Valley ready for this type of colonization?

After our meeting at Burnbrae Farm (Morse Estate), I challenged myself to re-read Buckler’s The Cruelest Month. I think it answered my question. The setting is not likely the Morse Estate in Paradise, but rather Milford House on Highway #8 towards Kejimkujik National Park. What I had forgotten, was the quality of Buckler’s language and style. Now, I am charged to pull Ox Bells and Fireflies off the bookshelf.

The other recent challenge was the French cooking at the Flying  Apron (not really a challenge).

For the record, the menu included Salmon Rillette, Gougers, Coq Au Vin, and Creme Brûlée. All prepared by Chef Chris Velden. Each couple received a handout with the list of ingredients (and measures) and the method for preparation of each dish. Excellent!

Returning home, courtesy of the Internet,  I received a review of Julia Blackburn Time Song: searching for Doggerland. This has prompted a new interlibrary loan request.

In attempting to understand ‘rural’. I pulled off the bookshelf, The Rural Tradition, written by W J Keith, Professor of English at the University of Toronto.

It is a study of non-fiction prose writers of the English countryside and includes chapters on such notables as Isaac Walton, Gilbert White and William Cobbett.

Keith, in his conclusion, asks the following question:

“Is country writing a thing of the past? In an age that can envisage hermetically sealed monster cities artificially protected from natural phenomena and a polluted atmosphere, that can seriously entertain the possibility that three quarters of the world’s animal species may be extinct by the end of the century, is it feasible to expect the survival of a literature centred upon the countryside and the rural way of life ?” p.258

Keith was writing in 1974.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Rosemary Barron for the link to George Monbiot. To Frank Fox for the link to the review of Julia Blackburn’s book, and also for giving me a copy of Keith’s The Rural Tradition. To Heather Stewart for sharing the cooking experience at the Flying Apron. Edward for his graphics skills.

References

Ernest Buckler. 1963. The Cruelest Month. McClelland and Stewart

Ernest Buckler. 1968.Ox Bells and Fireflies. McClelland and Stewart.

W.J. Keith. 1974. The Rural Tradition. University of Toronto Press.

The Flying Apron website

Burnbrae Farm and Paradise Inn see link www.burnbraeparadise.ca

 

 

From my previous blog, you will know that David Manners wrote Convenient Season, published by EP Dutton in 1941.

As described on the web site (davidmanners.com),

“Convenient Season recalls his youth in the community of Centrelea where David’s aunt and uncle, the Chadwicks, had a beautiful Summer home. Convenient Season echoes David’s love of nature and depicts the home and community through the eyes of a young man who has returned to Nova Scotia from the United States hoping for fulfilment.”

I was interested in the origin of the title. So I went online, and typed it in:

Acts 24:25

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance and judgement to come, Felix trembled and answered ‘Go your way for this time, when I have a convenient season, I will call thee’ “

or

“This hour is your convenient season for that which is best worth your attention and doing”

Having read the book, I started online with Wikipedia ‘David Manners’

“He was born Rauff de Ryther Duan Acklom (April 30,1900 – December 23,1998).

Born in Halifax, moved to New York where his father was a literary advisor at EP Dutton.

Manners studied Forestry at the University of Toronto, where he got into acting and drama. In the late 1930’s he was best remembered for his role in Dracula with Boris Karloff (movie to be shown, by the way, on February 23rd  7 pm at Centrelea Movie night).

In 1940 he officially changed his name to David Joseph Manners (his mother’s maiden name). He later purchased a ranch in the desert at Victorville, California, where he lived with his partner, Bill Mercer.

He wrote a second novel, Under Running Laughter in 1943. In his later life, he published several non-fiction works, The Soundless Voice, The Wonder within you, and Look through: an evidence of self-discovery.

This week, I contacted Jaki at the Lawrencetown library and have requested these books through inter-library loan.

The curiosity for myself is to imagine Manners (and Towne see below)  describing the local landscape and lifestyle eighty, or a hundred years ago. How would we try to describe our landscape and lifestyle today? Fortunately, we are surrounded by talented, creative artists and writers. And we have access to the wonderful resources in our libraries, and online.

Postscript

As part of the Winter 2019 Speaker Series at the new Annapolis Royal Library on February 10th 2-3:30 pm. It began in a Library talk by Joan Francuz author of Press Enter to Continue. Scribes from Babylon to Silicon.  A History of Technical Writing.

Acknowledgements.

To Anne Crossman who first send me down this path. Edward Wedler for his continued technical support.

References

Check out the davidmanners.com web site for more detail on his movies, books and a full life.

David J. Manners 1941 Convenient Season. EP Dutton

David J. Manners. 1943. Under Running Laughter. EP Dutton.

Charles Hanson Towne. 1923. Ambling through Acadia. Crowell Publishing Company

 

This title is a quotation from Wendy Mitchell. She has been diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia. This came to my attention through the CBC Radio program Out in the Open presented by Piya Chattopadhyay. The January 4th edition is called If Memory Serves.

If you check out the podcast, you will also find Wendy’s blog describing her interview with Piya. It is very inspirational.

Indeed my blog is fed by both my day to day experiences, as well as a lifetime studying the geographic sciences.

After listening to the podcast, my first reaction was to go to the bookshelf and pull out Matthew Crawford, The World beyond your head. On becoming an individual in an age of distraction.

Last week, I had a meeting with Ed Symons, instructor in Community Planning at COGS. We discussed the need for asset mapping as a pre-requisite for evidence-based decisions at the municipal and provincial level. The context was a concept we have called PENCIL.

It has two elements: PEN and CIL. PEN refers to Place-based Educational Networks and CIL refers to Collaborative Ideation Laboratory. Together, they stress the need for learning networks that focus on ‘a sense of place’ and the necessity for a laboratory where groups can share ideas, technology and different approaches to problem-solving.

This concept fits well with community planning and the engagement of citizens in the day to day management of our natural and human resources.

Later this week, there will be a meeting of the Ernest Buckler Literary Event Society (EBLES). We will discuss the possibility of a new event in 2019. Stay tuned.

Addendum

This afternoon, we went for a cross country ski down to the Annapolis River, through the old provincial forest nursery. We ended up at Lunn’s Mill. Every second Sunday, they have an Irish Jam session from 1-4 pm. Afterwards, we skied home. Imagine, in rural Nova Scotia, in January.

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge my conversations with Ed Symons, Edward Wedler and Heather Stewart.

References

CBC Radio. January 4th, 2019. Out in the Open. Hosted by Piya Chattopadhyay.

Recording an Interview for Canadian Radio. November 8,2018 Wendy’s blog

Matthew Crawford. 2016.The World beyond your Head. On becoming an individual in an age of distraction. Penguin Books.

Matthew Crawford. 2009. Shop Class as Soulcraft. An Inquiry into the Value of Work. Penguin Books.

Fifty years ago in the United Kingdom, they created The Open University.

” With more than 174,000 students enrolled, it is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom. Since it was founded more than 2 million students have studied the courses.”  [Wikipedia].

Imagine, as we start 2019, if Nova Scotia created The Open College.

What would be the impact on the Nova Scotia Community College? What would be the effect on its relationship to the Gordonstoun Nova Scotia and Kings Edgehill schools?How would this influence the statement by the Principal of the Annapolis Valley campus on the creation of a Centre of Rural Aging and Health at the Middleton site?

Over the Christmas break, I came across two connections to the Centre for Local Prosperity (CLP). Gregory Heming (Senior Advisor) forwarded to me a copy of his essay, entitled ‘Letter to Wendell Berry’, as well as ‘Conjectures of a Northern Journeyman’, published in Urban Coyote.

From the first essay, Heming notes the following quotation.

” Thomas Merton once remarked that having lost our ability to see life as a whole, to evaluate conduct as a whole, we no longer have any relevant context into which our actions are to be fitted, and therefore all our actions become erratic, arbitrary and insignificant. My work (Heming) intends to promote the importance of community as a discipline of hope, which elevates us to a conduct of wholeness.”

The second connection was to discover a reference to the work of Robert Cervelli in the book by Niki Jabbour Year-round Vegetable Gardener. Cervelli (besides his role as Executive Director, CLP) grows vegetables in his cold frame and unheated greenhouse.

Looking forward to 2019, there are two scheduled events at the end of January.

1. Sensors High and Low: measuring the reality of our world. Workshop at NSCC Centre of Geographic Sciences. January 23-24, 2019
2. MashUp Weekend: Rural Business Activated. Annapolis Royal Library. January 26, 2019. Supported by AIRO , PeopleWorx and Common Good Solutions.

If we want to establish a Centre for Rural Aging and Health at the NSCC in Middleton, one of the first steps is for the community to define healthy aging for the diverse population of Annapolis County, and beyond. This could be achieved within the larger context of The  Open College.

In conclusion, from the 2019 Annapolis Seeds Growing Calendar (by Owen Bridge, Nictaux) the December entry reads:

“Our region has seen generations of clearcutting, largely exported for pulp, and now for biomass energy. Drive anywhere, and you see forests of crowded conifers, lacking most of the biodiversity they once had. Luckily our bioregion is a very resilient one, and biodiversity can return with more selective and community focused forestry. If policymakers start getting their act together, our great grandchildren might still live amongst a healthy Acadian Forest.”

From my old school friend, Andrew Ronay in England, I have now heard about the University of the Third Age (U3A). Another possible model for Nova Scotia.

Acknowledgements

To my family and friends. Thank you Edward for the graphics from Florida. And to quote, John DeMont (Chronicle Herald, December 24, 2018).

Home: the place that, more than any other, makes you who you are. That you can never forget.

References

Niki Jabbour. 2011. Year-round Vegetable Gardener. Storey Publishing.

Gregory Heming. Letter to Wendell Berry. (electronic copy from the author)

Gregory Heming. 2003. Conjectures of a Northern Journeyman. Urban Coyote p.153-162.

John DeMont. Home. Chronicle Herald, December 24,2018

Lawrence Powell. Healthy Aging – NSCC Middleton hopes to make campus Centre of Rural Aging and Health. Annapolis Spectator, December 19, 2018.

 

In response to my last blog, Jane Nicholson mentioned that the region was unable to meet the criteria of Heritage River status because of the tidal power pilot project in Annapolis Royal. This caused me to reflect on the issue.

I recall from the 1980’s the efforts of Diane Legard and Stephen Hawboldt to seek this designation. Indeed, I believe that the Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP) was established as a non-government organization (NGO) to address questions related to water quality and pollution. This included the volunteer River Guardian network.

Since that time, we have seen new infrastructure on the river. The latest evidence is the boat ramp by the Lawrencetown bridge.

To achieve heritage river status for the Annapolis River, the community would have to agree on the following actions:

a) removal of the tidal power pilot and dam. This would allow fish species to migrate up and down the Annapolis River, without human impediment.

b) collaboration throughout the watershed to guarantee water quality. This means municipal governments working together e.g. Annapolis County and Kings County.

The concept of CARP was as a ‘project’. Reaching the goal of heritage river, would allow us to take it off the project, ‘to do ‘ list. Of course, the quality of the water depends on the activities in the Annapolis watershed. This means the removal of forest cover would need to managed, with these criteria in mind.

In the spirit of harmonious active living within the landscape, travelling up the Annapolis River by canoe/kayak would offer a quality experience. This could be complemented by hiking, biking or ATV along the Harvest Moon trail on the repurposed rail line. Although, we still need B & B and other accommodation for those travelling from Grand Pre to Annapolis Royal.

A third option, which would allow us to monitor the watershed, would be to create a hiking trail that follows the height of land along North and South Mountain.

Between these three types of travel, residents and visitors would develop an intimate understanding of both ‘the Mountain and the Valley’. There would be the opportunity to share common values: community, landscape and heritage integrity and respect. The CARP project would meet its goal, and we, collectively, would leave a legacy for the future inhabitants. Perhaps, sightings of sturgeon and other marine species would become commonplace in Bridgetown and higher up the river.

Acknowledgements

Jane Nicholson for her comment. Heather Stewart as CARP Board member for our conversations, and Edward Wedler for adding graphics and links from Florida.

LINK
Canadian Heritage Rivers System
http://chrs.ca/

CARP, Clean Annapolis River project video
https://vimeo.com/67321770

In our working world, we become used to responding to a variety of tasks and deadlines. What happens in our retirement? We are still geared to tasks and specific timelines. Imagine a situation where two individuals who have structured their lives according to tasks, and deadlines. Suddenly, in retirement, we need to change our behaviour and recognize that living in a rural society, the timelines are driven more by natural cycles.  The green beans and the gooseberries need to be picked. The beans have to be blanched, before freezing. The gooseberries turned into jam.

One of the artefacts of task-oriented employment is impatience. There are always additional tasks that arise. We are in a perpetual cycle of motion or uncertainty.

Within the institutional world, we develop an understanding of timelines; the pattern of activity over the year. In the teaching environment, we understand semesters, final examinations, Summer vacation. In the research environment, there is fieldwork, analysis, writing reports and going to conferences. There is also the structure of the research grant: proposals, the research and the deliverables.

Step forward into the future. Imagine, this structure no longer exists. The structure now relates to lives: births, marriages, separations and deaths.

Along with retirement comes the role of ‘elder’. What have we learned from our career? Can we mentor the next generation to address environmental issues? Or the relationship between ‘Man and Nature’? What processes exist so that this knowledge can be applied to current issues in society? How can we change our educational institutions? How can we change our governing institutions?

So often, we hear negative comments about the provincial demographics. Too many retirement-age people. Too many Nova Scotians living a lifestyle of residence in Nova Scotia but working elsewhere in Canada. What will happen when these task-oriented Nova Scotians return home to retire?

Can we envisage a different model? Where those returning to Nova Scotia bring back skills, expertise and understanding that can be applied to future issues in the province?

For example, in my own field ‘Geographic Sciences’ what is the value of knowledge of other geographies? Can we compare and contrast approaches to rural economic development, both within the province, but also across Canada, and at a global level?

The transition from task-oriented thinking (in a working world) to a timeless world (retirement) is universal. Is Nova Scotia, better or less prepared than other jurisdictions? – provinces, countries. Can we position ourselves, ahead of the curve?

Thanks for Edward Wedler for the graphics and Heather Stewart for the inspiration.

After visiting Roxbury a couple of weeks ago, it was time to re-read some of the local authors on the history of our forested landscape (e.g. Whitman, Parker). Reading their accounts of the importance of the forest industry to the economy, makes me realize: what we have lost, and yet, what we are holding onto. The same observations can be made about other resource sectors: agriculture, fishing, mining.

It seems that these (human) memories of the landscape, and its utilization, get passed down from generation to generation.

If this is true, then my questions are:
1) by exploiting these ‘resources’, is there any attempt to put back into the land or sea, to reduce the level of degradation?

2) with these landscape changes, do we have a good idea of the rate of change? Are we conducting land use surveys? Do we fully understand the effects of extraction on the hydrology and water quality? Or on climate change?

How easy would it be to monitor these changes?

Today, there is considerable debate about the need for broadband in rural Nova Scotia. There seems to be little discussion on the type of information that can be shared on the network. Would a ‘community geographic information utility’ give us answers to the above questions? Could a broader context allow us to view the Annapolis Valley as a coherent physiographic region? Rather than as a collection of disconnected political fiefdoms.

The opportunity exists to better understand our landscape: today, in the past, and into the future. The technology is readily available. Expertise exists in various post-secondary institutions. If we know where we came from, we should be able to plan where we want to go and take action which offers the best transition for both land and sea.

We notice the changes in our forest cover. We notice the changes in our agricultural land. Is it perhaps time to a conduct a land use survey of the Annapolis Valley?

I remember back in the ’60’s in England, Geography was defined by the work of Dudley Stamp and Alice Coleman. If you go online, you will see that Stamp conducted the first land use survey of Britain, started in 1933 and completed in 1948, after the Second World War. This was repeated later in 1960 by Alice Coleman. Would it not be amazing to conduct a 2020 land use survey of the Valley? In reviewing the groundbreaking work by Stamp in the UK, we see that he marshalled teams of teachers, schoolchildren to conduct the fieldwork.

As a footnote, and an example of the type of individual research that can be undertaken to better understand our rich landscape, check out the book by Sherman Bleakney, Sods, soils and spades. The Acadians at Grand Pre and their dykeland legacy.

Acknowledgements

This week, I have had useful conversations on this broad topic with both Rachel Brighton and Ed Symons. Edward Wedler added the graphics. The above represents my own personal opinion.

References

J. Sherman Bleakney. 2004. Sods, Soils and Spades. McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Mike Parker. 2010. Buried in the Woods. Sawmill Ghost Towns of Nova Scotia. Potters field Press. East Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia

Dave Whitman. 2005. Lost in the Woods. The Lure and History of Roxbury. Bailey Chase Books. Paradise, Nova Scotia.

 

 

 

Given the forthcoming CCA conference, it is a good time to ask whether there is a ‘new Cartography’. When I posed the question to Michael Goodchild, one of the keynote speakers, he emailed back with the following response.

“I think there are several answers – technical (Web, Animation, 3D etc), data (new data sources, Big Data), theme (things that have never been mapped before, a critical focus)”

If we look at the presentation schedule, there is much supportive evidence: 3D, LiDAR, Community Mapping, Indigenous Mapping, an artistic approach to place-making.

Within the social media world today, are there new expectations for Cartography? Can we envisage easier access to cartographic products? Quick maps, which combine the output from drones or other positional technologies, can be overlaid on accessible imagery.

If we think of the world of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, does that influence our Cartography?

There seems to be a demand for online digital atlases representing different views of the landscape in Nova Scotia — e.g. Acadien, Mi’kma’ki or the UN Biosphere Reserve.

I have been trying to understand the value or purpose of a blog. Where does it fit, in terms of traditional forms of writing? Is there a graphic (cartographic) equivalent?

This takes us back to Goodchild’s talk ‘Place, Space, Geographic Science (and technology).

Regardless of the technology, the data or the theme, there is likely a consensus on the need for good cartographic design.

Looks like an interesting few days next week. Edward Wedler contributed the graphic.

Reference
M.F.Goodchild. Email dated May 23, 2018.