MAKING AN ENGAGING GEOPARK: WITH ‘SISTER GEOPARKS’ GUIDING THE WAY; CASE STUDY: BANKS PENINSULA, NEW ZEALAND

UNESCO geoparks provide world leadership for nature education to the public, sustainable development, and conscious tourism economies. UNESCO guidelines are kept broad to allow for diverse world Geoparks and experiences, yet due to these broad guidelines and practices, there is little agreement as to how to create a successful Geopark, and communication between Geoparks can be improved. This study focuses on the creation of a geopark on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, and pools data on tourism interests, other geoparks highlighted attractions, and research on communicating nature science to a general public to format the small and large scale structures. Research was conducted by reviewing all of the established UNESCO geoparks (as of May 2018) via their given web faces, assessing their similarities to the proposed Te Pataka o Rakaihautu / Banks Peninsula Geopark, and selecting the 35 most similar geoparks to survey. The selected parks were surveyed on aspects including successful communication of scientific understanding, connecting to a larger nature story, including indigenous culture in the stories, creating a unique geopark, and protecting sustainable tourism. Survey responses were collected and analyzed. The responses were used as advice from standing successful parks, to help discover the best format for structuring the New Zealand Geopark. After reviewing all of the features prominent in the proposed Banks Peninsula geosites, we crossed this knowledge with the data on geopark features and arrangement which has been proven as advantageous to highlight. After establishing the best showcase features and ways of engagement we finalized the implementation guidance for the forming Te Pataka o Rakaihautu / Banks Peninsula Geopark. This research has not only allowed for a backbone in the design for a successful geopark on Banks Peninsula, but the method can also be shared and used for other future upcoming geoparks, as if this research proves successful, other parks can use and improve upon the study to establish their own parks, and further expand sustainable science education and tourism for the world.