Final Blog Post
Hi everyone!
This week’s blog prompt definitely had me pondering about this whole semester. I don’t know how everyone else feels, but this semester flew by for me. It is crazy to think that 4 months ago, I didn’t know nearly half the information I know now about nature, and nature interpretation. What I was unsure about when I first read the course outline was weekly blogging but now, I am glad that I chose to take this course. I now have a toolbox of interpretation skills which I can carry with me and use whenever I am surrounded by nature.
This class challenged me to work with others on a project none of us have ever attempted before- podcasts. This process really tested our knowledge on how to be effective nature interpreters based on the age of our audience. I believe that technology is such an amazing tool when it comes to nature. Although some people might say that technology or cellphones take away from the experience of being in nature, I think it can enhance the experience. I’ve used apps on my phone to identify constellations during my camping trips. This allowed me to learn more about what I was experiencing and I know that there are apps out there that identify plants, insects, birds, etc. I read in the textbook of this course that we should not be afraid that technology is a distraction, but rather incorporate it as a tool to teach us more (Beck et al., 2018). On my future nature adventures, I will definitely be looking into technology that I can use to enhance my experience and learning.
My Beliefs:
In the early portion of this course, we learned about invisible backpacks and multiculturalism in terms of nature interpretation. I believe that it is my job to:
Share unbiased stories/knowledge to allow my listeners to form their own ideas
Teach effectively by connecting with my audience on an emotional level
Do my research on accessibility to provide anyone in need with resources such as trails with wheelchair access, or nature guides in various languages.
We never know what other people are facing and what their relationship with nature is like. That why it is important that we are respectful and aim to support them on their own nature journeys rather than force them into something that would dampen their relationship with nature.
My Responsibilities:
While my responsibilities also fall in my list of beliefs, there are a couple other topics that I believe I hold responsibility for. The first is that I hold myself accountable for leaving nature clean or cleaner than I found it. I find that I am constantly reminding people I know to not litter, and now many of those people have gotten out of this habit. Similar to this topic, I try to always compost, and correctly recycle my things (i.e. washing containers before recycling, taking off any non-recyclable components).
Since I have a strong background in animal care, I think it is my responsibility to advocate for animals. As well as to educate others on any animals we may see in nature. It is important that we are aware of how our actions as humans will affect animal populations. We have talked a bit about animals in this course such as the music they provide. Now that it is getting warmer, I do hear more bird sounds outside my window which I now interpret as music in nature.
My Ethics:
Ethics are a guide for us to differentialize right from wrong. One of my main ethics revolves around conservation, preserving wildlife and nature. I hope that my future kids and their kids and so on will be able to experience everything wonderful about nature that we have now. We learned from Beck et al. (2018) that an effective interpreter will instil in their listeners the importance and need for conservation. That is definitely something I will aim towards as an interpreter leaving this course.
-Vee
Reference:
Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore-Venture Publishing LLC.
Hi Vee,
Firstly to start off when reading your last blog post, I can relate to being very “iffy” about these weekly blog posts. 1. It was out of my comfort zone, 2. I was not familiar with the tumblr social media platform at all. Although, as we started to get the course moving, I adapted to it very quickly and thoroughly loved this type of format in a class. It is something I've never experienced before. Nextly, stating your thoughts on podcasts, I can relate to very well. I was also very scared to tackle this project, because there were so many questions yet so much free lance to do what we wanted and how we wanted. With all this being said, this course has also pulled me out of my comfort zone so much, but I feel as if it almost reflects the job of a nature interpreter. Exploring new findings, approaches, and tackling new ideas to be able to translate and educate others.
When reading about your beliefs, responsibilities and ethics surrounding a developing nature interpreter, hear what you have taken and learnt from this course is very interesting, and I would say is a little different from what I did. I think it is important as you stated that you want to impact others to keep nature clean of garbage. This is a recurring issue in today's world, but what are some things you could do to start this initiative and impact others to the point of change? I’d love to hear. Thank you for your personal reflection as a developing nature interpreter.
Hi!
I agree that this semester went by super quickly and that it feels like just last week was our first blog post! I was also very unsure about the blogging portion of this course but found it be a useful way to consider other perspectives and gain a more thorough understanding of the course content.
I also agree that technology can be a beneficial tool for exploring nature, I have used apps to identify plants and animals that I’m curious about and I’ve shared meaningful experiences with others through photos and videos which encourage other people to go exploring outdoors! However, I’ve also felt technology as a distraction, like on a nice day when I feel a strong pull to watch TV rather than go for a walk, or when I stand outside waiting and scroll through Instagram rather than taking a moment to enjoy the sights and sounds around me, I think it can be a balance though and that technology is not the root cause of the problem, which in my opinion is exhaustion. When its been a long day of going to work and class and stressing about all of the deadlines, I sometimes can’t bring myself to get back up on my feet and go outside when I could sit and watch a show to let my brain slow down! Sometimes I can feel my brain playing tug of war with the two ideas. I know that nature is healing and makes me feel better, but I’m so tired that staying indoors often wins, which is sad. I know so many environmentalists judge the general population for “being lazy” and not getting outdoors often, but this is misplaced because I’m sure many of them feel like me and are just too tired and busy staying alive to get outside often.
My partner and I out on the water in North Vancouver, BC (behind the bridge is the Vancouver skyline)
I also have similar beliefs to you, in that I would like to interpret nature in a wholesome and unbiased way, leave the environment cleaner than when I found it, and educate others on animals. It is so nice to talk to others who are of a similar mindset, because it makes me feel less alone with my thoughts. I find it very difficult to think about all of the trouble that the environment is in with pollution, climate change, poaching, etc, and I quickly become weighed down and overwhelmed by it all, I remember learning about climate change in elementary school and crying for hours because I felt that the weight of the world rested on my shoulders and that I needed to solve the worlds issues myself. Seeing that other people care as well gives me some hope that things might not out okay if we continue to educate our peers on being mindful of the environment.
Thanks for reading!



























