Leading Edge 2011: Sustainable Tourism and Economic Development in the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve

Held May 26 & 27 at Brock University in St. Catharines, Leading Edge 2011 explored the themes of tourism and economic development in the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve. With engaging speakers exploring a range of  initiatives ranging from culinary and wine destinations to cultural and heritage attractions, the conference focused on the ways businesses, educators and tourism operators are striving to provide sustainable practices and attractions in the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve. 

The Niagara Escarpment Commission was pleased to present Leading Edge 2011 in partnership with Brock University's Department of Tourism and the Environment.

View summary presentations from Leading Edge 2011:
(alphabetically by speaker surname)

• Niagara Escarpment - sacred space
  Don Alexander, Niagara Escarpment Commission
• Cultural mapping in Niagara Region
  Dr. Greg Baeker, Miller Dickenson Blais and Jeannette Hanna,Trajectory
• A conservation byway: fostering stewardship through a biodiversity awareness trail
  Bronwen Buck, Carolinian Canada Coaltion
• Environmental entrepreneurship in the Ontario wine industry
  Carmen Dima, Niagara College
• The big picture: possibilities for Ontario tourism
  Bill Duron, Greenbelt Fund  
• Conservation geology: a geopark for the Niagara Escarpment?
  Eric Fowle and Adam Pfefferle, Niagara Escarpment Resource Network, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
• Celebrating the Niagara Escarpment
  Gloria Hildebrandt and Mike Davis, Escarpment Views magazine
• Leveraging a Biosphere Reserve
  Chris Hughes, BC Hughes Tourism Development, Management and Marketing
• The Bruce Trail Conservancy: perspectives in preservation of natural heritage
  Beth Kummling, Bruce Trail Conservancy
• Cultural eutrophication of Crawford Lake - a palynological perspective
  Andrea Krueger et al
• The submerged early postglacial beach off Flowerpot Island - implications for major climate-driven changes in lake level and water quality in the recent geologic past
  Francine McCarthy et al
• Tourism on the edge: Grey County tourism
  Bryan Plumstead, Grey County Tourism
• Building sustainability and resilience in social-ecological systems through innovation in Biosphere Reserves
  Dr. Rebecca Pollock and Dr. Dan McCarthy
• Tourism and policy planning studies at University of Waterloo
  Stephen Smith, University of Waterloo
• Niagara Parks' environmental approach
  Debbie Whitehouse, Niagara Parks Commission
• Climbers’ perceptions toward sustainable bouldering at the Niagara Glen Nature Reserve
  Jeremy Thompson and Garrett Hutson, Ontario Access Coalition
  

Abstracts:

• The Niagara Escarpment in the decade of biological diversity: relevance and opportunities for Escarpment engagement
  Leslie Adams, P.O.W.E.R.
• Landforms of Louth
  Brian Calvert, Brock University
• Changing Niagara weather and the use of weather contracts in tourism
  Don Cyr, Brock University
• Environmental entrepreneurship in the Ontario (Canada) wine industry
  Carmen Dima, Niagara College
• Discover Escarpment parks and natural spaces
  Bob Edmondson, Conservation Halton, and Susan Cooper, Ministry of Natural Resources
• Sustaining tourism in paradise: Royal Botanical Gardens as Canada’s biodiversity hotspot
  David Galbraith, Royal Botanical Gardens
• Developing Region 7's tustainable tourism destination development plan
  Lindsey Goodchild and Liz Nield, Lura Consulting
• Agri-environmentalism in the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area: management approaches to tender fruit farming in Niagara Region
  Darby McGrath, University of Waterloo
• Forest plot monitoring on the Niagara Escarpment: a discussion of trends as a tool for assessing natural heritage protection
  Rob Milne et al, Wilfrid Laurier University
• Avian Populations on the Niagara Escarpment and Credit Valley Watershed
  Rob Milne et al, Wilfrid Laurier University
• Challenges of integrating tourism and conservation of natural and cultural heritage resources: case study - Battlefield Park National Historic Site, Hamilton
  Wendy Shearer, MHBC Planning
• Values as linkages: opportunities for sustainability planning
  Anne Varangu, Niagara Escarpment Foundation