MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Spring 2020

55 In his memoir Naturalist E.O. Wilson writes: “A child comes to the edge of deep water with a mind prepared for wonder.” I arrived at my own water’s edge when I moved west to the Rockies after university. I had no idea what I was going to do but I knew I wanted to work outdoors. I landed a summer job working as an environmental educator for Parks Canada in Yoho National Park, B.C. A Dene elder once told me that the bear was my spirit animal. Perhaps I should have accounted for this before accepting a job in bear country. Sure, I would expect to see a bear running up a scree slope or on the side of the highway while I was safely inside my vehicle. But they seemed to be everywhere. They were my breakfast companions, hanging outside the kitchen window of the staff house casually grazing on a berry bush. They would make a nocturnal appearance while I locked up the supplies building for the evening. One memorable moment was an encounter with mother bear and cubs. After a brief stare-down I backed away slowly. Once out of sight I ran for my life. Seeing a bear up-close, while unnerving, will bring you into the moment. There was also the other type of wildlife in the park: the visitors. I was a nature nerd but the same could not be said for many of the park visitors. I had to ask visitors not to approach, pet, or feed wildlife an unacceptable number of times. I’m still unclear what would possess anyone to approach a bull moose and offer him a little pat on the back. I would be asked bizarre questions like how the lakes are drained to paint the bottom (that’s sunlight reflecting off suspended glacial silt) or what time the animals are released into the park. I used those awkward conversations as teachable moments, letting people know that the “pets” of the park are wild—and free to bite as they please. Then there were the delights of working in the field. I supported a 12-hour guided hike to the Burgess Shale, a 500-million-year-old fossil record and UNESCOWorld Heritage site. And of course, my days were set to the backdrop of glaciers, waterfalls and the Rocky Mountains. “Hands-on experience at the critical time, not systemic knowledge, is what counts in the making of a naturalist,” wrote E. O. Wilson. I look back on all the challenges and delights of this experience with fondness as they taught me much about the natural world, humanity and myself. –Laura Raimondi “Prepared for Wonder”: Parks Canada Enviro Educator ABOVE Lake O’Hara,Yoho. LAURA RAIMONDI