Darian

Blog posts for ENVS*3000

[fbenvs3000w23]

Personal Ethics in Interpretation

When you interpret nature for an audience, you are provided with an opportunity to helm not only their education but their sense of place and passion for the natural world (Beck et al., 2018c). Here, the combination of your knowledge, ethics, passion, and personality dictates your success in deepening your audiences’ understanding of the natural world and inspiring their appreciation of nature and willingness for environmental protection (Beck et al., 2018b). Knowledge provides credibility and is the basis for programming, and passion and personality work together to fuel the appeal and effectiveness of programs (Beck et al., 2018b). An interpreter’s personal ethics, however, is particularly important as it is what guides the direction and outcome of programs.

An interpreter’s personal ethics is apparent in all aspects of programming. When I think about the ethics surrounding my development as an interpreter, words such as amiability, honesty, open-mindedness, sensitivity, compassion, authenticity, patience, and reliability come to mind. These ethics appear in various parts of program development and delivery.

At the most fundamental level, interpreters must be empathetic and responsive to their audiences’ needs. Understanding how to account for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an essential aspect of facilitating effective and safe programming (Beck et al., 2018). You must ensure that your audience is comfortable before anything else. Do they have to go to the washroom? Are they straining their eyes by looking into the sun? Are they getting bitten by bugs? Do they feel safe? These are some examples of questions you must consider before and during your program's delivery. Doing so makes it easier for your audience to appreciate your program by limiting their distractions from discomfort. To do this effectively, you must constantly be aware of your audiences’ comfort by harbouring a level of empathetic sensitivity.

There is something so facilitating about interpreting nature while immersed in nature. I think a large part of this has to do with the fact that we are a part of nature. So, in a way, we are facilitating connections between two things that are already innately connected. As nature interpreters, our role goes beyond that of a teacher due to our ability to inspire hearts as well as minds (Beck et al., 2018d). With this, nature interpretation has the power to encourage individuals to look at the world through a new lens. I believe this is enabled through the ability of effective nature interpretation to provide audiences with profound multisensory experiences (Beck et al., 2018a). What’s better than immersing yourself in serene and wonderous natural landscapes, seeing the plants and wildlife, listening to the music, or biophony, of nature, smelling the sap and wildflowers, and feeling the breeze or sun against your skin, all while learning about the history or science behind elements of your experience (Beck et al., 2018a; Grey et al., 2001)? Fully immersive natural experiences like this appeal to so many parts of your brain and can fully captivate your senses in a way that makes you feel small and insignificant. I’m sure many of us have experienced this feeling when in nature; I know I have. 

As nature interpreters, I believe that we have a duty to encourage our audience to connect with the land so that they develop a sense of care and responsibility towards it (Rodenburg, 2019; Beck et al., 2018d). Nature interpretation helps develop our audience’s ethical sense of place in the world as well as encourages them to respect the animals and plants that we share the world with (Beck et al., 2018d). My background in environmental ethics and historical human-nature relationships led me to believe in the ever-growing importance of honest and progressive nature interpretation. Unfortunately, developing relationships between humans and nature is often impeded by deeply ingrained assumptions of human ascendency and widespread consumer-facilitated anthropocentrism. The consequences of this are twofold. Firstly, we must be wary of biased scientific research that may support sacrificing ecological sustainability for economic growth. Thus, substantiating the need for well-informed and honest interpretive programs (Beck et al., 2018e). Secondly, society’s deeply ingrained anthropocentrism tends to limit the effectiveness of interpretive programs that are aimed at ecocentric or biocentric worldviews, for example. In these cases, we must structure our programs to appeal to anthropocentric worldviews by acknowledging the value of nature to humans. Such value may be derived through aesthetic, aural, climate, or ecosystemic processes, to name a few.

You may ask, “why does it matter? It’s not our duty as nature interpreters to make people care.” However, I believe that as nature interpreters, we also have responsibilities as environmental stewards (Beck et al., 2018b; Beck et al., 2018d). Hence, I think that it is our responsibility as environmental stewards to encourage people to open their minds to different and potentially more ecologically sustainable worldviews and perspectives. In doing so, we must also be open-minded in understanding that not everyone harbours the same worldview. We must be able to approach topics from the different perspectives of various worldviews, appealing to human-centric mindsets in addition to biocentric or eco-centric ideologies. Therefore, we must be open-minded and sensitive in our interpretative programming in addition to honest and progressive.

Of course, there are additional perspectives that we must also consider, including those we carry in our invisible backpacks (McIntosh, 1989). Being sensitive to our audiences’ potential limitations, experiences, or existing ideologies allows for more effective programming and enriching experiences. This idea also applies to the accessibility of programs. As interpreters, we are responsible for continuing to increase the accessibility of programs and natural spaces so that everyone can enjoy them (Beck et al., 2018f). 

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018a). Chapter 6: How people learn. In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 105-126). Sagamore Venture.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018b). Chapter 5: Guiding principles of interpretation. In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 81-104). Sagamore Venture.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018c). Chapter 1: What is interpretation? In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 3-16). Sagamore Venture.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018d). Chapter 3: Values to individuals and society. In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 39-58). Sagamore Venture.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018e). Chapter 15: Interpreting history. In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 325-347). Sagamore Venture.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018f). Chapter 7: Serving diverse audience. In Interpreting culture and natural heritage for a better world (1st ed., pp. 127-164). Sagamore Venture.

Gray, P. M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C., & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science, 291(5501), 52. https://link-gale-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/apps/doc/A69270354/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid

McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 10-12.

Rodenburg, J. (2019, June 17). Why environmental educators shouldn’t give up hope. Clearing. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300

[dzuraw3000w23]

Hi,

This was a very insightful post. My main ethic in regard to nature interpretation and pretty much anything else is also empathy, I agree that in order to deliver an effective program, no matter the context you should always keep your audience’s comfort in mind. I thought it was very fitting how you spoke about common distractions people may face when experiencing the natural world. I also really resonated with the fact that we are all innately connected to nature. Too often humans think of themselves as a more important species and that we are somehow not considered natural. I always think back to the Indigenous knowledge I learned in one of my conservation courses, how we are not separate from nature but are in fact connected to it. And not just connected through the food chain but how we are connected to the earth and stars through the passing down of knowledge and traditions. Most may see a rock and think nothing of it, but that rock can be the home to microscopic biota that breathe life into it. I think fully immersing ourselves in nature when we can helps us to decompress and relax our minds, bodies, and souls in order to stay connected to the world we live in, not just on. 

[abasileenvs3000w23]

Unit 10

As this semester comes to an end, it is great to be able to reflect on this course throughout these past few months. When I first decided to take this course, I did not think that I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. It was nostalgic to be able to reflect on many of my own personal experiences and tie it in with all the things we have learned throughout this course. I also developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for nature interpretation. It is a more complex topic then I originally anticipated it to be.

The most valuable thing that I have learned about nature interpretation is the importance of taking into consideration the learning capabilities of others and their experiences, to best deliver information to them. I originally thought that a nature interpreter would be someone that you will come across at a conservation park but it goes beyond that and focusses on teaching rather than a specific career (Beck et al., 2018). I love to share my love for nature with other people and although I do not see myself in a position of teaching in a traditional sense, I would like to teach those around me in a more casual manner. Specifically, to the younger generation of my family! I believe that teaching the next generation of kids will be very important for our environment. Implementing these teachings with my younger cousins and kids one day can help the effects of climate change by having them be the change that we need for our planet. Being able to share my experiences with my family can trigger that love for nature within them and can make them more inclined to want to protect the environment that they grew to love so much!

A reading that I enjoyed in this course was the “Helping teachers unpack their ‘invisible knapsacks.’” I think I appreciated reading it so much because it gave me a chance to reflect on the privilege that I experienced in my life when it came to nature. It is something that is easy to take for granted but creating that open conversation creates more inclusivity which is something that I never considered before. This leads me into my personal ethics since I believe that inclusivity is important in all aspects, not just nature interpretation. Understanding and acknowledging struggles or privileges that others may have allows them to feel included. It creates a positive and safe space for individuals to have open conversation and it is something that I personally strive for. When it comes to nature interpretation, everyone should have equal opportunity to access all that nature has to offer. Whether it is to simply enjoy the outdoors or to educate themselves on the surrounding environment, every race, gender, age, etc. should have the same opportunities. As a nature interpreter, accessibility should be a top priority.

As someone who has a love for animals and actively works with them through the animal shelter and wildlife rehab centres, I found that compassion is a huge part of my personal ethics. Animals are an important part of our environment and wildlife can be over looked by many, but they play vital roles in our ecosystem. Through my work at the shelter and wildlife rehab centres, there is a fulfilling feeling when you get to help an abandoned litter of raccoons or an injured rabbit recover and have successful releases. Showing compassion towards these animals fuels a drive to help them to get better. I love sharing my experiences dealing with these animals to help raise awareness for the importance of donating or volunteering for wildlife rehabs, if possible. Without these facilities, they will not be able to save the hundreds of wild animals that they rescue every year. Through teachings, I would love to educate the public on exactly what amazing things these places do and it is an approach to nature interpretation that best suits me. With my compassionate attitude and passion for this topic, this can be a great aspect to teaching. I believe that having a true love for something that you are teaching will help the message come across better to your audience and allow them to better connect with the lessons.

To end off this post, I wanted to take a moment to answer the questions that were posed to us every week within our material. Those questions are who am I as an interpreter? Who is my audience? And how can I make this experience meaningful? As I stated already in this post, I enjoy educating people on the wildlife aspect of nature. Through my teachings, I can help people to recognize the importance of supporting local wildlife rehabs to continue saving wildlife. Teaching style is important to consider as well and now that I have the knowledge from this course, I make sure that I can teach in a way that caters to everyone’s learning needs. My audience includes a wide variety of people and can be for anyone who wants to learn more about our native animal species and how they can help. To make their experience meaningful, I can connect with them on an emotional level through sharing my own stories about my work with these amazing animals. A few cute baby raccoon photos also never hurt to create a better experience!

With this being my last year in university, I am glad that I chose to take this course to end off my last semester. It has taught me a lot of things about the different aspects of nature interpretation and how I can apply it to my life and interests. Evaluating my personal ethics in this final post were a great way to end off this final blog post. As I close this chapter on my undergrad, I will take these lessons and reflections with me as I continue on my journey with nature interpretation.

A question to end of is, do you see yourself continuing in nature interpretation after the completion of this course?

References

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world – Chapter 1. (1st ed.). Sagamore Publishing.

[dzuraw3000w23]

Hello,

I really enjoyed reading your response to this weeks prompt. I really enjoyed reading about how you use compassion in your everyday life at animal shelters and wildlife rehabilitation centers. I think it is so important to have empathy towards animals because as you said, they are an integral part of keeping our ecosystems balanced This made me think back to a course I took in my second or third year called Intro to Aquatic Systems. In this course, we learned about a whole bunch of different aquatic ecosystems, from rivers and lakes to the depth of the ocean. And every new unit started with talking about the primary producers that contribute to the success of that specific environment. Primary producers are things like algae and microbiota that are basically the building blocks of the food chain. When you spoke about the balance all animals have in an environment it made me think of even the animals and plants that we barely get to see. And how without the delicate interaction between trophic levels in the food chain we certainly would see the bigger animals that we all know and love. I also agree that this course was much more in-depth than I thought it would be and I had a great time reflecting on what I can do to educate the people around me on the importance of interacting with nature. 

Good luck on your journey after graduation!

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 10

As we wrap up our course on nature interpretation it is important to reflect on the things that we connected to the most and areas in which we want to improve or learn more about. Throughout this whole course, I have learned how to think critically about the way I present information to increase retention and spark passion in those involved. In the unit 10 tab on courselink, we read how it can sometimes feel as though the weight of saving the world is on our shoulders and we are not well equipped enough to make a meaningful change as individuals. And I can attest that I partake in this mindset from time to time when I see droves of litter fluttering in the wind, governments not acting on the change they have acknowledged needs top to happen, or simply the amount of waste I produce in order to buy necessities wrapped in plastic. This brings me to my main belief that I try to remember whenever I am feeling down about the state of our planet; that one person may not be able to save the world, but one person can inspire the world to change. In recent years I like to use the example of Greta Thunberg, someone I’m sure most of us have heard of. For thoes that don’t Thunberg is a 20-year-old Swedish activist pursuing climate action to protect our future. Thunberg went viral on Tik Tok and this sparked a new wave of protests and drive in young people. Although not all of us have the access to be able to inspire the populous, each of us can inspire our friends, our family, and our co-workers to practice sustainability whenever possible. 

This leads to what I would consider my main responsibility regarding sustainability; making sustainability accessible. As a white, middle-class, person I have a much easier time being able to be more conscious about the products I’m buying, making sure they are from reputable sources and have minimal plastic packaging. But these are expensive, and companies capitalize on people wanting to be greener by jacking up the prices for the same products just in recyclable packaging. It can be hard to make these choices when most Canadians live paycheck to paycheck, barely affording rent, let alone the price of sustainable product options. This is why it is so important to focus on companies and governments rather than the consumer. The government needs more policies in place to uplift renewable energy sources and sustainable farming practices in order to take the burden off the consumer who has no choice but to comply with cheaper options. If we focus on growing our renewable resource sector, the price of production will eventually drop just as the price of oil drops as it became more widely used. Ways I contribute to helping make a sustainable future are voting and sending emails to government officials when certain policies or laws are trying to get passed that hinder the sustainable development of our country. 

While talking about sustainability is all well and good, I find the best way to make people care about world issues is to relate those issues back to the people you want help from. Human beings are selfish creatures, we think we are the most intelligent because we only use our frame of intelligence to judge everything. So finding ways to make people really think about the harm that can be caused to the human race itself will help us understand that climate change is not just a ploy to help save a few animal species that we think are pretty to look at. When we relate to something, it is much easier for us to understand and connect with others. And I think the best way to get people excited about sustainable practices is to show them how incredible our planet is and how these practices can benefit us. In chapter 3 of our textbook, Beck et al. describe the different benefits interpretation can have on people, including educational, recreational, and inspirational benefits. As an interpreter, I lean more toward the inspirational aspect of individual benefit, how nature should be described in a way that evokes emotion and questioning of our current world state. I want to be able to inspire people of all ages to think critically the next time they enter nature, to think about the resilience our planet displays in the face of the climate crisis.  My main approach to nature interpretation would definitely be a kinesthetic one, going on nature walks, and working with indigenous leaders to create meaningful experiences that people can relate back to for years to come. I am someone that likes to have hands-on experiences, so that would be the best way for me to be able to educate and inspire, but not everyone learns that way. Although I would love to have every person be able to access incredible natural landscapes that is not always the most accessible. That’s why free or low-cost activities that can either be conducted from one’s home or within a close range are the best way to engage people from all backgrounds. YouTube is a great example of something that is free, can be extremely personalized, and is accessible to the majority. I love educational YouTube channels about nature that I would otherwise never get to experience. One of my favourite channels is The Octopus Lady, I would highly recommend checking her out if you like marine life. 

As a last note, I would also like to introduce you to some ways I have tried to be a little more sustainable in my own life. Blueland Cleaners and Oak & Willow are some sustainable household cleaner brands I have started to use. They are pretty affordable and use all recyclable packaging. Yes, there are still transportation emissions that come with purchasing products online, but there is always a give and take when it comes to pursuing sustainability.

[tgenvs3000w23]

The Most Amazing Thing About Nature: The Hawk Lifestyle

I'm going to use this blog as a little plug for some nature interpretation happening at College Royal on campus this weekend! I've mentioned volunteering with Wild Ontario before, a program that uses non-releasable raptors for nature and science education about native raptor species! (9-4 Saturday and Sunday in ALEX200!!)

Anyways, time for the blog! I personally am a big fan of a commonly seen raptor in southern Ontario, and that is the Red-Tailed Hawk! There are many cool reasons I think these guys are the most amazing thing in nature and I like to think I know a lot about them, so let's get into it!

First, my favourite thing to tell people about red-tails, is that this beautiful buteo above (Freyja, non-releasable RTH ambassador with Wild Ontario), is the voice actor you hear in all of those western American movies and it is not in fact a bald eagle you hear. Bald eagles are rather wimpy sounding, but red-tails are majestic.

The Calls of the Bald Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk

Hollywood muddies the waters.The call of the red-tailed hawk is frequently used as a generic spooky sound effect in television shows and oth

Now, everybody often raves about how fast falcons are, or how stealthy owls are when it comes to hunting. But I think what makes the red-tailed hawk so awesome is how relatable they are, because they are SO lazy. Now, of course, I mean this with the utmost respect, after all, I said these hawks were my favourite thing about nature (and heck I even have one permanently illustrated on my body) so of course they're freaking awesome.

Now, hawks have adapted this lazy lifestyle to save on energy. Red-tails are often referred to as "highway hawks" because that's where we can often see them perching. While they are perched on hydro wires and telephone poles, these guys are actively hunting. Their method of choice: waiting. They won't go chase down a speedy squirrel, or travel all the way across a field to a rabbit they saw, even though they are definitely capable. They will wait, and wait, and wait, for an hour and even longer. These hawks will wait until some sort of animal like a frog or a snake stops right under where they are perched, and that is when they jump on their opportunity, literally. Hawks will just plop down onto the ground to catch their prey. And if they don't catch anything, it's all good because they didn't use that much energy.

(Sibley, non-releasable RTH ambassador with Wild Ontario)

Another super unique thing about red-tailed hawks is their incredible eyesight. They can actually see 8 times better than we can! This means if you were to back up until you could no longer see the text below, a red-tailed hawk could be 8 times that distance and see it just as well.

I feel like I could talk about how epic red-tailed hawks are all day, but to keep this concise I will end this blog here. Here's a recap of what we've gone over, and why these guys are the best thing in nature:

talented voice actors in movies

lazy BUT relatable and respectable

insane eyesight

I hope that you maybe learned something new, and also developed a love and appreciation for red-tailed hawks like myself! I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs, have a great St. Patty's weekend everyone and stay safe!

Resources

Liebermann, A. (2022). The Calls of the Bald Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NrD4OvLiT7k

[dzuraw3000w23]

Hey Teagan!

I really loved reading this post. I could very easily feel your enthusiasm through your writing style here. I’ll admit that I am not a big bird person, I think they are cool and all but it's never the first animal that comes to mind when talking about my favourites. So I’m very glad I get to hear about this silly lazy bird through your blog because otherwise I never would have! The fact that you called the red-tailed hawk relatable in the beginning really threw me for a loop, I thought about what can be relatable about a bird, and I was proven wrong when I immediately connected to the sit-and-wait style of getting my food. I love to sit on the couch and have uber eats delivered to me on a slow or rainy day, and I’m sure if this bird could use a cell phone he would definitely do the same.

I also really enjoyed how you structured this post, it was very interactive. I did in fact stand up in the middle of the library to see how far back I could stand to see the lettering, and it blew my mind that even though I was standing a good distance back that this bird can be 8 times that distance. This post was easily digestible, especially with your recap points at the end, I thought that was a great touch to reinforce the main topics you highlighted. This was one of my favourite blog prompts to read through since everyone seemed so enthusiastic and excited to share their own fun experiences with nature. 

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 8

There are so many amazing things that I have learned about nature through my years at Guelph. Specifically, because I was originally in Marine and Freshwater Biology and now am in Environmental Science, I have had many courses related to the incredible variety of nature on our planet. The courses and personal material that I tend to gravitate the most to are usually in water ecosystems and space, both of which are vast and filled with amazing and unique natural elements. For today’s topic of what is the most amazing thing I know about nature, I tend to pull up the incredible facts I learned about some less common animals. And of course, by less common I mean less common for the public eye to hear about. One such creature I can talk for days about is the peacock mantis shrimp. 

This shrimp has an extraordinary colour pallet as well as a funky design that like many other bottom or deep sea dwellers, looks like an alien species. Although this crustacean is only about the size of an adult human hand, it packs quite the punch, literally. The mantis shrimp has two club-like appendages attached on the front that it uses to attack food or anyone that gets too close to its territory. It uses a spring mechanism in its clubs that allow the shrimp to fling them out with the same force as a bullet. Not only does the impact usually crumple and often dismember prey but the friction of this fast and forceful blow generates enough heat to boil the surrounding water for a second. And its not your average stove top pot of water kind of boil, the heat of the mantis shrimps punch reaches 4704℃, to put that in perspective, the heat generated on the SURFACE OF THE SUN is only about 1000℃ hotter at 5600℃. The immense pressure created when the punch occurs collapses into itself creating an explosion of heat. Here's a fun 4-minute video to show you just how powerful this punch can be...

Our oceans are so big it can sometimes be hard to conceptualize just how much life actually exists there. We tend to focus a lot on the big mammals we can easily see and identify with, whales, and elephants are easy for people to accept conservation efforts for because of the historical mistreatment directly to these animals. And as important as that is, we can not forget about the little guys. The ocean is a delicate balance of chemicals and life that all intertwine with each other in the circle of life, and we must remember that those at the bottom of the food chain are equally as important as those higher up. That’s why whenever I get a chance to talk about silly little invertebrates that most people don’t think about every day is so thrilling to me. It can put into perspective just how connected our natural world is and how important it can be to focus on sustainable resource mining to ensure we protect the balance that our planet has been able to keep for millions of years.

[tgenvs3000w23]

Music in Nature Interpretation

Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?

So many thoughts went through my head when I first read this prompt. All about my experiences with nature, practicing being quiet and listening to the sounds of trees in the wind, or the chorus of crickets and frogs at nighttime. I thought about my understanding of music, with instruments and tempo and harmony and notes. And I think about how music and nature are so connected, that once we've been prompted to reflect on this connection, it's hard to find where they are separate or different.

When I think of music in nature, it's there in the sounds of the animals: the songs of birds and whales, the grunts of moose and bears. It's in the plants and physical landscape: the whooshing of trees brushing together and the trickles of water. In nature, the different seasons, the different times of day, and the different biomes all contribute to producing unique music from nature.

I read more into the article "The Music of Nature and The Nature of Music" that was quoted in this week's content (Gray et al., 2001). The article talks about comparing the music made between species, like birds, whales, elephants, and humans, and asking the question: is music universal?

"The fact that whale and human music have so much in common even though our evolutionary paths have not intersected for 60 million years, suggests that music may predate humans" (Gray et al., 2001)

I thought this quote was interesting because it made me think back to the quote from Edward Hyams in our history unit when he made the point about the train station existing for longer than our train passes through it. I think both are a good reminder that there was nature before us and will be nature after us, just like how there was music before us with the whales and how music will exist after us.

That leads me into the topic of nature in music. I think a lot of people can find inspiration through nature. Whether it's like the DJ Ben Mirin physically sampling natural sounds to use in music, lyrics inspired by nature, or the tranquillity and peacefulness of just being in nature allowing an artist to be alone and think. A quick search for artists inspired by nature brought me upon this article of classical composers that were inspired in various ways by nature. Here is one particular piece that I enjoyed listening to while writing this blog! :)

"The story goes that Chopin was dreaming while playing the piano during a rainstorm. He was alone when his lover and her son returned home. He exclaimed that he dreamed of himself being drowned in a lake, with heavy drops of water dripping rhythmically on his chest."

As well, here is the link for the article of other composers like Vivaldi and Debussy:

Songwriting Inspiration: 5 Classical Composers Inspired by Nature

In today’s video, we’re going to get some songwriting inspiration. We’ll take a look at five composers who have been inspired by nature and

Which song takes me immediately back to a natural landscape?

I love this question a lot, and I'm excited to read my peer's responses and create more connections with music and nature. I had two that came to mind, the first being a very important topic and touches on incorporating Indigenous knowledge and storytelling together. This song is from a multimedia project by Gord Downie telling the story of a boy named Chanie Wenjack who died while trying to escape the residential schools in Canada. Below is a link to the project's website, I would link a simple Youtube video but I like the animation that goes with the song.

Secret Path

Secret Path is a ten song album by Gord Downie with a graphic novel by Jeff Lemire that tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year-old

I know this is probably a grim and unexpected song and background compared to the normal campfire and road trip songs. But looking at the lyrics and listening to the surprisingly upbeat music, I'm sure you can see why this came to mind. It was the overall journey of Chanie that I recalled, and all of the animals and landscapes he passed that immediately take me back to a natural landscape when I listen.

And just for fun to brighten the mood of my blog before I close out, here's a song I listen to a ton right now because I'm feeling nostalgic and it's also applicable: This is Where I Belong by Bryan Adams (yes from the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). Of course, the lyrics are literally talking about nature, but it always reminds me of the need to keep nature where it is, and not interfere with it.

Gray, P. Krause, B. Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C. & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science. 291. 52-54.

Undying23. (2009). Frédéric Chopin’s “Raindrop” Prelude, Op 28, No. 15 [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OFHXmiZP38

Allysia. (2016, December 13). Songwriting Inspiration: 5 Classical Composers Inspired by Nature. PianoTV.net. https://www.pianotv.net/2016/12/songwriting-inspiration-nature/#:~:text=Songwriting%20inspiration%3A%20Chopin&text=15.

Downie, G., & Porter, I. (2016, September 9). Secret Path. Secret Path. https://www.secretpath.ca/

Donnelly, M. (2016, November 20). Lyrics to This is Where I Belong by Bryan Adams (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). Www.youtube.com. https://youtu.be/XdMNHT_uabw

[dzuraw3000w23]

Hey Teagan,

I loved reading your post, I also connected music to nature through whale songs! I think whales are so intelligent and gentle, with such a unique sound that humans can not help but be attracted to. I found it very thoughtful that you connected whale music to the train station quote and how nature will always exist even when humans are gone. This really makes me think about the Chornobyl disaster that I and others discussed in week 6's prompt. How when nature is left to its own devices it can overcome and thrive even in the harshest of conditions. It makes me want to sometimes be the last human on earth so I can experience the way nature will evolve untouched by humans. Since that is understandably a bit unrealistic we must focus on preserving nature as it is now. Like you said in your last sentence, the need to keep nature where it is, is so important. And I think that it all leads back to how we as interpreters can improve the relationship between humans and nature through art like music. Since nature surrounds us, people will always find a way to incorporate it into the things they like, even some interesting architects use designs in nature to help improve the designs of our own homes. This is a link to an architect who designed a building that uses termite hills as the inspiration to create a natural air conditioning effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620omdSZzBs

Great post, can't wait to read more!

Cheers,

Darian

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 7

Nature is as musical as any man-made instrument. When I think of music in nature, a common and easy-to-grasp idea is birdsongs. Birds have a way of communicating with each other through elaborate vocalizations that humans interpret as a kind of singing. Notes that change in pleasing orders and elongated sounds all contribute to a melodic rhythm that we understand as music. Another favourite musical creature of mine is a whale. Whales create low resonance sounds that are completely unique to their own pod and can be heard from many kilometers away. Although it is simply their language, to human ears, it sounds rhythmic and full of emotion. This connects to the quote read in the unit 7 tab in courselink, how musical sounds may reveal a bond between all living things. When a whale mother is separated from her calf she calls to them in her unique tones and we can hear the sadness in her calls. Without knowing what this whale is saying we can understand the pain she feels for looking for her lost child. Music is all about emotion, how we cope, how we interpret, and how we connect thoes emotions we feel to others. I believe this is why many people enjoy listening to nature sounds when relaxing or falling asleep, the simplicity of rain tapping on water, or wind through trees can connect with memories people have of fond times when they heard those sounds. Art imitates life just as much as life imitates art. Since we experience new things through the lens of our previous experiences our brains are constantly making connections and the sense of sound has a profound impact on recreating memories. As an example, I love to listen to music when I read, and at one point reading a specific book series, I only listened to a specific playlist. Now when a song that was in that playlist comes on I immediately think of those books and feel a sense of happiness and nostalgia. 

As for finding nature in music, you do not need to search too deeply. From my background as a camp kid, we sang songs around a fire every night. Some were silly like baby shark, but others were more dramatic like Slaid Cleaves’ “Breakfast In Hell”. This song was written about a logging accident that happened in a canal that we would canoe to during our off-site excursions. This is a folky song that talks about the sounds of animals and deadly waters in the evening, creating a sense of danger and invoking many different emotions since this song was about a place all the campers knew and most had been to. This is just one of the countless examples of people using nature within their songs to add to the intended effect. This pertains to how music can capture parts of the world that some people may never experience, using rainforest sounds or howls of different predators that I would never experience in my daily life in Southern Ontario, allows me to hear a glimpse of other parts of the world. I relate nature sounds to listening to music in a different language than the one you speak. Although you may not know what is being said you can still appreciate the artistry of the vocals simply as another instrument. And the natural world has many of its own instruments. 

A song that immediately takes me back to sitting on the rocks of a random inlet of islands in Georgian Bay is Eternal Youth by RUDE. I discovered this song in 2013 when I was 12 and at camp with some of the most influential people of my childhood. Although I may not still be friends with these people now they hold a special place in my development as the person I am today. At the time, there were four of us who snuck out of our tents with our sleeping bags and sat on the rocks above the campsite to gaze at the stars. The stars in Georgian Bay are incredible, a clear sky with no light pollution reflected on a sheet of glass water was breathtaking, to say the least. Although Eternal Youth was not playing at this specific time, as we chose to sit in silence, it was the last song I had heard before going on the camping trip and was the first song I played when I returned. No matter when I hear this song I close my eyes and can so clearly see the curvature of the sky that sparkled with what seemed like never-ending stars. 

[obenvs3000w23]

Nature Interpretation Through History

Unpacking this quote is not an easy task. Hyams packs a lot meaning between words and uses metaphors that may be interpreted differently depending on your background. In a way, this alone encompasses the true meaning of interpretation. My understanding of this quote is likely very different to that of someone with very different life experiences to me.

Hyams defines integrity by keeping together the parts of whole, and by the effort to do so when the parts are not blatantly obvious or accessible. This often relates to “ancient things” or stories of history. The only way to learn and adjust our interpretation of today’s world is by learning from the ancient things. My mind immediately goes to an environmental disaster that occurred in Ukraine in 1986, known as the Chernobyl Disaster. At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, a nuclear reactor malfunctioned, causing explosions that took the lives of at least 4,000 people in the Soviet Union, including my Great Aunt. There is no merit in this event. It is a disaster whose effects are still being felt by people and the environment today. There is merit, however, in the mercy that the world showed Ukraine during the immediate aftermath of the event. There is merit in the relief efforts and there is beauty in the way that nature can fight toxic events like Chernobyl. To combat the radiation in the soil and ponds that were killing all life forms, sunflowers were planted due to their ecological ability to remove the harmful elements.

This event affected my interpretation of nature and of life. I think the sunflowers represent finding light in the darkest times. I also cannot help but think about my family. This disaster occurred in 1986, and my parents immigrated to Israel in the late 1970’s, after years of trying. If this had just taken them a few more years, they would have had endure the radiation poisoning that affected their entire town. It adds perspective to my life and makes this quote even more meaningful to me. I think Hyams would classify the teachings of Chernobyl as brave acts to maintain integrity.

The second part of this Hyams’s quote struck a chord in me. Perhaps it was the subject of the metaphor being a railway, but I can’t help but think of another ancient thing that effected my family and millions of others, the Holocaust. “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.”. This is so incredibly powerful. If we collectively leave the past in the past, we will have no idea where we are going in the future. Furthermore, we leave nothing for the next generation to learn from. If the railway stops existing when our train gets off it, what about the incoming trains? What will guide their path? This reminds me of a quote by George Santayana which states “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”. this is a quote that has been spoken by figures throughout history such as Winston Churchill and author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. We must acknowledge to past as we move forward to help us navigate this world. We cannot maintain integrity without holding onto the parts of the whole.

What does this mean for nature interpretation? Our generation is living through a climate crisis. The time to act on it is now, and we must look to the past to guide us but think about the future in doing so. We must represent nature through literature, music and art so that the parts of the present can be preserved for the future.

Beck, L, Cable, Ted T., Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting Natural & Cultural Heritage. Sagamore-Venture Publishing. 2018

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Hi there, 

I really enjoyed your post for this week’s prompt. Thank you for your honesty and raw emotions in terms of what you and your family have gone through. I would like to first say that I am so sorry for the events you have had to endure and it shows great courage to share these life events with us so that we can better understand the impacts these events had on our very own peers. I agree with the way in which you explained and interpreted this quote. There is definitely a great emphasis on learning from the ancient things and events that occurred in the past in order to better experience our present. It is very important to learn about events, like the Chernobyl Disaster and the Holocaust, as you mentioned. As horrible as these distinct and disastrous events were, they are also incredibly important to learn about so as to not repeat them. I think there is great integrity in knowledge, as mentioned in the quote, because being able to understand and recognize the importance in such events is the greatest knowledge we will endure. 

The textbook was helpful in terms of explaining the challenges of interpreting history (i.e accuracy of the information, the authenticity, and controversy) (Beck et al., 2018). One thing that comes to mind is the accuracy of facts when news came out about the graveyards found at former Residential Schools. I think that this scenario was an accurate display of how little society knew about these schools and what Indigenous families had/still have to go through. There is an immense amount of merit in this situation and to say that there is no merit in ancient things was ignorant of the quote to say, in my opinion. Without ancient things, we wouldn’t have a past to look at and learn from.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.

[dzuraw3000w23]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with the prompt this week, it was very powerful to read your thoughts on the quote through the lens of the hardships your family has endured. I think we had quite similar interpretations of the prompt, you spoke about the Chernobyl Disaster and how the merit comes from the relief efforts and how nature has reclaimed this land in its ever impressive resilience. In my post I spoke similarly, but used a tsunami as my example. I am also excited that this quote also made you think of the now common saying saying that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. It really made me think how even though our posts differ in many ways based on our own experiences, we both found connections to the same thing. I think that is the beauty of interpretation, coming to a mutual understanding of one another even though we may have reached that understanding through different means. This helps foster empathy towards each other, and with so many new crises happening lately, we can all use a little more compassion towards our fellow humans. This was a great post, I am very glad I got to read it, thank you for you openness and I hope you have a great reading week!

Cheers,

Darian

[dzuraw3000w23]

This is an interesting prompt this week because I think it can be interpreted in so many different ways. Each individual will feel something different when reading this quote and I look forward to reading the unique responses.

After reading this quote I thought of the popular saying: those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. I think that applies here in the sense that continuing to tell the memories and knowledge of past experiences helps us grow as individuals as well as interpreters. Because of this I actually disagree that there is no merit in ancient things. I think the knowledge gained from even horrific tragedies is how the human race advances. I am currently taking another course about the geology of natural disasters and a large part of the course is learning that there is pretty much nothing humans can do to stop these disasters but there are a plethora of ways to prepare ourselves. Take tsunamis for example, after devastating coastal regions humans engineered ways to build structures that can better withstand the impact of crushing waters. The merit of a tsunami does not come from the devastation it occurs but from the aftermath of relief efforts and the knowledge gained to better prepare ourselves for the next one.

The second half of this quote uses the analogy of a train station still existing even when our train has passed it, and I’ll be honest I didn’t quite understand what this quote was getting at until I read that analogy. This shows how powerful written word can be. I re-read the quote many times, using different inflections on different words, trying to find the “right” way to read it. And that is the beauty of interpretation through writing, there technically is no right way to read it as long as you find something you connect with. I sometimes find academic science writing (specifically research papers) to be boring if it is not a topic I am invested in, but I find non-scientific academic writing to be exciting and full of intriguing metaphors that really make you ponder. I think it stems from the fact that I read non-science writings rarely, so the novelty of it adds to my excitement. Lastly, the section of the quote that says, “the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of accent things,” really made me think about how humans relay information. How it is often the winners of wars and founders of artefacts that get to decide what knowledge they deem worthy of maintenance. This ideas helps to critically analyze what you are reading by asking yourself those key questions from this weeks content: Who wrote this? Who did they write it for? These are now questions I will always ask myself when reading new media whether it’s for school or for my own enjoyment.

[hmgeog3320f23]

Science in Nature interpretation

Since the beginning of the year, I have learned that nature interpretation is many things. This week, I learned that it is integrated with the mechanism of presenting scientific knowledge and using this information to spread awareness to the public eye (Beck et al., 2019). Nature interpretation through science can be presented in many ways such as nature programs, interpretive activities, and visual displays (Beck et al., 2019). All of these activities have one thing in common with each other and that is that they tend to educate the public by giving them the opportunities to engage in nature through interpretive processes (Beck et al., 2019). This then leads to a greater understanding of the natural world by creating connections and stewardship with the nature around them (Beck et al., 2019). Science plays an extremely large role in nature interpretation through methods such as research and scientific data, an example of this is the information that is provided about the ecological and geographical aspects that identify a certain interpretive activity (Beck et al., 2019). The information provided usually highlights the distinctive features of the specific experience and provides context for the observers (Beck et al., 2019). The utilization of scientific methods in nature interpretation tends to influence the perception of the individuals who are interpreting nature (Beck et al., 2019). Often times studies are performed and data is collected to identify the efficiency of interpretive programs, this creates the potential room for improvement regarding the quality of the program in order to make sure the observers are fulfilled and gaining knowledge (Beck et al., 2019). Science methods in nature interpretation are of importance for scientists as well as the public since the scientists are able to apply their findings and knowledge by sharing them with the public eye (Beck et al., 2019). This then increases the understanding of nature to the public (Beck et al., 2019). Through science, nature interpretation is able to provide education about the environment through opportunities and stewardship which is essentially the basis of what nature interpretation is (Beck et al., 2019). Below I have included a short video on the nature of science that innocently depicts the importance of science in our daily lives!

Although science is critical, there are also some minor consequences that nature interpretation has on our environment such as physical impacts to the ecosystem. Interpretive programs are usually aware of these impacts and do what they can to mitigate it by managing them effectively. (Beck et al., 2019). States that science is one of the many backbones of nature interpretation and this made me realize that we interpret nature through science in our everyday lives without even realizing that we do it! In fact, without the communication of scientists engaging with the public, there would be little to no knowledge on nature today. In conclusion, the importance of science in interpretation is something that we use every day and it is important for all the mechanisms involved in this process to be represented accurately in order to provide insightful information to the public.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

NCARUCARConnect. (2015). The nature of science. YouTube. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui8X_TTFIzI

[dzuraw3000w23]

What a great post! I enjoyed reading how well you consolidated the information from the textbook into a well thought out explanation on how we use science in interpretation all the time. Specifically when you spoke about how the use of scientific methods influence the perception of interpreters. Scientific methods are usually very thought out, repetitive, and factual, hoping to leave little room for error. This can lead to the perception of nature being clinical, just something to study and collect data from rather than an entity deserving of respect and care. I would love to know if you have ever experienced going on a nature walk of any other form of nature interpretation in which you thought there was something they could improve on, and maybe one you thought was amazing and why you think they did so well? I love to learn the science behind things but I equally love to just sit and admire the process of someone else learning. I think it is so exciting to see a well constructed program engage with someone you care about, especially if the topic is someone you, yourself care about. I love to tell my friends all the stuff I’ve learned and love to hear them explain to me their findings. And when more people are engaged and having fun, the easier it is to foster stewardship. I also really appreciated you adding that little video to your post, adding multiple media types to a blog keeps it interesting and exciting for you readers and I think I am going to try to implement that more in my own blogs. Consider myself influenced. Lastly, I really enjoyed how you considered the negatives, nature interpretation can have on the environment. This shows great understanding of how science impacts nature as a whole. Overall I had a great time pondering what kinds of science I use everyday when interacting with nature.

Thanks for the great post,

Darian

[dzuraw3000w23]

With such an open-ended prompt I sat and thought about all the things I could possibly write about, and as always my drifted to static as I stared at the stars. Are stars nature? Does it have to be on earth for it to be considered nature? Can we then go in the opposite direction and consider microbiology nature? Is nature more than just what we can see in our backyards or in our documentaries? Is everything nature because we have used natural resources to make and engineer everything we have? Where does nature end? Does it? I think it’s fun that I am starting to look at the world with a whole new set of questions. Last week I read in the textbook “the purpose of interpretation goes beyond providing information to reveal deeper meaning and truth”, and I’m glad I get a free blog post to be able to talk about it. I am a very logical person, so the aspect of interpretation rather than cold hard facts can sometimes be lost on me. This course, and my experience at university as a whole, has definitely enabled me to think more critically while keeping an open mind. This is why I connected with the quote, especially how going “beyond providing information” is an integral aspect of learning and interpreting nature. I strongly believe with something as broad as “interpretation” as a title, it can be so personalised. Each different person who interacts with a nature interpreter or nature on their own, will experience it in a different way. Free to give whatever meaning they choose to the information they received. In my last post I mentioned watching nature documentaries as a form of interpreting nature through art, and I decided to go back and rewatch “Our Planet” on Netflix, and it does not disappoint! Now I get to rewatch it through the lens of a nature interpreter. I get to apply my own new meanings to what I’m watching. Not only is this show informative and beautiful, it sends a positive message about preservation and sustainability. As I watch the show this time I am focusing on how I give meaning to what I am watching and the deeper thoughts and feelings that it evokes. This course makes me ask more questions which can sometimes lead to a blog post that is kind of all over the place, but that’s the beauty of finding the meaning in things. Sometimes it is messy and your mind can wonder, but as it wonders that’s where the best ideas are created.

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Unit 4: Using Art to Interpret Beauty

No matter who you are, there is a way to interpret nature through art that speaks to you. Whether it's movement, music, visual art, fibre arts, or storytelling, there is a way to grab the attention of everyone through art-based activities.

I find it hard to introduce art interpretation to both myself and others. There is usually an expectation of talent or perfection that comes with attempting art in any space. To avoid this, I like to think about normal activities we do that are unintentionally artistic. For example, storytelling. There is an art to storytelling and a simple question can spark this in anyone.

What did you notice on the walk?

What is your earliest memory in nature?

I like to think of times I have sat and traced lines aimlessly in the dirt with a stick I had found, or tried to mimic the bird calls I heard in the distance. But beyond that, my favourite way of connecting to nature through art has been cordage. I was taught by a good friend and mentor of mine the art of using natural fibres to create rope and cord. He taught me how to harvest dogbane, cedar bark and grasses to make a strong rope that can be used for a variety of crafts and practical situations. The process of collecting and creating within nature makes room for reflection and gratitude, as with all forms of art.

In Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World, there is a set of outlined gifts and principles (Beck et al. 2018). The gift of beauty is defined by the principle that nature interpretation should "instil in people the ability, and the desire, to sense the beauty in their surroundings" (Beck et al. 2018). I agree with this, my interpretation of beauty is a gift nature has given to us. The beauty of the sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound of nature is a gift. Nature interpretation allows us to fully realize and appreciate these gifts in all aspects. Finding beauty in the usual and the mundane, as well as the exciting and grand.

There is beauty all around us, and it is what allows us to become responsible nature interpreters at any level. As mentioned in the principle it “encourages resource preservation”, when we recognize beauty we don’t want anything to take it away. This ties back to using art as a tool for nature interpretation. All forms of art are beautiful.  If we are able to create beauty from nature, with nature, or in nature, we will feel more connected to it. 

I want to end this post with a few lyrics of a song I like to sing or hear with others in nature. It is from Anthem by Leonard Cohen and I learned it in the first weeks of my journey into nature interpretation:

"Forget your perfect offering,

just sing the songs that you can sing.

There is a crack in everything,

that's how the light gets in."

Reference:

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

[dzuraw3000w23]

What a great post! I am very intrigued as to what kinds of crafts you have made in the development of your cordage skill. What a great marriage of nature and art, I had completely overlooked just how many different ways the things we see on our daily outings can be used to inspire and create. When you talked about drawing lines in the dirt with a stick, I immediately was placed in the memory of my sister and me playing with sticks in the sand while trying to make a sandcastle. We never had store-bought sandcastle tools, but that was not going to stop us, we always used whatever was around us, sticks, rocks, and our hands. We used anything and everything that was available to us to create what now I would only assume was a big pile of sand with sporadically placed leaves, twigs, and shells. But it nonetheless was art. Children have so much wonder about the world, did I know all the names of the rocks and plants I used to create my sandcastle masterpiece? Of course not, but they still inspired me to create with them, which is all we can ask of interpreters. To inspire people to think about and create with nature.

As a last question, what has been your favourite piece of art you have made using nature?

Cheers,

Darian

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 4:

First, jumping to the second question of this prompt, how do I interpret the gift of beauty, I would say it is all in the feelings that I engage with while looking at nature. In the textbook, Interpreting Culture and Natural Heritage for a Better World (Beck et al 2018), they define different principles of interpretation and link them to many different feelings or ideas these principles should invoke. The principle that invokes the gift of beauty is as follows, “interpretation should instill in people the ability and desire, to sense beauty in their surroundings—to provide spiritual uplift and to encourage resource preservation” (Beck et al 2018). This quote really stuck out to me as it put into words the way I feel about experiencing nature; through feelings and a sense of wonder. It is so important for modern humans to connect with nature, not only does this allow our minds a break from the stressors of everyday life, it can create a sense of lust for the future, a future that is not so cement and grim. The sense of wonder that nature can bring is so impactful, that is why I think National Geographic type of documentaries are so widely enjoyed, it shows us just how incredible our own planet is. These documentaries, to me, are art projects just as much as informational programs. The grandness and then the closeness of the cinematography creates a sense of awe when watching (I would highly suggest “Our Planet” on Netflix if you haven't already seen it). This leads well into what I think is the most important part of nature interpretation and the ladder half of what the gift of beauty principle is saying; preservation of resources and species. Humans are so much more likely to care about something if 1, it pertains to them, or 2, it invokes a feeling that they want to investigate further. So when we see a beautiful sunset, a scenic mountain range, or an animal going about its day, we want to hold onto that beauty as an escape from our everyday surroundings.

For me, I interpret nature as art through photographs, recently I took a photo that combined my two favorutite things, a blue sky and clean-line architecture. It was such a simple photo just taken through my bedroom window but made me so feel so pleased. The snow on the rooftop and the bright sunny sky were a great contrast that made me think of winter in a much more positive light than I have in the past. As someone who does not enjoy the winter season, this simple photo made me appreciate its beauty just as much as I may appreciate a blooming flower in spring. That is what I think the best part of nature interpretation is, feeling grateful for the nature around you even when it is as simple as the top of your neighbor's house.

[ccenvs3000w23]

Unit 03: Risk versus Reward Interpretation

Addressing Privilege in Nature Interpretation

I define privilege as unearned advantages that apply to certain groups of people. For instance, someone who grew up in a middle-class home with married parents did not earn the benefits of having food on their table every night, but rather are born into that privileged lifestyle.  Peggy McIntosh (1989) describes how privilege can be seen as an ‘invisible backpack’ of unearned assets that can be counted on cashing in each day, but is meant to remain oblivious. In other words, many individuals are unaware of the privilege they hold in their invisible backpack and overlook the lack of privilege that others experience. By unpacking our invisible backpacks, we can acknowledge the privilege we have as individuals. 

Here I will unpack my own invisible backpack; I am a white, middle class, healthy, young woman. I am also a highly educated individual that speaks English, is able to pay for university, possesses a Canadian passport, and has the opportunity to travel outside of Canada if desired. I grew up in a small suburban neighborhood that was relatively safe, I always had food on the table and my family could afford many extracurricular activities that my brothers and I would partake in. These are all things that I have been given from the love and support from my family without directly earning. 

Privilege also has a major influence on how we interpret and experience nature. There is a noticeably large lack of attendance from minorities in nature interpretation parks and this is suggested to be true due to economic, cultural, communication, knowledge, and fear barriers (Beck et al., 2018). Economic barriers from minority groups relate to large entrance fees to parks and minorities experiencing a generally lower socioeconomic position in society (Beck et al., 2018). Cultural barriers refers to the differences in culturally accepted activities in minority groups. For instance, some minority groups would not prefer camping as it is deemed more as being in deep poverty than as an activity to experience the wilderness for enjoyment (Beck et al., 2018). Communication barriers can prevent interpreters from being able to communicate with a variety of audiences that speak different languages aside from English. Speaking English is of high privilege and gives great advantages to people to be able to experience an abundant amount of activities in Canada. In relation to this, there is a lack of knowledge on the subject of nature in minority groups which can be a result of language barriers. Finally, fear also corresponds with this notion of lacking in knowledge. There is uncertainty of what to expect with wildlife encounters, as well as potential discrimination against minority groups in predominantly white-based activities such as camping (Beck et al., 2018).

Beck et al. (2018) suggests ways that we can provide inclusivity towards underprivileged and minority groups in terms of nature interpretation. Cultural barriers can be reduced by personally inviting minority populations to nature interpretation events through organizations to attract minority populations. By hiring a more diverse group of individuals, language barriers can be minimized by having a variety of programs be presented in multiple languages. Similarly, by increasing staff diversity, fears can be reduced and ultimately more education can be provided to marginalized groups. 

References

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

McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 10-12.

[dzuraw3000w23]

I enjoyed reading your post, it was well thought out and flowed nicely. Something I did not go into all the details of in my post was my invisible backpack. I spoke only about one aspect of my privilege (being able-boded), so I would like to take this time now to unpack my backpack: I am a young, able-bodied white person, who has two loving and still together parents, we are middle-class and have always been able to afford my slue of extracurricular activities. I speak English and am able to attend university which my parents help pay for. These aspects of my life have been given to me through my birth, and although I face discrimination based on my gender identity and sexual orientation, it is far less discrimination than if I were a person of colour with the same gender identity and sexual orientation. This is why it is so important to check ourselves, because yes I have barriers but others have more, and by helping others you help yourself in the process. (Not that you need to have some personal benefit to help others, it just is easier to see the good you do has an actual impact when it comes back to you. Humans relate and socialize through shared experiences.)

To address the ladder section of your post, diversifying the leaders and coworkers of nature interpreters is an excellent way to create a more welcoming and safe place for people who feel overlooked and discriminated against. An interesting point that sparked intrigue in me was when you said that camping is a White activity. I 100% agree, and I think that wealthy White people love to cosplay poor, sharing an apartment with multiple roommates not out of necessity, and sleeping in tents in a campground but looking down on unhoused people sleeping in tents in the city. When Harry Styles played in Toronto, many people slept in tents for up to 3 days before the concert to get a good spot, and no one blinked an eye. But the unhoused get harassed constantly as they sleep in tents out of necessity. That is privilege working at its finest.

Overall, your post was quite insightful and sparked lots of good conversations in my mind. Thanks for the great post!

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 3: Privilege

As we discuss privilege in our modern world I think it is prudent to include the discussion of intersectionality. I define privilege as the absence of barriers based on identity or race. Everyone has barriers they face, there are just some people who face more for discriminatory reasons. For example, I am an able-bodied person, and I have no barriers when using public transportation, but someone who uses mobility aids will have a much harder time getting on and off the bus especially if the stops are not well maintained in the winter. There are so many things we take for granted simply because the world is built for able-bodied people in our capitalist, white, patriarchal society. This is an example of intersectionality because although I face discrimination because of other aspects of my identity, I will still have more privilege than someone who is disabled. This is a key point that I think can be missed, especially in social media. 

As in all aspects of life, privilege plays a big role in who has access to nature, who can be a nature interpreter, and who can experience the lessons being taught. Something that comes to mind when talking about privilege in nature interpretation is the very first unit on CourseLink. It asked us to do a google search of “nature interpretation” and notice that most of those photos include mainly white, able-bodied people in temperate climates. Is this an accurate representation of how the majority of the world interacts with nature? Of course not, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a consensus on how people should experience nature. As a white person, my experience with nature has been through things like school field trips and summer camps, learning about what leaves I shouldn’t touch, and leaving animals alone in the wild. It wasn’t until last year that my perception of the natural world drastically shifted. 

I took a conservation course, BIOL*3130 for anyone interested, and one aspect of the course was learning about indigenous conservation efforts and the relationship indigenous people have with nature. We read an article about a woman who was rekindling her relationship with her indigenous roots and talked about how everything has life, from the biggest mountains to the smallest bugs. What stuck out to me was how even abiotic things had their own power and place in the world just as biotic things do. This puts into perspective just how interconnected the natural world is and how, in modern environmentalism, we can sometimes lose sight that we are a part of the natural world, not an omniscient being who has ultimate control over what our great planet provides for us. This changed my view from very logical to more compassionate about how I interact with nature.

I am so grateful that the course included this unit because it helps western scientists to expand their minds on how to think about sustainability and not separate people and nature. And this is a perfect example of how diversifying our learning curriculum to include different perspectives is integral to a more empathetic and enthusiastic next generation of environmental scientists. This all leads back to the privilege to choose what is taught in our curriculums, those in positions of power will continue to stick to the status quo to ensure their power is protected. Diversifying our education will lead to experiences like my own, learning to connect with nature on a deeper level and now advocating for those people to continue to bring new perspectives and knowledge into modern western practices.

[sdrenvs3000w23]

Blog 2

Before taking this course, I frequently felt the desire to fill the role of a nature interpreter – I just didn’t know it yet. Throughout high school and the beginning of university, I worked as a tutor for children between the ages of 3 to 18, and I always enjoyed being surrounded by youth and fresh perspectives, as well as being able to integrate my personal passions into my teaching style. This, for me, typically meant applying concepts related to the environment and the preservation of the natural world into conversations I was having with the youth I was instructing.

As I developed as a tutor, I found myself finding this more and more of a desirable role – so much so that after my first year of university, I applied to a position in Squamish, British Columbia at a summer camp specifically focused on teaching youth about ecology and nature through games and storytelling. Sadly, my first year of university was abruptly cut short by the COVID pandemic, and so was my chance to teach children about the natural world.

Flash forward to now – I stopped teaching, which has definitely left a void in my heart since I’m no longer surrounded by the future generation, and I am no longer able to share information and stories about the natural world in the same way I used to. This being said, as I have searched for internships and co-op placements since I stopped teaching, I have found myself with an affinity to jobs that have some sort of teaching and outreach position. For example, my first co-op was with a professor here at the University of Guelph, and it was primarily focused on creating a website for cottage-goers to explain the science behind the eutrophication of the Great Lakes, and why aquaculture is not a major contributing factor to algal blooms. In addition, my third co-op term was with the apparel company Aritzia in their sustainability department, and I found myself really enjoying explaining the scope of my work to my other interns, as well as assisting in putting together external documents to educate consumers on what the company was doing in terms of sustainability.

Going forward, I think I’d like to remain in the sustainable apparel space and be a nature interpreter in the form of educating my colleagues as well as consumers about the environmental impact of the fashion industry. This is a topic that is so close to my heart, and so wildly important given the current and proposed future state of the economy, as well as the rapidly increasing global population. Typically, climate change gets the spotlight when it comes to environmental issues, but greenhouse gas emissions are truly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to apparel. There are factors such as raw material extraction, chemical leeching, microfibres and microplastic pollution, and human rights violations, just to name a few, that are also tied to the apparel industry. Being able to educate the public, as well as my peers in the industry on this topic would be a dream come true.

In order to be a good nature interpreter, I need to develop my public speaking skills. I struggle with comfort while in presentation-based scenarios, and in order to be a good interpreter, I believe that being comfortable in front of a crowd and being able to read your audience is vital. This is something I want to become better at to improve myself as an interpreter. 

[dzuraw3000w23]

Hi there!

I found reading your post to be very insightful and I relate on some levels to your goal of bringing a sustainability aspect to your future in the fashion industry. My goal is to work in industrial design (think creating interior spaces for commercial places like stores, offices, and apartment complexes) all while trying to maintain ethical sourcing of materials and energy-efficient fixtures. I think it is so important for our generation, who is the next to take over the workforce, to have sustainability at the forefront of our efforts. 

Another interesting aspect of your post I enjoyed reading was your time tutoring and teaching children and how you said you liked to be surrounded by the fresh perspectives of youth. I never really thought of that before but I definitely do the same thing! I used to be a camp counselor and currently am a swim instructor, and I love to hear the excitement of children when they speak of something they are passionate about. My main goal is to obviously teach them to swim, but I also take this opportunity to use encouraging and inclusive language to boost them up, even when they can’t complete a skill.

I had a great time thinking about your post and will continue to look forward to reading what you come up with next. 

Cheers,

Darian 

[dzuraw3000w23]

Prompt 2

My ideal role as an environmental interpreter: When thinking of what matters to me and how I would like to present that information, I immediately think of being a scuba diving guide. From the “what learner are you” quiz, I found I am a tactile learner, I enjoy doing hands-on things and experiencing new challenges head-on. I think an advanced class of some sort at an institute that deals with ocean protection and sustainability would be an ideal role for me to blend my love of all things water and my lust for a more sustainable future. In a coastal city in Canada, I would lecture about different kinds of sustainability practices, common ones like recycling, and more in-depth practices such as how to switch to green energies. After the in-class portion, to really cement these ideas in the minds of my learners, I would take them on a scuba/snorkeling (depending on skill level) adventure. This allows them to see the beauty of the ocean that needs protecting and would put real context to what was taught in the class. When people step out of their comfort zones and really take a look at the world around them, it helps to feel more compassion for the planet and its many incredible species.