Enhancing visitors’ experiences
Six Annapolis Valley projects receive federal funding
Annapolis Valley farmers and agri-tourism operators have important messages to share, stories that can be shaped into unique visitor experiences.
Kings-Hants MP Kody
Blois announced $796,925 in federal funding for six Annapolis Valley projects at the Wolfville Farmers' Market on March 18. The money is from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) Tourism Relief Fund.
The Wolfville Farmers' Market Co-operative Ltd. received a $265,000 nonrepayable grant to collaborate with the Blomidon Naturalists Society and Earth Rhythms to develop and market food and nature-related tourism experiences.
The team will work with existing local businesses and producers to create yearround, revenue-generating products. New winter agritourism workshops will also be developed as part of the collaboration.
Wolfville Farmers' Market manager Kelly Marie Redcliffe said they know their farmers and artisans have stories to tell: important messages about the environment, land, farming and food that they want to share with visitors.
Redcliffe said Earth Rhythms president Celes Davar can show them how to develop their stories into experiences, while Blomidon Naturalists Society members have a great knowledge of nature and care a great deal about it.
She said she could envision a naturalist working with a farmer to help them tell their story and create visitor experiences.
“We’re all sharing a similar message, we all have similar things to say about how people and place can work together, and that we’re interconnected,” Redcliffe said.
She said it’s exciting that the experiences they create will be educational and beneficial not only to tourists but to people right here in the Annapolis Valley.
Redcliffe said she believes the project will be good for the agriculture and tourism sectors as a whole. Once groups start building partnerships and authentic relationships, the possibilities are
endless in terms of positive ripple effects.
Redcliffe said this has been her experience through the market, and it’s what makes a community sustainable. She said we definitely saw this through the COVID-19 pandemic.
MAKING STORIES ACCESSIBLE
Earth Rhythms president Celes Davar said the last couple of years have been very challenging for those in the tourism sector and operators are very appreciative of the federal support.
One thing he thinks they have all been searching for is a way to make the stories of the people of the Annapolis Valley who grow food accessible to those who come from away.
“In order to do that, that story needs to be shaped into an accessible experience. That’s what’s exciting here, is that we’re going to be developing out 16 new stories into experiences accessible to people, not just in the summertime but in the wintertime as well,” Davar said.
He said that when people look at what is happening globally in terms of the climate
crisis and the pandemic, one thing they are realizing is that the connection to nature is something that is paramount to all economic activity.
Davar said people have also become aware through COVID-19 of the significance of food resilience and security.
He said it would be great if people could amplify their relationship with nature and help people better understand those things important about the rich biodiversity and microclimate of the Annapolis Valley, for example.
“I think that building a whole series of experiences that really champion food, food stories, culinary tourism and a sense of place are wellplaced in terms of what visitors want access to as well,” Davar said.
ADVOCATING FOR NATURE
Blomidon Naturalists Society president Soren BondrupNielsen said that because of issues such as the loss of species and the climate crisis, being a naturalist today means also having to advocate for nature.
“It’s not just having protected areas and such, it’s understanding that we are a part of nature and where our food comes from is from nature,” Bondrup-Nielsen said.
He said food comes from the land, not a grocery store, and it’s important that it is produced as part of a healthy ecosystem.
He said food production should be sustainable, and that is where naturalists come in. They are promoting the idea of growing food on a smaller scale with mixed crops, as opposed to a largescale monoculture, for example.
Bondrup-Nielsen said he would be working with farmers who appreciate these facts to help bring more people to their farms and help visitors better understand where their food comes from.
POSITIONING TOURISM FOR SUCCESS
Blois said that tourism was the first sector to be impacted by COVID-19 and it would be the last to fully recover.
He said the Tourism Relief Fund isn’t just about supporting projects that otherwise wouldn’t have happened because of COVID-19. It’s about positioning tourism-related operations for success on the other side of the pandemic.
He said investments being made are concrete in the sense they are either supporting critical infrastructure projects or critical programming projects.
Blois said the region is home to the world's highest tides and there is a culinary experience and a unique history that he believes is second to none in the country.
“These types of investments are going to help support our partners whether they be non-profit or private operators, which will enhance their experiences and hopefully draw even more people to the region,” he said.