Nature Interpretation and Me
As this semester comes to an end, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on everything I’ve learned both academically, and personally. I doubt I’m alone when I say that has easily been one of my most interesting semesters to date. Interestingly enough, it has been one of my favourites.
Throughout this course, I feel as though I’ve come to understand what my definition of nature interpretation is, and where I see myself fitting into the field once I graduate. By using the knowledge I’ve attained from completing my degree in zoology, and the communication skills I’ve gained in respect to nature interpretation, I hope to be able to aid in the conservation of our earths species in any way I can.
Even as a child, my parents instilled in me that one of the best things for conservation, is education. They taught me that if people are unaware that there is a problem at hand, there is very little they can do to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, there are countless species which are on the brink of extinction and the sad truth is, if a majority of them disappeared, many wouldn’t even notice this disappearance. In my opinion, a major issue is that the media tends to focus on the species which are the most charismatic. Pretty much everyone knows that polar bears and rhinos are facing extinction, yet I’m sure only a very limited few know that the blue-throated macaw is on the brink of extinction. With a population estimated at less than 200, they are the most endangered parrot in the wild. This is a great shame as blue-throats are such personable birds and in my opinion, they should be getting as much attention as for example, polar bears.
Pictured above is Olivia, one of the blue-throated macaws I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Although she wasn’t the biggest fan of me, her mate Neuton grew fairly attached to me as I was one of the few people who didn’t scare him haha.
Due to this lack of knowledge, my goal as a nature interpreter is to educate the public and raise awareness that many known and unknown species are facing extinction and that we should be taking the initiative to save them. I say this because most of the species are going extinct due to our actions. All species are important in some and we should be attempting to save as many as we can and not just the ones that we think are cute.
One belief that I feel I bring to the table is that much of science is extremely unaccessible to those who do not have a background in science. What I mean by this, is that almost every scientific paper I’ve had to read has required at the very least, 3 read throughs in order to fully digest it. I believe that this is largely due to the at times, excessive use of scientific jargon. In my opinion, scientific articles are seen as the be all end all when it comes to communicating research. I feel that this is very outdated as there are plenty of methods of communicating information that could appeal to a much broader audience. The methods I speak of include but are not limited to; infographics, videos, podcasts or even comics! By using more accessible types of media, is able to be understood by more people which in my eyes, makes them much more valid methods for scientific communication.
Another course I was in this semester which I felt did an excellent job of instilling this message was ZOO*4910 or, integrative vertebrate biology. For our final project, we were tasked with presenting one of the scientific papers we studied in class in an untraditional format, which I thought was an incredibly cool assignment. For my project I decided to present Stoddard et al.’s study, “Wild hummingbirds discriminate nonspectral colors” as a video sketch, which I had a lot of fun making! I chose to do a video as I felt that using things like, music, pop culture references and comedy would make the material much more interesting and engaging. To ensure that the information presented was easy to understand, I sent the video to a few of my friends who don’t study one of the sciences. Thankfully the consensus was that the concepts presented we extremely clear and easily understandable which told me that I had done job well. If I’m being honest, this was probably the most fun I’ve doing a project in university and it is hand down the one I am most proud of.
A screenshot from the video capturing the eye sore that was my hummingbird costume. For anyone interested, the video itself is available at this link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adcbJtaqw_M
Having played live music for a decent amount of time, performing is something that I not only enjoy doing, but I also think I am somewhat good at (could be delusion though). Because of this, I feel that this sort of performance based education is something I would like to get better at as I feel as though it is the method of interpreting nature that works for me.
As a zoology major, I feel as though it is my responsibility to use the knowledge I have gained to aid in the conservation of the species that we share our planet with. This extends to ensuring that the next generation will be able to see and experience the same biological diversity that I had the pleasure of experiencing. It may be one thing to view nature through the glass of an exhibit at a zoo or on a screen, but it is a completely different thing seeing it first hand in the wild. For me, I will never forget seeing killer whales in the wild, it honestly felt like I was seeing some sort of mythical creature that was thought not to exist.
A picture I took of the pod of killer whales I was lucky enough to see out in B.C.
Nature truly is a remarkable thing and it would be such a shame if we lost one of the most incredible things this planet has to offer.
I can definitely agree with you in your statement that this has been one of the most interesting semesters, and I’m glad it has been one of your favourites. I’m curious, though, is this due to academics or personal life?
That your parents instilled those ideas when you were a child is so important. People do not realize how vital children are to the future of the environment. I remember seeing a news article (a very long time ago) about a community who taught their children to recycle and this was taught in school, at home, etc. The children then perfectly knew how to recycle, and thus taught their children, who taught their children and so on. That community now recycles 100% of their waste. I thought this was so incredible and it made me wonder why more communities are not doing this.
The problem of inaccessibility is so valid and such a large issue today. I know that even my mother, who is an educated woman, knows very little about the environment and my sibling and I are the ones to tell her about it since we are both in scientific fields. This lack of knowledge is what creates so many misconceptions and false spread of knowledge. While news outlets can be a good source of information, there is often bias and it can be hard to distinguish the real from the fake.
I wish I had the confidence that you do to perform! I think it can be such a unique and interesting way to convey information. It also makes it more accessible to a wider audience.
I really enjoyed your post and your pictures, and good luck with your future interpretation!





















