Sharing Circle - Blake Corbin

An effective way to raise awareness about issues that are important is through the sharing of stories, and by listening to the voices around us. Three very important issues to me and the company I work for (BGIS) are:

-         Indigenous

-         Diversity

-         Sustainability

Sharing circles provide opportunities for each voice to be heard, respected, and valued. They are a traditional practice in many Indigenous communities across North America, and are designed to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to share their opinions and ideas.

Participants in the sharing circle share their own opinions and speak their own voice. This post is the voice of Blake Corbin, one of my coworkers at BGIS. His activities within the community have always inspired me and I hope it will inspire you to participate and become involved.

Thank you, Blake, for sharing your story.

Blake, what are your earliest memories, that help form your passion for the environment and Indigenous culture?

If I think back to some of my earliest memories of the outdoors, it takes me back to my grandfather Ross Corbin and my father Brian Corbin.

I believe my grandmother, Mary Chaput (Ross's wife), had a Metis background. I have never researched it though. I have vague memories of her as she passed away when I was only 5 years old.

My grandfather turned his little hunt camp that he had made with some fellow WWII veterans into his home around 1979. It is located near Calabogie. It was also 100 Acres and Waterfront on a private lake called Stones Lake. It has grown to wetlands and woodlot management of close to 1000 Acres and I also keep a close eye on the Crown Land that surrounds, especially the Forestry Management Plan.

He always liked to hunt and fish and became a Trapper. I spent many March breaks, summers and weekends there tagging along and learning everything about everything. He always had a big garden, sometimes raised chickens and ducks, and was always living sustainably with a hint of MacGyver.

His concept that has stayed with me, and with the groups or organizations I volunteer with, is that with anything you like/love/cherish and want to have around for a longtime, you need to appreciate it and take care of it.

A very simple concept, to listen and pay attention to the signs and indicators in nature. I often say that hunters and anglers are the stewards of the land and to use natural resources responsibly. Of course, there are bad apples with everything, but we all must be responsible for our own actions. The same applies to Health and Safety and what is referred to as the Internal Responsibility System within the framework of an overall Safety Management System.

For years the Nature Conservancy of Canada has been challenging Canadians to commit to 25 Random Acts of Kindness. These little acts do make a difference in the area(s) that you love and cherish.

Blake, what are some of the personal projects that you are working on?

Some of my ongoing projects are:

·      Wood Duck nesting boxes: I maintain 50 boxes at our family property on Stones Lake (Calabogie) which I have been doing for over 30 years, through Ducks Unlimited. My father was a founding Chairperson to local chapters in Arnprior, Renfrew, Calabogie, Pembroke/Petawawa. I clean them out in the winter and document the type of nesting activity and shell fragments. They are all mapped and GPS locatable. Over the years we have had many species take residence, including wood ducks, least flycatchers, owls, kestrel and wasps. I also have goose and mallard nesting sites and two years ago a pair of mute swans took over a nesting site and had a fledgling.

·      Ottawa Riverkeeper: I do monthly water quality testing and participate in their citizen science projects. I am a River watcher with them, and I listen to anglers and what they are seeing and documenting on not only fishing, but the water condition, levels and habitat. With Sturgeon and the restoration of the American eel, both species were a food staple to the Indigenous groups up and down the Ottawa River and were also traded. I do a lot of outreach during ice fishing season, showing people ice conditions and how to be safe when ice fishing. I also talk about the concerns to the destruction of ecosystems with road salt applications, like stopping the spread of an invasive species, trying to defer salt from entering our waterways is important. Take care of the river and waterways that provide drinking water to many communities in Ontario and Quebec.

·      Re-introduction of the Wild Turkey: Since 1999, I was on a committee that assisted the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in the Trap and Transfer program with Landowners in the Ottawa Valley. I spent numerous hours with farmland owners to see if the habitat was suitable for the wild turkey. Back then, we released mostly during the winter and would spend hours and days just observing and collecting data their movements and how adaptable they were to deep snow and cold weather. This led to a fruit tree and shrub planting program as well as farmers leaving a few windrows of standing corn to provide a food source above the snow. Over the last couple of years, my friends and I have donated our turkey carcasses to Dr. Amanda McDonald for research into the spread of the Avian Flu amongst the species and the ruffed grouse. These are non-migrating species of birds.

·      Outdoors in the Valley: I used to have a radio program called Outdoors in the Valley. It was on a Community owned station in Renfrew, Ontario. I have no background in Broadcasting, Journalism or Media Relations, but the Station Manager approached me because we are old high school friends and he knew how passionate I am about the outdoors and how much I enjoy passing along what I have learned and what I know.

The radio program was an hour long and played the music, added commercials and had guests. The show was much more than talking about hunting and fishing. It was about how to learn, educate, embrace and share the natural world. I had shows on everything from forest bathing, permaculture and how to navigate websites that can introduce a youth or new Canadian to our backyards, greenspaces and bodies of water.

https://valleyheritageradio.ca/meet-our-djs/blake-corbin/

·      Feathers for Kids: Through the non-profit organization, Pass The Feather, I have been donating feathers, along with many of my friends, as we have access to migratory or upland game birds wing and tail feathers. For example, using turkeys, wingbone calls can be made and the feathers can be used for smudge ceremonies and Indigenous educational purposes. I have always been taught that we must give thanks to and respect the animal that gave its life to you, and to use as much of the animal as possible, as nothing should go to waste.