Finding A Forever Home: The Adventures of Giigoonh the Spotted Gar

Written by Dominique Rumball in collaboration with Benny Skinner, illustrated by Shaela Kinting, edited by Amelia Labenski

September 2025 | SCRCA Biology Team

Pictured from left, Craig Paterson (SCRCA’s Manager of Biology), Dominique Rumball (Author and PhD Student), and Emily Febrey (SCRCA’s Communications Specialist and “Ranger Em”), all holding “Finding A Forever Home” and a book launch event in Sarnia, Ontario.

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Dominique Rumball is a PhD student in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto, where she is studying freshwater ecosystems. Her research is aimed at the recovery of aquatic species at risk while filling knowledge gaps in the restoration ecology field. When Dominique isn’t in the wetland or lab, you can find her on the rugby pitch, spending time with her family, or enjoying a nice cup of tea!

Dominique has worked for the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority in the past, where she has assisted with mussel surveys in the Sydenham River, helped with the Captive Hatch and Release Program for the endangered Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle, and most prevalently, she has been working with Craig Paterson (Manager of Biology) on the Spotted Gar and Habitat Restoration at the Kieth McLean’s Conservation Lands (McLean’s) near Rondeau Bay, a property owned by the St. Clair Region Conservation Foundation.

 

While Dominique has been conducting this research, she has assisted in several educational opportunities to share about the work she’s conducting, but also the importance of all species at risk, and protecting our local ecosystems.

While she loves to share her stories and passions right on the shoreline of wetlands, Dominique knows not everyone can make it to McLean’s to hear about the different species and amazing work being completed. So, she wrote a children’s book! “Our vision for Finding A Forever Home: The Adventures of Giigoonh the Spotted Gar, is to share our passion and love for nature through a story inspired by [my] research on the conservation of freshwater Species at Risk.” Dominique shares on her website. Dominique and her partners on the book also prioritized inclusivity: “We hope to embrace and celebrate justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigeneity through the many languages and cultures of the characters and the land throughout the book.”

 

 

 

 

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