Adventures Online: The Best of Newfoundland & Labrador
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At a Glance
What You'll Learn
- Join a local author and historian for a virtual field trip around the city of St. John’s, stopping to learn more about Cape Spear, Signal Hill, the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Quidi Vidi Village and other local landmarks.
- Enjoy a virtual journey along the coast to Petty Harbour to meet a local fisherman and hear about first-hand experiences in the fishing industry.
- Explore Battle Harbour, a 19th-century fishing village on a small island in the Labrador Sea, during a virtual field trip that offers a look into this National Historic District of Canada.
General Notes
Activity note: Today’s session will start at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:00 p.m.
Morning: 11:00 a.m. Welcome, Orientation, Introductions. The Group Leader will greet everyone and review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, Zoom meeting protocols, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions. We will then say hello to our fellow Road Scholar and our lead instructor, Kevin Major. 11:30 a.m. Lecture. Kevin Major — author of “As Near to Heaven by Sea – A History of Newfoundland and Labrador” — will give us a historical overview of this most easterly province of Canada. We will learn about its geological formation, through to its native habitation, Norse settlement, the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, and on to the turbulent centuries leading to the modern era. The colorful past of Newfoundland and Labrador is unlike any other in North America. We’ll then have Q&A with interactive discussion.
Afternoon: 12:30 p.m. Break. 12:45 p.m. Virtual field trip. Kevin Major will take us on an exploration around the city of St. John’s. Highlights will include points of interest including Cape Spear, the most easterly point of land in North America; Signal Hill, the city’s best known landmark, where Marconi received the first wireless message across the Atlantic; the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, a beautiful edifice and crowning achievement of the Roman Catholic population of the city; The Rooms, a modern cultural centre with stunning views of the city; and some of the downtown streets with their multi-colored row housing. We’ll also explore the War Memorial, dedicated to the great sacrifices made by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, especially in WWI; the Battery, which at one time was a fishing village at the entrance to the harbour; and, Quidi Vidi Village, an inlet where fishing sheds and boats share space with a craft brewery and one of the city’s premier restaurants. We’ll then have Q&A with interactive discussion. 1:45 p.m. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow 2:00 p.m. Today’s session will end.
Activity note: Today’s session will start at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:15 p.m. Participants are welcome to join informally at 10:45 a.m.
Morning: 11:00 a.m. Review of the day. 11:05 a.m. Lecture. Bill Montevecchi, seabird expert and Professor of Psychology, Biology and Ocean Sciences at Memorial University, will establish a sense of place as we learn about the Low Arctic environment of Newfoundland and Labrador. Bill will contrast these environments with European locations directly across the ocean, such as in Southern France. We’ll also learn how the ocean drives climate change and how the particular oceanographic features of the Labrador current and Gulf Stream create land and sea-scapes in Newfoundland and bring icebergs nurturing fish stocks in the region. We will also learn how this all interconnects with Newfoundland and Labrador’s globally significant seabird colonies. Followed by Q&A with interactive discussion.
Afternoon: 12:00 p.m. Break. 12:15 p.m. Virtual field trip. We will “travel” south along the coast to the small, picturesque fishing village of Petty Harbour where fishing families have successfully advocated for a hook and line fishery for cod. We will “meet” a local fisherman, Kimberly Orren, and hear about first-hand experiences in the fishing industry. Through historic pictures and video, we will learn how the marketing of cod has changed Petty Harbour's community through the years. We will wrap up our exploration of Petty Harbour with a fishing “trip” on the North Atlantic where we will have an opportunity to hear from some of the young people who are working together to preserve and pass on their heritage through a nonprofit called “Fishing for Success.” Followed by Q&A with interactive discussion. 1:15 p.m. Lecture. With dance scholar Jane Dennison, we’ll “dance” through the origins and evolution of folk dances of European origin in Newfoundland and Labrador. We’ll learn about aspects of European dances that are the forerunners of current dance styles, types of dances that early immigrants to the province enjoyed, and modern-day regional variations. Traditional folk dancing is not as popular as it was in the mid-20th century and Jane will share with us some of the theories behind that cultural shift. Followed by Q&A with interactive discussion. 2:00 p.m. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 2:15 p.m. Today’s session will end.
Activity note: Today’s session will start at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:15 p.m. Participants are welcome to join informally at 10:45 a.m.
Morning: 11:00 a.m. Review of the day. 11:05 a.m. Lecture. We’ll learn about Gros Morne National Park, often referred to as the Galapagos of plate tectonics. The Tablelands area of the park is one of four mountains in western Newfoundland created when continents collided and the forces of obduction pushed pieces of the earth’s mantle onto its crust. There are few places on the planet where such a large piece of our earth’s mantle is exposed, but here one can observe its splendor as we will see and even walk on peridotite largely untouched by the forces of nature. The impact of this physical environment also has profound impact on plant and animal life. Gros Morne is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. 11:30 a.m. Lecture. We’ll focus on L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, another UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site in Newfoundland and Labrador on the tip of the Northern Peninsula. Leif Erikson arrived here around the year 1000 and established his Norse outpost. The story of the search and discovery of the early Norse presence in North America is intriguing, as is the construction of the replica vessel “Snorri” and its 87-day voyage in 1988 from the tip of Greenland to the tip of Newfoundland using only the technology and equipment available to the Norse at the time.
Afternoon: 12:00 p.m. Break. 12:05 p.m. Lecture. Red Bay Basque Whaling Site, established in the 16th century. The tidal interchange in the Strait of Belle Isle has historically provided a preferred feeding area for whales and an ideal whaling operation for the Basques. On Saddle Island, there are remnants of North America’s first authenticated factory. The whale oil product produced there lit the lamps of western Europe for close to half a century. 15 minutes of Q&A will follow the three lectures. Followed by Q&A with interactive discussion. 12:50 p.m. Break. 1:05 p.m. Virtual field trip. We will “explore” Battle Harbour, a 19th century fishing village on a small island in the Labrador Sea that was once the salt fish capital of Labrador. Using existing video footage, we will learn about the development of the salt cod fishery in the 18th and 19th centuries to the cod moratorium of 1992, and to the re-imagination of the island as a National Historic District of Canada. Journal entry readings by voice actors will provide a sense of the hardships of being in Battle Harbour in times of American Privateers, the development of churches, schools, and hospitals, to the eventual resettlement of the people who called the island home. We’ll gain an understanding of the challenges of living on this harsh but beautiful island. Followed by Q&A with interactive discussion. 2:05 p.m. Wrap-up and farewells. 2:15 p.m. This concludes our program.