The Endlessly Changing Horizon

Back in Toronto I worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service. I started there in 2005 as an intern running the volunteer shorebird survey. This meant that I got to drive around the entire province visiting volunteers at their local beaches, do surveys with them, and then go off to remote sites by myself and do more surveys there. I absolutely loved it! I couldn’t believe they were paying me to do it! But that was a 9 month contract. When that was up, it just so happened that a co-worker of mine went on maternity leave, and my boss at the time was able to slot me in to the one year full time position doing environmental assessments. My fate for the next 8 years was sealed. The co-worker never came back, and I was able to stay on and eventually got a full time position with CWS. It was great. I had a good balance between field work and office work. I felt like I was able to make a small difference in the world by helping major projects like offshore oil rigs, mines and hydroelectric developments decrease their impact on species at risk and migratory birds, by making sure that they were evaluating impacts and compensating for anything negative that would happen.  During the summers I got to go out and work on seabirds, banding chicks and counting nests. Those times were like heaven to me!

 

Me and a Puffin way back in 2008-ish

 

But last year, the government of Canada basically decided that economic developments were way more important than the environment. I wrote a blog about their destruction of all of our environmental laws and the sneaky ways they did it here: http://jontheflipside.blogspot.com/2013/08/stop-ruining-canada-stephen-harper.html

The changes trickled down to my level and we were being told to copy and paste a standard set of advice for every single project across the whole country, with little room left for creative solutions that would be best for conservation.  I started to feel the suffocation of sitting behind a desk, where all I was doing now was rubber stamping mega projects without really doing anything to better the environment. I started to feel like I couldn’t do it anymore, definitely not for the next 30 years of my life.

 

Me at my desk, looking oh so excited about an EA.

 

My ideal co-worker, a 4 week old Great blue heron

 

Baby Great egret

 


Another cool coworker, a baby Tern

My ideal office, a boat on the Great Lakes

So after a lot of thought, and thanks to my excellent boss, I was able to take a year leave of absence. I was finally uncaged, ready to see the beauty that I knew existed in the world and soak it all in. I went hiking in the Patagonian Andes, spotted the big 5 in Africa and cuddled lots of sick penguins, helped out the Giant Tortoises in Galapagos, drove down the west coast of America with one of my best friends in the world, became a marine warrior in Fiji, traveled New Zealand with the best people ever, and saw kangaroos in Australia. Right now I’m sitting in Thailand on the beach with a beer, peering out into the colourful ocean sunset. The world is as beautiful as I always knew it was.

 

This is just amazing!

But I was always traveling knowing I had to go back to work someday. But how could I possibly go back to sit at a desk and help push big mines through in areas I knew were as close to pristine as you could get?! It just seemed so wrong.  I couldn’t bear to go back and work for a government that was just so blatantly fucking up my beautiful country. I would have felt like a total hypocrite and failure if I went back. So I just had to leave my job. Part of me feels like I should have stayed and tried to fight to make things better, but I know in reality that would have been impossible. So this is my own personal protest. (I also urge everyone to not vote for Stephen Harper in the next election!!) I know there is something else out there for me. So now for the first time ever, I’m totally free! No job, no boyfriend, no ties anywhere. Being free- it feels a little scary, but so good! Bring on the adventure, I’m ready!

My friend Bobby posted this on FB the day before I sent my email to my boss finally quitting my job. It totally spoke to me and I took it as a sign that it was the right decision. Bring on my endlessly changing horizon and a new and different sun each day. I'm ready :)