Natural History BIOL 3220

I stood over the small plaque that read “Site of Maurice Scott’s homestead built-1914”. I tried to image what it was like more than a hundred years ago. It was difficult to image that these hills used to be full of homesteads, and farmers who raised cattle and worked the land. Life was tough, and making a living was nearly impossible. As a result of hardships, the government and the economy, people abandoned their homesteads and left the area of Lac Du Bois.             We walked away from the vehicles that took us up the snaky dirt road from Kamloops. The hills were full of colour, there was a tree line that bordered the grasslands and a thick Douglas fir forest that filled the mountains behind it. Aspen littered the area with splashes of orange, red, and yellow. The air smelled like crisp, dry leaves and dirt. The colours encouraged me to enter a state of serenity, the ev...

              I sat comfortably in a pit house that was located next to the Thompson river and on the Secwepemc reserve. I was on Sacred land and sitting in a piece of history; this pit house was a wintering home for the Secwepemc people. Just a few hundred meters from the pit house I was sitting in was the Kamloops Indian residential school that was established in 1893 and operated until 1977. Hundreds of children were removed from their parents and taken to this school to become Christianized and civilized. I listened intently during the museum tour, Stafford mentions in his writings: “I meant to stand apart from my century, if I could. I meant to stand apart from my own life and listen” (Stafford. 2016). I listened. I listened to every word our tour guide Jacquie spoke to us. There were certain details that I retained immediately as she talked about the Secwepemc way of life. She talked about the relationships th...

Sitting next to a metal sign clanging in the wind I shivered. I was sitting on top of a hill looking across the grassland landscape over to Kamloops lake. It was a chilly day and I thought I was dressed warm enough, apparently not. The class made themselves comfortable sitting on the cinnamon coloured dusted ridge and began sketching three different plants we were instructed to pick on out short hike to the parks sign. I began sketching with soft, even strokes, attempting to perfectly replicate a strand of Wheat Grass. I pause while sketching to look around me. I could only hear silence, not a peep was coming from any of my peers; it was very peaceful to say the least. We continued up the hill and into the depths of the canyon, my feeling of being cold almost immediately disappeared. Instead of shivering I began to sweat uncontrollably and breath heavily, I felt like a smoker. There were moments where I thought I was to surely die; however, lucky for me my coordination was very ...

I took out my sketchbook and opened it up to a fresh, clean page. The smell of new filled my nostrils and I began sketching a leaf that I happened to find on the ground on campus. I sat hopelessly, sketching out the leaf without looking at it, hoping that the end product of this sketch would resemble a pine leaf. Sitting on my terrace at home after classes, I began to sketch the landscape and horizon where the sun was slowly beginning to set. I found it challenging to hold up a clear CD case to trace the sunset. My arms would shake uncontrollably as if to hint that I should consider going to the gym to do arm exercises. I continued to sketch until the product on the CD case resembled a sad looking sunset. Kamloops' landscape is interesting compared to that of the lower mainland and the Saskatchewan prairies where I had spent my entire summer. The vegetation is quite dry and hardy in this dessert-like landscape, I love how rugged and hilly the surround area is. It makes ...