Seasons of HHL
For many, a new calendar year marks new beginnings and times of reflection. In northern latitudes and here on Turtle Island, we enter the winter season where HHL marks the holiday season HHL with our annual period of hibernation. During this time, we intentionally quiet our lab-based relations, and are encouraged to prioritize time with reconnect with family, friends, ourselves and other beings. During this time, we seek to reground our intentions and goals as we step into the new calendar year. This is an important season in the life cycle of our lab community as this downtime allows us to recharge, refocus, and catch-up. Below we’ll outline the various Seasons of HHL.
Spring – A Season of hope, new beginnings & preparation
This is when the HHL research life cycle springs to life, and the Spring equinox invites new growth on the land, in the water and within ourselves. On a practical note, the word that best describes this season is: Preparation. In the agricultural lands around us, soil is being prepared, seeds are being planted, and as a research team we spend this time preparing for the upcoming field season which often begins mid to late spring and continues through the summer and into early fall. Preparations include planning sites, preparing for travel, training and certifications, refining (and lots of testing!) field methods and protocols, re-engaging with community partners and landowners to ensure their perspectives are included and permissions are granted to conduct our research. This is an exciting time for new HHL researchers as they prepare for their first field experiences.
Summer – Go & Grow! HHL hits the field
We are excited to welcome this season with the longest day of the year, often marking the growing season with ceremony including pow wows across many communities. This is a busy season for HHL as our teams go out and spend long days in the field on-site surveying for samples, or on the road travelling between sites. During the summer, new friendships grow, lessons are learned, data points and samples are well earned and through it all, our collaborations grow as we travel from site to site and experience the successes and challenges of field work together. All of our field work is done together, with overlapping projects maximinzing the opportunity to get to know the rivers, plant and animal beings, and a rich network of conservation practitioners, youth stewards, farmers and many others who share in their interest and passion for water, land and people. For our undergrads and early career researchers, this is a memorable season as it marks their first on-field experience, and we also see experienced HHL members rise as mentors and leaders contributing to the growth of new researchers and growing in their own abilities.
Fall – The great unwind & a time for reflections
The fall equinox invites us to come back into balance. This is the return to campus for many of us, the richness of the fall colours across the landscape brings us back to a time of reflecting, teaching and learning. We end the summer season with the final field excursions, washing out the waders and hanging them up for a while. As a team, HHL gathers as a group to reflect on the field season to identify the things learned, moments of success, encountered challenges, and areas for improvement with our annual research retreat. These reflections also allow us to reminisce on all the little moments we shared that characterized that field season. We value this time of reflection as it directs our strategies moving forward and encourages our trajectory of growth as mindful researchers. During this season we also begin sample analysis, literature review, and writing. As leaves fall, we think about allochthonous carbon entering the watersheds and trees all across the Northern Hemisphere take their great exhale.
Winter – Hibernation & a season of reflection: Analysis, Reading, Writing, Repeat
The winter season and the solstice invites us to reflect and reconnect. As mentioned above, this time is a time in HHL for self-care, which coincides with the end of exams, teaching, and many cultural holidays. HHLers are invited and encouraged to use this time to relax and reset for stepping into a new calendar year. Our month-long hibernation from mid-December to mid-January is an intentional time of unplugging from HHL collaborations, working at an individual pace. When we re-emerge, return to HHL spaces, we share stories, continue to process samples on the microscope and on our machines and aim to complete our data analyses and literature reviews. We continue various facets of research with many preparing to present their research at upcoming conferences or events. Others focus on continued data analysis, manuscript preparation and a lot of strategic planning with our community partners. The HHL team relies/rely?? on each other and draws on our group strengths as we work through data analysis, thesis and manuscript drafting, and presentation preparations.
Much like natural systems, research has a rhythm of its’ own. As a team, we strive to normalize the research process, demistify it for early career researchers and community partners and in doing so, foster a creative and inspiring place for our science to emerge. It’s hard work, busy all the time, with each of us having different preferences for which season we love the most. Some team members love the tasks that characterize the Winter season; others are eagerly awaiting the start of the Spring season because field season and summer are just around the corner. Others live for field season and endless hours in nature. Others feel a giddyness at the start of every Fall season. No matter which seasons we prefer individually, there is great admiration for all seasons and it’s important to take time to recognize the value of each season as each one provides space and structure in our research endeavors.