By Joe Gallucci, University of Vermont
Cheese. It’s definitely not my friend! I’ve certainly learned that in the past week here in Atlin, British Columbia. I may have been a bit lactose intolerant for awhile now, but with the incredible support of my peers here, I have gained the confidence to tackle any challenge that may lay ahead. So picture this: I’m climbing Ruby Mountain on the second day of the program with the Round River fam and we stop for a quick bit to eat a couple hundred meters from the summit. My dear pal, Kaelie, looks over to me and asks, “Hey Joe! Want a little sliver of this dope cheese? I brought a little extra!” And with my new found confidence in my digestive system I gladly accept. After the tremendous start to this summer, I was under the impression that miracles could happen. Boy… was I wrong!
All jokes aside, my brief time here has already been one of the most productive and enjoyable experiences of my life. I feel so lucky to have the privilege to be able to spend a summer working and learning with Round River. From only the first week here, I can tell that this program is for me. Round River’s work here in Atlin is an absolutely beautiful combination of scientific research and community work.
I have just completed my first year at University of Vermont and am studying Environmental Science. Although my coursework has been wonderful and I am very happy with my college, I have found that I crave real work experience in my field of study. Most of the classes I have taken these past two semesters have been intro classes or large lectures so as you can imagine it is hard to not feel like just another number and even harder to see the difference you are making in the world. This is why I chose to study abroad this summer; I wanted to get more field experience as well as be a physical part of the conservation efforts I have been learning so much about in school. This past week has shown me that Round River is exactly what I was shooting for in a study abroad opportunity and so much more.
There is simply no possible way to summarize everything we have done so far, but I hope by telling you about a few of our adventures from my point of view I can give you a feel for the past week.
Group hike on Ruby Mountain, East of Atlin, B.C.
At 10:30pm on Sunday, June 25th, half of our group departed base camp and headed south down Warm Bay Road. (Side Note: Up here in Atlin the sun doesn’t set until around midnight and rises short there after. It’s actually a bit of hassel when it comes to sleeping outside for 6 weeks straight. I’m slowly getting a handle on that though. Sooo at this point of the night it was completely bright out.) It was the first night of Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) surveying. Our goal was to stop at twelve pre-determined coordinates along the road and look/listen for nighthawks. Being used to daytime fieldwork, I was happy to let a little change into my life. I’ve always loved being out in the late hours of the night. There is a certain feeling that I believe is only attainable by being awake when everyone else is asleep. I would describe this feeling as chilling, but also very liberating. Needless to say, I was excited.
The first couple stops of the night were lacking of any nighthawk behavior, but the night was still alive with all other types of life. At night, all the birds seem to be awake and talking to the rest of the forest about their days. The forest was a cacophony of various life forms vocalizing in their own unique way. During our third stop on the drive we were all standing on the side of the road in silence with our ears perked when we looked down the road and eyed a black bear (Ursa americanus) peering out from some bushes. When he sensed our gazes, he took off running down the road to safety. To see a magnificent animal like this at close proximity really tears down the mental walls that cause us to perceive our furry brothers and sisters as distant relatives. We are so incredibly similar to these beasts of the land in many different ways. And so we drove on into the darkening night in search of evidence of Nighthawks in the dense foliage. Our search proved very successful, for we ended up seeing and hearing multiple nighthawks in one of our later stops on our journey. We arrived home around 1:15am where I finally curled up comfortably and content into my tent. I drifted off to sleep very happy on this night.
The next day the half of the group that was out late was allowed to sleep in a bit. I ended up waking up a bit early and read a book until my peers woke up and joined me in the cabin. After a quick breakfast and a couple cups of coffee, we all jumped in the Spaceship (our very high tech and out of place rental vehicle) and set off down the road. We drove 15 km or so down an old unpaved mining road and set our sights on a saddle point between two peaks in Ruby Valley. We spent a good portion of the day climbing up to the saddle so we could look out over the valley in search of ungulates. One of our projects this summer is to monitor ungulate activity in and around the Atlin East area. When we summited we all found a comfortable place to sit to enjoy our snacks. Looking out over a massive valley seems like a justifiable time to relax and partake in a nature valley bar. After scanning the valley with our binoculars, we set our course back down to the valley. An hour or so later we came upon the partially ice covered alpine lake of snowmelt that we passed on the way up. I figured since I hadn’t showered in a of couple days it would be a bright idea to take a quick dip… I have never felt colder water in my entire life. All my muscles tightened up and I couldn’t breathe for a couple moments, but it was simply freeing. I felt primal in that moment of discomfort and I feel like in a way it made me closer to the landscape around me.
The next day was definitely one of my favorites days of the program. We woke up early and hopped in the car to head down to Atlin Lake. We had the opportunity to be part of osprey (Pandion haliaetus) surveys. Our group got accustomed with our individual seats on the small Zodiac and we left the dock. For most of the day we traveled around Atlin Lake observing many osprey nests that were situated on small islands. I found that just being out on the water and viewing the land from that unique perspective was very eye opening. I believe that being on the lake shed light on the shear size of the surrounding mountains in a way that is simply not attainable from land. I also would like to note that riding on a boat is just fun in general. The way that the vessel buoyantly moved through the waves was enticing to me. There wasn’t a dull moment the whole day.
I hope that sharing some of my thoughts and feelings about my time here in Atlin has brought you closer to understanding how amazing our time has been these past few days. I know it’s been less than two weeks and the majority of the program is coming our way in the near future, but I feel like I already have learned an indescribable amount about conservation biology, aboriginal people of Canada, and myself. I will be forever thankful for this incredibly significant experience in my life.
I’m also going to be including some pictures from our various hikes to give you a scope of how insanely beautiful this landscape is. Every morning I wake up and look out at Atlin Mountain, I am completely and utterly stunned by it’s beauty.
Group hike on Ruby Mountain, East of Atlin, B.C.
Thanks, Joe Gallucci