Dr. Goldsborough, along with fellow academic Dr. Dale Wrubleski of the University of Manitoba’s Biological Sciences department, led about 20 students in the Wetland Ecology third-year class on their annual field trip to visit and learn about some of Manitoba’s wetland areas.
Lori Truscott
Stag Special
Every summer for the past 25 years, Dr. Gordon Goldsborough has led his students to a place where they can walk on water. Literally.
Known as a Quaking Fen, this unique area in CFB Shilo’s Range and Training Area (RTA), is a place where peat and soil float atop the water allowing grasses, reeds and even trees to grow.
Walking on this fen is tricky. The water seeps over your shoes and the muddy peat flexes and pulls making you unsteady.
In some places you will suddenly sink to your knees or even waist-deep. You are walking on grass and moss that is afloat and moving like jello as you “walk on water.”
Dr. Goldsborough, along with fellow academic Dr. Dale Wrubleski of the University of Manitoba’s Biological Sciences department led about 20 students in the Wetland Ecology third-year class on their annual field trip to visit and learn about some of Manitoba’s wetland areas.
Along with visits to Minnedosa Lake and Riding Mountain National Park, the group stopped at CFB Shilo in late August to visit a couple of wetland areas that are rare in southern Manitoba.
Within the Shilo RTA is a marshy region known as Epinette Creek which is part of the larger Douglas Marsh directly north of CFB Shilo. This area contains trees and ground conditions more common to northern Manitoba.
“It’s a remnant of the ancient lake that once covered this area,” explained Dr. Wrubleski to the students.
Home to Boreal forest tamarack trees and deep peat layers this area is uncommon in the south, especially, when considered the peat-land is amongst sand dunes.
For these biology students this field trip gives them a learning opportunity they would not get in a classroom or virtual environment.
“You can learn a lot from a book but to get a real understanding and feel for these environments you need to get your hands dirty,” said Dr. Goldsborough.
“And then there is a chance to bring them here [to Shilo] and see the rocket ranges and military activity”, he adds with a huge grin. “This place [Shilo] is made accessible to us. We get to see this without having to travel too far so it’s a great arrangement.”
At the quaking fen area the students laugh in amazement as they jump in unison setting the peat layer wiggling and shaking trees several feet away.
Everyone is busy taking close up photos and video of the fen and peat-land. It is an early start to the academic year for some of these students who had to rearrange work schedules to take in the week-long trip.
