Our blog has lots of information organized around a few different topics. Scroll through, or if you are interested in a specific topic, here is a list of all of our blogs organized by category:

List of blogs by category

What Are Prospective Donors Being Told (and Not Being Told) About the Georgian Bay Geopark – it’s complicated.

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark Initiative Harming the UNESCO Brand? – Do fish swim?

Georgian Bay Geopark invites people to join them as they “explore” the creation of a UNESCO Global Geopark for Georgian Bay– We took them up on their offer.

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark really a grassroots community-led effort? – They say they are. Then they admit they are not. Which is it?

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark a UNESCO project?….or not? You decide. –see how the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark is not affiliated with UNESCO.

The Four Fundamentals of Geoparks – learn about UNESCO requirements and our assessment whether the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark meets them

Canada Has Five UNESCO Geoparks – see how the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark is not like them.

The Georgian Bay Geopark Can No Longer Call Itself an Aspiring Geopark – learn about the geopark’s new status as “other projects”

It Sure Doesn’t Smell Like Roses: Overtourism and Human Waste at Flowerpot Island – read excerpts from a Parks Canada report that actually uses the term “death by a thousand cuts”

Parks Canada’s Ability to Transport Visitors to and from Beausoleil Island Cannot Keep Up with Demand – the increased number of people already coming to Honey Harbour are putting pressure on the existing infrastructure leading to negative experiences and safety concerns

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark Initiative Harming the UNESCO Brand?

What happens to public trust in UNESCO when an initiative that has neither been designated nor submitted an application repeatedly places the UNESCO brand at the centre of its public messaging?

What Does “Nominate Georgian Bay” Mean?

The new Georgian Bay Geopark Executive Director, Jeff MacInnis, has recently been asking people on his personal Facebook page to “nominate” Georgian Bay to become a UNESCO Global Geopark by simply saying “YES” in the comments.
There is just one problem: saying “YES” in a Facebook comment isn’t how you nominate a UNESCO Global Geopark.

What Are Prospective Donors Being Told (and Not Being Told) About the Georgian Bay Geopark?

The Georgian Bay Geopark’s Small Change Fund page is aimed at prospective donors and currently shows $831,803 raised toward a $1 million goal. It describes the initiative in terms of partnership, community involvement and open dialogue. The issue isn’t that a fundraising page presents a project positively. The question is whether prospective donors are being…

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark really a grassroots community-led effort?

The home page of the Georgian Bay Geopark website claims: “The Georgian Bay Geopark Initiative is a grassroots, community-led effort exploring how this internationally recognized model could help celebrate, understand, and safeguard one of Canada’s most remarkable regions.” Is it grassroots and community-led? Fact or fiction? Let’s start with the Board of Directors for the…

Georgian Bay Geopark invites people to join them as they “explore” the creation of a UNESCO Global Geopark for Georgian Bay.

They pose a big question: Could Georgian Bay and the North Channel become a UNESCO global geopark? We decided to take them up on their offer. Let’s explore! We started by exploring Manitoulin Island.  All 9 municipalities on Manitoulin are united in their opposition to the geopark. So are all 6 First Nations represented by…

Is the Georgian Bay Geopark a UNESCO project?….or not? You decide.

This slide was presented to the Township of the Archipelago on June 19. It looks like the Georgian Bay Geopark must be affiliated with UNESCO.. Or is it? Here are the facts: Why does the Georgian Bay Geopark constantly cite UNESCO despite having no affiliation whatsoever? Fact or fiction? You decide.

The Georgian Bay Geopark Can No Longer Call Itself an Aspiring Geopark.

As of April 2026, the Canadian Geoparks Network has removed the Georgian Bay Geopark from their website entirely. There has been no official statement from ccUNESCO or the Canadian Geoparks Network regarding why they no longer acknowledge the Georgian Bay Geopark as a project. A little bit of research uncovered the following…. A requirement for…

Bay of Fundy Geopark Georgian Bay Geopark

Canada has 5 UNESCO Geoparks

The Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark is not like them. At 48,000 square kilometers, it is 6.1 times larger than Canada’s largest geopark, and 86.5 times larger than Canada’s smallest geopark. With a planned 100+ geosites, it will have 3.6 times more sites than Canada’s largest geopark, and 9.1 times more sites than Canada’s smallest geopark….