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This blog was created for ENVS*3000, University of Guelph.
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Blog 10
Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?
Hey! For our final blog post, we were asked to write about our personal ethic as we develop as nature interpreters.
I’m currently in my final year of university, and I’m beginning to look for jobs. And for the first time in my life, I’m looking for career jobs, instead of part-time of summer positions. So needless to say I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what jobs I ideally want, what jobs I’m willing to do, and what jobs I’m not willing to do. Our course readings for this week mentioned a fear of a desk job being a potential motivating factor for pursuing a career related to environmental interpretation. That one did admittedly resonate with me a bit. My last job was more or less of a desk job, where I worked as a research assistant in a lab. And even though, on paper, it was closer to what I want to do as a career, I didn’t enjoy it very much. I missed working in the service industry, I missed the high-energy, social atmosphere, I missed getting to work with my hands and see the results right in front of me. Spending most of my working hours not only indoors, but in a dim lab staring at a laptop just made me irritable. So I’d love to find a job in the sciences that’s more hands-on and active, but I’ve realized I’d happily move away from research if I can’t find a job in that field that lets me move around.
Every week or so I get an email from the university describing job opportunities. It hasn’t been very useful in finding jobs, but it sure has been useful in helping me figure out exactly what place/companies/fields I am not willing to work for. There’s always plenty of decently paying opportunities working for mega-corporations like PepsiCo, and the like, as well as their countless subsidiaries. I know now that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I worked for a place like that. I would much rather go just about anywhere else, including back to the service industry. I might have a less prestigious career, but I care about having a job that I enjoy doing and that I see as important. During my last job, it was difficult to get up and go to the lab in the morning when I couldn’t really see the effects and importance of the research that was being done. I know that whatever I end up doing, it needs to be relatively active, and even better if I get to spend time outdoors as part of it. As long as I’m still able to spend my free time outside, that much is negotiable.
I wanted to go into more details about my beliefs/motivations/self-assigned responsibilities. First, the rather apparent role of nature in mental health and our current culture around it. Not that I have enough space to go into all of my thoughts on that, but I’d like to include a few of them here. One, on mental health being treated like an individual problem, when it really should be recognized as a systemic one. Even if people admit that it’s systemic, the “solutions” and treatments that are currently popular tend to be highly individual. Take mood-regulating medication, go to eternal therapy, isolate yourself from others in the name of self-improvement. In general, mental health has been both commercialized and capitalized upon. Like I mentioned, I don’t have the adequate space to go through my thoughts on the systemic causes of mental lack-of-wellness. But as I’m sure many of us are aware, spending time outside and spending time with other people (or even both at the same time!) have been shown time and time again to be beneficial to human well-being. Honestly, I don’t think we need more research in that area. We already know, and as much as I like numbers, more statistics aren’t going to save us.
So for me personally, all that means that I don’t want to have a job that drags down the health of other people, or my own. I would love to have a job that helps remove some of the barriers that have been put up between nature and people, which I don’t think should belong in different categories in the first place. But an important caveat for me is that I don’t want my career to be a constant fight. I’m quite tired of war analogies. There’s less of a point in destroying something if there’s nothing better to work towards. I don’t want to dedicate my life to fighting climate change, because I’ll make myself miserable and make everyone around me a little less happy. That’s not to say I don’t care, but I do think that a bunch of sad and lonely people aren’t going to bring about much positive change. Like the video with David Suzuki and Richard Louv mentioned (I think it was Richard Louv who mentioned it), it’s hard to make change if people don’t have any sort of positive idea of a future to look forwards to.
So to summarize as neatly as I can: If I end up doing something related to nature interpretation, I want it to get people excited and help people feel more connected to the world around them.
Picture: One of the Arboretum gardens after a snowstorm
On the same note as working towards something rather than solely working against, I have a book recommendation for anyone looking for a sci-fi story with a positive outlook: Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers (and its sequel)
Thanks for reading!
Hey Rebecca,
My favourite part of your post was how you mentioned being bothered by the idea of working for a mega corporation. This really resonated with me because I often struggle with deciding what is ethical to do for work. I sometimes find myself judging others for where they work if their company that has largely negative environmental impacts. I can battle with myself about this in my head like a game of ping pong. Is the individual worker responsible for the overall environmental impacts of the company? What if the worker had no other choice? Is the worker trying to improve the practices of their company? I really try not to associate an employee as being evil, even if I think the company as a whole is evil. Personally, I am not interested in working for a company that does not align with my core values. I also know that this is an extremely privileged take, because so many people around the world are grateful for any work at all. Since I am fortunate to be in this position, I will choose a company with goals that I agree with. A career takes up so much of your time and energy, so I think it should be for a employer that you can get behind.
Ethan
Throughout this course I have learned a lot about myself as a person and as a nature interpreter. I came into this class with my own ethics and beliefs but they have also been shaped by the course material. Being a nature interpreter can be a fun and rewarding job. However, I also believe there are very serious aspects. When a person begins a career in nature interpretation they take on a lot of responsibility. First, there is the most obvious responsibility, safety and the wellbeing of those you are interpreting to. I also believe that when a person enters the field of nature interpretation they have a duty to the environment. They should be informing their audiences about conservation and protection. Finally, there is a responsibility to teach in an accessible way which accommodates people from different backgrounds and learning styles. These responsibilities come out of my personal ethic as a nature interpreter and they impact the way I view the career.
When I think about my ethics as a nature interpreter the first thing that comes to mind is protecting the people I’m interpreting to. The level of risk to the people you are interpreting to varies depending on the form of nature interpreting you are engaging in. However, there is always risk and this is important to keep in mind. When I began this course I mostly imagined the positives of educating a group of people on nature. However, my view was rocked when I read the story of the Timiskaming Tragedy. I was devastated reading about how these children died while on a camping trip. I was especially struck by how this trip had been completed several times successfully and how these boys were familiar with camping and the outdoors. This really made me think about how nature interpretation is putting people at risk. I recognize that everything people do requires risk. However, I still think that we have to weigh the importance of our interpretation versus the risk to the people involved. Furthermore, I recognize that peopIe are not regularly dying during nature interpretation believe we have a duty to our audience to assure that we have taken the necessary precautions and that we know basic first aid. In this way we can help prevent unnecessary injury and allow people to enjoy nature with minimal anxiety (for the learner or the interpreter).
As I have mentioned before, I am incredibly passionate about environmental conservation. Conservation is the main reason I am interested in nature interpretation. From a very young age I have been excited to learn about the beauty and intricacies of nature. I have always been enchanted by its strength and its delicacy. When I learned about nature I also learned how our actions are impacting it. When I learned about how people were destroying the earth I knew I had a responsibility to the planet and so do all other people. If we are hurting the planet it's our responsibility to clean up our mess. This has drove me to take action in protecting the planet. It has become a part of my personal ethic. Of course, my experience is not reflective of all people’s. Not everyone that learns about nature will shape their lives around protecting it. However, I feel that a nature interpreter should discuss conservation alongside the beauty of what their audience is seeing. In this way, they may be able to convince people to take a greater role in conservation. As discussed in the Merendlander et al. paper, citizen science and individual efforts can greatly improve conservation efforts. In order for things to improve we must all work together to change our ways and protect the earth. As such, I believe that as nature interpreters we should be discussing protecting the environment alongside other aspects of nature. If we don’t we may have no nature left to interpret.
Another aspect of nature interpretation I consider very important is teaching in a way that accounts for the various backgrounds people may come from. The paper, “Unpacking your Invisible Backpack” discusses multicultural learning. They define this as celebrating the different backgrounds people can come from and rejecting hierarchical understandings of knowledge. Unpacking our invisible backpack requires us to consider our privilege. As teachers, we must consider how different aspects of our personhood such as our sexuality, race, and class give or take away power in our society. In doing so, we can acknowledge the advantages we have been given over others from birth.
I believe it is important for a nature interpreter to remember that growing up in an environment that encourages going outside and appreciating nature is a privilege. I can often struggle to understand when people don’t want to be outside or go camping. However, I now realize that I have been fortunate enough to have been taken on camping trips and have people encourage me to care for the outdoors. For other adults, they are only just beginning their journey with nature. Being empathetic to their experiences is key in helping them find love of nature. Making them feel insecure about their experiences will only drive them away from these fulfilling experiences. When I think about my personal ethic, I think about how some people have been kept out of natural spaces because of discrimination. This makes me want to assure that my nature interpretation is a welcoming space where people are not intimidated to ask questions.
When I think about my personal ethic as a nature interpreter, safety, conservation, and accessibility are the pillars my goals stand on. They are the things I want to use to guide myself throughout my career. No matter what aspect of nature interpretation I go into, these responsibilities will help me determine the material I use and the instruction I give. In this way I will make my nature interpretation impactful to my audience and fulfilling in my life.
Hey Hannah,
I really liked how you touched on the importance of keeping the people around you safe during interpretive programs. That is obviously hugely important, but I'm realizing it is not something I've considered enough. I know that there are several wilderness safety courses that you can take so that you can be an official guide. I think it's something I should consider, not just to take care of others, but also to take care of myself in the wilderness. In high school, we had a class called Outers. It was unique to my small high school, and part of the class involved going on multi day canoe trips. At the start of the year we had to complete the swim test, which involved jumping into a cold Georgian Bay at our local boat harbour. In order to go on the trips you had to complete this test, which although was a fun day for everyone, it was also super important for our safety. There were people who didn't pass, so they couldn't go on the trip. I look back and think that if I was tasked with ensuring the safety for a bunch of young teenagers, I would be stressed to say the least.
Ethan
Final blog post
Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?
As we approach the end of the semester, we can all take a moment to reflect on the things we’ve learned and want to take into our lives beyond this course. I think that this class has certainly helped many of us establish our interpretive styles, and the techniques that appeal the most to us individually.
I’ve mentioned this before in previous blog posts- I am most interested in telling stories to influence positive environmental change. I am perfectly OK with sharing the stories that focus on the negative things occurring in nature, such as climate change. I think that by sharing these stories it can influence a lot of positive progress. Particularly if you are actually presenting in nature, people will develop much stronger connections since they’re getting firsthand experience. For example, if I want to describe how a particular tree species is declining, it’s obviously ideal that I take someone out to see the actual tree. You also don’t need to present these things in a depressing way; I think if you are a skilled interpreter then you can present almost anything in an interesting and engaging way. I especially think it’s important to honestly describe how humans impact the environment to kids. I believe that we shouldn’t hide the truth about how humanity harms the environment, because kids will likely grow up instilled with strong environmentalist values. I realize that to climate-deniers it may sound like I want to brainwash kids, but my values are based in science, so I have no problem preaching that message to them. Personally, when I was growing up, I never understood why climate change was occurring. As a kid I didn’t understand how greed plays a major part in the story. While I now understand the issue broadly, I wish that I was taught more about those financial driving aspects when I was younger.
I know that I certainly bring strong environmentalist beliefs to any interpretive program. That’s part of my personality. I think it’s important for me to share that because I can’t think of a better take home message. I also think that nowadays its hard to avoid talking about human impacts on the environment, because that’s so much of the relevant story today. Let’s say you take a group on a canoe trip somewhere, perhaps Killarney Provincial Park. I don’t think that the take home message can simply be that Killarney is beautiful and a great place to visit. Its so important to touch on how the area is changing and how humans are altering the environment, where here Killarney suffers from lake acidification caused by pollution from nearby smokestacks.
I feel that as someone who has studied environmental science (and will finally have the degree soon) it is my responsibility to share what I’ve learned with those without a background in science. I find that those who don’t have a background in science often don’t understand what science is, how it works, and what it can actually tell us. Fundamentally science is the process of constantly looking to disprove theories, which will give us suggestions as to how nature operates. I find that there are many people who think that science is determining objective truths, but that’s not the case. I think that if there was less scepticism to science, the world would be a much better place. People need to understand that if an old theory is disproven, its not a bad thing. In fact, its exactly what scientists are looking to do. As an interpreter, I would make sure to describe how science was done for whatever topic I’m talking about. I would want people to understand the theory behind our conclusions, and I wouldn’t just want to bombard them with facts/information. I think that giving people an understanding of how we do the science further helps them care about the take home message.
Personally, I know that I thrive much better working with smaller intimate crowds. Although I have done my fair share of public speeches and theatre, I am not exactly the best at being in front of large crowds. I think that my ideal crowd to present to would be smaller, perhaps so that I could call people by their names. I think this way I can connect my ideas to them on a deeper level. I also think that the types of people who are attracted to smaller interp programs tend to care more and be engaged with the content, because often they really sought out the experience. I also think that working with kids is something I’d like to do more and could see myself potentially being good at. In this class we learned about different teaching styles, auditorial, visual, and tactile. I imagine that there are those of us who may prefer to teach in a given style, but actually be taught in a different one. Learning that about yourself comes from experience. In fact, so much of what I’m talking about is coming from someone with next to no experience. I most certainly need to get out and more exposure to interpretive programs and see what I latch to. At the national park I work at, there is an interp team. Perhaps in the future I could at least volunteer with them and really put everything I’ve learned in this course to the test.
Ethan
Blog Post 9
Blog Prompt:
Interpret (through this blog) the most amazing thing you know about nature – get us excited. This is your blog – you audience isn’t out in the field with you so bring the field to your armchair reader
Hey everyone!
Today's prompt is rather interesting but I feel as though I can take this time to be a little insightful. Have you ever taken a walk through nature and realized that everything has a rhythm? The trees are growing in their own way and doing their own thing, whilst squirrels are running up and down on them. Mosquitoes are quickly and annoyingly nagging in your eardrums and frequently trying to nibble at your arm. The birds are just flying and communing with one another while chirping and singing their songs. When it rains, the earthworms come out and go about their business. Everything in nature has its own rhythm. However, one of the most amazing things I know about nature, even more than its rhythm, is its ability to teach us life lessons. There are various seasons in nature--summer, fall, winter and spring. In our own lives, it can feel like that as well. In the spring of our lives, we may be experiencing new growth--opportunities and relationships etc. In the winter, things can seem dry and cold, it may feel dreary, dim and lacking life. In the summer, things may feel vibrant and exciting, as things may feel warmer and life feels great. In the fall, things may feel chilly, and the trees are losing their leaves but this is a time of great harvest. What we can learn from nature is how to navigate these seasons of life. We need to know how to embrace the change. In some years, the changes between each may seem shorter or longer but they adapt nevertheless. So, the amazing thing I've learnt about nature is that no matter what season of life you're in, even if it feels like all my leaves have fallen off like the trees in the winter and things are difficult--hold on, keep going because my spring and summer is coming. I hope this wasn't too cliche and teeming with hallmark or Instagram quote motivation.
Have an amazing day and an even better week!
Hey there,
Don't worry, your post is not too cheesy! I really enjoyed this read. You have a very unique perspective, I quite liked how you compared the earth's seasons to seasons in our lives. It's totally true, a lot of my life experience is linked to what the season is. It can be hard, such an now as we approach winter and the days seem to end sooner. A lot of the things I do and feelings I experience depend on the time of year. This really shows how influential nature is to humans, even if we spend a lot of times indoors. The season still affects us there too. This makes me imagine what life is like in more temperate parts of the year, where weather would remain more steady throughout the year. I wonder if my thoughts and feelings would remain more constant throughout the year. It's fascinating how a simple walk through nature can offer such a profound perspective on life. Nature's rhythm, as you describe, is a masterpiece of synchronicity—trees growing, squirrels frolicking, birds singing—the orchestration of life playing out.
Ethan
Unit 9 Blog Post
Blog Prompt: Interpret (through this blog) the most amazing thing you know about nature – get us excited. This is your blog – you audience isn’t out in the field with you so bring the field to your armchair reader.
Asking me to give you the single most amazing thing I know about nature is not easy for me, there's too much to pick from. It all depends on what you're into, whether that's animals, plants, or even abiotic things. In my experience, I am often fascinated by how tolerant organisms are to harsh conditions in nature. It is absolutely amazing what some species can put up with. I often consider humans, and how in comparison, we really are so weakly adapted for nature. I feel that we are so disconnected from nature in the sense that we are so bad at surviving in it. Humans have big houses, equipped with heating and A/C, and to step outside in the rain some people won't even do it without their GORE-TEX jackets. So many animals have amazing survival techniques to get them through cold Canadian winters. At my job this past summer we were tasked with locating hibernacula of the eastern massasauga (pictured below).
Interestingly, I had never considered how snakes survive the winter. I learned about how they have underground hibernation sites that are deep enough to be below the frost line, where they can slow their metabolism over winter. Some other species don't even attempt to avoid the cold, they have adapted to just accept it. One such species is the gray treefrog, which I saw this summer (pictured below).
These little guys can remarkably survive full body freezing during the winter by synthesizing cryoprotectants, and then thaw come springtime. It sure would be handy if we could do that.
Although its amazing what wild animals can tolerate, I'm most amazed by the survival of plants. Think of a tree. It cannot move itself regardless of any environmental condition. Here in Ontario, plants tolerate temperatures ranging from 30° summers to -20° below winters. Varying wind, precipitation, and light conditions are also not enough to take these guys out. And certain species live for years and years and years. To me, it's fascinating how they can put up with so much that mother nature throws at them. I wish I was better at doing that, sometimes I feel like humans just aren't meant to live in Canada.
Ethan
Unit 07: Nature Interpretation Through Music
Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?
As a follow-up (focus on the above two before you tackle this one), what song takes you immediately back to a natural landscape? What is the context? Share it with us – I would imagine many of these ideas may have similar underpinnings of a campfire, roadtrip, backpacking journey, etc.!
This is a challenging one for me as I am quite boring in the sense that I do not really listen to music, so my knowledge of it is poor. However, I can appreciate a good song or piece of music when I do listen to it.
Music can be found in nature anywhere. This includes all the sounds that we hear which can be animals like birds communicating to each other or monkeys chattering. You could also say the rustling of leaves is music. They are all natural sounds that together make up a song. It may not be your typical song that is played with a piano or drum and bass, but it still creates a story or message for your ears.
I am sure there are countless songs and pieces of music that are about nature, but as I mentioned before, I am unlikely to know many. Personally, the type of music I listen to are film soundtracks. When music is played in a TV show or film while showing natural landscapes and events happening in the natural world, I immediately connect the two if I listen to it again. Think of a show like Game of Thrones that has a great soundtrack and great cinematography. There are many scenes that are set in the snowy northern mountains and the music they play has a slow ambiance, often with a cello. This means that if I listen to pieces of music similar to that then I envision the stunning snowy landscapes.
To answer the follow-up question, the song that I connect nature with a lot is 'Into the West' by Annie Lennox. If you search it up, you will find that it was used in Lord of the Rings, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise after reading this blog. There are many mentions of nature in this song such as 'the distant shore', 'white gulls call', and 'a pale moon rises'. It is a calming song that reminds me of the nature, particularly in the films where there are the stunning landscapes of New Zealand shown, which I suppose is like a fantasy version of a backpacking trip.
Hey there, you are clearly a person of culture with some great film choices. When I think about the Lord of the Rings, of course they had some insanely beautiful shots of New Zealand nature, but the way they incorporated the soundtrack made it that much better and immersive. Its pretty cool how music can bring out the epicness in a nature scene. I like the idea of it being a fantasy backpacking trip, you're totally right. Maybe you could go on a trip there yourself and play the soundtrack for some ambiance.
I also agree that natural sounds together can make a song, even if they aren't your typical instruments, and they don't follow the rules you learned in music class. It's a song in that it is a collection of sounds telling a story, and you can sit back and appreciate it. I'm thinking about how the sound of crashing waves is something people will play to calm themselves, or the sound of rain. I think it goes to show how much humans need to connect with the natural world, including just the sounds of it.
Unit 7 Blog
Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?
As a follow-up (focus on the above two before you tackle this one), what song takes you immediately back to a natural landscape? What is the context? Share it with us – I would imagine many of these ideas may have similar underpinnings of a campfire, roadtrip, backpacking journey, etc.!
As soon as I read this blog prompt, I immediately thought of bird calls. I'd imagine that I am not the only one who thought this, so hopefully my blog post is unique enough. I feel that songbirds really provide a form of nature’s music and can add to the background of your experience in nature. Although the sounds can be appreciated just for their beauty, the naturalist within me comes out and I like to know what kinds of birds are around me. I often use an app called Merlin Bird ID, which will listen to bird noises and identify the species with very high accuracy. I certainly recommend everyone in this course to check it out, since it works remarkably well.
Last summer during my national park work experience, I got to do some work involving recording bird calls. I worked on the forest bird monitoring program, which involved bushwhacking through several locations in the parks forest and installing bird microphones on trees. The recording units we used are called Swift units, and they are made in partnership with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They get strapped to the tree and are programmed to record over many weeks at times of your interest.
When your sampling time is over, you take them down and can analyze the recordings back in the office to identify the different birds in your area. It’s a really cool way to get data on birds, an animal that is generally hard to survey. There’s a lot you can do with this data for things like conservation and management decisions, and it really comes from nature’s music.
I think music in nature could be something like an instrument made from materials in nature. You'll see certain high end guitars made with beautiful cuts of wood, and although they are a visual art piece they can also be played. I've even seen things like windchimes made from beachwood which play a random sort of music.
In terms of a song that connects me to nature, I actually had a co-worker who would sometimes play music off his phone when we were heading out to the deep outdoors. He loved classic rock, and so I always think about my work in the park when I hear music from his playlist. I do hope to find some music in the future that connects me to a beautiful part of nature, and not something work related.
Ethan
Week 6. Blog prompt:
Unpack this quote:
There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.
(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)
In this quote, Hyams highlights the fundamental role that the past plays in gathering a proper understanding of the present and future of place. I find his simile of a train station only existing as the trains pass through a station particularly interesting. Though he means it to signify the ignorance of not exploring the history of a place, the choice of a train station sparks a greater image in my mind of the ignorance of only exploring the history of a place through a colonial lens. As you take a trip through the town of Banff, you can learn all about the history of the railway, however it leaves me with questions. What about before the railway was built? Who stood here? What voices are not being heard? I see this as a common theme throughout many places across the country. It is one thing to learn of the history of colonial settlers in Canada, but through that there is a huge chunk of the story missing. One that dates back far before the first European ships hit the shore. For example, looking into the history of otter populations off the coast of Vancouver Island, we would not include humans as part of the natural ecological interactions and food webs. However long before settlers arrived, Indigenous communities were very much a part of the ecosystem there; hunting, gathering and stewarding the land. As a species, we have had an impact on nearly every inch of this country, whether through direct impact such as urban development or indirect impacts of climate change and acid rain, etc. This topic is becoming more crucial than ever as we view how ecosystems have changed over time in response to our presence. As an environmentalist, I often learn about all the ways humans negatively impact the earth and I feel extremely discouraged by the destructive footprints we leave as I feel that is all we’re capable of. This is when learning the history of this land is most important. Indigenous communities lived sustainably with land for generations before colonial settlements-and many do still to this day. By examining historic relationships with land, as well as the impact of current practices of land use, we can have a better idea of where our next step should be. This is founded in Edward Hyams' beliefs as he calls attention to the value of ancient knowledge and history of place in upholding its integrity in the present and future.
Hey hey,
It's cool to hear that someone else will ponder upon the same types of questions as I would. I totally get what you're saying when you wonder who was here, who built this, why is this the way that it is, particularly in the colonial context of Canada. There's so much rich history to imagine that has likely been covered up. I also like to imagine how ecosystems have morphed over time in response to anthropogenic impacts. I think through learning the history of the land we are better able to realize how powerful our destruction has been. This links back to the quote to say that the past so strongly influences the present, and it can't be neglected. I think comparing our current world to the past will tell impactful stories to influence people today.
Ethan
Unit 06 Blog Post
Unpacking this quote: "There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it." (Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)
I'd be lying if I said that this quote didn't take me several focused reads to try and understand it's meaning. I'm sure that different people may interpret a quote in different ways, but I will present what this quote says to me.
I think this quote is touching on how we can respect the past, not just for it's old age, but by the knowledge and traditions which we use from it in the world today. I also think it's getting at the fact that the past and present are more connected than some people would acknowledge.
The first half of the quote begins by stating there is no merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity. To have merit is to be good, worthy, and deserve praise. So, historic things are not necessarily worth praise, but the concept of integrity is. For the maintenance of integrity of the whole, you need to understand and remember its historical aspects.
I think that the second half of this quote is trying to say that history will always affect the modern day, and that moving past something to forget about it, perhaps a tragic event, is not necessarily the way things should be. To me it also means that although something may in the past for your experience, it could still be the present for someone else's experience. This honestly makes me think about how someones environmental impacts may be in the past for them, but it's a present day problem for someone else. Imagine you go through an area and pollute. That is a place you may never see again, but it is still the present experience for someone from that area, and they are the ones to deal with the consequences.
I think this quote is complex and I'm interested to see how others interpreted it.
Unit 05: Free Write
I will be honest, I struggle to write any piece of work without any prompt or question. I suppose the first thing that comes to mind is my recent trip to Algonquin Park.
As a British student, driving through Canada was amazing. It made me fully realise how ridiculously big this country is, but also stunning in terms of its nature and small towns in between the long roads.
Arriving at Algonquin Park, the surroundings were great to see. The lake outside our motel and the autumn trees complemented each other excellently. Despite the continuous rain we had on the trip, this does not take away from the fantastic views that we experienced. I am aware though that the scenery would have been even better without the rain as the visibility would have been higher, but I still greatly appreciated it. I felt this was only a preview of what beautiful landscapes are out there. I am excited to see a white Christmas in North America as this is very rare in the south of London.
I have often been asked what are my favourite countries, climates and landscapes I have witnessed. I have always said snowy mountains like in Norway, or coastal cliffs in Croatia or Spain, but I think Canada's lakes and highlands will rise up there when I visit more places here.
I am interested to know what other people's favourite trips have been over the years.
Hey there, I totally get the struggle with no blog prompt. It can be nice to just be given direction.
It's super cool to hear your perspective as a student from overseas. I'm curious what brought you to Algonquin Park. Were you recommended to visit it by a Canadian? If you liked Algonquin, I would also recommend you go visit Killarney Provincial Park, another park in Ontario. I have to say I personally like it a tad more than Algonquin. Although it looks like you stayed in a motel, so I'd recommend you go for the full paddling and camping experience next time.
What's great about Canada is that there are so many parks to visit, both national and provincial. Just keep in mind that the distances to travel can be pretty far. If you've never been camping, there are a bunch of parks that offer camping better tailored for beginners in front-country sites. Some places even offer to let you stay in small hut called a yurt, and it can be quite enjoyable, although I'd call it glamping (glamourous camping). I hope you're able to visit more of this big beautiful country.
Cheers
Unit 5 post
Alright, no blog prompt. I think I'd like to talk about the focus of this unit, nature interp through science. When I consider nature interpretation, I am personally most interested in presenting scientific concepts. Since I have a background in environmental science, it is the area that I’m most comfortable and confident speaking on. I think distilling complex concepts for crowds who don’t have a background in science is really important for getting information out to the general public. It’s just like how news outlets need to simplify scientific journals, and present them to the public in a digestible way. I think it is best to tell stories that are memorable and impactful, and that the audience will then go home and share with their friends.
I know there are a lot of fun ways to simplify concepts, such as using acronyms. For example, I’ll often share with friends some ways to do tree identification, and one technique I like to use is the MAD acronym. It describes trees with opposite branches, as opposed to alternate, and it stands for maple, ash, and dogwood. It generally works well, at least for forest regions in this area of Canada. A simple acronym like this helps a lot to narrow down the potential tree you’re observing. It’s really easy to remember, and it’s something people will share with friends.
I also know of certain technologies that can get new people involved and learning about the outdoors. One example is iNaturalist, a website that some of you may be familiar with. It is a citizen science tool, similar to the one about birds discussed in the TED Talk in this unit. It works as a database for uploading species observations, and users can help to identify other people’s uploads. It it’s a great tool for helping people learning new species in a simple way. All you do is take a picture, and generally someone else will come and ID the species for you. I’d recommend everyone in this course checks it out. It’s pretty cool to look at the world map and see the distribution of species around the globe.
I think another thing I would like to educate people on is how certain species have been villainized, and so there are irritational fears of them being dangerous. A notable example where I’m from involves massasauga rattlesnakes. They are pit vipers and Ontario’s only venomous snake. Many people instinctually fear them, especially visitors, but I even do know of locals who will look to kill them. The truth is that rattlesnakes want nothing to do with humans, and their distinct rattle is super useful for us to avoid stepping on them. It’s super important for the right message to be sent to visitors about these species with overblown danger. They are often species at risk with declining populations.
Ethan
Nature Interpretation through Art and Planning for “All” Scenarios
Blog 4: Who are you to interpret nature through art? How do you interpret “the gift of beauty”?
I really like the idea that art captures a moment in time. It is very romantic in a sense. If the art is shared with younger generations, then the story is passed on. Granted with this notion, one must be careful to pass along the correct version of the story and not warp any details. If this were to happen then the art and its story will change, thereby making it inaccurate. However, this is likely to happen as different people will interpret the story in a unique way depending on their personal experiences. I have always enjoyed listening to people tell stories. I grew up visiting museums and historical sites. My favourite parts were the immersive experiences where interpreters would be dressed in historical garments. It was a different way of learning, but it was so engaging and easy to enjoy as a child. The way they interpreted art appealed to all age groups and increased people’s understanding of the work. Initially I didn’t realize it but after careful reflection, I now understand these experiences taught me so much.
I grew up creating art. I played piano, sang, drew, and painted; but the form of art that stuck with me the most was photography. I loved listening to my grandfather tell me the stories surrounding each photo. Thus, one of my favourite memories was when I received a little point and shoot camera from my grandparents for my birthday. This was how I truly began to interpret nature though art. Whether it was a camping trip or just a family outing, I took my camera everywhere. I look back at these photos and suddenly I am seeing the world through my 9-year-old self’s eyes. My love of photography has led me to create art in this form. I am also passionate about the environment and its inhabitants, so a lot of my art reflects that. I tend to capture the beauty of nature but there are also photographs that illustrate the perfectly imperfect aspects of its beauty.
In my eyes, nature is art. I see beauty in all forms of nature. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, every individual will interact with nature and its beauty in a different way. My goal as an interpreter would be to try and open visitor’s eyes to nature’s ‘gift of beauty.’ Art often portrays a message from the perspective of the creator but everyone who views it will have a slightly different perspective on the piece. To truly comprehend the gift of beauty I believe we have to go back to our roots as creatures of Earth. We should slow down and appreciate the natural art of the world around us. By the same token we are part of the natural world and I’d like to think that we, as humans, are art.
To answer the question: who am I to interpret nature through art? I am human. I am an extension of nature. I am a person who enjoys both listening and telling stories. I am a creator of art. I am art.
Hey Simone,
You've touched on some really great stuff here. I gotta say, your last little paragraph is super poetic.
I can totally relate to growing up and visiting lots of museums and historical sights. I like to say that my family never went on vacation, but we did travel. My parents would always ensure that trips would come out educational in one way or another. Through this I have visited a lot of fantastic museums and I have seen exhibits presented amazing, and others not so much. The worst exhibits are the ones which are just a giant blob of text, no one wants to read all that. But the good exhibits, the ones where I actually learned something, always had something in common. They were in some way artistic.
I too really enjoyed photography when I was younger. Photography allowed me to capture the things in nature that stood out to me, and share it with my family. I think I would try to share with them the beauty I saw, but maybe I wasn't the greatest interpreter back then. I know that many people enjoy nature drawing, but anything I drew would always look worse than if i just took a picture. I'm curious how much you still do nature photography. Perhaps you could share some pictures on your next blog post.
Ethan
Unit 4 Blog Post
Who are you to interpret nature through art? How do you interpret “the gift of beauty”?
I would not describe myself as a very artistic person. I will enthusiastically share that I am a man who has subscribed to science, and thus I don't often find myself doing arts related courses hobbies. But after going through this unit, I've began to think that my appreciation for nature is perhaps more artistic than I previously realized.
There are so many ways to experience art in nature. Some might see beauty in the natural world—sunsets, landscapes, flora, and fauna. Others might find beauty in the human experiences, emotions, relationships, or even abstract concepts, and depict it in their own unique way. I will often appreciate natural geological formations in an artistic way, such as the flowerpots on Flowerpot Island back home. They bring out emotions of wonder, curiosity, and disbelief. In my house, we have a grey whale vertebrae we found on the beach coast of British Columbia displayed as art, and it is amazing the story telling that can occur when someone brings it up. These artforms from nature work amazingly to bring people closer together and grow an appreciation for the natural world.
I am learning that being a good nature interpreter means you have to be a good artist. I like how the textbook mentions that interpreters who are not professional actors wear fun costumes to get across their messages. I think this highlights that you don't have to be a classically trained artist, as long as you can produce memorable experiences for the audience. Every audience member will respond differently to different presentation styles, whether it be theatre, music, dance, or visual art. Maybe try a mix of both to try and capture the whole audience.
According to the textbook the associated principle with the gift of beauty is "Interpretation should instill in people the ability, and the desire, to sense the beauty in their surroundings—to provide spiritual uplift and to encourage resource preservation". Based on this, ultimately the interpretation of "the gift of beauty" is deeply personal and influenced by an individual's perspective, experiences, and cultural background. Everyone will go into a nature experience and come out on the other side with different lessons learned.
Privilege and Nature Interpretation
Hey friends!
As I am embraced by nature's serenity, it is revealing that privilege influences even the most pristine environments. Have you ever wondered about how privilege transcends into our relationship with nature? Today I wanted to deliberate on the role “privilege” plays in nature interpretation and enjoyment.
I believe it is important to acknowledge that privilege varies considerably from person to person as it is shaped by a multitude of factors. Discussing privilege constructively is important, it raises awareness, questions harmful norms, and promotes diversity and inclusivity.
So what is “privilege”? I believe privilege refers to the advantages an individual experiences based on being in the majority demographic group. It does not deny universal struggle. Privilege brings essential awareness to the benefits that are present when an individual aligns with societal norms and power structures. Did you know that a significant percentage of the world's population does not have the opportunity to enjoy nature? It is important to recognize that individuals who find solace in escaping to the outdoors should be aware of the privilege that enables such opportunities. Experiencing nature without usual comforts and the ability to return to the comforts of home are privileges not all have.
In nature interpretation, communication plays a pivotal role in shaping positive nature experiences by sharing knowledge and exhilaration. Yet, language can unintentionally act as a barrier, inadvertently excluding individuals who aren't fluent in the prevailing regional language. This exclusion can have an adverse effect on one's ability to fully embrace and appreciate the experience. To support a more inclusive approach to nature enjoyment and interpretation, there are several practical steps we can take. To begin, we can create nature programs designed to welcome individuals from all language backgrounds, encouraging people to share their individual perspectives. Additionally, engaging with diverse communities through community outreach allows us to seek input on how to improve accessibility. Listening to suggestions is key to making progressive changes within the eco-community. Moreover, offering interpretation services or guides proficient in various languages can significantly enhance the experience for non-native speakers. Lastly, providing multilingual resources, including information, guides, and materials, ensures that nature-related content is accessible to a broader and more diverse audience, ultimately enriching our collective appreciation of the natural world.
Amid individuals' hectic daily routines, time and priority responsibilities often hinder their ability to spend a moment connecting with nature. Consequently, the shortage of time restricts the opportunities for individuals to fully immerse themselves in the beauty and marvels of the environment. To enhance nature enjoyment for all, despite limited time availability, several strategies can make a meaningful difference.First, offering activities at various times during the day and week to cater to diverse schedules is essential. Next, promoting local nature spots with public access ensures that people can connect with nature without extensive travel and travel barriers. Furthermore, active involvement of minority communities in the planning and development of nature-related activities can ensure inclusivity as accessibility challenges are addressed and overcome. Advocacy efforts should focus on policies that support green spaces and strive for equitable access to nature to allow for equal opportunities to enjoy nature.
I would love to chat about other ideas you all have that can help make nature interpretation more inclusive. Thanks for being part of this week's discussion!
Emily
Hey Emily,
I love the points you're making here. I also like the little otter you threw in at the end, nice touch.
I completely agree with what you're getting at here. I think you gave a great definition of privilege, it's certainly more thorough than mine. I really like how you mentioned that privilege doesn't deny universal struggle. I can certainly say that this is something I struggle with myself. What I mean is that because I know I am a privileged person in this world, I sometimes feel as though I can't be upset by the comparingly insignificant problems I face. At the end of the day, my struggles may not be about my survival, but it is still important to recognize and deal with them in a healthy way.
I also of course agree that nature programs would be great if they were offered in a variety of languages. I can imagine that this would be quite hard to organize in certain places, such as those more remote. I know that Parks Canada will always look to accommodate visitors in English and French, and perhaps this is enough in many locations, but it probably isn't enough in places with different demographics. Consider Rouge National Urban Park, located on the outskirts of Toronto. I would imagine that visitors speak a vast number of languages considering how diverse the GTA is. Perhaps there are interpretation programs designed to accommodate this, maybe with the use of translators. I would have to look into it.
Looking forward to more of your posts.
Ethan
Unit 3 Blog Post
What role does “privilege” play in nature interpretation? Please include your working definition of privilege.
My definition of privilege would describe whenever someone is provided with a benefit that others may not get purely due to luck. This could be someone who is given something that other people have to work for themselves. It would also describe when someone doesn’t have to deal with hardship, possibly related to race or family.
As a university student in a rich area of the world, everyday I am surrounded by people with varying levels of privilege. I have friends who come from astounding wealth, and also friends who claim to come from nothing special. Either way, the fact that we are earning a university degree means we are in a position of privilege, because its impossible to get here completely on our own.
Something I found interesting was that I searched on google images for “outdoorsy people” and the vast majority of pictures consist of white people. I had a feeling that would happen, but it is a shame. The only pictures with people of colour are from pages directly addressing the lack of diversity in the outdoors. Give it a try yourself…
After going through this unit, I realize that privilege plays a much larger role in nature interpretation than I had previously thought. I started to think about how certain places can only be visited by people of privilege. Some parks are surrounded by places with expensive accommodation, or travel to get to the place is expensive. The textbook touches on several barriers, including economic barriers, cultural barriers, communication barriers, lack of knowledge, and fear. A lot of these barriers seem to be the responsibility of the visited place to handle. I was also shocked to read that most people are likely to be disabled at some point in their lives. For me, this really highlighted the importance of making a place accessible for all, and that it really is a privilege just to have full mobility.
Warning- a bit of a tangent here. To what level can, or more importantly should, we make everything accessible? Should every trail be able to take a wheelchair or a stroller? Widening trails has negative ecological impacts. When considering a national park, it’s not Disney Land, so the goal isn’t to cram as many people into the area as possible. All this is to say that we consciously choose what the capacities of parks are and how much can be made accessible, a difficult decision at that.
I also think it’s very important to expose children to nature because strong environmental values can be developed during a young age. Providing them with nature interpretation programs can really help them to have a positive experience and inspire care about the natural world. Of course, privilege has a large role in whether children have access to influential experiences in nature. Although it’s a privilege for everyone, at least adults can earn their own money to pay for travel and trips. Children have to be born into a family affluent and willing enough to pay for them to visit places. As well, not every site will be equipped to provide programs tailored for children, so it can be hard for meaningful experiences to occur.
Ethan
Blog Post 2
Prompt: Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need?
In a world that continuously faces unpredicted environmental changes and challenges, my ideal role as an environmental interpreter would be to study, observe and educate scenarios surrounding climate change in hopes of a better understanding of our environment to kickstart change. Ideally, I would love to travel all over and study different species/areas to better understand how these species react to changes in their environment and why. Having a deeper understanding of this as an environmental interpreter would allow me to spread environmental awareness worldwide. This would help others understand how our actions impact the environment and in what specific ways as well as how we can prevent and start to eliminate climate change. I feel as though reiterating scientific information to the general public in a way that can be easily understood by many is incredibly important when striving for environmental change. Scientific communication can often discourage people from extending their scenitifc and environmental knowledge simply because the language or concepts can be difficult to understand. Not only is simplifying concepts and language to terms that are generally understood important but relating it to the lives of others and how climate change has a snowball effect on us as humans gives individuals incentive to become more environmentally aware. There are multiple different steps and skills needed to make this possible, one major one would be finding a research team or company to be a part of. Since climate change reseach involves various fields like climatology, economics, ecology and other sorts of social science it is crucial to have people from different expertise working together to ensure all aspects of climate change are evaluated. Personally, I would ideally like to take on more of the ecology side of climate change like studying different species and how increasing climate alters behaviorism and what that can mean for the species in the future. I would also love to design my own research and collect and analyze data. This would outline how our data would be collected, interpreted and what questions we are looking to find an answer to for said experiment/observation. From the research I would conduct I would then collaborate with policymakers on adaptation and mitigation strategies based on the research findings. When thinking about where I would like to carry out my ideal role as an environmental interpreter, there are many places in the world that come to mind. One part of me feels like I would enjoy carrying out this task in places that experience the largest hit in terms of climate change such as, The Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Venice, Chad, etc, but another part of me would love to do work on the coast of something like Nova Scotia or British Columbia. As I said before I would like to work with the ecology side of things, but when being specific I am still unsure if my focus would be on marine species or terrestrial species but, I have always been fascinated by marine species and would love to conduct water study experiments. When thinking of some of the skills that would be needed to make this successful I would need to do things such as use my knowledge to define research objectives and questions as well as funding. Another important factor would be to access data and resources as climate change research heavily relies on existing datasets and climate models as well as the use of advanced technology like supercomputers or silmulation. Another important factor would be long-term monitoring plans as climate change is a lone-term phenomenon and ongoing research spanning for long periods of time is essential.
Hey Emma,
I'm loving the amount of detail you've given here. You sound like a real scientist ready to take on research. I totally agree with your point about kickstarting change. I feel the same way, by which I would like to focus interpretation work on educating the public about negative human impacts. I think it's interesting that sometimes you could do interpretation for a crowd that is contributing to the environmental issue. For example, something like climate change, where they may actually be a small part of the problem. Other times you could be with a crowd looking at a more localized issue, where perhaps they aren't able to make any changes to help. I think in that sense you really have to tailor your interpretation to your crowd depending on the story you're trying to tell, and what the take home message is.
I really like that you have a strong focus on climate change. It's nice to hear a peer hold such important values. Side note- given your passion, perhaps you've taken ENVS*3010 Climate Change Biology. If you haven't taken it, I'm in it right now and enjoying it. So far I'm finding that it's providing me with the skills to navigate awkward climate change discussions with those with, well, less intellect. I would certainly recommend.
