• A new project collecting Canadians’ pandemic experiences as they were shaped by place
• Why a Fisheries and Oceans ecologist built fake belugas in her garage
• Life of Pi author Yann Martel’s favourite place in Canada
• An immersive experience of coastal First Nations culture with Canadian Geographic Adventures

As the world learns to live with COVID-19, Canadians can reflect on how we have coped with and adapted to the challenges of living in a pandemic. For some, public health restrictions and limitations on travel became invitations to spend more time outdoors, enriching our awareness of and re-establishing our connection with the natural world. Others engaged in activities closer to home, such as baking, gardening, or taking daily walks.

In our most recent issue, we shared seven reflections on the pandemic from diverse points of view, including Montreal’s unhoused and those who help them, a new mother struggling with isolation on Salt Spring Island, and a chronically ill person who found solace in walking. We invite you to share your pandemic experience with other Canadians. How did you respond to the challenges of the pandemic? How is your story reflective of the part of Canada you call home? What did you discover about yourself or your environment?

Satellite detection of whales is improving rapidly, but finding the behemoth creatures is still surprisingly tricky

The pandemic forced all sorts of people to bring their jobs home with them. For Cortney Watt, an ecologist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, that meant building six fake belugas in her garage. It was a strange project with an even stranger purpose: to see if she could see the whales from space.

Watt built the belugas from canvas and lumber and tested out a pulley system in a swimming pool to control the depths of the dummies. In experiments in various lakes, Watt tested how deep below the water’s surface a satellite could see her fake whales. She can apply those results to count real belugas in the Arctic. Surprisingly, current satellite imagery is clear enough that Watt can even see when one beluga dives below another. It’s an unexpectedly optimistic finding for the budding field of whales-from-space research.

The Life of Pi author unpacks the feelings evoked by Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Que., on the St. Lawrence River

As told to Thomas Lundy

Home is a complicated word for me. My parents were diplomats, so I’ve lived abroad. Now I live in Saskatoon and have had spells in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. But when I return to Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Que., in some ways, I feel like I’m home.

The enrichment program will feature our RCGS Travel Ambassador sharing their specific expertise as well as Klahoose’s own local Cultural Interpreter who will assist in guiding a 4-5 hour boat tour exploring Desolation Sound and Toba Inlet. Immerse yourself in local culture through Indigenous storytelling, cedar weaving, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, ocean swimming, forest walks and ocean foraging. 

Meet your ambassador: Fred Cattroll

Check out these other upcoming trips:

- High Arctic Explorer with Joseph Frey
- Canadian Badlands & Rocky Mountains with George Kourounis
- Heli-hiking in the Cariboos with Scott Forsyth