The communities of Canada's north rely on the exploration for and extraction of natural resources to drive their economic well-being. The key to prosperity for northern communities lies in building both individual and community capacity that allows for participation and understanding of resource-based issues.

The Geoscience Experience for Northern Communities (GENCOM) project is a pan-North initiative working in cooperation with the other NRD projects, and will assist communities in garnering the necessary geoscience knowledge to make informed decisions on resource development and land-use planning. This project will provide readily understandable geoscience information to northern communities through community and school based programs, as well as encouraging and enabling northerners to pursue careers in geoscience-related fields. The net results will be northerners with more skills and knowledge and therefore better jobs.

Through partnership with each project in the NRD program, innovative geoscience outreach ideas will be developed and tailored to the needs of individual communities in which the projects are operating. The outreach will be delivered in partnership with provincial and territorial government agencies and will work to develop a coordinated approach. The first objective is to improve the level of knowledge of geoscience in northern communities, especially as it relates to resource development and land-use. This will be achieved through outreach to the whole community, especially its decision makers. The second objective is to inspire more residents of northern communities to pursue careers in geoscience-related fields such as geology and land management. This will be achieved through school visitation programs and workshops for teachers.

Project Priorities:

• Establish good working relationships with agencies that have an interest in outreach and are currently delivering programs in the north.
• Coordinate outreach efforts with the projects in the Northern Resources Development (NRD) program.
• Encourage collaborative work with each community to develop specific programs of interest to the community in order to stimulate interest in geoscience-related issues.
• Development of educational tools that can be of use to communities and to other NRD projects in thieir outreach activities.

Project Partners:

• EDGEO Program of Workshops for Teachers of Earth Science
• Canadian Geoscience Education Network
• The Odyssium in Edmonton
• The Exploration Place, Prince George, B.C.
• Manitoba Geological Survey
• Yukon Geological Survey
• GNWT - Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development
• GNWT - C.S. Lord Geoscience Centre
• Nunavut Department of Sustainable Development
• Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
• Alberta Geological Survey
• Saskatchewan Geological Survey
• Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (C-NGO)
• B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines

For More Information: Dr. Godfrey Nowlan