November’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Will Webb, Jeff Bardell, and Eric Isa – also known as The Digging Dudes – to support their efforts to bring the past back to the future, one treasure at a time.

Will, Jeff, and Eric are metal detectorists who, as Will puts it, “get paid in memories and treasure.”

“We map out some of the oldest farms and homesteads in the area and get permission to hunt and detect them and save some history related to the Ottawa Valley. The finds are never sold,” explains Will, “and are given to land owners or added to our own collection for show and tell.”

The Digging Dudes share their finds and their excitement on TikTok, as well as on Facebook. “We seriously LOVE it,” says Will – and it shows!

Will and Jeff are public servants, and Eric is a freelance software developer.