Braden Richards, Geoscientist-in-Training

Braden Richards, Geoscientist-in-Training, pursued his B.Sc. Honours in Geology and Environmental Earth Sciences at the USask. During his time there, he was drawn to how geochemistry interacted with human activities and the environment, which eventually led to his current field of environmental geoscience.

Early Life and Education

I was born in Cold Lake, Alberta, and was an active kid throughout the years, playing hockey, football, volleyball, and track. In high school, I moved to Humboldt, Saskatchewan with my mom, dad, and sister. As a family, we would often do a lot of camping trips to a cornucopia of national and provincial parks., and I would love to explore the beaches or forest trails, looking for cool rocks to bring back and crack open. With encouragement from my parents, my curiosity led me to my passion for geoscience.

I attended the University of Saskatchewan from 2011 to 2017. During this time, I had the opportunity to play football for the university and obtain my Bachelor of Science in both Geology (Honours) and Environmental Earth Sciences. University was an eye-opening experience – the different subjects I learned and the people I met meant the world to me. I loved the geological labs and field courses and learnt the most from those hands-on experiences.

Although family members told me to pursue a career in petroleum, my interest was piqued by the field of geochemistry during my time at USask. While learning from some amazing professors, such as Matt Lindsey and Alec Aitken, I was drawn to how geochemistry (and other earth processes) interacted with human activities and the environment, which eventually led me to environmental geoscience. This field has been my expertise ever since.

Career

My work experience began in 2018 as a technician (then scientist) for Contango Strategies (now Ensero Solutions) which specialized in passive and semi-passive treatment systems to treat tailings-contacted water, created from the metal extraction process at various mines. It was unique work that I very much enjoyed. I got to build, monitor, and analyze pilot-scale projects. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was laid off but managed to find a new home with Canada North Environmental Services in 2021. I’m currently a hydrologist, which means I study the quality and quantity of water on the surface and through the sub-surface. I’ve been part of many baseline studies, impact assessments, and monitoring programs for various mines in Northern Saskatchewan.

“The thing that I truly love about my career is that I have gotten to see so much of this country, from the Northwest Territories to British Columbia to Western Ontario. I’ve been to lakes that only a handful of people have been able to visit and helicoptered to areas that have been completely untouched. Every time I’m in the field it’s an experience I won’t forget.”

Interests

I try to keep an active lifestyle outside work by going to the gym, playing recreational hockey and football, golfing, hiking, and fishing. I get a lot of fishing done while I’m up in Northern Saskatchewan, where I love to reel in a nice walleye or trout. COVID has made it a little difficult to plan, but I hope to participate in a Tough Mudder race someday as a challenge to myself.

October 9-15 is Earth Science week, and I will be celebrating with the job I love, doing a groundwater survey near Prince Albert!