Checking In with @waterkeepermark and Swim Drink Fish Ambassador Joseph Boyden
Mark is Checking In with Swim Drink Fish Ambassadors about living with social distancing. Here, Joseph Boyden answers Mark’s questions.
Joseph Boyden is a Canadian writer, teacher, and public speaker. A member of the Order of Canada, his novels are published in 25 languages around the world and have won numerous national and international awards. For the past 25 years, Joseph has been part of Camp Onakawana in different capacities. He’s recently taken the role of Executive Director of the Onakawana Education Fund, which works toward guaranteeing that youth will have a place to go and learn rare and valuable skills there for generations to come. To learn more about the Onakawana Education Fund, visit onakawana.com.
Joseph Boyden’s Watermark: James Bay Watershed
MM: How are you doing?
JB: Overall, I'm doing pretty good. Keep in mind that I've been social-isolating for about three years now. I'm used to a lot of stuff most people wouldn't be. On top of it all, I work from home, and so this all wasn't much of a shock to the system. I worry and pray for a lot of people, but the quiet, the calm, the self-reflection, the only having to go into town every couple weeks for supplies, the time with my two infants and my partner, it's actually been some really good medicine.
MM: Where are you living and what are your daily routines?
JB: We are really lucky to live outside of Parry Sound where the Seguin River runs into Mill Lake. My answer above would be very different if we didn't have water and shore for us all to explore. Daily routine is everything during a time like this. I'm typically up to write at 6 a.m. for a couple of quiet hours, make breakfast for the family, then go back and write again for a few more. Then I'll take over watching the boys while Laura works her job in the afternoon. It's a simple existence, but I've never been more even-keeled and happy. Before I paint too bucolic a picture, we've been experiencing a bit of a squirrel problem this spring, and so a new routine is hunting them down with my assault rifle before the government takes it away from me. Just kidding. It isn't an assault rifle.
MM: What are you looking forward to most?
JB: Getting to hang with my big, noisy family again. And Trump getting his ass kicked in November. And getting back to France.
MM: Do you believe the Covid-19 crisis will leave lasting scars on our world? If so, how?
JB: For those many, many thousands who have lost loved ones, it certainly will. For those who lost their livelihoods, it certainly will. So much will never be the same. I believe one of the biggest scars will be caused by something that's just beginning to happen now, especially in the U.S. That an economy's short term health was considered more important than thousands upon thousands of human lives will be the scar that will remain inflamed for a long time. A next wave of suffering is going to hit hard. We will look back in shame.
MM: If you were a marine animal, what would it be?
JB: A cuttlefish. They are bizarrely beautiful. And they use hypnosis to hunt.
MM: Are you currently involved in any citizen science engagement in your community? Swim Guide? Gassy? Monitoring Hub? iNaturalist? Other?
JB: We were just about to set up a water monitoring hub on the Abitibi River in the James Bay lowlands when the pandemic hit. We will accomplish this soon as is possible.
Read more from the Checking In with @waterkeepermark series:
Tanis Rideout
Jennifer Baichwal
Connect with us on Twitter, @LOWaterkeeper and @waterkeepermark.
