Interprating A Growing Relationship: ENVS 3000 @ajcenvs3000w22 - Tumblr Blog

Final Blog

As I develop as an interpreter of the natural world, being self-aware of my own ethics, beliefs, responsibilities, and suitable approaches is vital if I am to create meaningful experiences for individuals throughout my life. Analyzing these topics individually is important as they each hold much weight in how I as a developing interpreter, function and will learn to function in the future.

When I focus on my personal ethics and what ethics I believe are objectively rudimentary, I like to remember that most often than not, simplicity is best. This brings to light statements such as don’t harm others, or help those in need, as than can be unpacked to be quite complex statements, but their value is within their broad simplicity, making them applicable to almost any situation. To connect these ideas to my own interpretation of the natural world requires me to be self-aware of my past, present, and future, being the best human, I can be at my current place in time, while simultaneously improving on who I used to be. For example, actively listening to the natural world around me in place of pushing my opinions onto the world. Then and only then can I begin to broaden my interpretive practice to an audience, as I would be actively conveying the world, avoiding as much bias as possible.

At the beginning of these blogs, I had decided to attempt to focus on being an interpreter specifically for tissue culture and plant propagation, believing that picking a specific area to focus on and related course work to throughout ENVS 3000. I believe this was the right choice although at times it was difficult to specifically relate course content, it allowed beginning practicing what it was like to communicate specific scientific language and techniques to a broader audience that may not have experienced such topics before. Only through such exercises can I improve as an interpreter.

Being on the cusp of both finishing this course as well as finishing university, I am beginning to acknowledge my responsibilities with regards to what I have learned from university, these include many things, from how I learned to learn, to how I communicate to the people around me. From this, continuing to practice communicating scientific research and ideas is a responsibility I believe I have, being self-aware enough to know the importance of making knowledge available to everyone in any audience, from learning other languages to addressing privilege.

Throughout ENVS 3000 we were tasked to use podcasts and blogs as media for such communication, and even though I have not experienced or practiced such skills before it was eye-opening in terms of real-life media consumed every day. Both blogs and podcasts are consumed in vast amounts daily around the world and beginning to practice creating such media for any purpose let alone those of nature interpretation and environmental education is vital as a nature interpreter simply because it's more experience. Whether it is an approach that I feel is suitable for me is hard to say as I have only briefly experienced creating these media, but overall practicing communicating any interpretation to anyone is valuable.

mkawenvs3000w22

Nature is Music. Music is Nature.

The Earth has music for those who listen | https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/489555421976402950/

What exactly is music? Does it need lyrics? A singer? When I began to brainstorm for my blog this week, the quote above came to mind. I think there is a lot of truth behind this quote, because music, to me, will forever be embedded into the nature around us, and this concept was supported in this week's reading (Gray et al. 2001). From the sounds of a babbling brook to the songs of birds in the morning to the croaking of frogs in the evening.

I was introduced to music essentially at birth and it has always played an important role in my life - for example, my parents met and connected because they shared a love of a particular band. Through music, I have also learned the value of storytelling; music always has a message and a story to tell, whether it is supported by lyrics or is purely instrumental. I've had the opportunity, through my life experiences, to develop connections with both music and nature, separately and together. Going outside and exercising alone, whether it's running, walking, or hiking, are the times when I feel most at peace. This, I believe, has a lot to do with the fact that when I'm alone, I genuinely enjoy and internalize all of the peaceful sounds and scenery around me.

When I go for a run, however, I almost always find myself preferring to put in earbuds and listen to music from my phone, which I don't tend to do when I go for a walk or hike. This is not because I want to block out the sounds around me, rather, I want to listen to music in conjunction with the natural world around me to motivate me to move faster. I've discovered that the energy I get from being in nature and the energy I get from listening to music work together to lift my spirits and encourage me to run at my best speeds.

One song that will always take me back to a natural landscape is Musetta’s Waltz composed by Giacomo Puccini. I was taking a break at a lake while on a hike, and I felt the desire to listen to some instrumental music, and it really made the moment magical for me. Every time I listen to this song, I am immediately transported back to the lake.

Remarkably, many sounds we hear in nature incorporate the same musical techniques that are employed in human music (Gray et.al. 2001). Perhaps this is why nature is a popular source of inspiration across all genres of human songs. Nature is all around us, and as we've learned in this course, can and should be interpreted in a variety of ways, therefore, it's the ideal muse. For example, one song I like is Blackbird by the Beatles and it samples sounds from actual birds. Some songs also involve nature, in less direct ways, like referencing them in their lyrics - one song that comes to mind is Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens, which expresses the beauty that can be found in nature. Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell and Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye tells of the destruction of the Earth's ecosystems by human industrialization. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen utilizes nature in a metaphorical way, describing the feeling of a being stuck in life through the imagery of a landslide.

These songs, through their sound, can have a lasting impact on their listeners, much like interpretation. A few units ago, we blogged about the role of art in nature interpretation, and this week's topic is very similar. Artists, through song, hold the power to encourage listeners to connect to certain aspects of nature featured in their songs. For example, people that listen to Blackbird by The Beatles would ultimately develop an emotional attachment to the bird through an association with the song. Listeners who particularly enjoy the song would subsequently be more likely to become stewards in safeguarding Blackbirds and their environment (Beck et al. 2019). Nature association through song can motivate us to learn more about certain aspects of nature, just by having a favourable memory associated with it.

In this week’s reading, Gray et al. (2001) stated that “The ambient sound of an environment mimics a modern-day orchestra: the voice of each creature has its own frequency, amplitude, timbre, and duration, and occupies a unique niche among the other musicians”. This quotation pertains to both music in nature and music nature in music, as it illustrates the reciprocal relationship between the presence and development of music in everyday life. In addition, while I write this in the dead of winter, I'm reminded, by this quote, of the summertime orchestra of nature. When the unique sounds of frogs, birds, crickets, cicadas, and the other voices in nature create a wonderfully unique cacophony of sound that persists throughout the day and merges into the next. Unique sounds, that vary according to location or season, that every human can hear and be instantly transported to a time, a place, or an experience. I'm not a musician in the slightest and I couldn’t tell you what classically or properly constitutes music, but to me at least, nature has provided me with some of my favourite songs, both human-made and not. Do you share my sentiments?

Bird Orchestra | https://www.salon.com/2021/06/20/scientists-translated-a-birds-brainwaves-into-its-song/

Reference:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Redshelf eBook. Sagamore Publishing. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://platform.virdocs.com/r/s/0/doc/1948104/sp/245407251/mi/718086528?cfi=%2F4%2F4&menu=index.

Gray, P. M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C., & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 291(5501), 52–54.

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey Madeleine,

I believe I do share some of your sentiments! Within my blog I attempted to explain how I felt and how I interpreted this weeks text to describe how muisc brings life to the environment around us, let alone that the natural envionrment around us is the music itself. speciffically associating memories of nature with certain music is something I could elaborate on further within my own blog as its a point you brought up within yours, as I too would like to learn more on how to utlize music as a tool to further the learning of nature, specifically plant tissue culture.

The Neccesity of Muisc

This week’s blog will focus through the lens of music as a media tool to help visitors receive to interpretative messages I intend to convey within this blog. To reiterate, I am attempting to be an interpreter for plant tissue culture, while relating this specific environment to music seems challenging, I have thought through this lens before while experiencing my own learning about tissue culture. The specific event I experienced was a time-lapse video shown to me within one of my lab sections here at the University of Guelph. The video was simply of an Arabidopsis plant growing through its full life cycle and it was quite magical, especially using music to convey this beauty to us within the video. Although the material I am attempting to interpret is far from the natural parks conserved around the world and or other natural landscapes, there is still a place for music and other media within this industry to help create stories any audience can remember and share.

Plant propagation at its core is the study of cultivating plants, it is easy to forget that we are experiencing and manipulating living organisms that have extraordinary life cycles. Within the text for this week’s readings, we learned that many forms of media give interpreters tools capable of reaching vast quantities of people spanning a wide range of backgrounds, ie, a simple time-laps video of a plant growing through its life cycle, with no language written or spoken, accompanied via a musical overlay, could reach almost any person around the world. This type of mass media when used with music, has the capability of letting anyone peer into the world of plant propagation and plant tissue culture.

Something I would like to specify is the use of music within the time-lapse video makes it a meaningful experience to the viewer, the lack of music creates an environment where you are no longer viewing the wonder and beauty of life, but rather just a quick video of a plant growing. Rather than elaborating my point further, I challenge you to watch any nature documentary with no sound and see how long you pay attention compared to sound, also make note of what you are thinking about in each situation and write to me about it!

Here is a link to a no copyright time-lapse video of a done by Free HD Videos on Youtube! play it with any of your favorite instrumental music and watch the magic happen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls-DIlURr8Y

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

Hartmann, H. T., Kester, D. E., & Davies, F. T. (2014). Plant propagation. Prentice-Hall International

gvhenvs3000w22

The History of Nature

There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.

(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

At first glance, this quote was confusing to understand. When taking the time to read it slowly, I started to understand the meaning. The comparaison of history to a train passing through the station stood out to me a lot. When you compare that to nature interpretation, you can understand that the story behind the nature being interpreted does not just exist right now, it has a history and it will have a future as well. With this in mind, it is important to share that history with others so it does not lose its past.

For example, the first thing that came to mind when unpacking this quote was the Keystone XL pipeline project. This pipeline was set to carry oil from the oil sands in Alberta, to Nebraska. This project was opposed by many, including the local communities that would be at risk due to the construction of this pipeline. If you think about the history of the nature where they planned to put this pipeline, it would have interferred with many first nations groups. Some first nations groups even sued the provincial and federal government in northern Alberta due to 15 years of oil sand development that they were not consulted on. When planning out the construction of this pipeline, they should have considered the history of the land that they wanted to build on. In the end, with protests from first nations groups and climate activists, the project was terminated.

It is important to see the whole picture, to aknowledge the past and look forward to the future, and enjoy the present.

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey Grace,

I believe you understood most of what the quote was trying to communicate! Landscapes at many levels of organization are mediums for historical importance, it’s the knowledge and passing of said knowledge that breathe life into the environment, giving it historic significance and meaning. The example of how the oil pipeline would change the landscape within these ingenious communities hits the nail directly on the head with regards to connection to Hyams quote. From the perspective of the content within my blog, there would also be many changes to the future interpretation of this scenario if the pipeline was constructed, many unique environments would be interrupted, many species drastically changed, many circumstances in which these previously described environments would never be visited or interpreted again as they would simply no longer exist. It is because of this I also believe that Hyams quote also communicates historical potential within ancient things, where only future preservation and technological development will yield more information.

Integrity, History and Interpretation

This week the blog prompt provided was a quote from Edward Hymas in, The Gifts of Interpretation, and is as follows.

It seems that Hyams is referring to the fact that objects of the past hold much less value without interpretation, ie, an ancient thing has no peculiar merit, this interpretation is held through integrity, the keeping together of these ancient parts, in which knowledge, memory, etc breath life and meaning back into the object of the past, which is one of the key points in why it is important to remember history (Beck and Cable. 2018). This phenomenon is also a part of plant history just as that within architecture or culture, as many specific species have been utilized for a vast variety of functions throughout all history, from ceremonial to agricultural, their importance described many times throughout history by past interpreters. An example would be that of medicinal plant species, the passing of knowledge of said species between generations to treat illness and injury has been seen throughout the majority of human history (Simpson and Ogorzaly. 2014). The past not being static, as Hyams describes within this quote, is key to this function of interpretation, as the further development of plant science depends greatly on the integrity of the past, especially within the medicinal world of plant science. These plant species used in the past would just be plants on the ground if not for historical use, their environments basically becoming individual historic sites for further protection, study, and advancement (Simpson and Ogorzaly. 2014).

Previous interpreters within plant science have dedicated their whole carriers to the preservation of plant species with the help of plant tissue culture, expanding the passing of knowledge from individual teachings to vast vaults of plant material used to keep sacred the genes that may hold keys to the furthering of life, into the future. These vaults are quite literally made to stand the test time, ie natural disasters and or those induce via human existence, as well as be a place to catalog the events of the past, save species from extinction, etc. Many practices within Plant tissue culture are used to cultivate species at risk, being maintained within facilities that may function as a plant museum, alleviating the pressure for the maintenance of natural environments to produce rare species Hartmann et al. 2011).

This is an image of the entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, this particular vault spans approximately 1000 Square meters, dedicated to the preservation of plant genetic material.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

Hartmann, H. T., Kester, D. E., & Davies, F. T. (2014). Plant propagation. Prentice-Hall International.

Simpson, B. B., & Conner-Ogorzaly, M. (2014). Plants in our world: Economic botany. McGraw-Hill Education.

https://www.intelligentliving.co/svalbard-global-seed-vault-has-1-million-seed-varieties/

smgmenvs3000w22

My Octopus Teacher and Nature Interpretation

I am so glad that this week we were given some creative freedom in terms of topic choice. I watched My Octopus Teacher this week, which in my opinion, perfectly exemplifies nature interpretation. I’m sure many of you have already seen this documentary already, given the mutual love and interest in nature we share, but if you haven’t I highly recommend it. Craig Foster describes how he happens upon an octopus living in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa. He visits her daily over the course of about a year and gains her trust, eventually developing a close bond. She becomes a teacher of sorts, as this connection teaches him how to become one with this environment and deepen his love for all nature. He describes it as “She was teaching me to become sensitive to the other, especially wild creatures.” This connection led him to co-found a non-profit called the Sea Change Project, exhibiting that connection is paramount in conserving nature. His love began with just one organism, and broadened to include all the creatures big and small of the ocean. It is truly a testament to how important it is to teach others how to connect with nature in order to encourage conservation.

In the beginning when he is just starting to visit the kelp forest he says “If you really want to get close to an environment like this, it helps tremendously to have no barrier to that environment.” This is in reference to his choice not to use an oxygen tank (he free-dives instead), as well as to not wear a wetsuit despite the very cold water temperature. While I would definitely have chosen to wear the wetsuit, I found this comment particularly interesting as this could apply to many ways in which humans interact with nature. We are constantly putting barriers between us and the wild. These barriers include watching birds through the window, drive-through safari experiences, zoos and aquariums, even the cities we live in are dividing us from the nature that surrounds us. We’re so afraid that we feel the need to shelter ourselves constantly, never leaving our protective little bubbles that prevent us from truly immersing ourselves in nature. Craig recognizes that his wetsuit is a layer of protection which interferes with making the deepest connection he can with the ocean. This made me reflect on the barriers that I’m not always aware of that may be preventing me from establishing a deeper relationship with my environment. What are some things that I don’t need when hiking, camping, canoeing, etcetera, that are distracting me or keeping me from completely immersing myself? The first thing that comes to mind is my phone. When walking, I’m usually texting here and there or listening to music. These things are pulling my attention away from my surroundings and interrupting my ability to connect with and feel the things around me.

Another quote that really hit home was when he said “I was getting so much from the wild, and I could actually now give. I had so much energy to give back.” With his new and evolved appreciation for the ocean and marine biology, he teaches his equally passionate son everything he knows. I think this is one we can probably all relate to. As someone who is also energized by nature, I can relate to the feeling of wanting to share this energy with others. When someone sees the happiness and passion that nature ignites in another, it is contagious, and allows for connection with that person over a mutual interest but also allows for connection with the earth. This documentary reminded me of how important it is to share what we know and love about nature so that future generations can inherit this knowledge and continue to protect it. Beck et al. (2018) highlight this with the idea of “The Gift of Passion”, and how it is the “essential ingredient for powerful and effective interpretation”.

Going forward with what I learned from Craig Foster and his “octopus teacher”, I will try and get to know my environment better by observing more closely and getting to know my surroundings through the various interactions I have with wildlife. While it is important to not interfere and put the forces of nature out of balance, we are still animals and can learn much about our world from the creatures that occupy it.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T.T. & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore-Venture Publishing.

Ehrlich, P., & Reed, J. (Directors). (2020). My Octopus Teacher [Film]. Netflix.

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey Serena,

I have not seen or heard about this documentry yet so I am excited to use your blog as both a summary of what to expect as well as an opportunity to view the media through multiple lenses, specifically the lens of nature interpretation. Imersion into our enviornment with relevants to a full experience is something I have thought about in the past, especially when on deep wood hikes/ canoe trips. These barriers that separate us from our envionrment can drastically change the experience we as visitors have. For example, something as common as headphones. Within my own blog I have been attempting to practice being an interpreter for plant tissue culture, quite a different perspective of the natural environemt than the norm as I am trying to focus on how nature works at very small levels of organisation, ie cells. would you consider this form of study, via microscopes, artifical enviroments, etc, a barrier or a door into this form of interpratation? I ask becuase we are physically separated from the subjects we are viewing, taking them out of a natural environemtn for study, but still studying and experience natuarl phenomia.

Basic Plant Tissue Culture Concepts

Within this week’s blog I would like to branch into some specifics about plant tissue culture and micropropagation as well as practice communicating scientific terminology and concepts to an audience with no experience with plant science or plant propagation.

A key concept within plant tissue culture is the development of callus tissue, this tissue is just a mass of cells with the potential to differentiate (turn into) needed tissues dependent on the circumstance. For example, if a plant tissue sample (say a small square cut from a leaf) was taken and cultivated (purposely grown) in an in vitro environment (defined as within glass, but just means within a contained, artificially supplemented space) callus tissue will develop and start to develop both shoot (stems and leaves) and root structures. Another way to think about callus tissue is comparable to stem cells within humans and other animals, which develop into varies cell types from a ground state. Think of this development as a high school student, once graduated any direction is possible.

Callus development can not be created from nothing, and this is where a unique property within plants comes in, known as totipotency which has been mentioned in pervious posts within this blog. This property allows plant cells that have developed into, let’s say a type of epidermal cell (cells that make up the “skin” of plants), to undifferentiated (change back or revert to a simple state) when induced with a specific hormonal environment. To summarize, the two bare minimum requirements for the development of callus tissue are previously developed plant tissues, and plant hormones.

Here is an example of callus, you can see it doesn’t really look like anything, just a mass of cells

These plant hormones involved with plant growth and development are known as plant growth regulators (PGR), they are vital for plant species outside of plant micropropagation as well as within. PGR such as auxin and cytokinin work in different ratios to promote/induce upward and or downward growth using multiple means, such as accumulation to function. For example, if a semi deep ring was cut all around the trunk of a tree, a process known as girdling, the whole of the previously developed root system is still functional, it just can no longer transport the resources upward to the top of the tree, where the leaves and branches are. This is because of the biology of the tree, the xylem/phloem tissues (the cells involved with transporting water and food recourses respectively), have been severed like a dam on a river. PGR are mobile within these transportation tissues and as such are also blocked from travel, and thereby accumulating just below the wound on the tree (water on one side of a dam), this leads to certain cells undifferentiating, proliferating (rapidly reproducing/ growing), and differentiating into cells that help new shoot tissues grow. This concept is something you may have been exposed to without knowing, as most of us were always told to not peel the bark off trees, without proper care girdling turns from a propagative practice to a tree killing circumstance.

Here is an example of a girdled tree developing new shoots below.

There are so many small details and concepts within plant tissue culture and plant propagation, and it is honestly important for me to both review these concepts as well as be able to communicate them in a manner that anyone can understand, especially within the scope of a nature interpreter. I hope I was able to simplify any unknown terms as well as provide enough analogy to the concepts specified to help multiple learning styles enjoy this content. If you have any questions about certain topics within pant tissue culture, I would be glad to help answer them.

Image sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callus_(cell_biology)

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Newly-girdled-Swingle-citrumelo-tree-A-and-shoot-development-on-the-basipetal-side-of_fig1_275960335

bbenvs3000w22

Nature, art, and Bob Ross

When reading the blog prompt asking “who are you to interpret nature through art” it almost took me back for a second. The first ideas that pop into my head, and maybe other folks reading it, find negative connotations. For example, “I guess maybe I do not have the qualifications to do so?” or “I do not know, who am I to even attempt to interpret nature through art.”

The one thing to acknowledge is that there is no certificate to do so, there is no test that one must pass in order to interpret art through a natural lens. There also is not a right answer when it comes to interpreting and finding meaning or a connection to nature through art. Nature itself is a beautiful masterpiece that is able to sustain itself and us and we can all find different ways of connecting with it.

Switching gears a little now, I actually want to talk about Bob Ross and his paintings. Bob Ross can be associated with his soft-spoken voice and creative humour, but he was a massive nature interpreter. Even with his death being in 1995 his videos have been appreciated by our generations and other folks for years. When he was first starting out, he was in the military, based in Alaska he would sell his paintings of the nearby landscape to tourists visiting. His art captured the natural beauty and was authentic to the scenery. With his raw talent and character, he was able to draw people in and allow them to appreciate what his paintings depicted. The show Joy of Painting ran for 11 years in which hosted a soothing and loveable persona in a one-on-one painting class. Although the art he was creating not everyone could recreate the show was still successful because the interpreting skills he had allowed him to capture the audience and make them have an emotional connection to the nature piece. There is a valuable lesson we can all learn from him as we set off to be nature interpreters ourselves.

We can actually learn a lot from him and I have a few quotes which are important and relevant to nature and its beauty. He states that “it’s the imperfections that make something beautiful that’s what makes it different and unique from everything else.” Here he is describing how when creating art it does not need to be perfect. I think a lot of people associate art with prestige and perfection which might be a reason why people avoid taking an attempt at it. Allowing ourselves to interpret art in nature and not be correct all the time can form a sense of belonging and safety with not only art with nature as well. He is also quoted saying “look around. Look at what we have. Beauty is everywhere – you only have to look to see it.” From this we can understand interpreting art does not need to be difficult and just simply enjoying the “gift of beauty” that nature has to offer us can provide us with all we need. Although I have really just focused on paintings as a medium, art can take many forms. From what we learned in the textbook, different forms can bring us different lessons that we can learn. For example a play or dance on indigenous songs and practices, or just listening to music.

Anyways I could go on for days about this topic but that’s all for me for now!

If you’re replying to my post, add your favourite bob ross painting!

Here's mine!

Brooks, K. Here are 50 Bob Ross quotes that will make today better. Huffpost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bob-ross-quotes_n_563138b3e4b00aa54a4c9271

slcenvs3000w22-deactivated20220

Hi Brooke,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading how you answered this prompt. I resonated with your thought process as I had to take a moment to think about what this question was asking, especially as I also interpreted it as questioning my artistic skills.

I found it especially interesting as you connected this with Bob Ross - someone who is known for his stunning nature paintings, his calm and soothing demeanour, and his interpretation of his artwork. Particularly with the quotes you have mentioned that he has said in his lessons, I believe that he was an excellent nature interpreter. Beck et al. (2018) outlines inspirational benefits of nature interpretation through art and one key characteristic of an interpreter is that they help "people as they move through these [successive] stages [of beautiful to values] so that eventually, the individual will [perceive beauty in scenery and find beauty and inspiration]." With his artwork and videos, I always find myself inspired to appreciate nature more as he brought value into these nature scenes. Although Bob Ross's paintings are not based on real places (as far as I know), he is able to pull together different elements (e.g., river, trees, grass, mountain, hill, etc.) and successfully create a beautiful landscape.

It's a funny coincidence that my favourite painting of his is the one that Bob Ross is working on! I'm curious to know if you have ever attempted to recreate his drawings.

Best,

Lisa Chung

Reference

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed.). Sagamore Publishing.

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey Brooke!

I am very happy that you talked about Bob Ross with regards to the connection between art and nature interpretation, he was the interpreter many of us enjoyed and still enjoy to this day! showing us exactly what you stated, that part of the beauty within nature is its imperfections, allowing us to connect to landscapes we may have never seen before through his paintings, although many other mediums exist as you said. The medium I attempted to describe in my posts was those of tree shaping and grafting! just one more medium that is all around us, we just need to stop and look.

The Art of Plant Propagation

Nature interpretation within this blog is one of manipulation and proliferation, to narrow that scope with regards to interpreting nature through art, specifically the “gift of beauty” would be to focus on how plant propagation techniques have been used to create magnificent works of art that are still living organisms. To be more specific, a practice that is known as tree art, where specific flowering tree species are combined onto one tree so there are multiple vibrant colours of flowers, maybe even at different times throughout the year, or to manipulate the growth of trees to create wonderful unique shapes that could theoretically happen in nature but are induce physically by us. We have learned that part of the gift of beauty is to instill the visitors of our interpretation with a feeling of place, desire, and wonder, ie spiritual uplift via the beauty in natural surroundings, to do this through my blog and my interpretive role, would be to show visitors the processes of tree shaping and grafting, with the goal of communicating just how astonishing the natural world is at many levels of organization. To relate back to an earlier post discussing the tree of 40 fruits, which is a prime example of both the natural/ scientific world and the world of art coming together, allows for the integration of plant propagation into the world of interpretation, especially through a more artistic lens. Another form of art and plant propagation combining is the practice of aborasculpture, which focuses through a more artistic lens compared to other more typical agricultural practices, revealing the beauty contained within the growth habits of trees.

This is one of the trees of many fruits that have been produced and have become quite famous, stated to be a delicious cross between art and agriculture.

Here is an example of the potential of tree shaping, a beautiful addition to any green space which utilizes grafting techniques throughout the growth and developmnet of the desired tree. The principles behined how the grafting of trees and other plant species will be disscused in future posts so hold tight!

askenvs3000w22

Blog Post 3: Privilege

The subject of this weeks blog post is one that is very personal and somewhat sensitive. Privilege, to me, is the unearned advantages that are automatically given to members of certain groups based solely on their membership within the group, which is not optional. As explained in the Courselink text, understanding privilege can be made easier by thinking of it as an “invisible backpack”, a concept introduced by Peggy McIntosh. The contents of your backpack vary depending on your life circumstances, but those with more within their backpack do not often acknowledge that the contents were given without being earned and that the backpacks of the people around them might have less content.

Now to unpack my own privilege, I am a white, cis, able-bodied woman who was raised in an English-speaking, middle class home by two parents who are still willing to support me financially and emotionally. Because of these privileges I have been able to have many experiences which I am truly grateful for, but these experiences are not those which I have earned. Learning about privilege can be difficult for those who have a large amount of it because it can make them feel guilty that they did not earn what they have or, sometimes, angry that other people believe that they did not “work hard” for it. However, being unaware of privilege is a luxury that only those with privilege have, because those without privilege notice how unfair the world is towards them.

Privilege plays a large role within nature interpretation. To be able to access and enjoy natural areas you need to be able to take time off work, travel to the location, pay for entrance/parking/food, and physically maneuver within the natural area. These aspects and many others are barriers. Some way to increase inclusivity are mentioned within the textbook, including 1) reducing economic barriers by providing transportation or bringing the park to the people through outreach, 2) reducing cultural barriers by personally inviting groups of people to the park, 3) reducing communication barriers by providing multilingual interpretation and varied media forms, 4) provide clear information on where to go, what to do, and how to prepare for visits, and 5) creating a diverse interpretation team trained in cultural sensitivity so that visitors feel represented and safe when interacting with staff (Beck et al. 2018). It is so crucial that this new generation of nature interpreters is sensitive to privilege and culture in order to provide a meaningful nature experience to anyone interested.

It is also important to acknowledge that in Canada I am interpreting the nature of stolen land. I believe it is essential to listen to Indigenous knowledge holders and make ample space for them within the colonized world. I hope to use my privilege to amplify the thoughts of those who are not being listened to, although I wish we lived in a world where they were heard without someone of privilege repeating it.

Thanks for reading.

Reference: Beck, L., Cable, T.T. and Knudson, D.M. Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage For a Better World. Sagamore Venture Publishing. 2018.

ajcenvs3000w22

I agree with your definition of privilage as it is very similar to my own although I did not specify any circumstance that was unearned within my own definition of privilage, I quite like this added description as it speaks to privilage being something an indvidual can not control, only understand and appraciate. I also spoke to the same barriers which need to be addressed to increase the inclusivity of an interpreter. What do you think we can do within our blogs to be more inclusive to the other univeristy students within our class? I have been thinking on this same question, as I have been trying to communicate aspects of plant tissue culture within my blog, I believe I need to use language that is more communal and understood by a broder demographic, as not all plant science terminology is known by individuals within any audiaance.

The Role of Privilege

I believe that the role privilege plays within nature interpretation is one of inclusion and self-awareness. To be more specific, once a privilege is acknowledged it can then be applied to an inclusive interpretation strategy, ie, once an interpreter is grateful and understanding for the fact that they can hear normally from an objective standpoint, as opposed to having a hearing disability of any level, they have the opportunity to include and participate in strategies that will enable a whole separate demographic of individuals to partake as visitors in whichever interpretive activity is being presented. For example, the interpreter could wear a microphone, or a microphone connected specifically to an individual’s hearing aids. There are many privileges that exist, and it is important to practice self-awareness to know/learn your own privileges. This can be visualized as an invisible backpack, in which are many special amenities such as maps, keys, clothes, etc are kept, which are at our disposal whenever we need, except not every backpack contains the same amenities, and it is our job as interpreters to be aware of this fact and be as inclusive as possible. If I were to explain this concept from a personal standpoint, I would describe privilege as to any circumstance that furthers an individual’s position or ability to accomplish any set of tasks, this could be any situation from blindness to the colour of an individual’s skin.

Within my blog, I have been attempting to start learning how to teach my current audience of 3rdyear university students about plant micropropagation. So far, I have not considered many variables as to the backgrounds or contents of the individual's invisible backpacks who read my posts. I have read over some considerations that may help my blogs be more inclusive, these include addressing economic, cultural, and communication barriers, in which I have not given thought to in the past, how I need to learn how to reach audiences who may not have access to the internet, or may not speak English, or may not have the slightest experience with any plant science terminology at all. I believe that with practice, I can learn to reach further visitors to my blog and have them feel more included.

amenvs3000w22

Blog post two - My ideal role

As an environmental interpreter, it is my role to spark an interest in others regarding nature and connecting with nature. In order to do this, I must understand that everyone has a different style of learning and be able to adapt to account for the majority of the population in my delivery. For example: in my Tumblr posts, I try to word things as clearly as I can so that auditory learners will be able to understand, I add pictures to allow for visual learners to comprehend a little better, and I try to describe everything in a mechanistic way for the kinesthetic learners. Personally, I learn the best when I am visually shown exactly how something works, or am able to have hands-on experience. In terms of auditory interpretation, I understand things better if I am able to clearly picture exactly what the interpreter is describing. A combination of hands-on learning with clear instructions and a clear demonstration works best for me personally, as I am a kinesthetic learner.

This is a picture of me beekeeping this past September in the Apiary located at the University of Guelph. I was giving the bees 2 different types of medicines to help prevent mites and disease from forming in the colonies.

I’m not sure of the exact role I would want as an environmental interpreter, but something I’m passionate about is raising awareness about pollinators and encouraging practices to conserve pollinators. One of the best ways to do this as an interpreter would be by running workshops and attending various events to raise awareness. These workshops would be hands-on and would range from starting a pollinator garden, constructing bee, butterfly, and bird houses, making home-made cleaners and pesticides that are not harmful, etc. For people who are not hands-on learners, I would have some sort of social media page (such as tiktok) where I would be able to spread awareness and encourage people to help in other less interactive ways (ex. Donating, reposting, question and answer sessions, etc.). Conserving pollinators is one of the most important topics that needs to be focused on right now, and is something I’m super interested in. If I can be a good interpreter and spark the interest of many individuals, it could assist in the conservation of pollinators and could help people build better and more eco-friendly habits, which could contribute to various other environmental issues. Most of the information you hear about pollinators is all negative. By using workshops and activities to introduce these topics, it will be more appealing to the general public and is a more efficient way of spreading information. These workshops could be executed at local markets, flower shops, or events. This way, the learners would be able to see all of the amazing products pollinators help to produce, and will hopefully build interest in the topic. Obviously I would not make this a career, but I think it is something that is important to interpret to a large population.

This picture is a macroscopic image of a honey bee collecting pollen from a sunflower in my garden this past August. I like this picture a lot because you can see all the flecks of pollen on her hairs and in her pollen baskets. Honeybees collect pollen from a variety of flowers, and in doing so, they assist in cross pollination, as well as self pollination in flowers with both male and female reproductive organs. By doing the plants this favour, they get to collect some pollen and nectar for themselves, so it is a mutualistic relationship.

To be a successful environmental interpreter, I would need to be visibly confident, knowledgeable and passionate about the topic I am discussing, and must be able to connect well not only with nature, but with the people I am interacting with. Building relationships will result in more approachability, and will help the learners to remember more about the session. If I am able to have an impact on someone by connecting with them personally, I might be able to make them more passionate about the topic. The ultimate goal as an interpreter is to use your enthusiasm to inspire others.

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey there,

I honestly think that a main point from the ENVS 2210 course is that we can be interpreters anywhere we go, anyway we can, so not having an exact role within a specific position and just spreading awareness, especially within something you are passionate about, is wonderful in its own right! I especially enjoyed that fact you included examples of how you would attempt to include visitors of all learning styles and its honestly something I am going to try to include in my own blogs, being a tactile and visual learner, your suggested workshops for pollinator awareness, building a pollinator garden and bee houses, sounds very engaging to me and I would be excited to see them come to fruition within local markets and events. I really enjoyed your details on what you personally can do to be a better interpreter and it makes me think about what specifically I can to improve myself!

Thanks for the post!

My Ideal Interpretive Role

My ideal role within environmental interpretation is within plant tissue culture (micropropagation) conservation. From my last post, describing some of the immense applications of tissue culture to food security now comes the further immeasurable applications of tissue culture to conservation. Within this role, many techniques and processes have been developed to further the preservation of plant species, ie cryopreservation, seed banks, conserving genetic material for the future. If I were to exist within this role, I would need many special skills and experience, these include but are not limited to a firm knowledge of standard operating procedures (SOP) to conduct plant tissue sterilizations, proliferation, and replications, taking external plant species, and integrating them into an environment where they can be cultivated within sterile conditions. These technical skills would allow me to tangibly teach other visitors how the perseveration of plant material works and lead them in their own physical attempts to do the same. This role would be within a lab/ growth facility containing but not limited to laminar flow hoods, growth chambers, and cryopreservation chambers, where I could lead a small community on a guided tour, exploring all the details and processes of plant tissue culture.

This is a laminar flow hood, it is necessary to work within a sterile environment when attempting to propagate plant material in in-vitro culture (culture within contained environments, typically petri dishes or test tubes). They facilitate this sterile environment via the flow of air over a heap filter towards the opening in the bench, once the bench inside the hood has been sterilized typically with 70% ethanol, the laminar flow hood is incredibly sterile, to maintain this sterility, proper aseptic (sterile) technique is required and is apart of the SOP within tissue culture. Throughout my posts I will slowly describe more and more specifics about plant tissue culture in an attempt to teach in multiple fashions, (visual, sensing, reflective, etc). interpretive

askenvs3000w22

Blog Post 1

I have always enjoyed spending time in nature and feel like the most at peace version of myself when I am deep within a natural area. I believe that I have felt this way my whole life and that this healthy relationship has developed from where and how I was raised. I grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), in a house which looks out on to the forest and is merely a ten minute walk to the ocean. I spent much of my summer on the shoreline, looking for crabs under rocks and observing seagulls and seals,

Or surrounded by the tall trees of the forest, listening to the trickle of streams and the rustle of leaves.

It was my family who offered me a sense of place and always encouraged me. Despite not being a generally “outdoorsy” family, we would always spend at least one week camping during the summer. And they always let me hang out in the backyard, playing in the dirt and showing them every critter I could find, even in the rain. Some people say that the frequent rain which is common to Vancouver would be unbearable to them, but I always enjoyed the wet days more than hot and dry ones and couldn’t wait to splash around in the puddles and raindrops. Even now, living in Guelph, on overcast and drizzly days I feel a strong urge to go outside because it feels most like home to me.

My relationship with nature changed as I matured, and I spent less time outdoors as a teenager, until I went on an eye opening camping trip with my brother when I was 16. I had the privilege to visit Haida Gwaii, a northern archipelago off of the coast of BC. Visiting these remote islands strengthened my love and respect for nature and I still think back on the experience often. I don’t even have the words to describe how it felt to see such natural beauty and rich culture, but it certainly put all of my “teen angst” in perspective.

Throughout my adult life of academia and employment I have found it more difficult to make the time to get outside, even though each time I do I feel much better about my life. While living in Guelph I have walked through the local forests and visited the Arboretum, but I haven’t tended to spend as much time in nature as I would like. Despite not physically going out into nature that often, I have embraced my loved for nature through my studies. As a fourth year Zoology student I have strived to take courses which involve field work or explain the natural world and the life within it. I have volunteered with interpretive groups and thoroughly enjoyed teaching others about things which I am passionate about (which in this case was reptiles). I have also taken courses on bees, wildlife rehab, and ornithology in the past and this semester have a very strong focus on wildlife and nature.

Although I’ve always being happiest when in nature, I didn’t internally realize how important this “nature time” has been for me until now as I think back on my life. As I continue to mature, I hope to make time in nature more of a priority for myself and strive to have as much fun outdoors as I used to when I was a kid.

Thanks for reading!

ajcenvs3000w22

Hey there Aurora!

I found there was a lot I could relate to in this post, the trips Ive taken along deep wood hiking trails or canoe trips into the back country, have always been where I too have felt the happiest. the local parks in Guelph are quite nice but nothing like the natural world to be descovered within the trips weve been on. I apprecaite that your a Zoology student as Im a Plant science student and it would be interesting to contiue discuesing nature between our different interests and perspectives. What has your time been like with the interpretive groups youved voluntered with been like?

My Relationhip With Nature

My current relationship with nature is one of manipulation and propagation, as I am genuinely amazed at both the growth and development of cultivated fruiting crops. This amazement has me currently close to completing a plant science major within the Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Guelph. I have found that my interests lay within new developments in plant propagation, specifically within the area of plant tissue culture as well as past practices within plant propagation such as the grafting of similar plant species. I believe these interests first stemmed (pun intended) simply from gardening as a youth, I thoroughly enjoyed maintaining all kinds of berry patches, from giant strawberry patches to small unique patches of yellow raspberries, perpetually curious at how these small simple plants produced these beautifully delicious fruits from what seemed like thin air. I grew up thinking that’s where I belonged, finding the beauty in the environment around me specifically within cultivated space, daydreaming about giving baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables, that I grew myself, to my friends and family, meaning my sense of place can be more accurately described originating from a hobby rather than a specific person.

Interpretation fits quite nicely into my scenario in my opinion, though not currently in a professional sense, described in the text as positions like heritage education specialist, or ecotourism adventure travel operator. If I learned anything from the first chapter of Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World, it's that there is room for interpretation everywhere, at any stage. To address where interpretation fits into my scenario more specifically, I believe that I have a responsibility to take the details of plant science that I have learned and be able to communicate with anyone in any situation, from someone who has no idea what plant propagation is, to someone with more experience than myself with regards to either technical aspects or more academic aspects of plant science.

Within this blog and throughout this semester, I hope to practice exactly that. Making the amazing world of plant propagation, both past, and present, known to any audience. That’s who I believe I am as an interpreter. I hope to discuss this course content with reference to plant tissue culture and plant propagation in a meaningful way, bringing the vast capabilities of current plant science practices, to the forefront of the imagination, how one trained plant tissue culture technician can take a single plant with desirable traits, and proliferate thousands, if not tens of thousands, of genetically identical clones in a matter of weeks, how an orchard hand can splice a species of apple onto a suitable rootstock, allowing the cultivation of apples right here in Ontario, how horticultural techniques and the biology of plants allow for the production of the Tree of 40 Fruits, the possibilities are endless.

A succseful grafting of a tomato plant onto a potato plant.

The induction of shoots from leaf tissue.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Interprating A Growing Relationship: ENVS 3000