Today’s blog comes from Laurel Finney. Laurel is the Discovery program project coordinator within the Ontario Parks Operations & Development section, providing direction and support for Discovery Program staff across the province. Previously Laurel worked at White Lake, Esker Lakes, Six Mile Lake, and Wasaga Beach provincial parks.
When I was 17, I applied to and was accepted into the Ontario Junior Ranger program.
Its tagline was “best summer of my life” – and that still rings true for me.
My parents drove me to Washago and from there, I traveled on my own, by train, to Gogama, where I had the best summer of my life and made some of my truest friends.
The Ontario Ranger Program was meant to be a gateway to working in parks, so the following year, I applied to a number of student jobs around the province and, quite disappointingly, did not receive any offers.
So I tried again the following year, and despite having applied for a maintenance position at Lake Superior Provincial Park, I was offered a Discovery position at White Lake.
I had never heard of the Discovery program and had no idea where White Lake was, but that didn’t stop me from accepting the position and taking a 12-hour bus ride up north.
The bus dropped me and my duffle bag off on the side of the highway by the park entrance.
There I waited to be greeted by park staff who would soon become my park family.
Explore, observe, discover
Working in Discovery was so much fun!
I got to observe, explore, and discover the boreal forest. I got to learn on and from the land and my Discovery teammates.
If you haven’t walked the Tiny Bog Trail at White Lake, I would strongly encourage you to do so.
It is full of magic, wonder, and beauty – especially when you can visit over and over again.
Our role in Discovery was to find a way to package up all that magic and beauty, and make it accessible to the campers via the delivery of guided hikes, campfire programs, children’s programs, and other interpretive experiences.
I will admit that I was a little bit shy during my first few years as a student.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a crowd of strangers and help them see and experience the rest of the natural world in a more intimate way.
But it’s also really rewarding to make these connections and to connect with the visitors themselves.
Oh, the stories I could tell you
One day, a lynx was sitting on our office doorstep, so we had to wait until it moved on to get in to work.
Or the day a Black Bear was sitting on the staff house porch, and we had to wait to go “home.”
Or the day the fire crew put a new piece of equipment in the helicopter and had to go up for a test flight, so I got to join them.
Or the night we stayed up way past midnight laying on the dock, mesmerized by the Northern Lights.
Living in White Lake, which I was lucky enough to do for four summers, was really amazing. The staff house at White Lake sat right on the lake.
We had a campfire pit, a ping-pong table, and a sauna! I could hike and swim and canoe and explore the park at my leisure.
I also developed a very close relationship with the land. Even today, whenever I go north and the forest starts to become more “boreal,” it feels as if I am going home and greeting old friends because of the time we spent getting to know each other in those first few years working in Discovery.
Moving up and away
I worked for two summers as a Discovery student at White Lake before accepting the Discovery leader position at Esker Lakes.
I worked as a leader at Esker Lakes for two summers and then returned to White Lake as the leader for an additional two summers, all the while completing my Bachelor of Science at the University of Guelph.
After graduating, I was looking for something a little more long-term than what I thought parks had to offer, so I went on to experience other things.
I worked for a number of outdoor education centres in Ontario and Minnesota, received an Environmental Education Master’s Certificate from Hamline University and a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University.
I did a bit of teaching — college and elementary — and even worked for Parks Canada for a bit before finding my way back to Ontario Parks.
First I worked as a Discovery leader at Six Mile, then Wasaga Beach, and now in my current role supporting the Discovery program on a provincial level.
Join us for the best summer of your life!
I am truly passionate about our park system and connecting our visitors with the rest of the natural world.
Even though I no longer work in a park, or have much direct contact with our visitors, I still get to work with my Discovery family every day and celebrate all of the amazing connections they make in their parks.
I also work on some really fun projects, like the much-loved Discovery Activity Books – which reach over 140,000 children annually!
If you’re passionate about connecting people to nature, need a creative outlet, and are looking for a job as varied as it is rewarding, a Discovery job may be a good fit for you.
Learn more about jobs with Ontario Parks and how to apply on our Careers Page.