My “Eureka!” moment

Paige Kowal – biologist

“Growing up in northern Manitoba, my father fostered my love of nature and the outdoors by taking me hunting and going on many epic backcountry kayaking trips. After graduating high school and moving to the ‘big city’ (Winnipeg), I knew I was destined for something in biology, but after a few years of attending the University of Manitoba, I still hadn’t narrowed it down to a specific field of study. While walking around campus one day, feeling a bit lost and claustrophobic from city living, a poster caught my eye advertising nature interpreter positions available at Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre. I applied and worked there for several years, which set me on the path of wetland science. Along the way I found out that my late grandfather had been an avid supporter and volunteer for a DUC chapter in northern Manitoba, so in a way it’s like I made my way back home.”

Nic McLellan – research biologist

“I realized I had come full circle with wetlands and waterfowl when I visited the Tantramar Wetlands Centre (a DUC Wetland Centre of Excellence) in New Brunswick while leading a tour with DUC supporters in the Atlantic region. In a presentation, given by the director of the centre, was an old picture of me taking water samples of the newly flooded DUC wetland located near the school. When that photo was taken, I was a Grade 12 co-op student monitoring the water features and wildlife of the wetland. I was the first graduate of the wetland program in its infancy.”

Jim Devries – research scientist

“An important moment for me was finding my first duck nest. It occurred when I was working on a duck nesting study—my first ‘duck job.’  The first day of nest-searching, I found a mallard nest in the crotch of a willow tree about three feet off the ground. This was an unusual find as mallards typically nest on the ground in thick grass and brush. I think it was the experience of discovering something new, in a landscape I thought I knew well, that made it profound. I was fascinated and wanted to learn more about these interesting birds — and I have worked with ducks ever since!”

Howie Singer – research biologist

Howie Singer first connected with ducks in a way that will be familiar to many in DUC’s conservation community — as a youth, on a mentored waterfowl hunt.

“It was the first time I’d ever been up that early. We waded into a marsh well before sunrise. I can still vividly remember the sounds of duck wings whistling through the darkness. As daylight crept closer, I could make out the silhouettes of those whistling wings. Nearly a quarter century later, those sights and sounds are as fresh as ever in my memory, as I pursue my passion for waterfowl conservation.”