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The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies

Uncovering and harnessing the Power of Place

A national initiative to catalyse the holistic development of local economies, big and small. 

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Local Development, National Prosperity

The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies is a new national initiative dedicated to place-based economic development. The Institute will catalyse communities, governments, and markets to connect and build national economic strength. By creating new models and networks to share insights and best practices, to activate entrepreneurship, and develop coordinated financial strategies and tools, we can build a more prosperous and resilient Canada. 

How Do We Work?

The Shorefast Institute offers three areas of programming for organizations interested in new models of place-based economic development.  

LEARN
In person and virtual learning hub for best practices grounded in practitioner knowledge.  

INNOVATE
Financial and development tools to attract and retain capital in service of place. Check out our flagship innovation, “Economic Nutrition”.

CONNECT
A “network of networks” bringing together individuals, organizations, and communities across sectors to strengthen new models of economic development 

Beyond Buy Local: Making every purchase an investment in your local economy

Learn more about Economic Nutrition

Projects & Toolsets

Learn more about our projects and toolsets and sign up to receive future updates. 

Community Business Hub

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The PLACE Framework

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Community Economies Pilot

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“Prevailing economic models are no longer sufficient. We need a bold approach that builds upon the unique strengths within the places we live to help transform local potential into national prosperity.”

-Zita Cobb, Founder & CEO, Shorefast

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Programs / Initiatives

Shorefast creates and shares new ways to care for the health of coastal and oceanic ecosystems while supporting the culture of people whose lives and livelihoods are linked to the sea.  

Through multi-pronged initiatives, we seek to achieve the following:  

• Build awareness of Fogo Island’s waterways and the Labrador Current as critical to helping meet the climate challenge.   

• Engage with community members in environmental stewardship practices on Fogo Island and look for ways to adapt our learnings for other coastal and rural communities.

• Facilitate research that expands our knowledge of Fogo Island’s natural environment.

•Promote responsible development of our natural assets, including marine and other wildlife, geology, and land vegetation.

Today, Shorefast’s five major Environmental Stewardship initiatives are:

Habitat Stewardship and Conservation

Shorefast is involved in initiatives that promote habitat stewardship and conservation efforts. Some of these initiatives are funded via a partnership with Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) Coastal Communities Conservation Opportunities Initiative (CCCOI). Shorefast also facilitates research inputs by leveraging our community relationships with fishers and other practitioners.

Examples Include:

    • Facilitating data collection regarding lobster stocks, capelin, and oceanographic information (temperature and sea level data). These inputs are returned to DFO to help build local data sets.
    • Organizing and executing shoreline clean-ups.
    • Installing seabins to reduce marine debris.
    • Youth projects including constructing and installing eider duck shelters with students on Change Islands, facilitating conservation-themed guest speakers at Fogo Island Central Academy, and World Ocean’s Day programming in collaboration with the Town of Fogo Island and other local organizations.

Sustainable Harvest: Seaweed Pilot Project

Alongside the Fogo Island Co-operative Society, Shorefast is leading research and development towards the establishment of Newfoundland and Labrador’s first commercial seaweed cultivation operation in the name of economic diversification and climate preparedness. We are partnered with Marine Institute (MI) at Memorial University of Newfoundland on this initiative, and Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) is our funding partner.

Both Shorefast and the Fogo Island Co-operative Society believe deeply in the potential benefits of seaweed cultivation, which include significant carbon sequestering properties as well as habitat enhancement for existing species such as lobster. If seaweed cultivation proves successful in our waters, this crop could represent a significant economic diversification potential for Fogo Island and contribute to local and global food security.

Shorefast is seeking to lay groundwork for commercial seaweed cultivation such that local fishers can take on seaweed as an addition to their existing harvesting businesses, and the Co-op can add seaweed processing to their business model.

Sustainability Planning

In 2021, Shorefast began a concerted, organization-wide sustainability and waste audit process to work towards a deeper understanding of our organization’s environmental impact and to strengthen our internal culture of environmental stewardship.

We are partnered with Newfoundland-based climate action consulting firm Fundamental Inc. to establish our own internal Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission inventory and develop the Shorefast environmental policy and mission statement. We’re building internal capacity and identifying our cross-functional environmental leadership team and data reporting structures.

Starting with our own projects and businesses, we’re developing a model for similar organizations and communities to take a GHG inventory and set goals towards improving upon waste and carbon outputs. Our work can help create a roadmap for doing this complex, intensive work so as to be scaled and replicated by other organizations and communities around the globe. We plan to create and offer resources about this process in the not-too distant future.

Residencies

Shorefast invites experts in various fields to come to Fogo Island to share their specialized knowledge with the community and lead public programming. Experts include geologists who lead educational hikes and host youth programming at our Geology Centre.

Community Science

Shorefast runs or participates in several Community Science initiatives which engage members of the general public in on-the-ground research.

These include: Summer youth programming that allows school-aged children to participate in workshops themed around marine debris and aquatic invasive species; training and research activities in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; an Ocean Atlas project, which aims to build an online platform to share data about the natural environment around Fogo Island with community members; and more.

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Heritage Preservation

Programs / Initiatives

Shorefast has invested in restoring over 20 heritage properties, including homes, churches, and public buildings in order to preserve, share, and foster contemporary relevance for the traditional ways of knowing that tie people to place.

The wooden structures of Fogo Island have withstood the harshest Northeast gales. The good news? Salt air preserves, and there is a lot of life left in even the most neglected of buildings in our community.

Devoted to knowledge preservation as well as encouraging engagement with the heritage assets of the inshore fishery, the Punt Premises is one example of Shorefast’s many heritage restoration projects.

The Punt Premises is home to Shorefast’s fleet of punt boats and an evolving curation of cultural artifacts including cod traps, boatbuilding tools, fishing gear, photos, and other noteworthy items that are associated with the traditional inshore fishery. The Punt Premises brings to life how a family made a living in the vibrant inshore fishing era on which our outport culture was founded. It has become a platform for a range of cultural and community engagement activities

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Youth Programming

Programs / Initiatives

Shorefast is committed to leveraging our internal organizational capacity in service of the next generation of community leaders. We dedicate time and resources to four major initiatives in collaboration with our local school, teachers, and students.

Mentorship Program and Career Growth

We provide job shadowing opportunities for grades 10-12 at Shorefast workplaces—including Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Workshops, construction/facilities management, and business supports—where they can engage with staff and learn about future career paths on Fogo Island.

Fogo Island Scholarship Lottery

Our yearly lottery raises funds for Fogo Island Central Academy graduating students attending any form of post-secondary education, with a proportional amount sent to A.R. Scammell Academy on Change Islands. To receive scholarship funds, students are asked to write an opinion-based essay or create a work of art, which is displayed in a celebratory public exhibition at the Punt Premises.

School Garden

We partner with teachers at Fogo Island Central Academy to plant small-scale vegetable plots with the younger students. Through this initiative, children are introduced to a range of plants and vegetables that grow well in our specific climate and start to become familiar with issues of food security and nutrition.

Guest Speakers and Other Special Appearances

On a monthly basis, Shorefast facilitates guest speakers on various subjects at Fogo Island Central Academy. Many talks are related to our Environmental Stewardship work, though other practitioners (artists, architects, chefs) have been known to make appearances.

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