Heather Patterson: 08-11-2025
Talk about taking your work home with you!
At Swim Drink Fish, our work is driven by passion. That passion doesn't end when the work week is over! Heather Patterson, our resident science communication specialist and lead on putting the Fish back in Swim Drink Fish, took an adventure into the heart of the boreal forest in her off time to continue exploring the importance of fish and biodiversity in Ontario.
Heather travelled far into the northern Ontario wilderness to a remote lake for a unique fishing opportunity. While the lake was small, and one of many in the mosaic of wetlands and lakes in northern Ontario – it’s home to one of Ontario’s rarest fish.
The Aurora Trout, a colour variant of Brook Trout, is found in only about a dozen lakes globally. Brought to the brink of extinction by acidification and angling, the Aurora Trout has been successfully introduced into a few remote lakes to help preserve this unique facet of northern Ontario’s biodiversity.
Though she wasn’t successful in catching a famed Aurora, sometimes it’s more about the journey than the destination.
Photo courtesy of Heather Patterson - Swim Drink Fish.
