edit 2019-09-08 : adding the name of the authors of the text.
Hey ArcTrain lovers,
We started with us meeting at UQAM in Montreal at around 8.00 am, packed the vans and left for the upcoming adventure. The first leg of the journey was from Montreal to Tadoussac following the St. Lawrence River. This region hosts more than half of the population of the province which was in the past largely inhabited by the first people who settled into the region after the last glaciation some 11,000 years ago.
Our first stop was at Laval University in Quebec City, where after lunch we attended a meeting on the relationship between researchers and indigenous communities. It was led by Aude Therrien, who is affiliated with the Institut Nordique du Quebec. There we learned many valuable principles to keep in mind when conducting research that could impact those communities, principles such as;
-Acknowledging the knowledge of the first nations, and the fact that they occupied the land first.
-Sharing information with the communities during the research and its results.
-Being flexible to the local conditions, for example during hunting seasons people might be hard to reach.
-It’s important to create relationships built on trust and respect
After we were back on our way but not for long! Some stopped at the beautiful Montmorency waterfall to see its majesty and take a few pictures.
On the road towards Tadoussac, we crossed the Charlevoix region which is known for two geological features: a meteor impact crater and a high seismic activity. This impact crater was formed by a 2km wide meteor around 400-450 million years ago. The Charlevoix region is the most active seismic zone in eastern Canada due to it being located on an ancient fault zone that has been weakened by the meteor impact, and is now being activated by isostatic rebound.
After that we continued our journey towards Tadoussac, but we couldn’t resist ice cream at Baie St Paul. At Baie St Catherine we took a ferry and finally we arrived at Tadoussac after sunset…
Written by Jeetendra Saini and Karl Purcell
