My name is Daphne, and I am going into my fourth year as a Joint Honours Anthropology and History student at 缅北强奸. Over the course of my studies, I鈥檝e developed a particular interest in cultural heritage sites and the efforts being made for their preservation. These sites are places with notable historical and cultural significance whose current presence allows us to experience and feel connected to the past. One such heritage site is the Jardin de M茅tis/Reford Gardens, a national historic site of Canada, which I had the privilege of working for as an intern this summer. Originally created by between 1926 and 1958 by Elsie Reford in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, the existence of the Gardens themselves are a feat in such a northern climate. Additionally, and more importantly for my purposes, the Gardens are thoroughly intertwined with the last century of history in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, making them an incredible historical site. The current staff at the Jardin de M茅tis do lots of research into reconstructing their own history and how they fit into the broader history of the region, a goal that I was assisting on during my time there.
My internship position was on the 鈥淵ou Can Make History鈥� project that aims to incorporate more community involvement in the historical research of the Gardens. Specifically, the Gardens are aiming to digitize their primary sources with the help of online volunteers. I was tasked with promoting the importance of primary source accessibility to show the need for such volunteer work. Primary sources are extremely valuable to historical research as they connect us the past in an unmediated way. However, they are often difficult for even historians to gain access to, meaning it is even harder to non-professionals to do so. This system of gatekeeping historical sources and knowledge needs to be overcome, and I was more than happy to contribute to the process of making primary sources more accessible. My role over the course of my internship was to interview various amateur and professional historians who have worked within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region or with the Gardens more specifically about their research processes and the role of primary sources. I then used these interviews to write articles about these individuals and their work, highlighting the importance of primary sources and the challenges many faced in accessing them.
The highlight of this internship was easily these incredible individuals that I had the privilege of speaking to over the course of my interviews. The network of Alexander Reford, my supervisor and the director the Jardin de M茅tis, is wide-reaching and full of friendly, intelligent, and passionate people. I knew nothing about the history of the region before beginning this internship and feel lucky to have been able to learn about it from the very individuals working in the field. It was fascinating to be able to hear these people talk about the process of accessing and interpreting a variety of sources.
The main challenge I encountered over the course of my internship was with scheduling. For some people, it took a full week or two just to set up an interview. This meant that I couldn鈥檛 talk to as many people as I would have liked to. As such, I will be continuing to work on this project as a volunteer to grow my database of articles. But while this process did not come without challenges, it has also provided a space in which I have honed my interview skills and now have experience writing for a non-academic audience. I believe these are valuable and transferable skills that will continue to benefit me for years to come. I am grateful for this internship experience and look forward to visiting the Gardens.
I am not receiving academic credit for this internship, but I am receiving funding from the Judy Patton Hamilton Arts Internship Award. Thank you to the family of Mrs. Judy Patton Hamilton for your generous support in allowing me to spend my summer interning with the Jardin de M茅tis, an experience that has shaped my university experience by opening my eyes to the work of so many individuals passionate about history.
