RESEARCH

Try to find as much material as you might reasonably need to understand the area in which you will be hunting for fossils. Needless to say, you should also know what fossils you are most likely to find. In my case, I was armed with a couple of good fossil books and some streetcar tickets to reach a familiar site back in 1962. Today, I could use the "internet" on the computer to get more information, such as the above map which is the product of a Royal Commission into the Future of the Greater Toronto Area Lakeshore or, on the page opposite, a recent "Humber River Site Analysis from Eglinton Avenue West to the Old Mill" from a programme in Landscape Architecture 201F at the University of Toronto. Today, I would also discover that park "improvements" have obliterated or covered many of the once-exposed fossils along that section of the Humber River's east side which I explored.

All such material will add to the appreciation of the hobby, but you should take a further step. Use a larger map which includes the features of your chosen site to produce sketches of specific smaller areas. You will be able to note details and dates directly upon such "mini-maps".