How did you spend your summer?
MSVU student Alyssa Rose had a once-in-a-lifetime summer as a Visitor Experience Assistant for Sable Island National Park Reserve.
Sable Island is a thin crescent of shifting sand located at the edge of the Continental Shelf, 290 km southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is home to the famous Sable Island wild horses, grey seals, and unique plants, birds, and insects. The flight from Halifax takes about 75 minutes in a small, fixed-wing airplane (Alyssa’s first time on such an aircraft), that lands directly on the beach. On descent through the fog, she caught her first glimpses of Sable Island’s beaches, dunes, horses and seals.
As a biology student, simply being on Sable Island for the summer was a life-changing experience for Alyssa. She says that it’s one of the best places in the world to learn about biology because it is in such a raw form. Her passion for science education and outreach made her a perfect candidate for the student position with Parks Canada.
In her role, Alyssa assisted with visitor flights, private sailing vessel landings, and even a cruise ship visit. She guided groups on hiking tours and taught them about the natural and cultural landscape of Sable Island. Alyssa also developed social media content for Parks Canada’s Sable Island National Park Reserve Facebook page. And she supported a diversity of other Parks Canada projects on the island during her term, including assisting with floral resource plots, moth surveys, promotional video filming and beach plastics work.
As a tour guide, Alyssa would take visitors on a 3 to 5-kilometer walk around the island. The tours were one of her favourite parts of her experience as she was able to share with visitors the incredible nature on the island. The small group size allowed her to add a customized touch to each tour. She loved hearing stories of what inspired many to make the journey to Sable Island – Alyssa herself has dreamed of going since she was a kid.
In her downtime on the island, Alyssa worked on her photography skills. She had wonderful subjects in Sable Island’s wild horses, seals and birds. She also spent time hiking and exploring the island, playing board games and watching the beautiful sunsets with her Parks Canada team members and researchers. She notes that her favourite sunset location is Bald Dune, the tallest point on Sable Island
After her two months living on Sable Island, Alyssa has returned to MSVU for the 2024 fall term where she’s a Don in Residence, as well as a Teaching Assistant in the Biology Department.