Fossil centre key to UN heritage hope

More funding is on the way for an interpretative centre at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a key part of a plan to win world heritage status for the site.

The federal and Nova Scotia governments announced the $7-million boost Monday.

The site covers 10 kilometres of cliffs up to 30 metres high at the head of the Bay of Fundy. The tides continually erode the cliffs, exposing fossils that date back 310 million years.

"We get to learn a lot about the past environment and the ecosystem that was apparent at the carboniferous time," said Jenna Boon, a senior project manager.

The money will be spent on creating a tourism and heritage centre, which would house displays and lab space for researchers, as well as a cafe and store.

The project also includes an access trail to the beach, guides to explain the site to tourists, and a marketing plan to transform the centre into a major tourist destination.

Boon said the centre already has the best collection in the world of carboniferous fossils, thanks to a local collector.

Don Reid has been displaying his personal collection at his own centre in Joggins, but he plans to shut it down when the new one opens.

Reid started collecting fossils on the beach as a young boy. As his interest grew, so did his knowledge about them.

"When I first started I didn't know what I was doing," he said. "I still kept collecting because I liked the look of them."

Boon said Reid's collection is vital to the new project. In fact, she said, the interpretative centre has been designed around it.

Application to UNESCO

Boon and Reid hope the fossil collection and centre will earn Joggins special designation from the United Nations.

The Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association is applying to have the Joggins Fossil Cliffs designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The association has until Feb. 1 to submit an application. After a review, the world heritage organization will send a delegation to tour the site next summer. A decision is expected in 2008.

Old Town Lunenburg is currently the only Nova Scotia site to have the UNESCO world heritage designation.

The $9-million Joggins fossil centre is expected to be completed next summer.

About $4.8 million for the project is coming from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, with $1.8 million from the provincial Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and $900,000 from the local development association.

The province spent about $1 million last year on the project.