The trip was a student-led initiative aimed at introducing the 21 participants to one of the most important geological sites in the Meguma Terrane. During the visit, students had a firsthand opportunity to explore and investigate the Lower Carboniferous fossiliferous sandstones, siltstones, and shales at Blue Beach and were also able to examine a range of intriguing geological structures, including faults, slickensides, and ripple marks, which provide further insights into the site’s geological history.

The Blue Beach Fossil Museum was another exciting stop during the field trip. The museum houses an impressive collection of fossils found in the area. You can check out their website at bluebeachfossilmuseum.com for more details on the history and geology of the area.

The trip was funded through a creative and collaborative fundraising approach led by the Geology Undergraduate Society including an on Campus Bake Sale where students donated homemade baked goods to be sold to fellow students and professors. Additionally, the Society invited beautiful mineral donations from students and professors and auctioned them off to the student body in a silent auction. Thanks to the generosity of the community, enough funds were raised to cover the expenses of the museum tour, beach walk, transportation, and a catered lunch for all the students who participated in the trip.

Blue Beach is characterized by its Lower Carboniferous fossils and interesting geological structures including its bedded layers of sedimentary rocks, some of which are dating back to 330 million years ago. Moreover, thanks to its unique depositional environment and lack of any major deformational events such as folding, the site has well-preserved fossils including Tetrapods, Fishes (ray-fins and lobe-fins), Invertebrates (Ostracods, Spirorbids, Euproops) and Plants (Lepidodendropsis, Sigillaria…)

We applaud the Geology Undergraduate Society for taking the initiative and executing a successful field trip.