My Personal Ethics as a Nature Interpreter
Interpretation can be described as a form of communication in which historic, cultural, and natural phenomena is translated (Beck et al. 2018). I began to discover more about this idea and began to develop my own personal definition of what interpretation is after completion of this course. Along with this I began to better understand my own personal ethics as a nature interpreter.
I would define interpretation as learning that inspires and evokes new ideas to an audience. This is what I personally believe is the goal of interpretation. It is also one of my personal ethics as a nature interpreter. This is primarily because I believe that learning/interpretation needs to inspire to be effective. I`m sure everyone has their own example of a teacher or a professor that didn’t really hit the mark on this idea. Personally, I remember having one teacher in high school who didn’t evoke any excitement in what they were teaching and would read off the slides, talk in a monotone voice and didn’t provide the class with any other form of learning. This made me dread going to the class everyday and I was never passionate about what was being discussed. Likewise, I felt like I didn’t really learn much in this class nor did I care to learn anything. Creation of an uplifting emotional experience is what is defined as good interpretation (Beck et al. 2018). This I believe is a moral obligation of myself as a nature interpreter.
The reason I believe this is an ethical obligation as a nature interpreter has to do with the beauty contained in nature and the urgency in which environmental issues need to be addressed. I believe that nature is truly beautiful. As discussed in one of my previous blogs posts this beauty provides me with a sense of place. I believe it is imperative that I share this beauty and describe the feelings that I associate with nature so that the art contained within nature can be shared with others, who potentially have not had the opportunity to experience these feelings. The idea being that once these feelings are shared with the audience an uplifting emotional experience will be created, which inspires a greater appreciation for nature and the natural environment. Once this appreciation is gained it may galvanize the audience to take actions regarding protection of the natural environment by reason, to protect this beauty. Environmental conservation is an issue that requires immediate action and hopefully interpretation can act as an agent that catalyzes others to act.
There are a few ways that I discovered through this course that can aid in generation of a truly impactful interpretation experience. One of which being to utilize various learning styles. The three different learning styles are auditory, visual, and tactile/kinesthetic. Interpreters should adapt their teaching methods in a way that tries to satisfy various learning styles. This will increase the impact of their interpretation by suiting each audience members specific needs. Additionally, it can make learning more exciting and fun for the audience.
To conclude, this course has taught me more about the importance of interpretation as a tool for environmental conservation. It has also provided me with certain tools that I can utilize to ensure that important messages resonate with the audience.
Questions
What generates good interpretation in your eyes?
References
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a better world. Urbana: Sagamore Publishing.
Hello!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I feel the same way, as the semester progressed (and I learnt new concepts in this class) I began to develop my own definition/understanding of nature interpretation! Nature interpretation is something I have always been aware of and it was fun to learn more about it! For me, interpretation is a type of learning method that utilizes personal experiences to convey a message across to an audience. Unfortunately, in university I have also experienced a professor who only read off of the lecture slides and was very monotoned! I was very disappointed by this because in all of my other university classes the professors found interesting and unique way to convey their ideas. Due to this lack of inspiration I found it almost impossible to learn the material. It is hard for me to learn when the person teaching does not seem fully engaged and motivated! I feel this is a good example of a poor interpretation!
Interpretation is important in everyday life and this class has taught me different ways of achieving this! To answer your question, I feel that a “sense of place” and an understanding of the different audiences and learning styles contributes to good interpretation (Beck et al., 2018, Chapter 1; Hooykaas, 2021). In order to interpret messages to others, it is important that one finds/knows their “sense of place”. If an individual is unsure of their “sense of place” I do not believe they will be able to be a good interpreter. Interpreters provide their audiences with a “sense of place” (Beck et al., 2018, Chapter 1). Which is why it is important for an interpreter to understand or know where their “sense of place” is.
Additionally, it is also important to know the different audiences and learning styles you may work worth. Interpretation is not a one size fits most type of method. There are so many different types of learning styles and audiences that one will encounter when leading interpretations. This is why it is important to understand this in order to modify and change interpretations to reflect the different audiences and learning styles. If one takes a one size fits all approach to interpretation, they will not be successful. Changes and modifications will be needed along the way to ensure the message is getting delivered to everyone (ex. approaches for kids should be different from adults).
References
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Chapter 1: What is Interpretation? In Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a better world (pp. 3-16). Urbana, Illinois; Sagamore-Venture Publishing.
Hooykaas, A. (2021, January 21). Unit 2: Teaching Learners. Reading.
Hello,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post and I think you did a great job of encapsulating what it means to be an interpreter. Someone who inspires and evokes new ideas to an audience is a great way to describe it. Like you I had my fair share of teachers who would read off the slides and not make it exciting to learn. As a future educator myself I want to create a fun and safe learning environment for all my students. I want to incorporate a lot of outdoor time and freedom for kids to explore the natural world around them and see what they are interested it. In fact, kids learn better when they are being taught about something that interests them it allows their brains to make better more rapid connections. It is so important to also teach kids through play and real-life examples because play is the work of the child. They are excited to learn so I think we owe it to them to create an environment that suits their needs. Teachers in a way are interpreters and have to find ways to excite their varying ages in unique ways. Getting children excited about nature is the first step in helping to reduce the climate change crisis currently going on. By introducing them to nature at a young age it will make them appreciate the world and want to protect it in the future.
-Abby






















