Officer Testimonials

A Day in the Life of Enforcement Intern Jennifer Corbin

 

Working to identify the Genseng Plant.

Hi, my name is Jennifer Corbin. I grew up in Enterprise Ontario, a small rural village located approximately 40 km northeast of Napanee. I was very fortunate growing up to have parents who loved to spend a lot of time outdoors. Some of my fondest memories were the annual trips back to our hunting camp portaging across rivers, ponds and lakes in the summer and snowmobiling to the camp in the winter. As a child, I was always doing something outside whether it be collecting sap from the trees for my uncle’s maple syrup business, going to the swamp to help get the winter’s wood, playing hockey on the pond or one of my favourite leisure activities going bass fishing. Today, I enjoy activities consisting of fishing, waterfowl hunting, camping and playing sports such as hockey and baseball. Lately, most of my time has been dedicated to helping my husband train our black Labrador puppy to retrieve ducks and geese.

I have been an Enforcement Intern out of the Pembroke District for approximately 3 months. I feel very honoured to be representing the Ministry of Natural Resources as an intern since there are only 5 positions in the entire province and these jobs are highly sought after by many qualified individuals. Although I have only been an intern for a short while the hands-on experience that I have gained has been extraordinary. I have the pleasure of working with eight incredible officers who have all been extremely influential in my learning thus far. I owe a lot of credit to my coach officer Doug Beach who has made my transition very smooth. After being on the job for a few months I quickly realized that there is no other training program in the province that will better prepare you for the role of a Conservation Officer. As an intern, I have learned that you have to be extremely committed to the program in order to take advantage of the vast amount of learning opportunities that are available. Every day that I come to work I am eager to learn and there hasn’t been a day yet that I haven’t learned something new. One of my mentors from Alberta once told me, “Jen, you have to be like a sponge early on in your career and soak up everything that you can.” I took this advice seriously and I have been taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge that the veteran officers have to offer.

What I love most about being an Enforcement Intern is that I never know what each day might bring, the challenges that await you, the interesting people that you meet and the situations that arise that make you adapt and think quick on your feet. A lot of the time it doesn’t even feel like I am at work because I have a job that allows me to do the things that I have always loved to do. I get so much satisfaction and have such a great appreciation for being able to carry out a job that allows me to spend a vast amount of time outdoors patrolling the district by boat, float plane, truck, ATV and snow machine.

Enforcement patrol over Algonquin Provincial Park in the Turbo Beaver aircraft.

Highlights of my internship have been the enforcement flights in the Turbo Beaver aircraft over Algonquin Park, ATV’ing to patrol in remote areas, searching for wood turtles with the Canine Unit, working with the broad scale monitoring program on the Ottawa River and the several boat patrols over a diverse range of waterways in the Pembroke District. One of my fondest memories was the Family Free Fishing Weekend where I helped introduce kids to the fun of fishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this outreach experience and seeing the looks on the kid’s faces when they were attempting to put a worm on their hook and when they got a little nibble on their line and landed a fish was absolutely priceless. I have also had the opportunity to assist the officers with investigations involving shore lands, timber theft, illegal ATV trails constructed in a provincial park and depositing items on Crown Land. I have completed significant tasks such as preparing a field operations plan, an Aboriginal Person Violating Report (APVR) and entering violations into the Enforcement data base. I have successfully passed training in firearms, use of force including handgun and long gun retention, fleet net, MedA3 and the Code of Professionalism.

There are many characteristics that a person must have in order to be successful in the enforcement field. If there is one thing I have learned that has been recurring throughout my education and employment is that you must be extremely dedicated and be willing to make sacrifices. I would not be at this stage in my career without the education I received from the Natural Resources Law Enforcement program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. The practical exercises and material covered in the Natural Resources Law Program fully prepared me with the knowledge and confidence for a career in natural resource enforcement. One of the hardest decisions that I have had to make was moving to Alberta in order to gain enforcement experience. I had to sacrifice my personal life by leaving behind many close family, friends and the comfort of home. With this sacrifice comes gratitude as my experience in Alberta was vital for my success in the intern competition.

Releasing a Gar Pike on the Ottawa River while working on the Broad Scale Monitoring Program.

When I wake up each day and put on my Deputy Conservation Officer (DCO) uniform a big grin comes across my face. Sometimes it still feels surreal that I am a DCO because I have worked so hard to be at this point in my career. I knew that this opportunity was going to be a huge stepping stone towards achieving my aspirations in life. Working alongside the veteran officers will be the greatest learning experience because I will be able to gain the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out a field Conservation Officer position. My parents always told me that if you work hard you can achieve whatever you want in life. Without the ongoing support from my husband, family, friends and other influential people in my life I would not be as successful as I am today.

My goal as an intern is to work as hard as I can to ensure that I gain the knowledge and experience to fulfill my long-term career goal of becoming a Conservation Officer in the province of Ontario. I am having the time of my life as an Enforcement Intern and couldn’t imagine myself doing any other career! I am very excited for the remaining portion of my internship and the investigations and experiences that lie ahead!

 

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