MAKING MARITIMES GEOLOGY ROCK: THE LEGACY OF "THE LAST BILLION YEARS"

There are few geology books on bookstore shelves compared with subjects such as bird-watching and local history. In spite of this dearth, the success of the Atlantic Geoscience Society's popular book, The Last Billion Years, has demonstrated that there is considerable public interest in our field. Published in 2001, the book is already in its third printing. We think that keys to the book's success are the involvement of numerous specialists, the conceptual approach, an explanation of technical terms at their first use, and the quality of the illustrations - a good picture really is worth a thousand words. In this presentation, after reflecting on the elements that went into the production of the book, we investigate some aspects of its legacy.

Some aspects of this legacy have already been realized, while others aspects are potential. The most important legacy is perhaps a clearer general understanding of Maritimes geology that can be enjoyed by experts and non-experts alike. It also provides the local perspective for a local audience on topics such as dinosaurs and continental drift, and provides a local geological perspective for socio-economic issues such as oil and gas exploration, climate change and sea level fluctuations. To produce the book, a large number of illustrations – paintings, sketches, photographs and diagrams – were collected, and a large number of these are available for other outreach activities. A CD with these illustrations has already been made available for university courses, and related materials have also been distributed at teachers' workshops. A colouring book for lower grade levels has been produced, based partly on some of the illustrations from The Last Billion Years. The book also provides a stepping stone for further projects that previously would have been difficult to do. One teacher, for example, is working with some of the contributors to produce junior high school lesson plans related to subjects covered in the book. With the experience gained, we can now consider other projects: posters (one is about to appear), new paintings (funding is already in place for some paintings that show the Fundy Basin story), and perhaps even a second edition of the book; the possibilities appear unlimited.