SFS: Quebec Labrador Foundation

On Tuesday the 29th, my five weeks with QLF began with flights from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then to Deer Lake, Newfoundland. With me were Beth Alling, the vice president of QLF, her friend Janet, Beth's son Charley, Roz and Will Brokaw, and Tom Sherwood. Charley, Roz, Will, and Tom are traveling along the Quebec North Shore to four different communities to run a soccer camp for kids, while I am staying in Blanc Sablon to work for the Marine Species at Risk program.

When we arrived in Deer Lake, we drove up the western coast of Newfoundland to Norris Point (photo!) for a great dinner and to spend the night. Norris Point was our first taste of what our time would be like here: scenic and and relatively cold. At night, the temperature is in the 30s and 40s, while it gets up to 50s and 60s (if we're lucky) during the day.

On Wednesday, we began with a tour of the aquarium at the Bonne Bay Marine Station right in Norris Point. The aquarium had several animals that we had never heard of before as well as information about the fishing issues and history of the area. We continued driving up the coast and stopped for a walk into West Brook Pond. About a mile in, we ran into a mother moose and her calf only a couple feet from the trail. Because moose, especially with their babies, can be so dangerous, we turned right around. We spent the night at Tuckermore Lodge and had the chance to hear a musician from the other side of the island who was playing for the guests.

We headed up to St. Barbe on Thursday morning to catch the ferry (photo) over to Blanc Sablon. During the hour and a half ride, we saw porpoises and whales and had a chance to meet about our work responsibilities. When we arrived in Blanc Sablon, we drove to the QLF office that doubles as the staff house and met Trish Nash, who oversees QLF in the area and is in charge of Marine Species at Risk, her daughter, and Stefan and Curtis, who I will be working with. Trish and Stefan took us grocery shopping and introduced us to some camp counselors at St. Teresa's, the school in town, who we will be working with to plan activities for the kids later on. Our entire group went to dinner 5 minutes over the border into Labrador. While Quebec runs on Eastern Time, Labrador and Newfoundland are both an hour and a half ahead, which, as you can imagine, can be a nuisance for people who frequently travel between the two provinces, but does allow them to have two New Year's Eves among other things. After dinner, we said goodbye to Janet and Beth, who are flying back to Boston today.

Today (Friday), is Canada Day! Later on, there's a parade and other 4th of July-like activities. This morning, though, Curtis, Stefan and I assembled 40 observer kits that we are going to hand out when we return to Newfoundland on Tuesday for some field work. QLF is always working to sign up more fishermen, ferry operators, and whale watch guides for the observer program to collect data and connect with new communities. In the bags, there are identification guides for whales and fish as well as guidelines for reporting sightings and releasing animals caught in nets.

It's absolutely beautiful here. There are actually no trees, but the view is great when it's clear. Everyone has been friendly and helpful and I'm really looking forward to the rest of my time.