Pressing Pause: A space for reflection and knowledge sharing.

Grace
Nov 22, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Dec 2, 2024

Hello nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts! I’m Grace, a curious spirit and recent graduate passionate about telling stories that connect people. I thrive on exploring new ideas, making meaningful connections, and finding fresh ways to learn, grow, and enhance experiences. My interests are deeply rooted in conservation, sustainability, and research that places people at the heart of the process.

Image Description: The image depicts Grace standing on top of a hill in Scotland with the famous mountain, Ben Nevis, in the background. She is on her last day of the West Highland Way, a 154 km journey through Scotland's highlands. She wearing hiking boots, navy blue rain pants, a black rain jacket, and a knitted hat adorned with sheep. She is smiling happily and looking directly at the camera.

Bridging Passions: Where Conservation and Community Meet

So, how do these passions intersect? For me, it’s all about fostering community engagement and bridging the gap between governments, organizations, and the people who are most affected. Through this blog and my projects, I aim to celebrate the beauty of our land, the communities I cherish, and share my unique perspective.

My Story

My passion for conservation started in a little canoe club on the shore of Lake Wilcox. It is here that I have spent most of my life paddling. Paddling is my home, my therapy, my greatest challenge, and my proudest victory. This is the story of how I found my love for the water and nature.

Growing up in Richmond Hill, I spent my days tobogganing in Jefferson Forest, swimming in Bond Lake, and hiking the Oak Ridges Moraine. My fondest memories exist in outdoor spaces. I can still feel the rush of cool wind against my cheeks as I raced down snow-covered hills. The sensation of slippery weeds brushing my legs as I wade through lakes and streams. I remember holding my breath, trying to remain perfectly still, not wanting to startle the white-tailed deer I had encountered in the forest. The natural spaces and parks around me were my playground, and it is in these spaces that I feel the most connected to the world, to my being, and to the communities I live in. My parents, both with deep roots in the outdoors—my dad working with salvaged timber and my mom running summer camps—instilled in me a deep appreciation for the natural world.

This love for nature and wildlife did not translate to paddling. My love for paddling grew as I did, and there was no "love at first sight" romance. I spent years on canoe trips with my family, dreading the hours of sitting on splintering fiberglass canoes, my legs tingling and burning with every stroke. In these moments, I could never see the beauty of the landscapes or the animals around me. Nothing was worth the discomfort. I thought I hated canoeing, I vowed never to do it again.

But the natural world always had a way of drawing me back. Summers spent on Manitoulin Island and Algonquin Park, surrounded by the untouched wilderness, made me fall in love with the water. My happiest memories are connected to the water’s cool embrace—the feeling of weightlessness, of fresh lake water washing over me on a hot summer day, and the squish of algae-covered rocks between my toes.

In the spring of 2008, my mom found a local canoe camp on Lake Wilcox. My brother and I joined, and that summer, my world changed. I fell in love with kayaking and racing. Nothing compares to the sensation of pushing through the water—the rhythm, the glide, and the deep connection that only come through paddling. It became a place where I found my confidence, my voice, and my passion for the environment.

I know that much as I treasure these places, they won’t always be here unless we work together to protect them. The landscapes I love—the pristine lakes, the quiet forests, the creatures that inhabit them—are all vulnerable. Without proper stewardship and sustainable practices, future generations may not get to experience the same beauty and serenity that I have been lucky enough to enjoy.

That’s why I’ve committed myself to conservation and sustainability. Paddling on the water and exploring nature isn’t just a personal joy for me—it’s a reminder of what’s at stake. These places need our protection, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the wonders of the natural world are available for future generations to explore, enjoy, and preserve.

Through this blog, I hope to share the joy and peace I’ve found in nature with others, inspiring more people to appreciate the world around them and take action to safeguard it.

I believe that the more we cherish these places, the more we’ll be motivated to preserve them. The health of these places depends on all of us.