My Watermark is Lac Heney (also known as Lac Petit-Poisson-Blanc), Quebec.

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have a family cottage, as do many Canadians. The lake was a central part of this experience, whether it was swimming, spending hours with my sister trying to knock each other off of floating mattresses, or fishing for baitfish using only a fishing net and an angled rock.

One special memory took place in winter. I remember an amazing day when the lake froze solid with no wind or snow, so that we woke up to a smooth, polished natural icerink. We skated and skated; on black ice shot through with silver cracks. It was like skating on a diamond!

One of the saddest things I ever heard later in life (by then we'd sold the cottage) was that the Lake was essentially ruined by a commercial fish farm. This might be the first moment when I realized how much we needed to work to protect our waterways from the thoughtless harms so often perpetrated. My career reflects this, today.