Today’s blog comes from Kelsey Fenwick, senior park naturalist at Blue Lake Provincial Park.
Growing up in small town Ontario, I’ve always loved and appreciated the natural world.
Interestingly, I spent most of my life appreciating nature from a distance.
Although my hometown of Dryden is surrounded by the beautiful boreal forest, for most of my life I was content to stick to the familiarity of the paved streets and the “safety” that I perceived as being within city limits.
I was always nervous to stray “off the beaten path” — you’d never catch me backcountry camping or hiking on a trail more than a kilometre in length.
This all changed for me after high school when I scored a summer job working outdoors. The idea of having to venture from that familiar beaten path was really intimidating, but I’m so glad I took the chance because it changed the course of my life and career.
I realized how good I felt after coming home from work.