Adventures in My Trusty Boots
Women Geoscientists in Canada and Beyond
by Frances J. Hein

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There has never been a better time for women in Canada to enter the geosciences. As climate change inspires greater emphasis on green power, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous worldviews, support groups for women and other minorities in the field offer a network previous generations fought to build. That struggle—and the successes it continues to engender—is the subject of Adventures in My Trusty Boots, which catalogues the careers of over 65 female geoscientists in Canada and beyond from the nineteenth century to today. The women in these pages are resource geologists and sedimentologists; paleontologists and marine geologists; geochemists, environmental geologists, and structural geologists (to name just a few disciplines). Their stories highlight trials and triumphs, compiling contributions to the field along with recommended reading lists. Organized by discipline, including chapters on the developing fields of information geology and public outreach, this book is a resource not only for established academics but the casual observer: a high-school student considering a career in geosciences; a high school or university guidance counsellor; a beginning university student; a person interested in gender issues and the sciences; or any reader interested in the history of geology in Canada.

www.francesjhein.com

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At the end of the nineteenth century, Canadian geology was in its infancy, behind the development of the Earth Sciences in Britain and Continental Europe. But in this backwater emerged a number of prominent geologists and naturalists —many of them women, who until now whose story has been hidden in the background. Relying on a variety of public accounts, letters, newsletters, and personal interviews Trusty Boots is an exploration of the history of geology, the discovery of earth processes and resources, and a journey of women’s paths in finding this story — an important collation filled with insatiable curiosity, resilience and tenacity. A true tribute to women’s historic and evolving roles in the earth sciences.

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Dr. Frances J. Hein worked for nearly 50 years as a geologist in academia, industry, and government. She holds three degrees in geology and has taught dozens of geology courses at four different universities, including the University of Southern California, the University of Alberta, Dalhousie University, and the University of Calgary. For over a decade, she ran, developed, and taught in-house geology courses for employees at the Alberta Energy Regulator, including the ever-popular Geology for Non-Geologists, which won a number of awards. Dr. Hein has supervised over 50 undergraduate, graduate student, and post-doctoral researchers; she has also published about 100 technical works in geology, petroleum geology, marine geology, and engineering geology, as well as other resources. Dr. Hein has collected rocks since early childhood and maintains a downsized collection suitable for condo living. She splits her time between Calgary, Alberta and Victoria, British Columbia with her husband, with whom she has four adult daughters, and four grandchildren.

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Frances J. Hein