Rosemary Curley and Ian Scott
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| Science educator Laura MacNeil points out the dimetrodon fossil’s patterns to Finance Minister Heath MacDonald and Parks Canada superintendent Karen Jans. - Contributed to The Guardian |
Guest Opinion
Perhaps
it is time to ask hopeful candidates on our doorstep a perennial question. Do
you intend to provide Islanders with a museum telling the cultural and natural
history of their own province?
In
May 2007 we were promised that,
“A Liberal Government will put Islanders first by,
. . .putting greater emphasis on educating our children about the human and natural
history of our province. . . consulting with P.E.I. communities, museums, and
our arts and cultural communities to explore options for a Provincial Museum”.
Liberal
Party of PEI policy identified the provincial museum as a key issue in 2011
when “working to establish a provincial
museum” was their stated policy.
The
PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation has statutory authority as the provincial
museum covering both natural and cultural history yet they have been deprived
of the ability to tell us of this unique land, its creatures, and its culture. A
curator of natural history, a natural history collection, a permanent display
or exhibit telling of the natural history of PEI have never existed.
We
need a provincial museum worthy of this province telling both the human and
natural history.
Museums
play a key role in conserving and developing a sense of identity as we each
learn our place as part of unique ecosystems forged of land and sea. Closeness
to nature needs to be introduced early and museums are key places for learning what
nature can teach. In a generic world, the culture and history of your home
province remains a strong
asset in development of identity and sense of place.
Local identity is
part of the reason tourists seek authentic experiences amid people living in relationship
with land and sea. Attracted to unique cultures, tourists typically view museums
as the introduction needed to begin exploration. Being a provincial capital without
a provincial museum is hardly the way to welcome visitors. This summer when we
honestly welcome the ‘dear mainlanders’ to our shores, isn’t it time we help
ourselves and our visitors discover the real story of this remarkable island.
The Dimetrodon fossils
located in the National Park date back 290 million years. Canada’s first
‘dinosaur’ was found in Spring Brook, PEI in 1854; yet it was Americans who
ensured a world-class find was placed in a Philadelphia museum, in the
birthplace of . . . America. Gradually science revealed that we were once the tropical
heart of Pangaea, the supercontinent and our Dimetrodon predated dinosaurs.
The largest
creature in the world is the blue whale and when a massive Prince Edward Island
specimen died it was British Columbia residents who ensure it went on display
in their museum. Proudly they display an Island specimen, yet we lack even a
basic show case or picture-panel telling our own story.
Our irreplaceable
human and natural history should not be for sale. It is our story to preserve,
and our story to tell. So when you see a candidate knocking, have your
questions ready.
Rosemary Curley is president of Nature PEI and Ian Scott is the organization's past-president.
