[Sust-mar] Sunday! Upper Miramichi Forest Festival

[Tracy Glynn]

Upper Miramichi will host a forest festival on Sunday, Aug. 21, 11 am to
4 pm, at the Boiestown Central New Brunswick Woodmen’s Museum. With a
morning run, wild blueberry pancake brunch, a demo of sealing a birch
bark canoe with spruce gum, workshops on making cedar shingles,
inoculating logs for shitake mushrooms, making soap and more!

Check out the schedule here: www.uppermiramichicommunityforest.org
<http://www.uppermiramichicommunityforest.org>

If you need a ride to the festival from Fredericton, contact Tracy at
forest at ccnbaction.ca

--

Rural Community of Upper Miramichi / Conservation Council of New Brunswick

Media Release

Upper Miramichi to celebrate its forest and people

Upper Miramichi - Nestled along the picturesque Miramichi River, famous
for its Atlantic salmon, logging history and folklore, Upper Miramichi
will host a forest festival on Sunday, August 21st from 11:00 am to 4:00
pm at the Central New Brunswick Woodmen’s Museum and Upper Miramichi
Community Park in Boiestown.

"When we think of forest-based livelihoods, we often think of lumber but
we have a diversity of forest products that provide a living for our
people," says Upper Miramichi Mayor Scott Clowater. "Upper Miramichi's
Forest Festival will celebrate this diversity and the beginning of work
to advance community-based forest initiatives in Upper Miramichi."

Located in the centre of New Brunswick, the area once prospered from its
forest through a thriving lumber industry but they, like many other
forest dependent communities, were hit hard by the forestry crisis that
swept the country a few years ago. Three years ago, Boiestown and
smaller communities named after ridges, hollows, rivers and brooks came
together and amalgamated as Upper Miramichi for the common good of the area.

"We are exploring how our diverse forest can make a living for our
people again," says Sarah Carson-Pond, Upper Miramichi's Economic
Development Officer. "Upper Miramichi is interested in assessing the
economic opportunities of our timber and non-timber forest products and
services like fiddleheads, mushrooms, chaga, balsam fir tips, maple and
birch syrup, berries, eco-tourism and recreation. The forest festival
will not only showcase our current forest-based producers but it will
also be a forum for residents to gather and discuss the potential found
within our forest for our people."

In the past year, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB) has
publicly supported the aspirations of Upper Miramichi to create a
community forest within its municipal boundaries. "CCNB is proud of its
partnership with Upper Miramichi to facilitate a dialogue on community
forestry initiatives. There is a bright and promising future for a
healthy and vibrant community forest in Upper Miramichi," says Tracy
Glynn, CCNB's Community Forest Coordinator. During the festival, Upper
Miramichi residents will have the opportunity to view maps produced with
the support of Fundy Model Forest that reveal the characteristics of
their forest like the type and ages of forest stands found inside their
municipal boundaries. "Visit us in the Cedar Room of the Museum to view
the maps and literature on community forestry, and to discuss options
for a community forest in Upper Miramichi," says Glynn.

The forest festival will feature:

    * A morning run with the Miramichi River Runners.
    * A wild blueberry pancake brunch.
    * Vendors displaying and selling forest products like wild berry
      jams and jellies, fiddleheads, crafts, wreaths and soaps.
    * A Taste of Metepenagiag with berry teas and a demonstration of
      sealing a birch bark canoe with spruce gum and a birch bark
      creation for kids.
    * Workshops on how to make cedar shingles, inoculate logs for
      shitake mushrooms, make soap or recycle paper.
    * A comical play by youngsters with the Saplings Theatre Production.
    * A forest scavenger hunt designed for all ages that will identify
      the variety of flora and food in our forest with the use of a
      popular photo-guide for non-timber forest products.
    * A game of horseshoes or washers, face-painting, tours of the
      Museum grounds and forest games for kids.
    * The official opening of the Upper Miramichi Community Park.
    * A tribute to a special Upper Miramichi volunteer.

Check out the schedule and more details, visit the Upper Miramichi
Community Forest Partnership website at
http://www.uppermiramichicommunityforest.org

-30-

Sarah Carson-Pond, Rural Community of Upper Miramichi, 369-9810

Tracy Glynn, Conservation Council, 458-8747