T2 OUTDOOR!
Working outdoor is almost finished for the season. Before we head back to our warm offices for the winter, we wanted to share with you the reasons why working outside feels so good for us. I asked two questions to my colleagues and find out what truly matters to them. In the next few lines, you’ll discover the opinions of several members of the team.
What do you like about working outdoor?
For me, outdoor work is an opportunity to identify the plants I know and to learn new ones. For Daniel, it’s “teamwork and good humor”, even in difficult weather conditions. Samira sees an opportunity to be in nature accompanied of passionate people (and to get her hands dirty)! Laury says: “I love being outside, enjoying the beautiful views and the sunshine! Itmakes our job even more attractive!” Annie and Audrey FM love listening and identifying birds, and observing wildlife in its natural habitat, whatever the habitat. Finally, in poetic words Hugo replies: “I love to observe the interactions between the living and the non-living. Between plants that grow according to topography and soil; between animals that find their niches where they can rest and reproduce.”
What’s your favorite moment of outdoor work?
Daniel
About 15 years ago, I had to characterize the banks of a portion of the Kapuskasing River in Ontario. We had to travel by boat, sleeping in camps. One day, in order to continue upstream, an helicopter brought us a boat to continue our journey upstream of a waterfall, leaving the other boat behind us. The days were long, but I loved the immersive tranquillity and wild beauty of this place. Moreover, we were in resourceful mode, out of our comfort zone.
Samira
In Abitibi, with Audrey FM, when we took a few minutes out of our day to pick mushrooms in a magnificent peat bog that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Laury
This summer, my colleague Lauralie and I were lucky enough to observe a deer. It approached us out of curiosity and stayed just a few meters away from us and for at least 5 minutes. I felt really privileged to be so close to a wild animal and to be able to admire its beauty!
Annie
During a snake inventory, we lifted an artificial shelter, seven snakes were hiding in there. We had to hurry up to catch them all and identify them before they escaped.
Audrey FM
I’ve had many memorable field experiences! Some of my best experiences to date include an early-morning wolf pack during an ornithological survey, the observation of exclusive bird species on mountain tops in Honduras, and even my first heliborne survey in search of bald eagle nests in Northern Quebec.
Lauralie
More or less a moment, but I’d say the work in the north, seeing beautiful ecosystems different from the south and learning a lot from our Cree collaborators and the other workers in the mining camps.
Hugo
In the extreme Arctic, north of Victoria Island with old biologist friends, fishing for Arctic char at midnight under an eternal sun.
For me (Audrey T), I loved this terrible day in early May: the rain was freezing and the wind was whipping our skin, our fingers frozen as we had to attach strings on young shoots. We had to call it off at 1pm. At the work cabin, we made hot chocolates and laughed about our catastrophic morning!
Now, what’s your best memory of working outdoors?
