10X

François Duclos (Photo by Geneviève Lesieur)

François Duclos gets up close and personal with nature, using his geology loupe

The moment you step into your first geology class, you adopt a new staple item that never leaves your backpack: the 10X magnifier. Geologists use magnifiers to help identify rocks, minerals and fossils, which often only reveal their true identity when looked at under the magnifier lens. My career has since taken a very different path, but the magnifier has never left my bag.

Geology loupe (Photo by iStock)

Nowadays, whether I’m taking a stroll on a pebble beach on the Gaspé Peninsula, or hiking up a volcano in Central America, I can’t resist the urge to explore the world beneath my feet. This world includes fungi, lichens, insects and even snowflakes, which all offer amazing spectacles barely visible to the naked eye.

It sometimes feels a little awkward to kneel and look through a magnifier while other hikers are standing and looking up through their binoculars. Next time we meet, let’s take a minute and show each other the world through our respective lenses!

This story originally appeared in the winter 2022 issue of the Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine. To learn more about how you can receive the magazine, click here.

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