CALEB NICKERSON
RAPIDES DES JOACHIMS
July 29-Aug. 6, 2019
For the third year in a row, a group of about a dozen conservation-minded artists and creative people made a pilgrimage into the wilderness to raise awareness about . . .
one of Pontiac’s finest rivers, the Dumoine. The trip is put on by the Ottawa Valley chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-OV) and is appropriately entitled DRAW (Dumoine River Artists for Wilderness).
Painters, photographers and other artists camped out along the river and drew inspiration from their pristine surroundings over the course of the retreat, which spanned from July 29 to Aug. 6. The art that they create following their experiences will be shown at exhibitions in Ottawa and possibly Pontiac.
As CPAWS-OV’s Executive Director John McDonnell explained, art is a unique way to bring issues around conservation to a wider audience. He added that the art show usually brings in around $10,000 to help with their activities, which is an added bonus.
“We always felt that artists are very warm to community causes and things like that,” he said. “The idea was to connect a new constituency of people to the river and then use the art that was created to connect other people to it too.”
CPAWS’ goal for the region is to enhance the protection for not only the Dumoine and its watershed, but also its two “sister rivers”, the Coulonge and the Noire. They intend to expand the protected area around the Dumoine, which flows into the Ottawa River near Rapides des Joachims, to about two thirds of its 4,400 square kilometres. He noted that the Dumoine is unique in that is an undammed, or wild river.
Two local creators who made the trip, Katharine and Eric Fletcher, were thrilled with the amount of activities they crammed into the two days they spent at the retreat. Katharine collected items to be used in mixed media projects, while Eric took pictures that he will turn into photo spheres, or 360° Photo submitted
A group of a dozen artists made the trek into the wilderness along the Dumoine River, north of Rapides des Joachims, from July 29 to Aug. 6. The purpose of the retreat was to raise the profile of the region and promote the conservation of the watershed of not only the Dumoine, but the Coulonge and Noire rivers too.
images.
“We were really impressed with the Dumoine, we’d never been up it,” Katharine said, adding that they took part in guided excursions with staff from the Dumoine outfitters, visiting lakes and even boating up several kilometres from the Dumoine’s confluence with the Ottawa.
Eric was impressed with the efforts that volunteers have made in accommodating paddlers who want to experience the river.
“I was impressed with the work that had been done … to make really, really good portage trails,” he said. “It’s rugged land, it really earns the name wilderness.”
As both artists and avid environmental advocates, the opportunity to take part in DRAW was a special one for the Fletchers and they encouraged local artists to fill out an application for next year’s retreat when they become available in the New Year.
“I guess just being on the Dumoine itself was pretty special for me, just because of the lore and history,” Katharine said. “This whole idea of art for conservation, like the Group of Seven. Art and politics and conservation have been married for so many years.”
