NERN Secures Nelson Family Fund Grant to Advance WI LEDGE Geotourism Program
Port Washington, WI – The Niagara Escarpment Resource Network (NERN), a proud Partner of Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP), was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund to help advance its vision of establishing a formal geotourism program along the 200+ mile-long Niagara Escarpment corridor in Wisconsin. The announcement was made by Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region President and CEO Curt Detjen, who noted that the funding will assist NERN in launching and sustaining the WI LEDGE Geotourism Program as a dedicated source of travel, natural area, recreation, and cultural information about the Niagara Escarpment.
“This very generous investment in NERN will have an immediate impact on our ability to advance our core community-based conservation mission,” stated Eric Fowle, longtime volunteer lead of the two-decade old organization. “We are profoundly grateful to the Nelson Family Fund and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley for their trust and belief in us to deliver on this investment – and we will!”
The grant will enable NERN to engage with its professional geotourism expert, Susan Kennedy, in a more strategic and committed manner to build elements of the program and create a sustainable vision for its execution. Through collaboration with local, county and regional visitor-related entities, NERN aims to further develop its WI LEDGE identification and interpretive signage program; promote existing and develop new escarpment-related community engagement and education events; and complete its interactive online ESRI StoryMap, which will display details on over one hundred cultural and natural heritage sites to visit along the Niagara Escarpment. The StoryMap will also provide opportunities for the promotion of sustainable tourism businesses along the corridor.
“Our WI LEDGE Geotourism Program will promote events and experiences that educate local residents and visitors alike about the natural and cultural features of Wisconsin’s Niagara Escarpment, which is also known as 'The Ledge' by many in the state," said Susan Kennedy, NERN Geotourism Specialist. "Building that local connection is vital, as this international geologic feature is actually part of a grander, globally significant 1,000+ mile-long 'Great Arc' that traverses over 230 miles of Northeast Wisconsin into Upper Michigan, Ontario, Canada, and spills out as Niagara Falls and beyond in New York State.”
National Geographic Traveler defines geotourism as, “tourism that sustains or enhances the distinctive geographical character of a place—its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.” The WI LEDGE Geotourism Program is committed to those foundational principles.
For more information about the NERN Geotourism Program, please contact Susan Kennedy, NERN Geotourism Specialist, at geotourism@wiledge.org.