Less than a month into my Alaska adventures, I had to go on a side-quest to obtain an SSN. The US government is unique in many respects, one of which is that they make it quite hard to get an SSN, even if you are a citizen. After many phone calls with the Social Security … Continue reading Found Gold and I’ll tell you where
Category: Environmental
Read about my adventures vacuuming up bees, getting lost taking samples in rivers, working with locals on remote islands, and more!
Snowmobiling in Saskatchewan
The apocalypse happens. Who do you want as your best friend: a farmer, or the lead computer scientist at Apple? Recently I spent a month and a half in northern Saskatchewan, doing geophysical surveying to look for mineral resources. Cold, cold, cold Saskatchewan was quite the experience! First, we drove 6 hours north of Saskatoon … Continue reading Snowmobiling in Saskatchewan
Duck Mountain
Around the fish hatchery there were plenty of bear trails (and human trails) ripe for exploration. One popular trail started behind a permanent staff members house, went up a hill in a steep climb, and then wrapped around a small pond, through some brush, along a lake, and came back out again at the other … Continue reading Duck Mountain
An Adventure in Alaska
At the beginning of this year, I faced my last full-time semester of university. The semester took me through a rollercoaster of emotions as I grappled with the end of my identity as a student. Who would I be now? How would I fill my time? What was life really about if not getting good … Continue reading An Adventure in Alaska
Bogged Down by Beauty: The Appeal of Unaltered Nature
My family has a cottage in Georgian Bay, a small A-frame wooden cabin that I consider home. The cottage lies within a little cove, with the open waters of Lake Huron are somewhere far past the woods behind the property. Last summer, I went for a ride in a small seaplane - or lake-plane, in … Continue reading Bogged Down by Beauty: The Appeal of Unaltered Nature
The Power of Teamwork
You see it everywhere: outside, on the sidewalk, tiny little ants walk in a line, carrying breadcrumbs back to their nest. Bees buzz around the flowers, intent on gathering nectar to take back to their hive. You even see it in the skyscrapers rising up into the clouds, the organized roads and streets that take … Continue reading The Power of Teamwork
Don’t Touch the Water
When there was life beneath the light What went on was out of sight. now Nothing moves, and nothing breathes And on the surface, no one sees. Image source: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2019/11/harmful-algal-blooms-cost-economic-impact/ Photo taken by Serena Causton in Pointe au Baril “Don’t touch the water,” my sister said as the boat creeped up to the dock. I … Continue reading Don’t Touch the Water
How can we understand nature?
Who am I to interpret nature through art? Well, I am a human. People are all about connection - every individual human has an innate yearning to connect to others. In my opinion, interpreting nature through art is simply another bid for connection. We have an innate desire to share our interpretation with others in … Continue reading How can we understand nature?
What is nature, really?
As I delve further into my work exploring cultural ecosystems, I wanted to write out some short essays on what I’ve learned so far. Just to make sure I’ve learned something. In this post, I’ll consider what it means to interpret nature and the value of having guided experiences in nature. Since so much of … Continue reading What is nature, really?
Orchid Island/ Lanyu (May 2023)
My experiences with flying fish, local festivals, environmental sampling, and visiting all the schools on Orchid Island!
Serena Around the World 