My very first Park illustrations are of Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia. Keji, for short, is a special place for me, as I worked here for one summer, back in 2014.
This was my very first real job, and I loved every minute of it! It was my childhood dream come true, as I worked as a student at the campground gate from May until September.
It was such a great experience, being able to live and work in this park. Keji is quite large, and features a campground, many hiking trails as well as many interior campsites accessible by water or trail.
I got to experience many different sides of the park while I was here. On my days off, I enjoyed exploring the park by bicycle, going on hikes, and took out a kayak a few times to explore some of the waterways.
Early in the summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Blanding's Turtle research teams, which would go out to various locations across the park to secure egg nesting sights with specialized grates. The blanding’s turtle is an endangered species,so these grates helped keep the eggs safe from being dug up by other animals, or disturbed by humans.
We took a motor boat out one evening and traveled to Jeremys Bay on Keji Lake - this lake is quite large, scattered with islands and many different bays. Eventually we landed on a small beach where we secured a nesting site.
This spot was the inspiration for one of my illustrations. Later in the summer I kayaked out here on my own. It was quite a journey, and I remember how beautiful that day was.
Keji Lake is very pretty, and reminded me a lot of home, with its tall pines that swayed in the air majestically. This beach where I stopped to have a break was almost in its own little shallow cove which made it a great place to go for a swim.
The other illustration I made from Keji is of Mills Falls. I would often come down here, as our staff housing was based not too far from it. There was a nice hiking trail that follows through the forest along the river to the falls. 
This was a great place to come and relax on the days off, and it was the very first place I explored when I arrived at the park. 
I found the Mersey River to be so picturesque, I’d probably rank it as one of my top favorite rivers I’ve seen. The banks are often lined with beautiful displays of ferns, and the forests around it always have this enchanted feeling to them, with moss covered ground and towering hemlocks.
I haven’t been back to Keji, or to Nova Scotia since then, and I would love to revisit again. There are so many parts of the park that I’ve yet to see. Now that I am a more experienced paddler, it would be a dream to go on a canoe trip within the park. There are many interior campsites, so one day that’s the plan to go back and see more of this beautiful National Park
