David McGuffin has launched an exciting new podcast called Explore. In this episode he interviews me about everything from cave conservation to water issues. Read and Listen Here Explore has been...
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I’m very proud to share the poster for the film that I worked on throughout the summer of 2018. It will be launched in Germany in July 2019 and will follow to other markets internationally through the fall of 2019. I served as an underwater camera person and the English presenter in the movie. It was a profound journey that took our tiny crew from Greenland to Baffin Island and the northern reaches of Hudson Bay. We camped on sea ice, plunged into frigid waters and fended off polar bears to get the shots. I am grateful to Mario Cyr, my…
Ojibwe grandmother Josephine Mandamin, Wikwemikong First Nation, has walked more than 10,000 miles in five years, along the banks of the Great Lakes and other waterways. As founder of the...
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On October 25, I had the opportunity to attend and present a keynote speech at the Aqua Hacking Challenge Finals in Toronto, Canada. The event, sponsored by the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation is in its fourth year and was presented as a part of Ontario’s Water Innovation Week. At the challenge, five finalist teams of university students competed for a chance to win $50,000 in prizes and a spot working with local incubators. So far the challenge has spawned over 60 engineering and tech-related solutions with 15 on the market or in development. The interdisciplinary student groups are paired with…
My oldest friend Dr. Jaqueline Windh and I stumble through the forest that is damp with yellow fall foliage and arrive on the cobbled bank of the Quinsam River. We’ve known each other for 50 years and still love the same things we did as kids: getting dirty and observing the natural beauty of our extraordinary world. This reunion is an opportunity to celebrate our friendship and observe the remarkable cycle of life of the various salmon species that make British Columbia their home. Beneath the glassy surface of the fast moving water, eighty or more salmon turn their heads…
Making documentary films while immersed in the hostile, yet stunning waters of the Canadian Arctic, I need great technology to keep me warm and safe. The travel, dives, and image making all create their own set of unique challenges, and once you are in the north, there is no way to call up a dive shop for something you may have forgotten. I’ve spent many months in the polar region, most recently helping to create a film about climate change. Camping on the sea ice and then on a remote island outpost, I swam with polar bears, hovered below fighting…
The wind was blowing strong on Cherry Beach in Toronto’s Portlands, but I was ready to embark on an urban water adventure with my husband, Robert McClellan. We dragged our inflatable kayaks down the sloping beach and launched toward Tommy Thompson Wetland Park. The park is comprised of a 5 km long human-made peninsula that extends into Lake Ontario just east of downtown. The cape, built from construction debris and dredged sediments, offers protection as Toronto’s Outer Harbour. Traditionally the area was used for shipping and industrial activities, but is being transformed into an urban wilderness. At the recent Canadian…
I am pleased to offer the link to a new film about the aquifer. Produced and shot by Tom Fitz from Schoolyard Films Inc., it is intended for free use in classrooms. I had the pleasure of consulting on and narrating the film in addition to managing the lighting in the cave diving sequences. This sort of work is very close to my heart!
Dive Nunavut As I try to sleep on a cot in a tent on the sea ice in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, I am surrounded by water. The water has seeped through the seams of the floor, and even though I am pitched on top of plywood sheets, the water is getting too deep. It is time to find slightly higher ground or a remnant snow drift that has not yet melted. It is the beginning of June, and the rain is pouring down. The closest community is Arctic Bay some 80 km away. Arctic Bay is an amazing, traditional community…
I am privileged to be asked to serve as the keynote speaker for Canada’s 9th Annual Water Summit, but the honor is mine. This is an opportunity for me to learn. It is only fitting to begin my journey into Canada’s water resources at Canada’s 9th Annual Water Summit in Vancouver. Hundreds of policymakers, engineers and students gathered to plot the future course of sanitation, supply, and protection. The conference was opened by First Nation’s representations who offered a special prayer in addition to highlighting issues faced by their communities across the country. It is embarrassing to note how compromised the…