The Fortune Ecological Reserve is home to a former dump, and this volunteer group wants to clean it up
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A volunteer group on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula is calling on the provincial government to clean up an old dump located near a world-class fossil site.
Located 1.6 kilometers from the town of Fortune, the Fortune Head Ecological Reserve reflects the Cambrian explosion of 540 million years ago, when the rapid evolution of organisms began. The rocks contain traces of fossils, a geological record left by ancient life.
But at the scene of the fossils is an old garbage bin that the city had been using for decades.
“It’s absolutely shameful,” Carl Slaney told CBC Radio. broadcast.
Slaney is a former board member of the volunteer-led Fortune Head Eco Friends Incorporated.
He said that soil erosion is taking place in the area and old waste is coming to the surface and falling into the sea.
An ecological reserve was created to protect this part of the coast.
Slaney said the old waste site, which was improved to today’s standards decades ago, is hurting efforts by the people of the Burin Peninsula to boost the area’s tourism sector.
‘Geological importance’
Shauna Brennan, president of Fortune Head Eco Friends Incorporated, said site visitors can see traces of fossils in the rocks, but they are unable to see them up close or touch them.
They can learn about detailed history at the Fortune Head Geology Centre, including the Cambrian explosion shown by the reserve.
“That’s when we transitioned from that bacterial life to more complex life. Life that’s able to reproduce and life that’s able to eat and move around,” Brennan said.
But he said that old dumping and burying of garbage is the trend of today.
“It also has a history, because this was a time when our community was here and was unaware of what was out there in terms of its geological significance,” he said.
A volunteer group on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula is calling on the provincial government to clean up an old dump located near a world-class fossil site. The Fortune Head Ecological Reserve reflects the Cambrian explosion of 540 million years ago, when the rapid evolution of organisms began. The rocks contain traces of fossils, a geological record left by ancient life. CBC’s Todd O’Brien has the story.
Brennan would like to see the dump cleaned up and said it would boost the reserve.
“It will mean that when we have visitors who are coming here, and they’re asking questions and they want to go up and see the site, we’re sending them to a cleaner place,” he said.
clean up efforts
Slaney said various groups he’s been involved with over the years have looked at ways to clean up litter, but it’s the province’s responsibility. He said that even if they had the money to clean it, they would not be able to do so.
He said the former Liberal government-led Department of Environment and Climate Change had hired engineering firm Stantec to create a site assessment report.
The 104-page final report released in April offered two options: completely clean up the old dump for an estimated $10,967,604 or do partial extraction for $3,034,411.
Stanley said the consultant should be listened to and that there is a moral obligation to clean up the site.
“This type of treatment — dumping trash or knowing that trash is going into the ocean — requires some intervention. We put it here and we need to clean up our act here,” he said.
CBC News asked Environment Minister Chris Tibbs for an interview. Instead, in a statement, spokeswoman Sherry Breen said the department knows waste management is important to communities, but has not committed to action, as in Fortune.
“We are aware of the situation regarding the closed Fortune Head disposal site and are considering options,” they wrote.
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