Cape Breton and Sable Island NPR Expedition 2022: Days 1-3
As we arrived in Halifax the anticipation for the adventure ahead continued to build. Using Dalhousie University as our meeting place, we had our first opportunity to get to know each other and start making friendships.
Some of us who arrived early went on our first adventure with George Woodhouse, expedition team member, who took us for a walking tour around some of Halifax’s landmarks including the Halifax Public Gardens and Citadel Hill, a historic fort. Now a museum, it is home to an immersive exhibit about the history of Halifax, and shares three key perspectives; The Mi’kmaq people who originally inhabited this area, and the French and English who continually battled over its control.
After we were introduced to the rest of the SOI educators and other team members, we did some team-building exercises and made our way to the Discovery Centre. The Discovery Centre is a not-for-profit charitable organization that aims to, “stimulate an interest, enjoyment, and understanding of science and technology,” and hosts a bunch of interactive and engaging exhibits. After we explored the Discovery Centre, Geoff Green, SOI’s expedition leader, kicked off the welcome event. Geoff prepared us for the exciting people and inspiring places we’ll encounter over the next few days. Ryan Tony, one of the youth participants from nearby Eskasoni performed a Mi’kmaq honour song to bring everyone together and to bless the fabulous dinner that was awaiting us. After dinner, another youth participant, Jody Tulurialik from Taloyoak, joined in with SOI team member Lynda Brown in a throat singing performance that ended in laughter.
Our land-based programming continued for day-two after a rainy bus ride to the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship, also known as COVE! While at COVE we took a deep dive into ocean science with a tour of their facility, and got to see behind the scenes of their COVE Start-up Yard. At COVE, the teams are working on some amazing projects to help make the blue economy sustainable. Even though the rain was pouring down, we took a tour of their outdoor facilities and wharf. After that we got to hear a bit about how we could start to explore our own careers in this space when Anna, part of the SOI team, filled us in on Blue Futures Pathways, and some COVE interns explained some of their projects and the work that they’re doing. Katriina Ilves, part of our expedition team also took this opportunity to introduce some of the species of fish, invertebrates, and algae we might come across on Cape Breton and Sable Island. She also spoke to the importance of biodiversity and all that we can learn from it. Finally, we got to learn a bit about eDNA testing, which is something we’ll be doing once we get to Sable Island. After a busy and engaging visit, we said goodbye to our friends at COVE, and boarded the bus that would take us to Port Hawkesbury.
Three hours later (after watching Pirates of the Caribbean on the bus) we arrived at the Friends United International Convention Centre. This beautiful building honours all Indigenous North American people and celebrates their diverse culture, heritage, and art. Friends United features the largest private collection of Indigenous art, including Inuit carvings, in Atlantic Canada. Rolf Bouman, the owner of Friends United, gave us a private tour and shared some amazing stories, along with his insights into the artists and their work.
One of the highlights of the evening was the chance to meet the inspiring Mi’kmaq artist Loretta Gould! Her artwork is displayed around the world and many of her pieces were on display for us to experience. Throughout the inspiring and thought-provoking evening George played another musical set, while weaving in some storytelling between the songs.
Our third day may have been the busiest and most exciting yet. We kicked it off at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Straits Campus where we got hands-on with some incredible simulators. They showed us their wave simulator and how they use this wave pool to practice in rough water conditions while still being safe in a controlled environment. The biggest hit was the navigation simulator. We broke-off into three groups and each had to manage the bridge of a ship – a tanker, a cargo ship, and a ferry. We tried navigating to a specific destination while they simulated increasingly poor weather. Some groups made it and others…won’t be spending much time on the Polar Prince’s Bridge…
“…[The students] can operate and learn to navigate the vessel in various conditions, in ice, choppy seas, through narrow passages. So the students actually get to have a real time experience. Instead of going on board, they can see it as it is in a small room and experience what they would experience onboard the ship.”
– John Suresh, Academic Chair for Nova Scotia Community College’s Straits Campus
After that we took a break for lunch where we received some unfortunate news. Amanda Mombourquette, the Regional Warden & Richmond County District 4 Councillor, let us know that Elder Albert Marshall was ill, and wouldn’t be able to make today’s activities. Everyone at SOI sends their thoughts and prayers and wishes him a quick and healthy recovery. Amanda shared with us that Elder Marshall is the creator of Etuaptmumk, two-eyed seeing: a combination of traditional thinking and contemporary sciences. This is an approach that we plan to keep in mind during expedition and beyond in our daily lives. Although Elder Marshall wasn’t able to join us, we still enjoyed learning more about the history of Cape Breton (Unama’ki) from Amanda. All the while throughout her presentation, we could see the Polar Prince across the causeway. The excitement was at an all time high.
After lunch we had the chance to explore the intertidal zone with Katriina from the Canadian Museum of Nature. We waded into the water, peeked under rocks, and pushed aside rockweed and bladderwrack to see what kind of creatures we could find. There were lots of common periwinkles (Littorina littorea) and green crabs (Carcinus maenas).
“Getting to know everyone has been special. I’ve enjoyed every minute. It’s been such an experience already and knowing that it’s only the start is amazing.”
– Tukai Augiak, SOI expedition participant
While a flurry of preparation was underway at the ship (loading provisions, gear, luggage, etc), we had the opportunity to visit the Mulgrave Heritage Centre. Many of the community volunteers opened the museum just for us and shared their knowledge and passion with us about the rich history of Mulgrave, the Canso Causeway & Canal, and the region. We even found a map that showed all the shipwrecks at Sable Island.
As good karma would have it, the sun came out and we enjoyed some ice cream on the shores of the Canso Canal, while anticipation of boarding the ship kept building.
Finally, it was time to board the Polar Prince, our floating home and classroom! After a tour of the ship, dinner, and a run through of the safety protocols we got to meet Captain Stéphan Guy! At 10:00pm we cast off the lines and set sail out the Canso Canal!!! Our journey began, and we set our course to remote St. Paul Island in the Cabot Strait!
Check out the video recap of the first few days here:
Don’t forget to check out our expedition page, and stay tuned for our next update!
– In the learning Spirit!