Queen's University Biological Station

The Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS) is one of the premier scientific field stations in Canada. For almost 70 years, researchers and students have gathered at QUBS to conduct leading-edge research and participate in courses spanning ecology, evolution, conservation, geography, and environmental science.

Pangman Tract Plaque

Pangman plaque

Plaque at Pangman Conservation Reserve honoring the generosity of Hilda Pangman whose donation in 1994 allowed us to conserve over 600 hectares.

2023 QUBS Summer Staff

2023 SWEP interns and tree swallow bander Amy Wilson

Our wonderful 2023 Opinicon summer staff - salaries funded by SWEP and donors.

Multi-lingual interpretive signage at Elbow Lake

Shirley Williams, Nikki Auten, Emily Verhoek, and Alice Johnston

Shirley Williams, Nikki Auten, Emily Verhoek, and Alice Johnston at Anishinabemowin and Kanyen’ke:ha interpretive signage event at Elbow Lake.

Eco-Adventure staff working virtually

Zoom image of Eco-Adventure staff inviting campers

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced all of us, including Eco-Adventure Camp counsellors, to work virtually. 

Arnott Lab Displays Open House 2019

Shelley Arnott Lab Displays Open House 2019

Members of Dr. Shelley Arnott's lab showcasing their research at the 2019 QUBS Open House.

Opeongo High School visit 2019

Opeongo High School visit

Opeongo High School excursion to swallow grids with QUBS Director emeritus Raleigh J. Robertson.

Danielle and Brooke

Danielle and Brooke working at Long Lake

Danielle and Brooke attending to their mesocosms at Long Lake

Carleton research vessel

Carleton research vessel

Carleton research vessel at sunrise.

Herbarium volunteers

Volunteers in the Fowler Herbarium

Stella Cowley, John Greenhorn, and Donna Greenhorn with Dr. Adriana Lopez-Villalobos, Data & Collections Manager.

Kestrel with Tree Swallows

Kestrel with Tree Swallows

Summer intern Kestrel talking about her tree swallow work with nest boxes.

February 4, 2017: Biology 202 students visit QUBS

Biology 202 students on Lake Opinicon

Biology 202 students sampling through the ice on Lake Opinicon

Fish radiotracking

Fish radiotracking

Fish radiotracking

Reptile display tent

Reptile display tent at the QUBS Open House

Reptile display tent at the QUBS Open House, June 2015. (Photo by Greg Black)

Bill Halliday and Ashley Bramwell showing a snake

Bill Halliday and Ashley Bramwell showing a snake to one of our Open House 2015 guests.

Bill Halliday and Ashley Bramwell showing a snake to one of our Open House 2015 guests. (Photo by Greg Black)

Take a look at our field safety tips

Creating an equitable & healthy learning environment here

Careers - job opportunities at QUBS

 

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COVID-19 Updates

Acknowledgement of Territory

Queen’s University is situated on traditional Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat Territory. The Queen's University Biological Station is situated on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory and is a part of the Algonquin Land Claim by the Algonquins of Ontario currently under negotiation with the federal government of Canada. The Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Nations lived in relationship with the lands that are collectively a part of QUBS. The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt covenant agreement between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee nations governs this land-base. In the Dish with One Spoon  agreement, the dish symbolizes shared  territory, while the spoon indicates that people are  eating out of the single dish, hunting in the  shared territory  and  expected to  share the game and fish, not only with each other, but also in a manner that leaves enough for the  future.   
 
Acknowledgement of these facts requires recognition of the precolonial history of this land and the peoples who lived here and continue to live here. The cultures and spiritualities of Indigenous peoples are connected to the land and the land is an integral part of their ways of knowing and living. These knowledge systems are continually evolving in relation to the land and its other inhabitants both human and other than human. The Kingston Indigenous community continues to reflect the area’s Anishinaabek and Haudenosaunee roots. There is also a significant Métis community and there are First Peoples from other Nations across Turtle Island present here today.
 
QUBS is taking strides to address historical and contemporary injustices in an effort to work  towards reconciliation. Actions include the creation of the Queen’s University Indigenous Land-Based Learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) (QUILLS) program equipping local grades 7-10 STEM teachers with the materials and training they need to center Indigenous land-based practices in their Science teaching. The creation of the interpretive signs and trail app stations you will see today also reflect QUBS’s commitment to the revitalization of local Indigenous languages and associated ways of knowing and being. We are also applying  for other funding that would make this a more welcoming space for Indigenous researchers including an Indigenous centre and partnerships with the urban Kingston community, Akwesasne and Tyendinaga and we hope many other First Nations. Additionally, in all school programming, QUBS acknowledges that reconciliation is not a means to an end but instead an ongoing journey that must be steeped in ongoing reciprocal relationships established between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians and between Canadians and the land itself. The projects mentioned today mark just the beginning of an ongoing commitment to reconciliation.

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