Bill Merrifield knows that promoting ecotourism is a lot trickier than hyping a new theme park or other man-made attraction. Visitors can stomp all over a stadium or an amusement park, but they can cause irreparable damage to a natural habitat.

That’s why the branch manager and investment advisor with Wellington West Capital Inc.’ s Saint John, N.B., office is taking steps to preserve the billion-years-old geological history of his home province. The Stonehammer Geological Project team, of which Merrifield is chairman, is hoping to secure a “geo-park” designation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for an 80-square-kilometre area in southern New Brunswick. Within that area is a wide variety of geology, including sea coast, river coast, a petrified forest and fern ledges.

If Merrifield and the rest of the Stonehammer team are successful, they will have the first geo-park in North America. UNESCO’s decision will be announced this autumn.

There are 63 designated geo-parks around the world, including Mt. Lushan Geopark in China and North West Highlands Geopark in Scotland. Each is maintained with a mandate to protect Nature while integrating the site with its modern-day surroundings.

Obtaining UNESCO’s stamp of approval would provide a boost to provincial tourism; a segment of international travellers flock to geoparks every year. Raising awareness among the locals about the natural wonders in their own backyard would also increase visitor traffic.

The challenge, Merrifield says, is to create attractions that don’t suffer when the tourists arrive: “When you’re bringing people into an area, you’re encouraging economic benefit. There are opportunities to start businesses, enlarge existing businesses or develop products that are ‘green.’ If you have something as a destination that people will travel thousands of kilometres to see, it’s in your own best interests to preserve and present it in its best light. It’s about encouraging economic development in your community — the right kind of economic development.”

Merrifield notes that New Bruns-wick has a unique and underappreciated geology. For example, the Reversing Rapids, which are located where two continents came together more than a billion years ago. The phenomenon is caused when the high tides of the Bay of Fundy — the highest tides in the world — rise above the level of the river. For the past 3,000 years, the rising tides have caused the river to run backward over a series of ridges of Precambrian rock. Says Merrifield: “You can see the two different colours of the rock there.”

Other highlights of New Bruns-wick’s geological history include prehistoric land use, the first European exploration of the region, historical mining activities and a paleontological site.

Along with the geopark designation, plans for the Stonehammer site include interpretive guides as well as signage and printed material at the more remote locations, Merrifield says: “We’re developing the sites so people can visit them in an eco-friendly manner.”

Education is one of the main challenges facing the Stonehammer team. For years, Merrifield says, there weren’t any tourists at the New Brunswick sites because people simply didn’t know about them. Or when visitors were there, they’d chip away at parts of Nature that should have been left alone.

“There are fern ledges, which are fossils of ferns that lived millions of years ago,” Merrifield says. “If you want to chip one off to put on your mantle, it’s not hard to do.”

Merrifield was asked to chair the Stonehammer team because of his role as a director and fundraising chairman of the Lily Lake Pavilion. Located in the middle of Rockwood Park, Canada’s second-largest urban green space, the deteriorating pavilion was ready to be torn down when Merrifield took on the LLP position; he helped raised $2.5 million to rebuild the pavilion and create an activity centre. “[LLP is] very much like Stanley Park in Vancouver,” he says. “It’s just a stone’s throw from the urban core. People can go kayaking there or geocaching.” (The latter is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek using GPS technology.)

Merrifield has been in the financial services business for 25 years. Prior to joining Wellington West, he worked with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. He and his branch’s co-manager, Hilary Brock, manage a book of about $50 million in assets.

Merrifield says he prefers to keep his business separate from his philanthropic efforts, so he doesn’t approach his clients about getting involved with Stonehammer. Inevitably, however, some of them do make a donation because they share Merrifield’s interests.

@page_break@Merrifield is “very confident” that Stonehammer will be successful. He’s leading a delegation to Malaysia in April to speak on behalf of the geopark application, and will welcome a UNESCO delegation to Saint John this summer. IE