By Haris Ahmed
ST. JOHN’S — Twelve years of tough work are finally ready to pay off for Paul Wylezol, the western-Newfoundland man behind one of the newest UNESCO Geoparks set to get full approval next spring.
His Cabox Geopark cleared an important step at UNESCO’s Global Geoparks Council gathering in Paris on Nov. 4, earning a yes from inspectors. It is now set to get a final approval from the group’s leadership board next spring, and turn into the newest location in the country — joining five others already running in Canada along with the Niagara Geopark, another fresh entry set to earn the UNESCO label at the same time. “We like to say we’re like plate tectonics,” Wylzezol stated Tuesday. “Slow, but with a lot of force.”
“The dossier itself was a lot of work. We had outside consulting help with that… but it was rewarding. It was, for us, an opportunity to put this area on the international map.”
Even though they do not automatically place limits on land activities like hunting or fishing, UNESCO’s Global Geoparks highlight places of special rock and earth value. The program is younger than UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites and Biosphere reserves. UNESCO’s inspectors stated the Cabox Geopark passed checks for its special character and the park stood out for holding clear proof backing plate tectonic theory. To get an inspection from the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council Wylezol explains, the Cabox park had to welcome inspectors from the Canadian Geoparks Network and then from UNESCO.
“We’re pretty much world famous here in western Newfoundland for the theory of plate tectonics because this area helped confirm and support the theory back in the 1960s and ‘70s,” he stated.
Both Cabox Geopark and Niagara Geopark are currently open and welcoming guests. However, Perry Hartwick, the head of the Niagara Geopark, stated the UNESCO label will bring fresh focus to the location.
“We’ve already seen it,” he stated. “I got all kinds of positive feedback from people that have been following this for years. So there’s expressions of interest now from virtually every museum in Niagara, they’re all perking up.”
The Cabox and Niagara Geoparks hold matching aims: both want to pull travelers away from their area’s massive landmarks, Gros Morne National Park and Niagara Falls respectively, and persuade them to stay in the area for a longer time.
“Niagara Falls is a worldwide destination… but I think it has the distinction of being one of the very shortest average stays of any destination in the world, well under one day,” Hartwick stated. “There’s a lot to explore and virtually nobody who comes here knows about it.”
Hartwick explained his Niagara Geopark highlights the Niagara Escarpment and shares a tale of how the rock formations of the area shaped human towns and local businesses.
“It basically holds in warmer air from Lake Ontario to allow the tender fruit and wine industry to flourish. If it wasn’t for the geology of the Niagara Escarpment, there’d be no wine industry.”
Stonehammer Geopark in New Brunswick was the very first park welcomed into UNESCO’s program. Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia turned into the second in 2014. “Every geopark is very different,” stated Manda Maggs, the top leader of the Tumbler Ridge Geopark. “Some, like my own, are looking to increase tourism because we’re a resource town and tourism is the thing that we’re really hoping will keep our town from going the way of a lot of resource towns.”
Maggs is also the head of the Canadian Geopark Network. She stated she hopes the fresh additions to the UNESCO team might help encourage other Canadian supporters who are thinking about taking the next steps themselves.
UNESCO’s approval does not last forever. There are rules that geoparks are required to follow and their performance is checked again every four years.
Both the Discovery Geopark in Newfoundland and the Cliffs of Fundy Geopark in Nova Scotia won back top scores in 2025 after having been earlier warned of weak spots.
Wylezol is the head of the Cabox Geopark and states he would love to see a permanent and larger welcome building to handle new guests during the summer months.
He also hopes his work will not just amaze travelers, he wants nearby residents to pay attention to what they hold right in their own backyard.
“In school, growing top, we didn’t learn about our own geology. You might probably learn more about the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains or the alps,” he stated. “So we’re trying to educate the public, locals and visitors and at the same time, hopefully encourage rural economic development.”
