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Heritage Regions Program
HERITAGE REGIONS PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
By François LeBlanc Vice-President
The Heritage Canada Foundation 1991
For more information, contact:
HERITAGE CANADA P.O. Box 1358 Station B
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5R4
Tel.: (613) 237.1066 / Fax: (613) 237.5987
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE SUMMARY
The Heritage Regions Program was launched by Heritage Canada in
1988. It is a national program dedicated to the establishment of
a countrywide network of distinctive areas. The network is created
through agreements between the residents of these areas and Heritage
Canada.
Among the Program's associates are the residents of fishing villages,
aboriginal communities, agricultural areas, and lumber valleys.
The Program assists residents in several ways. Before the launch
of a local Project, the Program helps to attract seed funding and
to bring together various supporting agencies. Once a five-year
Project is launched, the Program provides residents with in-depth
training, expert advice, access to a nationwide network of regions,
and the blueprint for a seven-point revitalization approach.
The revitalization approach focuses on local organization, resource
identification and protection, economic development, education,
design, marketing, and monitoring.
At the heart of this process are three tenets:
- That local residents should be in charge of their own environment;
- That a heritage value system should permeate local environmental
decisions;
- And that the sound use of heritage assets leads to increased
economic vitality.
The Program's approach has proved successful wherever it has been
implemented. From the Labrador Straits to Manitoulin Island to Lanark
County to the Cowichan and Chemainus Valleys on Vancouver Island,
Canadians claim that their association with the Heritage Regions
Program has helped them to cherish their local heritage, increase
their role in its management, and create economic vitality. In short,
they claim the approach has helped them to improve their quality
of life.
THE CONTEXT
In the 1950s and 1960s, something remarkable happened. Canadians
from one end of the country to the other fell out of love with the
things that made their local regions unique.
Many residents left their home areas. Some who stayed ignored what
was special, allowing it to deteriorate. Others destroyed resources
such as vintage buildings, historic neighborhoods, and natural sites.
Others constructed faceless, standard-issue buildings -- bungalows,
office towers, apartment blocks, regional malls, and shopping strips
-- thereby insuring that their towns, cities, and countryside looked
exactly like everyone else's.
Then, gradually, another remarkable thing occurred. Canadians began
to rediscover their regions. On the verge of losing their local
heritage, they developed a newfound pride in the things that gave
their places identity: the natural environment, the vintage buildings,
the cultural diversity, the traditions, the indigenous industry,
and the history.
The first attempts to protect regional heritage were usually top
down solutions introduced by governments. These efforts tended to
throw money at issues rather than to understand them from the bottom-up.
Because these efforts were gratuitous and disconnected, they invariably
failed.
And so, something else happened. Once willing to allow planners
and developers to dictate the look of their surroundings, Canadians
started to demand a greater say in the way their environments were
managed. They joined special-interest groups and entered collaborative
agreements to create more livable places.
One of the agencies involved in bringing about these important
shifts was Heritage Canada, the only national organization whose
mandate is to encourage the protection of Canada's natural and cultural
heritage.
In 1988 Heritage Canada launched its Heritage Regions Program.
The Program helps the residents of a network of areas across the
country protect their natural and cultural resources and to use
them as the basis for economic revitalization. Wherever the Program's
approach is tried, local residents develop heritage values, deepen
their sense of local identity, and create sustainable development.
THE INFLUENCES
Many Canadians consider the Heritage Regions approach the most
important way yet devised to protect natural and cultural heritage
while creating local economic vitality.
But while Canada is the birthplace of the Heritage Regions idea,
we are not the only country in which elements of the approach have
been undertaken with success. Canada's program, in short, is the
beneficiary of experience gained by similar programs throughout
Europe and North America.
The following profiles of forerunners reveal how, over the years,
the building blocks for the Heritage Regions approach were assembled
The Council for the Protection of Rural England
Established in the 1920s, this Council is the earliest antecedent
of the Heritage Regions program. Decades ahead of its time, it established
principles that are still at the core of the Heritage Regions approach.
The Council recognized, for example, that "heritage" means
more than individual artifacts: it includes the entire physical
environment -- both natural and cultural, both outstanding and vernacular
-- that makes up the world in which we live.
The Civic Trust
Established as a charity in 1957, England's Civic Trust also focuses
attention upon distinctive places. Its Norwich Plan, which specialized
in downtown revitalization, contributed two more elements that became
central to the Heritage Regions approach. For one, the Civic Trust
emphasized organization, encouraging businesses, institutions, public
officials, and the voluntary sector to join forces to manage local
environments. The Civic Trust also considered the environment a
constantly-changing entity that demanded not pickle jar preservation
techniques but on-going design improvement.
Scandinavia's Ecomuseums
In the 1960s, Sweden and Norway launched regional experiments under
such names as museums without-walls, exploding museums, and, most
commonly, ecomuseums. These experiments added another important
element to the Heritage Regions approach. They defined an entire
area as a museum in which residents were the curators. In such places,
the residents identified, protected, enhanced, and explained their
region to the local populace and to visitors. The approach furthermore
broadened the definition of heritage to include not only the natural
and built resources but also the ethno-cultural: the region's customs
and folkways.
France's Parcs naturels regionaux
Perhaps the most important single contributor to the Heritage Regions
approach is France's Parcs naturels régionaux. It was established
in 1966. The parks are a network of large inhabited regions in which
residents protect and share their natural and cultural heritage.
The park’s model is pivotal because it adds two more essential
ingredients to the approach. For one, the parks emphasize entrepreneurship
based upon tourism and locally-based production. The parks also
emphasize marketing, thereby ensuring that the regions are widely
known and popular.
Some Heritage Regions' influences are still vibrant today. France's
national parks, for example, now number 25, have a population of
2,000,000, cover 3,500,000 hectares and attract millions of visitors
annually. More commonly, new programs have developed upon the shoulders
of past initiatives. Among them:
The Regenerative Unit
England's Civic Trust launched its Regenerative Unit in 1978. The
program concentrates upon entire regions, encouraging major corporations,
governments, and local residents to develop with care the area's
characteristic resources.
Britain's Groundwork Foundation
Launched in 1981, this agency enters partnerships with the residents
of what it calls the "urban fringe." It helps them to
manage collaboratively their (usually industrial) environment and
economy. Today, there are 24 Groundwork Trusts throughout the northwest
of England, the Midland, the south, and Wales. They cover more than
796,000 hectares (twice the size of greater London) and have a population
of 5.2 million. The Groundwork Foundation has a national office
that dispenses to its trusts expert advice, encouragement, and quarterly
checks.
Sweden's Training Program
In Sweden, heritage management has become a given part of the education
of planners. At the University of Gothenburg, for example, planners
take the training program "Integrated Conservation of Built
Environments." In this way, the principles of integrated management
spreads through all regions.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation
In 1979, the U.S. National Trust established its Rural Program.
Focusing upon the country's diverse rural environment, the Program
builds alliances among organizations concerned with the protection
of historic, natural, and agricultural resources. In 1990, the Trust
launched its Heritage Tourism Initiative. Influenced by Canada's
Heritage Regions Program, the Trust's Initiative launched 16 pilot
projects in four states. Their objective: to link heritage preservation
with a sustainable local tourism industry.
Quebec's Ecomuseums
Quebec's ecomuseums resemble Scandinavia's in that they emerged
from the museum world. Unlike conventional museums, however, they
focus upon the entire region, are alive, constantly changing, and
community-based.
Heritage Canada's Main Street Program
Heritage Canada launched its Main Street program in 1978. Since
then, it has entered partnerships with more than 100 communities
in every province and territory. In each instance, the local residents
have acted together to protect their physical heritage, create jobs,
open business, and attract investment. The results: not only an
increased standard of living but, more importantly, a new sense
of pride, a renewed sense of communal identity.
In Edmonton, in 1990, 300 experts from the public and private sector
attended the federally-sponsored "Heritage in the Nineties:
conference. Their unanimous conclusions: in the decades ahead Canadians
will place increasing value upon their heritage; Canadians will
insist upon taking control of their local environments; and the
connection between local heritage resources and sustainable development
will strengthen. It did not go unnoticed that all three of these
conclusions add up to the blueprint for the Heritage Regions Approach.
THE PROGRAM
ABOUT HERITAGE CANADA
To Heritage Canada, the term "heritage" means more than
an artifact, a building, a landscape, a species of wildlife, a tradition,
and an historic event.
Heritage Canada considers "heritage" the sum of all the
ecological, economic, social, and cultural elements that make up
the environment in which we live.
Heritage is, to put it another way, all the things that contribute
to the sense of place and sense of continuity we experience when
we are in unique environments.
If heritage is so all-encompassing, it follows that its proper
management demands the attention of more than a handful of developers,
planners, and public officials.
To help Canadians manage the environment, Heritage Canada has launched
a number of programs. Each focuses upon a particular mandate. The
Main Street program, for example, helps residents revitalize traditional
downtowns. The Canadian Center for Livable Places encourages collaborative
management in large cities. The Heritage Regions Program helps residents
manage special regions.
THE HERITAGE REGIONS VISION
Hundreds of regions across Canada are special because of their
unique mix of natural, built, and cultural resources. In many of
these regions, residents increasingly realize that they share a
common and distinctive heritage. This awareness spurs them to seek
ways to make the best uses of their resources.
The Heritage Regions Program was established to help the residents
of such regions. Heritage Canada enters partnerships with them to
launch local Heritage Regions projects.
The Heritage Regions Program is based on two visions. At the Project
level, it envisions residents coming together to identify, protect,
and enhance their natural and cultural heritage and to use it as
the basis for economic revitalization.
At the national level, it envisions the creation of a physical
network of Heritage Regions across Canada – and an information
network through which Projects support one another.
THE PROJECT’S OBJECTIVE
The Heritage Regions Program views heritage as a mix of ecological,
economic, cultural, and social elements.
The objective of the Heritage Regions Program is to help partners
revitalize their areas in ways that balance those elements:
Ecological revitalization. Projects identify, enhance, and protect
the natural heritage. They are sensitive to the delicate balance
that must be struck when nature and development meet.
Cultural revitalization. Projects promote such aspects of cultural
heritage as archaeological sites, the built environment, history,
and local traditions.
Economic revitalization. Projects focus on sustainable development.
Emphasis is placed upon local entrepreneurship, with most attention
given to tourism and the development of other indigenous industries.
Social revitalization. Projects promote activities that engender
a sense of pride, identity, community and belonging
THE PRINCIPLES
The Heritage Regions strategy is based upon several principles.
Among them:
A grassroots movement
The Heritage Regions approach is a people-based, community-driven
undertaking. It believes the real experts on how a region should
be revitalized are the people who live in it: they are the ones
who should define what is valuable.
Community vision
The region must develop its own vision, not merely accept one imposed
from without. The community must share an understanding of local
values, issues, and goals. It must provide a unified vision of the
future and agree upon the initiatives that will achieve that vision.
Community commitment
The success or failure of a Project hinges upon local attitude.
A firm and serious commitment on the part of the local population
is the essential ingredient in a Project's life. Commitment is expressed
through the allocation of human and financial resources.
Full-time management
Because the management of a region is a complex undertaking, it
requires full-time management. This is achieved through the on-the-site
presence a professional coordinator.
Incremental change
Quick-fix solutions almost never work in regions that took generations
to develop. The Heritage Regions approach supports community change
but believes it should continue the natural evolution of the community:
it should be carefully-undertaken, low-cost and incremental.
Project as process
A living community is, by definition, in a constant state of becoming.
Just as process is at the heart of community development, so process
(as opposed to a one-time dramatic intervention) is an essential
component of the Heritage Regions' approach. The process involves
a number of distinct steps which must be taken over time.
Comprehensive approach
A region is a complex web of interdependencies. The Heritage Regions
approach reflects this state for it, too, is all-encompassing. It
seeks a balance between all the ecological, cultural, social, and
economic elements that make up the local environment.
Entrepreneurship
Just as every region was first developed for business reasons (farming,
mining, fishing, forestry) so Heritage Regions are essentially entrepreneurial
in nature. They are based upon business, upon a certain degree of
risk-taking. Typically, new entrepreneurship in a Heritage Region
focuses upon tourism or other locally-inspired industries.
Support agencies
While the residents of a Heritage Region are the final arbiters
of their value system and commitment, they succeed best when they
take advantage of the world of experience beyond their borders.
For that reason, Heritage Regions look to outside expertise, whether
individuals, agencies, or entire networks. In this way, they achieve
synergy, perspective, and quick insights.
Local leadership
While Heritage Regions legitimately look to outside expertise in
their launch stage, their long-term success depends upon developing
local leadership. This leadership ensures the on-going success of
the process.
THE PROCESS
Although many activities in a Heritage Regions project occur simultaneously,
others occur in a specific sequence. Some basic steps:
Preliminary Meetings
Members of a potential Heritage Regions project meet to define the
vision they share for their community. They devise an action plan
for revitalization. They agree to investigate the possibility of
entering an agreement with Heritage Canada.
The Revitalization Approach
With the leadership of the coordinator and the committees, residents
of the region undertake a seven-point approach. Its steps:
- organization,
- heritage resource identification and protection,
- education and training,
- economic development,
- design,
- marketing, and
- monitoring.
Financial resources
An agreement hinges upon the commitment of funds. Funding comes
from the region and from other partners. The Heritage Regions Program
assists the region to attract funding.
The signing
The project’s collaborators sign an agreement. These include
an agency that represents the region, Heritage Canada, and funding
agencies. The agreements are for five years.
The Project Office
An office is established in the region. It is usually situated on
a main street in one of the region's major population centers. It
serves as the administrative headquarters and as a focal point for
activity.
The Project Coordinator
A project coordinator is hired and trained. The coordinator, who
commits to live in the community for the duration of the Project,
works out of the Heritage Regions office. The coordinator acts as
a catalyst for local action.
Residents Committees
A number of committees are established. These focus upon such matters
as heritage resources, design, economic development, and marketing.
The coordinator answers to the executive committee.
Expert Advisors
Residents meet with experts who help define objectives, goals, and
appropriate action.
The Revitalization Approach
With the leadership of the coordinator and the committees, residents
of the region undertake the seven-point approach.
THE SEVEN-POINT APPROACH
The revitalization of a Heritage Regions project follows a seven
point approach.
1. Organization
The first and most essential step is organization, the interaction
of participants: the coordinator, the committees, business people,
public officials, the voluntary sector, special interest groups,
other regional partners, and the Heritage Regions Program. Out of
this collaboration emerge both the vision for the Region and the
plan for achieving it.
2. Heritage Resources Identification and Protection
Among the first revitalization steps is the identification of unique
local resources: the vegetation, wildlife, geology, topography,
scenic vistas, water resources, prehistoric sites, archaeological
areas, vintage structures, industrial heritage, transportation routes,
artifacts, ethnic origins, traditions, folkways, and customs. Once
these resources are identified, efforts are made to safeguard and
enhance them.
3. Education and Training
Education has two sides. One focuses upon training the leaders :
the coordinator, the community heritage leaders, the entrepreneurs,
the curators, the guides. IN a broader sense, education also covers
all the ways in which the region is explained to the local population
and to visitors. This step covers everything from school programs
to tourist travel.
4. Economic Development
The Project encourages current businesses and pushes for the launch
of new ones. It encourages the development of industry that is sympathetic
to the environment. Entrepreneurship focuses upon indigenous industries
(notably tourism) that maximize the region's resources and the capability
of its residents. The Project trains residents who are developing
entrepreneurial skills. It lobbies government agencies that can
offer regional development support. It helps improve transportation
and communication infrastructures.
5. Design
This strategy focuses on the visual aspects of the region. It enhances
landscapes and streetscapes. It enhances and preserves the character
of buildings. It creates regional signs. It improves the gateways
or entrances to the area. It encourages the use of local construction
skills. It provides design guidelines.
6. Marketing
The Project sells the region. It markets the area as a single, identifiable
destination for both residents and tourists. It associates the region
with its products. It targets and contacts markets for selected
heritage goods and services. It develops a regional logo. It sponsors
special events. It creates publicity.
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
The Program monitors the progress of both individual projects and
its own national activities. Data is collected both prior to the
start of a Project and throughout its life. The data is monitored
yearly to evaluate success. Among the indicators that are studies
: business starts, employment statistics, tourism numbers, resident
acceptance of Project, resident involvement.
TYPICAL BUDGET
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Heritage Canada Advisory 80,000 80,000 80,000 80,000 80,000
Services & Training
Region's Salaries & Ben. 60,000 63,000 66,000 70,000 73,000
- Salaries
- Professional Development
- Relocation
Region's Travel 10,000 11,000 12,000 13,000 14,000
Region's Office 10,000 11,000 12,000 13,000 14,000
- Rent, insurance, cleaning
Community Development 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500
Region's Office 10,500 5,000 2,500 3,000 3,500
- Equipment & supplies
Communications 10,000 10,500 11,000 11,500 12,000
- Tel., fax, mail, courrier
Public relations,advertising 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000
Events and Tours 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
Kick-Off Events 2,000
Statistics and Publications 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000
Consultants 5,000 7,000 4,000 5,000 5,000
Total 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000
COWICHAN-CHEMAINUS ECOMUSEUM
British-Columbia
Try the following links for more information and images
http://www.cowichan.bc.ca
http://www.chemainus.bc.ca
 Cowichan
and Chemainus are the names of parallel Vancouver Island valleys
that cover, approximately, the region between Mill Bay and Ladysmith,
B.C. The valleys, which are replete with mountains, lakes, forests,
and seacoast, have been inhabited for centuries by native Canadians
and since the mid-1800s by Europeans. Over the past 100 years one
of the principle industry of the valleys has been forestry.
The Cowichan-Chemainus Valleys Ecomuseum was launched in 1988.
It is a partnership of the B.C. Heritage Trust, Heritage Canada,
and the local Ecomuseum society, representing the local government
and regional district.
The project's office is 160 Jubilee Street, Duncan. The executive
director is Wilma Wood. Local Ecomuseum participants include the
board of directors, the working committees, unions, industry, municipalities,
service organizations, business associations, and cultural groups.
 In
1989-1990, the Heritage Regions project was associated with an extraordinary
number of activities. Highlights:
· On-Going Projects. The Ecomuseum Office promoted the area's
theme a celebration of the forest legacy in association with numerous
local attractions including the B.C. Forest Museum, the Demonstration
Forest, and the Chemainus Murals Festival. In addition, the office
promoted the protection of many local heritage sites including the
Kinsol Trestle, the Cowichan Bay log dump, and archaeological digs
at abandoned logging camps.
· The Ladysmith Inventory. During the year, Ladysmith completed
work on its local inventories. It listed its Tall Ship Museum, Railway
and Black Nugget museums, arboretum, historic waterfront, and several
First Avenue buildings.
· The Life of a Logger Exhibition. While it is predominantly
permanent sites that embody the spirit of a region, special exhibits
also help explain local identity. During the year, IWA 180 co-sponsored
a Duncan-based exhibition entitled The Life of a Logger. It gave
visitors insights into life in logging camps, saw mills, and planer
mills, and into such activities as shake-splitting, log-sawing,
bucking, and paper-making.
The Curators. A Heritage Region's success largely depends upon
the ability of residents to identify, protect, and explain local
resources. During the past year, the Ecomuseum sponsored an intern
program for student manager-curators. The ninemonth, Duncan-based
course featured both classroom instruction and on-the-job training.
Canadian Job Strategy helped support the program.
· The Volunteer Educators. The Ecomuseum also trained volunteer
educators (known as docents) how to explain the region to others.
Volunteer guides, who ranged in age from 30 to 75, subsequently
led year-round interpretive walks. One popular tour: Skutz Falls,
where visitors studied fish ladders and viewed local wildlife. Plans
were also made to train volunteers in ways to bring alive the region's
human history.
· Heritage Industrial Tours. In 1989-1990, lumber mill and
forest tours were made available to visitors. They offered first-hand
knowledge of logging and forestry practices, showed how logging
companies harvest and replenish forests. The participating companies:
Fletcher Challenge Canada, Canadian Pacific Forest Products, MacMillan
Bloedel, and Forestry Canada.
· Tour Marketing. During the year, at Victoria's Crystal
Gardens, coordinator Wilma Wood sold Greyhound Bus Agents on the
advantages of offering Cowichan-Chemainus tours.
· Gateways To The Valley. Each year, more than half a million
tourists drive through the Heritage Region without stopping many
because they are unaware of its attractions. In 1989-1990, plans
for the first Gateway to the Valley were completed. It will be constructed
north of Ladysmith. It will feature ecomuseum signs, an outdoor
interpretive display, an information kiosk, and a rest stop. One
more gateway is planned.
· Measuring Success. There are many ways to monitor whether
a project is on the right track. One is statistical. During the
year, tourism in B.C. fell 4%; tourism in the Cowichan and Chemainus
Valleys Ecomuseum rose 38%.
MANITOULIN ISLAND HERITAGE REGION
Northern Ontario
Try the following links for more information and images
Http://www.manitoulin-island.com
 Manitoulin’s
Remarkable Story
Something quite remarkable is happening on Manitoulin Island. While
many Canadians remain uncertain how to protect their natural environment,
the people of Manitoulin joined forces in unprecedented numbers
to manage their local natural assets.
While many parts of Canada suffered through an economic downturn,
the residents of the Island took steps that have led to economic
revitalization - with some parts of the local economy out-performing
the provincial average by up to 30%. While the rest of the country
engaged in heated debates over native land claims, the Island's
aboriginal people and the Ontario government signed the province's
first land settlement agreements.
 In
the shadow of Oka, Manitoulin's aboriginal and non-aboriginal people
signed a local Friendship Treaty. In short, on front after front,
the Island has recently registered a string of remarkable successes.
Here's how it did it.
Manitoulin is one of a series of 30,000 islands in Georgian Bay.
At a length of about 130 km. and covering 1,200 km2, it is the world's
largest freshwater island. The island is well-known for both its
natural setting and (because half of the 12,000 population is native)
its aboriginal culture. Until recently, Manitoulin was like many
parts of the country. Apart from summer business, the economy was
slow. The Island's distinct cultures largely ignored one another.
The physical environment was threatened by loss of ownership and
insensitive development. The turn-around began in the late 1980s.
Many Islanders began to say that it was time to take control of
their collective lives. But how?
The most important decision was to undertake a Manitoulin Island
Heritage Regions Project. They launched it in 1989 by signing a
three-year agreement with the federal and Ontario governments
(through the Canada-Ontario Agreement) and with Heritage Canada.
A Project office was opened in Little Current. A coordinator was
hired and trained. A revitalization process was launched.
The first step brought together Island decision-makers, many of
whom had never before spoken to one another: The local band councils;
the municipal and town councils; the Manitoulin Island Tourist Association;
the school board. Cambrian College; historical and cultural associations;
Community Futures; the Legion Association; Heritage Canada; Federal
and Ontario government agencies; and members of the general public.
Committees were created. Meetings were held. At them, residents
decided where they wanted to go, how they wanted to get there.
They decided that an early step was to identify and protect their
local heritage assets. But what did they cherish? Silver Water,
Tehkummah, Little Current, and other communities hosted well-attended
Heritage Nights designed to create lists of assets. Most evenings
began with people saying: there's nothing around here worth celebrating.
The nights invariably ended with a long list of things the people
cherished.
A subsequent Island-wide compilation of resources exceeded 100
pages. It covered such resources as West Bay's Objibway Culture
Foundation, Manitouwanig's Burns Wharf Theatre, Meldrum Bay's Mississaugi
Lighthouse, and the Annual Giant Pow-wow at Wikwemikong. The Project
co-sponsored workshops to help residents increase their awareness
of local heritage. The Ontario Historical Society conducted cemetery
conservation workshops at Assiginack Museum and at Kagawong.
The Project also helped visitors get to know the island. It helped
develop self-guided tours: a walking visit of Kagawong and Sheguiandah
and a day-trip drive around the Island. The Project also designed
and created a Heritage Regions logo.
The residents sponsored festivals to bring various aspects of Island
culture to life. A Food Fair Workshop, for example, provided an
introduction to traditional native and early-settler food. Co-hosted
by the Manitoulin Heritage Project, the Senior Citizens of Tehkummah,
and the Ontario Historical Society, it attracted interest and participation
from all over the Island. Another singular event created by the
Heritage Regions' project: the Scarecrow Festival.
The Island also promoted its heritage elsewhere. At the Ontario
North Now Exhibition held at Toronto's Ontario Place, the Manitoulin
Tourist Association and the Project sponsored theatrical productions
by Debajamajig, arts and crafts, and displays explaining many Island
heritage resources. The Manitoulin exhibition attracted thousands
of visitors as well as extensive media coverage. Following the exhibition,
the Manitoulin Travel Tourist Association received a record number
of enquiries.
The Island was promoted through the media. The Project office worked
with Beaver Creek Pictures to film the Island for CTV's national
broadcast "Sketches of Our Town" program, narrated
by Harvey Kirck. For the first time in the series' history, two
segments were produced on a single place.
While the Island used heritage revitalization to jump-start its
economic recovery, Islanders refused to turn Manitoulin Island into
a Disneyesque theme park. They resisted turning a sacred fossil
site into a tourist attraction. At West Bay, they turned down a
$150,000 provincial grant in order to control the design of a boardwalk.
They negotiated with a developer to protect a natural setting, historic
village, and 19th-century archaeological site near Michael's Bay.
Has Manitoulin Island registered successes over the past three
years? The answer is emphatically yes. While Ontario tourism dipped
10-30% in 1990, Manitoulin's tourism climbed S%. Businesses opened.
Jobs were created. Public-and private-sector investments went up.
More important, there were social changes. The Island's multicultural
groups grew to appreciate more deeply each other's culture. Islanders
claimed the Heritage Regions project heightened awareness of heritage
and contributed to a surge in local pride.
If, during the past three years, there was one event which encapsulated
the new feeling on Manitoulin Island it was the signing of the Friendship
Treaty. It was organized by Gore Bay Mayor Larry Lane, Sucker Creek
First Nations Chief Pat Madahbee, and Whitefish River First Nation
Chief and Grand Chief of the Robinson/Huron Treaty, Leona Nahwegahbow,
and the Manitoulin Heritage project coordinator. The treaty brought
together the Island's chiefs, reeves, and mayors. It was signed
at Gore Bay on Thanksgiving Day, 1990. At the event, one sentiment
was repeated above all others: that there was a new sense of vibrancy
on the island, that people were finally working together in friendship
to improve the local quality of life.
LANARK COUNTY HERITAGE REGION
Eastern Ontario
 Try
the following links for more information and images:
Http://www.county.lanark.on.ca
Lanark County is an 800 km2 region a 45-minute drive west of Ottawa.
Mainly British farmers and millers settled it in the early 19th
century. Its picturesque communities feature 150-year-old stone
mills, houses, shops, and churches.
The Lanark County Heritage Regions project was launched in 1989.
Its partners are the federal Department of Communications and the
Ontario Ministry of Culture and Communication, local residents,
the Lanark County Tourism Association, the County of Lanark, and
Heritage Canada. The headquarters is Almonte's Old Post Office.
The coordinator is Jim Mountain and Harriet Byrne is assistant coordinator.
Twelve 1990-1991 highlights:
 The
Heritage Regions Office. It's natural that a Heritage Region office
should become a focal point for local activity. That was certainly
the case in Lanark. During the year, the Heritage Regions building
also housed the Lanark County Tourism Association and was a frequent
meeting place for the Mississippi Field Naturalists, the Almonte-Ramsay
LACAC, the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, the Dr. James Naismith
Basketball Foundation, the Junior Achievement, the Mill of Kintail,
Plenty Canada, Almonte Artists Association, and the Lanark Genealogy
Society.
Organization. As the catalogue of headquarters-users suggests,
the Lanark Heritage Region is supported by an extensive network
of organizations. During the year, the number of participating groups
topped 150. Contact is maintained through a Heritage Regions newsletter
and through regular meetings.
Heritage Resources Inventory. Almonte, Clayton, Carleton Place,
and many other communities hosted special evenings at which residents
listed the local resources they valued. An Inventory was subsequently
produced. By year-end, residents who had looked at their own community
were asked to list the regional assets they valued.
The Byways Brochure. During the year, Heritage Regions published
its Byways Brochure. It offers a map and five driving tours of the
region's natural and cultural attractions.
Bed and Breakfast Workshops. In recent years a rapidly-growing
number of grand, old Lanark houses have been converted into bed
and breakfast businesses. During the past year, the Heritage Regions
Office and the Smiths Falls Self-Help Business Office organized
three workshops to help b & b entrepreneurs attract tourist
trade from the national capital.
Tour Planners. Destinations featured on organized tour routes naturally
attract increased numbers of visitors. During the year, the Heritage
Regions office vigorously lobbied with Ottawa based tour operators
and planners to include Lanark on their offered routes. The office
has hosted tour groups from China, Japan, Mexico, and several other
countries.
The Festival of the Maples. Traditionally held only in the town
of Perth, the Festival of the Maples became, in 1990-91, a month
long, county-wide celebration. Chief participants: the Lanark County
Tourism Association, the Lanark and District Maple Syrup Producers,
the Ministry of Natural Resource, 14 maple bush operators, area
schools, and five business associations.
Public Relations. A series of articles produced by the Heritage
Regions office was published in the county's six community newspapers.
The office also attracted on-going coverage from various Ottawa
stations including CBC Radio, CTV, and Maclean-Hunter TV
Training. The office provided advice to individuals and organizations
on fund-raising, strategic planning, and problem solving. It also
helped raise funds for a series of how-to manuals on organization,
heritage tourism development, inventory, and marketing.
Education. The office encouraged local schools to become involved
in forest conservation and in such activities as the County's homecoming,
the maple festival, and Heritage Day. It helped design and teach
courses in tourism management and heritage courses at the Universities
of Ottawa and Carleton. It participated in design workshops with
Algonquin College.
The Mississippi and Rideau rivers watershed. A central aspect of
a Heritage Region is the protection of nature. The Heritage Regions
office supported the Friends of the Mississippi, the Friends of
the Rideau, and other organizations in their campaign to protect
the region's important rivers.
Homecoming. During the year, the Heritage Regions office helped
plan and promote the 150th anniversary of the founding of the county.
Sesquicentennial activities are expected to attract double the average
number of annual visitors to the region.
LABRADOR STRAITS HERITAGE REGION
Southern Labrador
 Try
the following links for more information and images:
Http://www.labradorstraits.nf.ca
Labrador Straits is a 60-mile stretch of the south Labrador coast
just east of the Quebec border and just north of Newfoundland. The
topography is rugged. The shore is a perpetual debate between
earth and water. The region is sparsely populated. The residents
live in villages whose combined population numbers only 2,500. The
area is also experiencing tough economic times. The fishing season
brings little money. Seasonal unemployment reaches 25%. The educated
young leave the Straits for other places. In spite of these handicaps
(or perhaps, because of them) the residents celebrate their local
heritage with imagination, and are beginning to market it in ways
that should boost the local economy.
 With
the support of Heritage Canada, the local residents recently signed
an agreement that launched their own three-year Heritage Regions
project. To help fund it, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
granted $300,000 and the Comprehensive Labrador Agreement, a federal-provincial
cost-sharing agreement, granted $270,000. The communities of
the Straits raised $30,000.
Heritage Canada signed a three-year contract with the Labrador
Straits Historical Development Corporation for advisory services.
A project office was opened. Douglas Robbins was hired as the Project's
Executive Director.
Mr. Robbins worked as an archaeologist and anthropologist for several
years on the internationally-significant Basque whaling site at
Red Bay. The Labrador Straits Historical Development Corporation
a national award winning heritage organization now employs him.
In just a very short period of time, the residents of the Straits
have accomplished a great deal. A major Resource Team visit was
organized just a few days after the new Executive Director was in
his post. Six specialists from Heritage Canada and local leaders
met with no less than 200 residents during the three day visit,
including children in High Schools. The residents and the Team came
up with some forty recommendations addressing the seven point Heritage
Regions Approach.
One of these recommendations was that there should be a gateway
to the Straits, a place where visitors could stop and get a warm
welcome and detailed information. An abandoned historic church,
noticed during the Resource Team visit was recommended as a suitable
location. The owner, without hesitation, generously gave the property
to the organization for this purpose. Heritage Canada specialists
have surveyed the building and plans have been drawn for its immediate
adaptive re-use.
A detailed list of sites convenient for motor vehicles pull-over
has been completed. Immediately accessible natural and architectural
attractions have been identified. Potential hiking trails have been
delineated. The first Project Newsletter is being published. A Project
logo has been selected. Exchange trips with other National Network
Heritage Regions projects are being organized.
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