March 9, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Minister announces pre-feasability study for an Astronomical and
Interpretation Centre at Butter Pot Provincial Park

Charles Furey, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, announced today the department will partner with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, St. John�s Centre, in a pre-feasibility study for an Astronomical and Interpretation Centre at Butter Pot Provincial Park. The proposed facility would serve as a centre of education and information on the natural environment, and would be a unique partnership which would bring together the strengths of government, interest groups and the business community to explore one of North America�s most interesting natural locations. The province will contribute $20,000 to the study and the society will provide scientific expertise and in-kind support.

"The vision for the centre is to have a natural laboratory for the public and a venue for natural science research and monitoring," said Furey. "From an astronomical perspective the park has the highest clear sky elevation on the Avalon Peninsula and is ideally suited for an observatory. Our vision also includes for example, connecting the telescope to the Internet and allowing remote-controlled observation and offering hands-on astronomy to every school in the province."

Butter Pot Park represents one of the most ecologically diverse protected areas in the provincial parks system, and the facility will complete a vision that allows the park to function as a primary location for nature-based tourism, astronomical viewing and environmental education. "Clarity and darkness of the night sky are essential for both professional and amateur observers, and with the continual expansion of urban areas, it's becoming more difficult for amateur astronomers and the interested public to experience the heavens," said Fred Smith, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, St. John�s Centre.

As those who construct professional observatories have learned, the best conditions for observation are cool, stable air at high elevations surrounded by forests and large bodies of water, well removed from urban and industrial areas. Butter Pot fits the bill, as it is richly forested with several large ponds, within sight of the Atlantic Ocean and among the highest points on the Avalon.

"We believe that parks are nature�s classrooms, and as such we want to explore the opportunity Butter Pot presents. It is our goal that the proposed facility would operate as a learning venue for physics, astronomy, wildlife ecology, biology and other related programs, where school teachers, university professors and interested amateurs gather to increase their understanding of nature," said Furey. "We are anxious to get the pre-feasability study completed, to determine the scope and scale of a feasible project."

Media contact: Mary MacNab, Communications, (709) 729-0928, or (709) 682-0366.

2000 03 09 3:40 p.m.