Host Joel Houle appears on screen in the Simply Science studio.
“When we interview scientists for our videos, we always ask them “what’s the best part about your job?” Well, what I love about my job is that once in a while I’m offered these really unique opportunities.”
Joel and some geologists are shown inside a helicopter cockpit.
“A few years ago, I got to tag along with a group of geologists who were conducting field work in Northern Labrador.”
We see geologists in the field breaking off a piece of a boulder to collect as a sample.
“It was really exciting to see these geologists do their thing! What rocks or minerals to look for; which ones to sample; and all that fun stuff.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“But there was something about this trip that caught me completely off guard — and it’s the real reason I wanted to make this video.”
Animated introduction for the Simply Science Gems video series. Cut to Joel in the studio, followed by a montage of the individual geologists.
“During my time in Northern Labrador, I got to shadow three geologists in action: Roger Paulen, Jessey Rice and Pierre-Marc Godbout.”
We go back to Joel and the geologists in the helicopter. We then show Joel in a remote location addressing the camera directly with the helicopter and geologists visible in the background.
“This is my office today. It’s pretty good! Pretty good!”
Joel in the field being filmed by geologist Roger Paulen. Roger narrates and addresses Joel.
“And here we have the videographer — out of his element and into the wild.
How many bugs have you eaten?”
“Five! They’re delicious!”
The three geologists walk on mountainous terrain.
“The three of them are part of a team mapping the surficial geology of the area.”
Jessey is shown digging to collect a soil sample. We then see the geologists on the side of a massive sand dune in the middle of the Labrador wilderness.
“For those of us who aren’t geologists, surficial geology is basically the stuff on the ground — the loose materials like dirt, sand, gravel and clay that sit on top of the solid bedrock on former glaciated terrains, of which impacted more than 95 percent of Canada.”
We see an aerial view of the Northern Labrador landscape, followed by views of a mountainous terrain covered in snow.
“You see, starting about 75,000 years ago until about 8,000 years ago, most of mainland Canada was covered by this giant glacier called the Laurentide ice sheet.”
An animated map of Canada is displayed, depicting the melting of the Laurentide ice sheet.
“The sheer thickness and magnitude of that glacier, larger than any modern-day continental ice sheet, flowed from ice domes in interior Canada out towards the glacial margins.”
We see a helicopter that has landed on mountainous terrain, followed by an aerial view of the Northern Labrador landscape.
“This process eroded and sculpted the landscape, depositing rocks, dirt and minerals across huge areas and basically created the surface morphology that we see today.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“You can still see evidence of that today if you know where to look.”
Roger is standing on an outcrop outside Hopedale. You can clearly see grooves in the rock.
“This outcrop is a really good example of one that’s been glacially polished and eroded. It’s as smooth as if somebody’s taken a giant belt sander to it. In a belt sander, the sandpaper always moves in a single direction — he same as the ice flow that’s moving in a single direction. And these grooves are what we use to measure which direction the glacier was flowing when it eroded this outcrop.”
We see geologist Jessey Rice collecting a soil sample and field assistant Shavonne Tuglavina taking notes.
“These geologists were studying the area to better understand the impact of those flowing glaciers.”
A Map of Canada appears, identifying the location of Hopedale.
“They travelled to different locations around Hopedale, Labrador, to collect samples that will help them map the surficial geology of the area.”
We see Jessey in the field kneeling on the ground, getting ready to collect a soil sample.
“We found a site with some glacial sediments. We’re going to collect some samples to get a regional geochemistry and heavy mineral background data on this. You can see the glacial sediments right at the surface here. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“It was really cool and a little surreal to explore this wilderness searching for clues of what happened thousands of years ago. Plus Roger, Jessey and Pierre-Marc were terrific tour guides!”
We see Jessey in the Labrador wilderness, addressing the camera and pointing at bear feces.
“Hi! My name is Jessey. I’m with the Geological Survey of Canada. And I found some bear -beep-! Right here!”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“Oh yeah! We had to watch out for bears! Which wasn’t unsettling at all! In fact, here’s Hopedale resident and field assistant Shavonne doing her best to put me at ease.”
We see Shavonne standing in a sand dune with a helicopter in the background. Joel asks Shavonne a question from behind the camera.
“Should we be worried about the bears?”
“Not right now, I don’t think. Because if you’re able to see tracks, like really fresh tracks like that, then I’d say we would have to be worried and keep an eye out. They’re also scared of the helicopter. They just run off.”
We see geologists in the field conversing with Hopedale resident and prospector Edmund Saunders, followed by an aerial view of Hopedale.
“Interestingly enough, the most memorable part of the trip wasn’t the science itself or dodging the local wildlife, it was witnessing the relationship between the geologists and the community we stayed in — this beautiful coastal town of Hopedale.
The town of about 600 people was established as an Inuit settlement named Agvituk, which means “place of the whales” in Inuktitut.”
Views of Hopedale houses and boats from one of the town’s many docks.
“There are no roads that connect the town to any other community. The only way in and out of Hopedale is either by boat, or by small aircraft or helicopter.”
We see Edmund in the Labrador wilderness addressing the camera.
“There’s challenges living in Hopedale. You can’t always run out to the store and get the things that you need. But when you look around and you see the land — I’ve lived in big cities, I’ve lived all across Canada — right now, there’s no place I’d prefer to be.”
View from a vehicle driving through the streets of Hopedale.
“When you’re working in a community or with a community on a scientific project, it’s important that everyone is on the same page.”
We see geologist Roger Paulen standing in the Labrador wilderness in front of a helicopter, addressing the camera.
“We actually don’t even start the scientific projects until we engage with the community.”
Photograph of Roger addressing a group of community residents in a common-space setting.
Prior to us conducting any research, we actually go to the communities, give a presentation of what we’re proposing to do, what the benefits are to the community, what type of science we do and our impact on the land.”
Roger is seen in the field interacting with another geologist.
“Our geologists aren’t working alone in Hopedale.”
“This is a collaborative effort between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
We see geologist picking up a rock and showing it to Edmund.
“So right at the onset, we involved the geological survey of Newfoundland and Labrador. Because they have worked in this area previously and even had community contacts, that helped us get started.”
Photograph of geologist Heather Campbell interacting with Hopedale residents.
And some of their geologists have made considerable efforts to already engage with the community and show that the work that we are doing is having a positive impact.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“Geologists from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador have actually been working with the community for several years. They’ve gotten to know the people of Hopedale quite well.”
Geologist Heather Campbell addresses the camera in an interview setting.
“Hopedale is a wonderful community.”
We see a resident preparing freshly caught fish, followed by geologists walking in the Labrador wilderness.
“It’s a smaller town where a lot of the people fish and hunt and go out on the land.”
View of a cliffside with exposed rock.
“The rock here is spectacular. Some of the rock is up to 3.2 billion years old. There’s a unique relationship with the patterns in the rock and how people see them.”
Photograph of a carving of an orca by local prospector and artist Edmund Saunders.
“And how they use them as part of their art and just everyday observations. So to me, that’s very unique. I first came here in 2017 and they’re incredibly friendly population here, and it’s wonderful to be able to interact with people in the community.”
Geologist Alana Hinchey addresses the camera while standing next to a Hopedale residence.
“You really get to know people, and you really get a sense of the community and the people that live there. In these small communities, you end up knowing after a couple of years, pretty much everybody. And so, you really feel part of the community, and you get a different level of engagement than you do if you’re working in a bigger centre.”
We see Heather in an interview setting.
“We actually were engaged ourselves by the locals who came up and asked us about a lot of the rocks that they were seeing. One of the local carvers and prospectors came up to us and asked us about a rock.”
We go back to Edmund in the Labrador wilderness addressing the camera.
“Maybe seven years ago, eight years ago, I had my wife’s uncle come to me, and it looked a lot like a sample from Voisey’s Bay.”
A map is shown, displaying location of Voisey’s Bay in relation to Hopedale.
“Voisey’s Bay is a nickel, copper and cobalt mine located about 150 km northwest of Hopedale. A large nickel deposit was discovered there in the mid 1990s, and it was considered at the time to be one of the most substantial mineral discoveries in Canada in years.”
Cut back to Edmund.
“David Corgan and Heather Campbell were in the town at the time, and I reached out to David because I talked to him at times before. And when I showed him the sample there, he got me to give it to Heather, and that’s where our work began.”
We see geologists walking toward a rock formation, followed by geologist David Diekrup addressing the audience next to the Hopedale airport.
“So, what we’re doing is both trying to figure out the broader scale geology, but the prospectors here, they are really interested in anything that is economic, metals, gold deposits, anything that could be of economic value.
David, Roger and Edmund are shown walking through the wilderness and observing rocks.
For that, we’re trying to help them out to put what they’re finding into the context of the broader scale geology. The prospectors are really good at finding small features that, just as regional mappers, we skipped right over. But the prospectors, they are really good at finding minute details that we usually don’t have the time to look into. We’re trying to help the prospectors do their job, and at the same time, what they are finding feeds into our mapping efforts. So, it’s give and take from both sides. It’s a really good energy that we’ve got going here.”
We go back to geologist Roger Paulen standing in the Labrador wilderness in front of a helicopter addressing the camera.
“The type of framework geology we’re providing helps local prospectors.
Edmund is shown on a cliffside using a sledgehammer to collect a rock sample.
They can actually come into this area based on some of the mapping we do, some of the sampling, and follow up and prospect.
We see Edmund, Roger and David in the field pointing in the distance and discussing where to go explore further.
And the vision of several community members here is they’d like to find a mineral property or a gemstone showing or something where the locals can actually benefit from not only the discovery, but through potential work down the road.”
We go back to Edmund in the Labrador wilderness addressing the camera.
“I’d like to see something what would bring a benefit to the economy of the area. We see a lot of, unfortunately, people in poverty and stuff in our town. I would really like a lot more employment, which the possibility exists for.”
Cut back to David.
“It’s really communities like this, where we do community engagement, that got me interested in picking up this kind of work. You’re building up relationships with the community, and you’re really benefitting from the support that you get from the community, and you’re contributing to the community, too. So that’s what really drew me into this work, and that’s why I was really trying to get a position here, and I’m delighted that it worked out.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“As interesting as the science is, what really makes this type of work special is establishing those human connections.”
Cut back to Roger.
“Ultimately, it’s the people you work with and the friends you make. My previous project was in the southwest part of the Northwest Territories, and I still have community members there that are friends.”
Camera shows an aerial view of Hopedale.
“And I’m quickly meeting and making friends with the community here in Hopedale.”
Cut back to Joel in the studio.
“This trip to Hopedale was amazing! It was lovely to meet Edmund and his family.”
Field assistant Shavonne Tuglavina is shown giving the peace sign, while geologists Roger and Jessey are seen digging in a sand dune.
“It was great to see a future prospector like Shavonne learn the tricks of the trade.”
A black-and-white puppy is shown being petted.
“We made a new friend named Oreo.”
We see Hopedale resident and field assistant Allen, “Sonny,” Pijogge driving a boat near a rocky shoreline.
“And it was fun to hang out with Sonny as we went island-hopping to gather some samples.
It was eye-opening to see the human element behind the scientific work.”
View from a vehicle driving through the streets of Hopedale.
“And as someone who grew up in a small town, it’s easy to understand how the residents of Hopedale feel about their community.”
We see Sonny sitting on a boat and addressing the audience.
“There’s a lot of downsides to living in a small community, but there’s a lot of upsides too. I guess you have to be born in a place like that to understand what it’s like to grow up there. It’s hard to explain, I guess. It’s my home. This is what I love.”
Aerial view of the Labrador landscape.
“Everywhere you go, it’s beautiful out here.”
Joel is back on screen at the studio.
“Thank you so much for letting us share this story with you.
If you’re interested in learning more about the scientific work that was conducted during this trip, check out the video on screen right now.
Make sure you do all the YouTube things: like and subscribe. And keep an eye out for our next video.”
The Canada wordmark appears.