Two St. Thomas students who canoed from Minnesota to Hudson Bay and a kayaker who circumnavigated Lake Superior will speak this evening at an event sponsored by the Geology Club. Students Lindsey Lee and Luke Olson will speak about their 1,500-mile canoe expedition to Hudson Bay, and kayaker Lucas Will will talk about his exploits on Lake Superior.
Refreshments will be offered at 6:30 p.m., and the presentations and Q-and-A session will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in the 3M Auditorium, Room 150, Owens Science Hall.
Lee and Olson’s talk on their canoe trip, “Canadian Waters Research Expedition,” will begin the session. Their adventure started on June 6, 2010, in International Falls, Minn., and ended 61 days and 1,500 miles later on Aug. 6, in Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay.
Lee and Olson are geology majors interested in environmental issues. The trip was undertaken in concert with a water quality study for which the pair will travel to Logan, Utah, later this month to present their findings at a Geological Society of America professional conference. The presentation will feature all aspects of their trip – from the original inspiration, through planning logistics and obtaining sponsorships, to the actual trip itself and the water quality study data that now are being analyzed to determine human impacts on the lakes and rivers they traveled.
The second part of the presentation will feature Will’s presentation of his “Superior Dream” trek, 97 days in a sea kayak journey circumnavigating Lake Superior with his paddling partner Greg Petry. Will has traveled nationwide to promote his adventure and the documentary the team is developing. He will offer a preview of footage as part of his presentation.
The event will culminate with the Q-and-A session led by Dr. Tom Hickson, Geology Department.
