A Moment in Time

[iaenvs3000-20]

Interpreting my journey

Learning about nature interpretation this semester has taught me a lot and I’m incredibly appreciative of not just the space for some self-expression, but also the incentive to attach meaning to everything I have done. It has allowed me to learn not just about the field, but many things that I can apply to different aspects of my life. This blog was a little difficult to write and I had to think a lot, but it is in many ways a stream of consciousness as I reflect on everything I have learnt. 

                          Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

As I continue to develop as an interpreter, my guiding principles are to foster understanding and appreciation, while recognizing that we all engage with the world differently. I think one of the most valuable things that I’ve learned this semester is first understanding myself and what I wish to contribute to the world, and how that influences my role as an interpreter. This has allowed me to recognize the beliefs that I bring to my interpretation such as the importance of communicating science in a way that is relevant and meaningful to a larger audience. 

I think that in terms of trying to raise awareness about environmental issues such as habitat destruction, species extinction, climate change etc., it is essential to increase the sense of wonder people have towards natural world. Sharing the very simple things about the natural world has the ability to completely transform someone’s perspective or feeling towards something. I remember as a kid I was quite terrified of bugs and would not hesitate to ask someone to kill them for me, and then one day my dad told me that some bugs actually have pretty short lifespans (in their adult form), and killing them meant they get even less time to spend in the world. Since then I somehow learnt to co-exist with bugs, I’m still not their biggest fan but I can never seem to forget how learning something so simple changed my entire perspective to the extent that I would always wonder how insects perceived the world, which led me down the rabbit of hole of learning how different organisms perceive time differently from humans. Learning such things ignited my curiosity of the natural world which I think led me to be an empathetic person. And so with all this said, I believe interpretation is something that can deeply inspire people and change lives in ways I don’t even think I can begin to imagine.

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper ― W.B. Yeats

                        Image by Frank Winkler from Pixabay 

In the day and age we live in, I think it can be very easy for humans to view ourselves as separate from the natural world especially when our lives are dominated by technology. I think that in trying to reconnect humans with nature, it is important for us to understand our place in it and that we are a part of the whole, rather than apart from it. And this brings me to my approach as an individual, and I have to stop and ask myself not just how I would like to share my message but also what my end goal is, what feelings and understanding am I trying to impart and invoke? In many ways it is trying to emulate to some capacity what I have observed from other interpreters that has stuck with me over time. I think that there is always something incredible to be experienced when you witness someone talking about something they love, and one step beyond that I feel is when they share that with other people. My experiences of interpretation that have stuck with me have always been when the interpreter is kind, respectful, passionate and when they have created a space for the audience to attach their own meaning to the experience. These are qualities I would like to bring to my own interpretation.  

Through this course I’ve really come to appreciate the diversity of the ways in which information can be shared, and I’m exploring how I can incorporate some of those practices into my own work. Words have always been my preferred form of expression, in more ways than I think we realize, we are always weaving some sort of story through our words. Something that I want to explore more of is the different ways of sharing messages through words, going beyond essays and blogs and opinion pieces. There’s so many different things I have been exposed to through this course that have really transformed my thinking and have inspired me to step outside of the box. The one that sticks with me the most is a poetry book mentioned in the textbook by Jidi Maija called I, Snow Leopard. The speaker in the poem is an endangered snow leopard and I couldn’t help but think how much more powerful the message of human violence towards animals is communicated, by giving a voice to the animal itself. I still don’t know what my approach as an interpreter is quite yet, but I look forward to experimenting with mixing different mediums such as storytelling, music and videography.  

                         Image by TeeFarm from Pixabay 

As I continue on thins journey, my responsibility is to retain integrity in everything I do, to be as true as I can to the information I share, to make it accessible, and to always remember that it is not about sharing my perception of the world, but the wonder, and creating space for others to experience that wonder.

 When I signed up for this course it was kind of like taking a shot in the dark, and I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m glad I took the chance. I have enjoyed reading and learning about the experiences others have had not just in the natural world, but in their personal lives as well. I’m kind of glad I’ve had this opportunity to reflect on this course and all the different things I have learnt because it has enabled me to see the growth in myself and in my thinking over the past few months. I don’t really know how else to end this other than to wish everyone the best of luck in all their future endeavours!

[gsenvs3000]

Hi there,

              I hope you’re doing well as our semester comes to an end. I really enjoyed reading your post and I’m in awe over how eloquently you’ve phrased your stream of consciousness. It was like I had an inside perspective into your thoughts and insights about the world. It was really enlightening. I really think you should continue to write posts if you enjoyed this portion of the course, because you’re great at it and I’d love to read more! I think what I like the most about this post is how grounded you are in bringing about a type of love that is boundless even with apprehension. The level of respect your writing shows to not only nature, but other living beings is so admirable! I hope I can be on the same level one day. I never thought of killing bugs in the way you mentioned in your post and that really brings about a concern in me I never knew I was capable of. I really dislike insects and I’m not a fan of things I can’t see easily (not to mention butterflies are freaky beyond compare!). Even though I’ve been trying to catch and release insects I’ve found in my space, I think I’ll be making a greater conscious effort to not let them be killed despite how uncomfortable they make me. I feel as though I can’t let them be killed now, they have every right to live as we do. I really don’t want the weight of that on my mind. What other perspective changing experiences have you had? I’d love to know!

Cheers,

Grish 😊

[cdenvs3000]

Final Thoughts

This semester I have gained more insight into what it really means to be a nature interpreter. I have also learned that this term can mean different things for many people. There are various ways in which one can interpret nature, just as there are various ways that everyone connects to nature. This is the beauty of nature, in terms of how it connects those in such individualistic ways. For me and my personal ethic, nature has a very spiritual aspect to it, although I am not a necessarily spiritual person. There is something about nature that allows me to feel centred and grounded, as though I am one with the earth. These are the feelings that I have when physically interpreting nature. This semester has pushed me to examine nature in different forms such as film, music, art, text, as well as podcast. Something that I find interesting is how all of the aforementioned ways to examine nature, can all be categorized as art. In each of these forms of interpretation, nature must be examined through a different lens, allowing you to truly interpret the whole picture. 

When you embrace nature and experience it in different landscapes you begin to notice how small we truly are in terms of the power that the earth has in controlling its natural landscape. Noticing the sounds, the feelings, even the movements of the natural landscape you begin to form more of a connection with nature. From season to season, day to day you can see these changes which impact the way we can interpret nature so much. One aspect that ties nature to nature interpretation is connection. The ability to connect with your surroundings is a dying skill in the new age of social media and internet use. As we stray further form being able to connect as a society, people like the ones in this course, who have gained the knowledge of nature interpretation, should pass on this skill. It is through sharing knowledge that society can grow and develop. 

As I mentioned how we are so small in this world, we are also unfortunately causing big changes. As our human civilization has grown we have forced mother nature to change. Many of these changes have warn down on the earth and were now seeing the drastic effects in climate change. For me when I think of nature interpretation my mind aways goes towards climate change. Maybe this is due to the fact that this semester I have taken environmental science courses which all discuss our impact on the earth and the damage we have done. So for this reason I feel as though my responsibility as a nature interpreter that also has this knowledge is to attempt to make a change. As cheesy as it sounds, choosing to make small decisions that decrease our impact on the planet really matter. If everyone did a small part we would be able to reduce the harm we are doing to our earth. As climate change continues to alter our landscape year after year there are things that you should consider. Things like if your kids will be able to see snow on Christmas, or go to the same beaches that you remember enjoying as you’ve grown up. All of these things will impact the ability that our children will have to interpret nature themselves. 

I think my personal ethic as I grow as a nature interpreter is telling me that I need to continue to make changes in my life that allow me to embrace nature as much as possible. I think that experiencing more aspects of nature and different environments in different places would allow me to feel more “whole” in terms of accomplishing interpretation. Like many, I hope to be able to travel more after I graduate. I would love to experience mountains, coasts, forest, beaches and countrysides in countries all over the world. As a nature interpreter the idea of experiencing these sights in different places excites me and pushes me to want to connect with nature more. With that being said, being able to appreciate the nature that I see around me everyday is something that I hope to continue to expand upon as well. I look at this in terms of having gratitude for nature and appreciating all the little things that I have the ability to interpret everyday. 

My final thoughts over all are that as a nature interpreter my responsibility is to push others around me to connect with nature and embrace it in all of its forms. Whether it be through a painting of a landscape, audio of the waves crashing on the beach, or a video of animals in their natural habitat. Understanding and connecting with nature leads us to have compassion for our environment, which is an important stepping stone in pushing actions against things that can destroy nature such as climate change. My main question to you reading would be, what would you tell someone who wants to make a difference for the environment?

[gsenvs3000]

Hey there!

              I really enjoyed your blogpost and I think a lot of our ideals align when it comes to nature interpretation. I completely agree with what you said about small changes accounting to large change. We as a population are so vast that realistically if we all committed ourselves to sustainable and small changes that suited us, then we could bring about massive change beneficial to this planet. I think its important to emphasize too that anyone can help. It doesn’t matter what position you are in life, if you are big or small, in the field of academia or not, anyone and everyone is in a position to make an impact. So even though it may sound cheesy, I think its really true and a concept we need to emphasize more to the public!

              As for what I’d tell another person, I would say to start with yourself. Make changes in your lifestyle that suit you. Find things that interest you regarding the environment and run with it! See if you can join any organizations that fight actively to help with issues you find important. Most importantly however, is do something that makes you feel happy! If you find joy volunteering, do that, if you feel happy making blogs or videos, then you should do that! Its all about finding the things that bring you joy while also helping you to make a difference. I’ve personally found volunteering with educational programs bring me so much joy in my day to day life. I’ve made so many connections and the day to day work is fulfilling! Because of this, I constantly want to get better and help my team improve in the same way. If this was exhausting in a bad way I wouldn’t be doing it, and I wouldn’t want to either. So find whatever fits you and your lifestyle, and take it one day at a time. What would you suggest?

Cheers,

Grish 😊

[gsenvs3000]

My Purp in Interp

              Throughout the duration of this course, I feel as though my personal ethics regarding nature interpretation has developed quite a bit. This course has unpacked many things I didn’t formerly consider when formulating interpretation programs such as privilege, modes of interpretation and accessibility. The beliefs I bring to interpretation is that learning should be fun! By making concepts and understandings engaging, we can motivate a wealth of people to enjoy and learn the things we find interesting and important. This was particularly well exhibited in my ZOO*4910 course. Though this was a science-based course, our final science communication project made students in the class pick a scientific theory that they wanted to explain in a fun and engaging way.

              The goal was to make science accessible and easy to digest for the public and the class came up with so many fun ways of doing this. Some people made videos; others made comics and there were even some memes! The last class was spent teaching each other and everyone was so supportive; it was a very wholesome time. It honestly didn’t even feel as though we were teaching each other complex scientific concepts because we were having so much fun! My favourite comic strip was about Trinidadian guppies and their posthumous breeding strategies. The story involved cheating scandals, baby mama drama, death and more! The overall story was very dramatic and quite funny, but by the end we learned the importance of posthumous breeding strategies as a mechanism female guppies use to sustain the population. If anyone would like to hear more about it the concept explained or see the comic let me know in the comments below, but for now I’ll attach this meme as a quick summary!

  Posthumous breeding meme

             The second belief that motivates me is that learning should be impactful. I think of interpretation as a tool to initiate positive change. Perspectives change as one learns and aims to understand the thing being unpacked in front of them. If I can tie significance to the thing being understood, people are much more likely to be forgiving, considerate, passionate, and more towards the topic at hand. I whole heartedly believe that people don’t need to drastically change their outlook on life, but that if people can make little, sustainable changes suitable to them we as a population can make a world of difference.

              Something I’ve taught people that is so small but can make worlds of change is the impact of littering. Littering, as seen abundantly on highways and roads, has such a negative impact on our local wildlife. You see, littering attracts small animals to the road who feed on what was left, which can result in roadkill. These small animals, however, are also game for large predators who in turn are attracted to busy roads due to the abundance of food sources there. As a result, a lot of small and big animals can get hurt and killed causing major trophic impacts while also negatively affecting the population long-term. Thus, by holding onto your trash until it can be disposed of properly and by teaching others the same thing, we can amount to substantial positive change beneficial to native wildlife. While someone may not have initially thought of the breadth of issues tied to littering, its my job as an interpreter to connect those dots and help people amount impactful change, when possible.

              Finally, I think learning can happen at any age. No one should be limited by their stature in life, and learning should be accessible to every type of person. I feel as though anyone should be able to initiate change and shouldn’t feel limited doing so. It’s important to make people feel important and that stands no matter where you are in life. A lot of times, I think people get down on themselves because they feel as though they were insignificant. It’s a concept I’ve truly struggled with for some time. It’s important to know that this isn’t the case and that something small like littering can lead to big changes. You have significant capabilities to shape the days of those who surround you in a positive way, and I think this a powerful tool that people don’t give credit to! And to quote a film I recently watched, The Help, “You is kind, you is smart, you is important.” While I won’t be unpacking this concept completely in this post, I think its important to give yourself credit because everyone is capable of making an impact and often do it without even knowing so.

 Love yourself (even if you look like a burnt chicken nugget)!

             My responsibility as an interpreter is to bring about a good experience of learning while providing accurate information as accessibly as possible. This means I should strive to teach others without any prejudice regarding potential limitations or biases I may have towards an audience, while giving my audience equitable treatment. Learning should be tailored to the learner, so while there is things I might find effective overall I should never stop adapting and learning how I can best interpret to others. While its good to also simplify certain concepts, I should maintain a level of accuracy concerning the topic of conversation. I should be honest about my level of knowledge and sometimes that’s as simple as saying I don’t know when a there’s a question that stumps me. There’s no need to fear looking inadequate, rather its an opportunity to lead by example. We all have to start somewhere and its good to be reminded of that. I think its important to be humble while striving to do your best, and maybe that vulnerability will open up the opportunity to deepen your connection to others!

              The approach I find most suitable for interpreting is presenting or meeting people at a display. Presentations are fun because you have the audience’s undivided attention and you can do a lot with that. Displays are also fun because you can meet and engage with people on a personal level. I personally find displays the best because its much less stressful because it’s a more informal set up, and you can connect and talk to people about what interests them, life stories they may have and more! I remember doing a display at Cottage Life (a convention) and there were so many displays to enjoy and meet people at! I remember collecting donations and an old man approached me to ask if I’d help him get over his fear of snakes. While it was the next display over (not my station) I gladly obliged and it was a good time! We got to talk about his fear and why he was afraid but didn’t want to hurt them or see them in decline and he was so respectful of our native species even though he didn’t like them! It was quite refreshing and when I think of this 80 year old coming to me saying “If you touch the snake I’ll touch the snake” is freaking hilarious and a very special memory I have in my heart. He ended up giving a really nice donation and it was a good time!

A freaking cute baby snake so you know the danger noodles are also the cutest noodles.

              This ended up being quite the lengthy post, but I hope you enjoyed reading a little (or a lot) about my perspective. A lot goes into being a good interpreter! I can’t wait to see what the rest of you guys post and I hope y’all have a good end to the semester.

Your homie,

Grish

[bwenvs3000-20]

Environmental Education is crucial

Dear Board of Directors

I am writing to you on behalf of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, which is a conservation area part of the Hamilton Conservation Authority. It is of upmost importance that the funding for our conservation area continues. Without it we will no longer be able to provide important services to our local community.

Dundas Valley Conservation Area (2020)

Here at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, we offer a unique way for the Hamilton community to learn about their local environment. Partnered with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, we educate primary and secondary school students about the local animals, habitat and environment. Here the children learn value information about the cool things their local area has to offer. The benefits our conservation area provides as a valuable teaching asset to the local school district is unmatched and an important tool which aids in environmental education (Beck et al., 2018).

Environmental education is incredibly important to teach our youth. It has been found that environmental education is crucial in creating environmentally conscious behaviours later in life (Boyes & Stanisstreet, 2012). It is so important to teach our youth the importance of the environment for the to develop awareness of climate change and to invoke a sense of urgency in protecting the environment. If we want to protect the Earth from the potential devastating effects of climate change, it all starts with educating our youth. Here at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, we provide the knowledge and environment to educate and inspire children.

The positive changes we want to see happen in protecting our environment start with the individual. It has been shown that the accumulation of environmentally conscious behaviour at the individual level has the capacity to produce largescale beneficial environmental effects (Jensen & Schnack, 2006). Our environmental education program is where this change starts.

Our goal is to inspire an entire generation of kids to become passionate about protecting their environment. Providing a space where kids can not only learn but gain hands on experience with their local environment is crucial. This provides children with real world experience instead of just reading about their local environment or watching a video. The experience our program provides shows kids that their actions can affect their environment. We help teach children the importance of protecting the environment.

In order to protect the world for future generations, we have to educate and inspire. That is our goal here at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. With your help, we can accomplish our goals of educating the youth and by doing so helping to create a better world for generations to come.

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing. ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-57167-865-2

Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2012). Environmental Education for Behaviour Change: Which actions should be targeted? International Journal of Science Education, 34(10), 1591–1614. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.584079

Jensen, B. B., & Schnack, K. (2006). The action competence approach in environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 12(3–4), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620600943053

Dundas Valley Conservation Valley - Spring Creek Trail - Part 2 [Video file]. (2020, July 30). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAL545IdZMk

[gsenvs3000]

Hello Ben,

              This is the Chairwoman of the BOD, Grish, with some information regarding your proposal. The importance of educating youth for the future is something I cannot agree with more. The future of this planet lies with the youth and their ability to engage in act of regeneration. Sustainability, however, starts with today. Though I think it is equally important to engage youth in mindfulness and respect for our natural world, they will only be able to help recover our planet if we leave them with something to recover from. Thus, while I very much appreciate the aim and objectives of your program, I feel as though it should be improved to include a greater variety of audiences. This way, we can help the public engage in substantial and meaningful change, beneficial to our planet.

              Change begins within our community. Thus, I think it is very important to develop accessible plans in which we can better Hamilton communities’ sustainability and conservation efforts. If you can provide me detailed plans about how we can integrate and expand your program throughout Hamilton area, I will approve your funding and increase your budget ten-fold. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Grishnavie S.

Chairwoman of the Board of Directors

[gsenvs3000]

Funding more EE

To whom it may concern,

              Wild Ontario is an educational outreach program dedicated to teaching the world about wildlife and conservation. The operation of this program is threatened due to insufficient funding, and I am here to plea for the importance of such programs in our community.

              Educational outreach organizations are fundamental to fostering a love and appreciation for our native wildlife. While school curricula aim to generate an understanding of a broad range of subjects, programs such as Wild Ontario are focused to help build a connection to environment for children and adults alike. Face to face interactions have a huge capacity to open the mind to new and considerate perspectives and this is exactly what is needed during the current climate change context. Above all else, these programs help the public learn in a way that is fun and engaging to help motivate others to engage in positive change to help keep our planet healthy and safe.

              The Merenlender et al. 2016 paper describes the importance of environmental education through naturalist programs perfectly. Environmental education helps to link the ideas we understand into actions for the greater good. Things as simple as reducing littering through word of mouth can have a massive trophic effect on the abundance of highway hawks, but this only works once people gain an understanding of the ‘story’, in other words the big picture.

              Wals et al. 2014 illustrates that the convergence of scientific education and environmental education is necessary in solving intricate socioecological issues. While scientific education aims to better our understanding of the physical world that surround us, it is not always accessible let alone approachable for the public. Furthermore, while science aims to appreciate world systems, environmental education serves to engage public action against current environmental issues on local and global scales. Environmental education serves a purpose greater than oneself, and effective programs which incite this purpose helps to result in meaningful socioecological outcomes.

              Our current climate broods of disaster and issues to large to be solved. In the article “Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope”, Jacob Rodenburg talks about how pivotally environmental education reconnects youth to their environment. Disconnect between people and their natural surroundings occurs often without choice; the opportunity to appreciate the outdoors often does not present itself for fear of liability, other more important tasks, etc. Separation over time often is a result from daily circumstance. Therefore, it is ever more important to have such fundamentally rooted programs in place to present people with the opportunity to learn and grow.                 

              It is so important for our communities to have the opportunity to develop skills and understanding relevant to our local environments. These programs build an appreciation for the wild in a way that is fun and builds change. Thus, while it is nice to enjoy how things are now, I think it is more valuable to protect the wild for the future to enjoy.

[joenvs3000-20-deactivated202104]

Interpreting Nature

At this point in my nature interpretation journey, I’ve learned some very valuable lessons. The main idea I learned comes from van Boeckel (2015), who expressed that “…such activities help bring about the ignition of the participants’ fascination and curiosity…” (p. 801). To me, this is the most important aspect of nature interpretation because it aims to spark a continued and sustained investment in nature. I know for certain that when people are invested in nature, they care. So, I think that if nature interpretation can spark this, then perhaps it can also bring about more environmentalism among society.

I also know for certain that we all learn in different ways and all resonate with different types of nature interpretation. For instance, I enjoy nature interpretation best through visual storytelling and photography. Ever since I was little, I loved watching Jane Goodall documentaries. This is where I find inspiration. I enjoy seeing the rainforests and hearing Jane tell stories about her remarkable work with chimpanzees. This helped me understand environmental issues and injustices in a more personal way. Now, in addition to Jane Goodall’s documentaries, I love photography. For instance, Paul Nicklen’s work is a great example of visual storytelling that connects audiences to far away places experiencing drastic implications of climate change. You can check out his Arctic photography here: https://paulnicklen.com/

Sharing my own nature stories with others, through photography, is how I ignite. More specifically, the conversations that photography sparks is what motivates me to share my stories. When I share my pictures, I love hearing about the stories other people are reminded of by them, their travel experiences, and the curiosity that surfaces when people see different places. For instance, these photos below are some of my favourites from a 19km hike I took in New Zealand. The hike went through so many different environments. One minute it felt like I was on mars, and the next there were emerald lakes, and then all of the sudden it was like I was in a rainforest. I can describe this to people as much as possible, but I think sharing pictures illustrated this so much more. Below are a couple pictures of mine from this hike:

I still wonder how we can use nature interpretation to really evoke change. I wonder how we can make people care about the drastic impacts we have on the climate and on earth. I resonate most with photography and visual storytelling, but I know that everyone has their own ways of learning and interpreting nature. So, I wonder how we can bring our different methods of nature interpretations together to make the most of them and encourage society to invest in the environment.  

References:

van Boeckel, J. (2015). At the heart of art and earth: an exploration of practices in arts-based environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 21(5), 801-802.

[gsenvs3000]

Heylo!

           I really enjoyed reading your blogpost as I was found your inspirations quite relatable. Visuals can help shape perspective so deeply. It reminds of this picture I was once exposed to in class (attached below), where understanding is so wildly shaped by our limited perspective. However, if we the take time to explore the perspectives of others, it can completely revolutionize how we understand the world.

           Something that really helped my interest in education and wildlife was watching the show Zaboomafoo. I re-watched a couple episodes while creating my groups podcast and I can 10/10 recommend the show. The intro was such a bop to listen to, and it really helped pick up my spirit while also teaching me about cool animals! While it probably can’t compare to the documentaries you watched, Zaboomafoo really shaped my perspective of learning into something fun, with wild visuals and engaging music. It helped set me up for success, by providing me a picture of what I want to be as an adult; an adventure loving person ready to have fun and help others learn, while having a good time myself as well.

           As a last note, I completely agree when you say that each person has a unique interest that helps them interpret their stories to the world. I think its amazing that your interest of photography aids your outreach. A picture tells a thousand words, and I think cool photos really allows people to open themselves to a greater conversation. Overall, a great blogpost; if you have a photography page I’d love to follow and see what you come up with!

Grish 😊

[gsenvs3000]

Unpacking Interpretation

           Interpretation has a special place in my heart. From when I first got exposed to the concept of interpretation through wildlife shows and demonstrations to now, I’ve learned that interpretation is a special activity that allows people to come together in appreciation of various things. What I know for certain, is nature interpretation has allowed me to connect with so many people. Without interpretation, I would have never been able to develop myself into an outgoing human being, ready to experience the joys of learning with others. Amidst the pandemic, this course has welcomed a community of interpreters to come together and build connections based on our experiences. I know for certain that if it wasn’t for this welcoming community, I would have never been able to grow my skills or practice my abilities. The people are just as important as the subject, and I’m thankful to be surrounded by such kind and enthusiastic learners.

           What I still wonder is how I can I continue making interpretation a positive experience for others. I find that there’s often a huge disconnect between our inner perceptions and the outside world. Thus, even though I may think that I’m doing a good job sometimes, I can never really know how others perceive my ability to interpret. I guess my insecurity kind of drives me, but I find it really motivating to try and improve so that I can offer a good experience to others. Even though my insecurity may fuel my drive, I take a lot of pride in my ability to do a good job. I just need to figure out what I need to do to become a top-notch interpreter and do it in a way that fits me.

           I find inspiration by observing people perform. Whether that’s through music or speech, the ability to captivate and evoke feelings is skill I find incredible. There is nothing like watching a dramatic scene and being at the edge of your seat, and I hope to captivate others in the same way. Inspiration lights way for passion, and I ignite passion by supplying a purpose. Nothing is any good without purpose. Whether its telling stories to incite joy or sharing experiences to build support, having a purpose leaves people with something to look forward to, in other words, a goal. If I want others to be passionate and care, I have to be that and more for those I interact with. Thus, I need to find a purpose that fulfills a goal within myself, which I can then motivate others to appreciate.

           All in all, a lot goes into being a touching and successful interpreter, but this all starts with you and the people that surround you. I hope you enjoyed!

Grish 😊

[hhenvs3000]

Salty Situations: A Debriefing

As someone who has weathered 20 Canadian winters, I have had my fair share of slips and falls on icy sidewalks. Most of the time these falls result in a couple bruises and a few laughs, but they could lead to more serious injuries from awkward falls, or in the case of road ice, the sliding and crashing of cars. The podcast I will be reviewing this week, titled ‘Salty Situations’, dives into the topic of road salt as a counteractive measure to winter ice, the negative environmental impacts associated with it.

Photo: Colourbox.com / Oleksii Arseniuk 

The first thirty seconds of the podcast included a groovy introduction of the title with background music, and the speakers greeting the listeners and outlining the topic of salt. They do this with enthusiasm and humour, which set the tone for the podcast and gave me the impression that the speakers were excited about the topic of choice, making me eager to listen further.

Throughout the podcast, the narrators teach many lessons, including the negative impacts of road salt on aquatic animals’ food. The interviewee did this by giving a storytime through a freshwater fish’s perspective on the impacts of salt in lake habitats and how it sinks fish food to the lake bottom. This was effective for giving kids wildlife perspective and eliciting empathy for fish being affected, which overall helps to develop a connection between kids and nature (Beck et al., 2018).

Another lesson presented was how sand is an environmentally friendly substitute for road salt. This was taught by a conversation between two narrators, where one was unaware of this application and the other was quite knowledgeable. I think this was awesome because it felt as if the listener was learning along with the unknowing speaker and the questions being asked and answered were an stimulating way to deliver information, rather than a large blurb about sand.

The last lesson I took away from the podcast was the actions people can take to reduce road salt usage. The speakers suggest kids can tell parents about its harmful impacts and encourage them to stop using road salt. They did this by emphasizing the problem of road salt throughout the podcast and then task kids to tell one person at home what they’ve learned about its impacts. This activity was effective because it promotes parental environmental stewardship, since kids can influence the sustainability of parents purchasing (Beck et al., 2018). One suggestion I’d make is to reduce the emphasis on the ‘doom and gloom’ of road salt, so kids from this age group don’t feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of social action (Beck et al. 2018).

Overall, I found this podcast to have many engaging aspects that made it informational and intriguing to listen to. One aspect that especially stuck out to me was the effortless conversational flow between the narrators. I hope to incorporate that in my next podcast because it was a more natural way to deliver information that made it more exciting to learn about, rather than lecturing the content. My experience through the perspective of a participant was that the narrators dialogue and information presented made the podcast captivating all throughout and kept me wanting to learn more than the 15 minutes they recorded.

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Urbana, IL: Sagamore – Venture Publishing LLC.

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Hey there!

              I also reviewed Salty Situations podcast and I completely agree that it is a very well-made podcast. Something I found interesting about the debrief was your consideration for the overwhelming pressure children might feel to take action. I didn’t even consider this as a potential consequence when listening to the podcast but you are completely right! While I think the efforts of the creators was to emphasize the things children are able to do, perhaps one thing they could have done to help negate this pressure would be to emphasize that any action is good action.

              This reminds me of a lot of Dr. Seuss and his ability to help other build understanding using a good narrative. I don’t know if you know this story, but ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ exemplifies this idea perfectly in the quote “a person’s a person no matter how small” (Dr. Suess 1954). It portrays the idea that no matter how small or insignificant a person, thought or action may seem, it can still be valuable. A major idea we need to put forward into the minds of youth is that though there are so many things in this world that make us feel like nothing, collective change can be brought through even the tiniest of actions. Your debrief did a good job of opening up the conversation of how we can help youth enact change in a self sustainable way and I love that.

[gsenvs3000]

Salty Situations

              For today’s blogpost, I had the pleasure of reviewing a children’s podcast from ‘Salty Situations’. At first impression, I love the energy of this podcast. The opening music was groovy, and all three voices were very engaging. It sounded like I was listening to a group of individuals who mesh well and are not just doing it for the sake of a project. I really enjoyed how one of the narrators started fantasizing about some tasty chips tying into the name of the podcast; the background music really played into this effect. Children can probably very much relate to this speaker and their love for tasty snacks while also providing a bit of comic relief. It helped make the overall tone fun and easy going. The only thing to note is I feel like if introductions were just a bit earlier, it would help listeners make a connection to individual speakers. There was so much personality at the start with no names to connect it to, but the creators were quick to fix that.

              The overall lesson of the podcast was road salts are bad for the environment. This was broken down into three main points. The first point was that road salt has a terrible impact on the aquatic environments which surround us, making it difficult for fish to live. A similar point was made about acute toxicity observed in urban mammals such as chipmunks, an animal most children adore for their cuteness. Finally, there was a discussion about road salt impact on plant life such as the trees and flowers children play in; road salts strip nutrients making it difficult for these plants to remain healthy. In efforts to negate the effects of road salt on our environments, children were given solutions and ideas to help promote sustainable living. This included sharing what they learned, offering the use of substitutes such as beet juice or sand with an explanation for why, as well making efforts to engage change on a community level.

A cute chipmunk that can potentially be a victim of road salt poisoning.

              The narrators were effective at making their podcast digestible for children. They used excited voice and presented the story in a problem to solution kind of format. This was consistent throughout the podcast, and all points described were nicely summed up as take-home points for listeners. The only criticisms I really have is that it felt like the momentum of the podcast really slowed as the narrators talked to their interviewee and some of the sound effects started to become more distracting than helpful. Furthermore, the fun facts did not seem very relevant to the topic of the podcast which was road salt. Overall, the podcast was very well executed, with a dynamic group of voices and sound. I’ll definitely be trying to integrate more audience like ‘Salty Situations’ did, as well as other group dynamic enhancing characteristics in the next podcast production.

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My friend Mother Nature

I think the most amazing thing about nature is its connection to humans. My mood almost always depends on the weather outside. If I wake up and it’s dark and gloomy outside, I can almost never just get out of bed right away. My friends and I always talk about this because they feel the same. I think in general, majority if not all students would agree with me when I say that if it’s dark outside when I wake up, then I am going back to bed. The dark and gloomy days are almost always my least productive days as well. I always feel low on energy, motivation and inspiration on those days. However, when the sun is out then I’m always up and ready to go. The sunny days always go by great for me, and are always my most productive days too. Another example is seasonal depression. Seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a kind of depression that is related to seasonal changes. Seasonal depression has sort of become an ongoing joke amongst students and although we all joke about it, I know the jokes come from a place that understands the depths of the disorder. Obviously not every student is diagnosed with actual seasonal affective disorder, but I know we all at least share similar feelings of sadness that come from the darker and colder days in the winter. The winters are really tough as students, and I can vouch for that. 

I don’t know the exact moment I made the correlation between my mood and the weather because for as long as I can remember I’ve been associating the two. However, I do remember this conversation I had with my grandmother, when I was younger. I got in trouble for running around my grandma’s flowers with my soccer ball and cleats. I tripped and scraped my knees, and while I was crying about my knee, it began pouring rain outside. My grandmother was obviously annoyed about her garden, so she said “look you even made mother nature upset and now she’s crying!” Instantly I felt bad, and so I stopped crying and made a note to be extra careful around my grandma’s garden. The comment to my grandma was nothing other than a trick to get me to stop crying, but to me, it left a hefty mark on my little 6 year old brain. After that moment, any time it would rain, I would wonder why mother nature was sad, and the fact that she was sad made me sad too. As a little delusional 6 year old, I really thought me and mother nature had some kind of bond. Another very vivid memory I have, is of me walking home from the school bus on a half day. I was in the 7th grade, and our school did half days occasionally, so I was walking back from my bus stop and I wasn’t feeling the greatest. The whole day was kind of gloomy and occasionally it would sprinkle rain, so I guess it really impacted my mood too. I made it to my house and no one was answering the door, so I sat on the porch playing on my iPod touch, waiting for my mom to get home. The rain began to pick up so I decided to let myself in through the garage door. I got inside and usually I would turn the TV on, but I was still very sad for some reason and now since it was raining, I just felt the need to cry. I cried for a while and eventually got myself together and was making myself a snack when the phone rang. It was my mom so I picked up and she began apologizing saying she forgot it was a half day, and she had to rush somewhere urgently and she would be home in a few hours. She wasn’t telling me where she was, but I kept asking over and over, so she finally broke and told me that my uncle had just passed away and she was in the hospital. My uncle had been fighting cancer for two years at that point, and it looked like he was winning the battle, up until we got the news of his sudden passing. Suddenly, everything made sense to me, I was sad because somewhere downtown in the hospital my uncle was taking his last breaths, and as always mother nature was crying with me. 

These two memories have been some of my core memories as a child, and I think they dictated my relationship with nature. I’m a lot older now, more wise and definitely not the same little delusional 6 year old, but I still feel like nature is tied to all of our emotions and wellness, just as I thought it was back then. This is what is amazing about nature to me.

References:

Mayo Clinic. (Oct. 27, 2017). Seasonal affective disorder. Retrieved October 29th, 2020 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651

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              Hello! I really enjoyed reading your post, it explores the application of pathetic fallacy in your life quite well. I think its incredible that in significant moments of your life, you were able to feel your emotions truly and wholeheartedly as a culmination of factors influencing you. It takes a truly grounded person to able to vulnerably open themselves up to those kinds of emotions, without disagreement between your inner self and the outer world. The connection you have to nature really nurtures your inner feelings, and I am not sure whether this is something inside you that allows you to feel supported as a person but it must be quite an unreal experience.

              It’s quite interesting to me that your inner feelings can be so synonymous to the physical conditions of the outer world because for me it’s the opposite. On sunny bright days, I tend to be choked full of anxiety because the outer world has so much movement and so many things happening that I feel like I can’t keep up, let alone enjoy the moment. On the dark, cold days of winter however, I really thrive being able to do things because it feels like the world is stuck in everlasting peace, where I can breathe and take a moment to relax. Things are quieter, cozier and I feel unstoppable while the outside world has stopped in all its bustling liveliness. Thus, while I can’t really relate to your intimate relationship to nature and its correspondence to substantial moments in your life, I have to agree that nature and especially weather can play a major role in the mood we feel day to day.

Grish

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The Tiny Killer

              For today’s blogpost, I wanted to shed some light on one of favourite species of bird, the American Kestrel! This species of bird is North America’s smallest species of falcon, but even though it is so small and cute doesn’t mean it is any less ferocious. In fact, the American Kestrel is arguably one of the best aerial hunters of the entire continent! These fascinating birds have a variety of hunting methods that make them very adept to taking down prey that are much bigger than them, such as blue jays.

              Kestrels can do something not traditionally thought of by the speed demons known as falcons in which they can fly very, very slowly. In fact, they can engage in something known as hovering; if you have ever seen a hummingbird, they can move their wings in such a way that allows them to suspend themselves in air and American Kestrels can essentially do the same thing. This allows birds of this species to get high in the nice big open fields that they like to hunt in, scanning the area until they find something delicious to take down. Until that moment, they will hover in place till they are in just the right position to kill their prey. Once they have reached this moment, they point their beaks down and engage in the traditional falcon stoop dive where they dive at speeds of 115km/h and then punch their prey right out of the sky! The force generated from a punch at 115km/h is enough to essentially insta-kill their prey.

American Kestrel hovering in the air.

              Kestrels have another very cool adaptation to kill, called a tomial tooth. Say, when diving down towards their prey they fail to hit the animal at just the right angle and it doesn’t die immediately, kestrels can take their prey to a safe area and effectively de-spine them in one fluid motion using this physical feature. While this sounds like a ruthless way to kill, I think this is quite humane as their prey have probably endured irreparable damage and prevents further suffering while preventing anymore resistance from these animals.

              The American kestrel has another hunting method called active pursuit. If you’ve ever seen a cop chase on the road where they chase after criminals, kestrels essentially engage in the same activity except their prey is dragonflies! I don’t know if you’ve ever chased dragonflies but they’re pretty hard to catch. Kestrels, however, are faster and can fly up to speeds of 65 km/h to catch these speedy insects, devouring them as they continue to chase some more.

A wild kestrel trying to steal some food from a barn owl.

              All in all, kestrels are incredible creatures of skill and finesse. Though they are so small, that doesn’t make them any less ruthless as hunters. They are mighty animals who pack a lot of punch, never to be underestimated by those around them.

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Poerty, Sunset’s and Interpreting Both

I’ve always loved poetry, ever since highschool when I took my mom’s old book “Poets of Contemporary Canada 1960-1970” Edited by Eli Mandel. When I first picked up the book I was more intrigued by the cover (which had “less talk more action” shown spray painted on a brick wall, and 14 year old me, in all my angsty glory, could not resist), but as I read the poems included, I couldn’t help but notice how much nature imagery is used, even in newer poems.

It never surprised me that Shakespeare and other romantic poets used nature imagery in their poems, but even as the world became more and more industrialized, poets and other artists still seemed so drawn towards nature. I’m not the biggest fan of modern poetry,but I wanted to provide a recent example. In Rupi Kaur’s book the sun and her flowers, from the poem titled The first week without you she writes:

“...I hear the humming birds outside

Flirting with the flowers

I hear the flowers giggling

The bees growing jealous…” (Kaur, 23)

In this poem she uses nature to relate to her personal experiences. There are a lot of similarities between nature and poetry, both have room for interpretation by the reader. Nature is so beautiful, so it makes sense that people, and artists especially, are attracted to it. Below is a picture I took a week ago, and I think that if I were an artist I’d probably make something out of it. Sadly, I have neither the patience nor the talent for that, so mostly I just consume other people’s work.

Art allows people to see the beauty of the world through someone else’s eyes, in some other place. Some people use nature as a way to create metaphor, and others use metaphor to describe nature. Either way, I think it’s really neat.

I think I will leave off with a poem by Francis Quarles (1592-1644) titled On the world:

“The world’s an inn; and I her guest.

I eat my drink; I take my rest.

My hostess, nature, does deny me

Nothing, wherewith she can supply me;

Where, having stayed a while, I pay

Her lavish bills, and go my way.”

Works cited:

Kuar, Rupi. “The first week without you”. The sun and her flowers. Simon & Schuster, 2017, pp. 23.

Quarles, Francis. “On the world”. Poeticous. https://www.poeticous.com/francis-quarles accessed: October 18th, 2020

[gsenvs3000]

Hi Michaela,

              I hope you’re enjoying your weekend so far! This post was a pleasure to read and was honestly kind of therapeutic in a way that was like the written works you included in your post. I feel like writers are able to capture so much appreciation for the world in a way that is fascinating like a baby’s wonder. To maintain that natural curiosity throughout one’s life is incredible, and I think its amazing that people able to maintain and capture that awe for the world that surrounds them.

              Engaging in creating art is also part of its ability to mesmerize people in the current experience. I think that trying new things can create memorable experiences regardless of skill level. Seeing your ability to craft or execute an activity is part of the fun of learning! I totally think you should try you hand at recreating the lovely photo you took. The photo you took is really pretty with some very nice colours, and I think whether you recreate it using words or visual art mediums you can really challenge yourself to become more like the creators you enjoy following!

              Some of my favourite interpretations of nature is through music. Orchestral composers have a great skill in recreating the sounds associated with certain events, areas, or experiences. They have an amazing ability to transform what you hear into an incredible journey of happiness or hardship. One of my favourite composers, Joe Hisashi, has the ability to interpret everyday activities into eventful tasks through music. It brings such importance and meaning to activities that would normally seem basic and unimportant, making everyday life seem all the more beautiful. I really enjoy listening to his compositions.

Let me know if you try your hand at creating some art, I’d love to see what you create!

Grish 

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Artful Exploration

              The connection between art and nature is a long explored one. The essence of art is to imitate life, and the heart of life comes from nature. Its brilliance lies in the ability to captivate the eyes and ears of the soul. Whether its printed sheet music or a painting, these stationary objects are able to move beyond their physical limitations to encapsulate the mind in a riveting experience of movement. To produce art is one’s greatest manifestation of gratitude towards the present experience, which continues to live on through time.

              An excerpt from Loren Eiseley’s book, The Immense Journey, captures this beautifully.

“Once in a lifetime, if one is lucky, one so merges with sunlight and air and running water that whole eons, the eons that mountain and deserts know, might pass in a single afternoon without discomfort.”

Cover of Loren Eiseley’s, The Immense Journey

              The mindfulness of the written experience relinquishes itself to the present moment. It allows writers to materialize the intimacies of existence, moving beyond the realm of human experience to bring meaning to those who read their words. The written word is not the only form of art which aims to bring presence to others; visual, musical, and theatrical arts engage in the same purpose.

              So, who am I to interpret nature through art? If I had to label myself, I would say I’m a performer. I understand art as using one’s skills to tell a story. While I used to involve myself in much more traditional forms of art such as music and visual art, I currently use my skills to tell enchanting stories to the public. The ability to use words in way that is captivating and absorbs listeners into the present moment is an art form itself.

              Nature interpretation gives rise to the current experience. It allows individuals to engage others to truly be present and be aware the world that exists around them. While art may not be the most traditional form of interpretation, it still lends itself to the same purpose; to bring true appreciation and respect for the world we exist in.

A photo of my dog sniffing some flowers in our backyard.

              As humans we live our lives in moments. In extraordinary instances, we stop to notice the world around us, ever so fleeting in the world’s calamity. As time continues, these moments start to fade and people try to capture these memories in the form of sounds and images, otherwise known as art. Its builds a version of the world in a single moment, to be carried forward through the rest of time. A moment ever so real, ever so present; a world that does not change. Pausing to take a breath on a vibrant experience and enjoying every bit of the moment before it’s time to move on. Art is taking a break to be present, in a world cannot help but move forward.

I hoped you enjoyed reading my blogpost! I would love to hear your thoughts on art as a means to connect with the present experience.

Grish 

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The Speediest Sweetheart That Ever Lived

Have you ever had the chance to experience a real-life encounter with a wild animal? For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Grish and I’d like to touch upon my developing relationship with Chinook the peregrine falcon! I’ve been volunteering with Wild Ontario for a number of years now and I have to say its been one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences I’ve had in my life. I remember the day I got an email saying I got an interview and jumping out of my bed with so much excitement; I got the email around 7am and even though I am not a morning person I honestly didn’t think I would get that far. Over the years I’ve got to work with a number of birds such as Apollo the American Kestrel and Quito the Broad wing Hawk, both giving me the opportunity to learn and develop in so many ways.

Apollo the American Kestrel, summer of 2019.

              Due to COVID restrictions, handling teams and the volunteer set up has changed quite a bit. While I used to have my own team to manage, the volunteer group has become really restricted limiting teams to groups of two with many people working two birds instead of one. While I only opted to take care of one bird this semester, I cannot say it has been any less challenging. We have a variety of raptors in the program, ranging from owls to hawks to falcons. Falcons, being more closely related to parrots than the other raptor groups tend to be the most intelligent but also most troublesome; they have fast minds and make it very clear if they are uncomfortable or don’t feel like working. Furthermore, being such fast-flighted birds, they tend to have a high metabolism attributing to their eagerness when they are underweight. While eagerness may sound like a good thing its important to maintain a good workable weight because if a bird is too eager it makes things rather difficult for the handler and can leave birds susceptible to certain behaviours like footing and flapping.

Chinook on one of our first walks, cute but not completely comfortable just yet.

              Over the years, I accumulated the impression that Chinook was a very big, very intimidating bird who left her handlers feelings the effects of her eagerness. Being put on her team I was honestly kind of scared knowing what her reputation was like. When Liz, a very kind and experienced handler trained me up to work with her, I could say my very terrible impression of her quickly went away. She’s actually a sweetheart who simply is misunderstood by a lot of people who don’t regularly work with her. She knows what she likes and isn’t afraid to make it known. She is very clear with how she is feeling and though it can be difficult to adjust to I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all! It was definitely hard for me to adapt to her when I first started working with her; I didn’t know what kind of glove position she preferred, the way she displayed behaviour was difficult for me to read, etc. As I continued to work with her though, I found this to be a product of our inexperience as working partners versus her being a bad bird or I a bad handler. This past week has been such a huge success, and though we did struggle I feel like our working relationship is developing rather beautifully. I’m very excited for what the future holds!

Chinook on a walk this past week; 10/10 cute and very comfortable.

All birds mentioned are non-releasable raptors and educational ambassadors for Wild Ontario.

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Growing up

All throughout our lives were obviously evolving, changing, facing new problems and gathering skills to solve those problems. Every stage of life takes adjusting to, from entering elementary school, through puberty, going to high school and so on. I imagine everyone, much like myself, can look back and remember the awkwardness and uncomfortable adjustments that each of these stages brought. For me some of the biggest adjustment periods that I can remember was going from grade 9 to grade 11. I’m really not sure why but those years were when I truly started being myself and felt changes between my peers happening at different rates. That being said, I think that I really noticed these changes in my final year of high school and entering into university. My grade 12 year was when I started to actually have to try much harder in my classes and really not do well in some. The pressure of doing well combined with the daunting thought that one mis-step could mean that university acceptances would not arrive started to give me anxiety and panic attacks in the middle of class. I had no idea that I was really experiencing them until speaking with my doctor, but this is something that kind of allowed me to realize that I really am growing up and this is some real life stuff. 

Going away to school is supposed to teach you about who you truly are and cause you to grow and become more independent. For me, I was always told I was a mature teenager and young adult, which I definitely felt, but going away to school was still a shock, much more than I realized. Navigating new friendships while missing your friends and people from home, all while dealing with new class environments was nothing close to calming. Overall I know that my first year of university taught me so many things about myself that I wouldn’t have discovered so quickly had I not gone away. 

The stage of life I’m in right now is kind of a complicated one and I’m sure a lot of you can agree. I’m currently 21 years old, fully an adult with some adult responsibilities like minor bill payments and taking care of myself while I’m away at school, all things that don’t bother me at all. I’m conflicted with the feeling that I just want to do whatever I can to accelerate the start of my life. I don’t want to be in school any longer than I want to so the idea of doing a masters just sounds so awful to me, but I know it would be beneficial. I want to live on my own and fully move out of my parents house, but how can I ever afford anything with todays housing prices? It sounds weird but the idea of being a mom excites me to no end, but will I be able to find a stable job soon so that I can have kids young? It’s somewhat of a negative mindset, but I feel like the demand for everyone to get a huge decade long post secondary education is something preventing me from starting my life and actually living. Does anyone else feel this way as well? These are just some things that are constantly in my mind recently as I’m in my final year here at UoG, entering into the stage of life that I feel is so crucial. 

Thanks for reading my random mind dump and rant!

Caitlyn  

[gsenvs3000]

Hey Caitlyn!

              Honestly, I can relate a lot to that feeling of wanting more in your life but I feel like a lot of it is the pressure I feel from seeing everyone else doing such big things in their life. Like you, I’m 21 and I’ve already seen so many people from my former classes getting married, finishing their degrees amongst other milestones. It makes me feel like I should be so much farther in my life, like I should have big things accomplished rather than enjoying my journey to adulthood. So, while I still am very much a legal adult there is so much more for me to know and learn before I can have things “figured out”.

              As for what you’ve mentioned in the last part of your blogpost, I think its so exciting that you know what you want for you life. If you want to be a young mom and the major thing holding you back is financial stability, you can focus your time and energy overcoming that barrier. From what I’ve read you seem like the type of person ready to make things happen, so I have no doubts that you are capable in overcoming this challenge. Furthermore, knowing what you want from your life is a much better position to be in than not knowing, its more of figuring out what it takes to lead your ideal lifestyle. Your blogpost was really inspiring, I wish you the best of luck!

Grish 😊

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Digging deeper: How privilege plays a role in nature interpretation despite not being sexy to talk about

Inequality is a fact of life. This is the fact from the second a human is born. Humans are not equal in various aspects such as height, weight, skin color, raw intelligence, personality traits, race, and the list goes on. This is not a bad thing. This is what makes us human. Diversity is what makes this world interesting, novel, and joyful.

That being said, some aspects of diversity are unfortunate. When it comes to nature interpretation, some people may be more privileged than others in getting to experience nature. To me, the definition of privilege is a special advantage granted to a subset of people in a particular domain.

In this context, the particular domain is access to nature and nature interpretation. For example, I had the luxury of going to British Columbia this past summer to take a break from school and enjoy nature. I took many nature tours, experienced several different beautiful areas in Western Canada, and furthered my relationship with nature. Here’s a photo of me enjoying myself during this breathtaking trip.

Photo of me on a nature interpretation tour in Belcarra Regional Park in British Columbia, Canada.

Digging a little deeper, the only way I was able to have this experience is because of privilege. I am privileged to first have financial access to take this trip. Even deeper than that, I am privileged to live in the city of Guelph, a place that values conservation areas. This means that even during times where I am not on a vacation, I can walk a few minutes and I can find myself in a beautiful walking trail where I can enjoy nature. So many countries I have visited make no effort to conserve nature. For example, Iraq is a country I’ve been to and this country makes almost no effort to invest in its natural beauty. Their governing bodies make very little attempt to make bylaw regulations that protect natural areas, at least in comparison to Canada. Here’s a random picture of me on a high rooftop in Iraq. You can see in the background that apart from a few trees, there is no effort to provide the citizens with green spaces. In Canada and specifically in Guelph, most residential subdivisions have access to a nearby green space to walk, bike, and enjoy nature.

Photo of me on a rooftop in Baghdad, Iraq overlooking the city.

This interested me so I put my nerd hat on and used Google Earth to compare the two cities. Here are two satellite images of the city I visited in Iraq in comparison to Guelph. I used the same “zoom” level and tried my best to randomize the spot where I took the screenshots. This is no scientific experiment by any means. And obviously the population density of the city needs to be taken into account for justification of less green space. However, it still provides a glimpse on how much more emphasis Guelph puts on green space rather than the city I was visiting in Iraq.

Satellite image of Guelph, Canada highlighting protected areas in green.

Satellite image of Baghdad, Iraq highlighting protecting areas in green.

You can see from the “green” areas that there are much more protected natural areas in Guelph in comparison to the city in Iraq. Therefore, the fact that I live in Canada (Guelph) means that I am privileged in the sense that my country makes an effort to protect nature. That means I get to enjoy nature and benefit from nature interpretation. I have the convenience of walking to a protected green space regardless of financial privilege. This means that even if someone is infinitely more financially secure than me living in the satellite image of Iraq above, I am still more privileged when it comes to access to nature. To me, privilege goes deeper than simply financial privilege.

What do you think? In your eyes, is this a problem?

If so, what’s the first step in solving it?

If not, why?

Curious to hear your thoughts!

[gsenvs3000]

              What an insightful post! I completely agree with you when I say that we should all be grateful for the comforts life in Canada has to offer. I think the highlight of your post was how you took note of the minute differences that even Google Maps shows when it comes to illustrating green spaces across the world. I never would have thought that green spaces were something to note or be appreciative of if you had not pointed it out. I think the appreciation of nature very much varies across the world, just like socio-economic conditions. In many parts of the world, appreciating and enjoying nature is an activity that people with too much time on their hands do. While it is a privilege to enjoy and understand nature, it is simply not feasible for many individuals around the world who are trying to support themselves and their families.

              As for the lack of green spaces you observed in Iraq, I cannot help but think of how the countries size to population ratio is perhaps limiting public infrastructure in a way that reduces greenspaces. Iraq has a greater population for approximately 1/25 the size than Canada, so perhaps the inability to include greenspaces in their infrastructure is a result of the population density experienced in that country. Perhaps, because of our socio-economic condition and space as a country we can afford to enjoy natural spaces. Therefore, I think the start enabling others to enjoy the same privileges we experience in nature would be to aid other countries in developing equitable and comfortable living standards, so that others are in a position to enjoy their interests and the world around them.

[gsenvs3000]

An Opportunity to Experience

              I once heard about privilege being described as a coin; an item that presents unearned advantages and disadvantages based on your draw of heads or tails. Privilege and oppression are two sides of the same coin and while I used to understand privilege as an access to opportunity, I now understand it as a quality enabling individuals to experience greater comfort in life. In my eyes, nature interpretation is the opportunity to connect others with the physical world. It facilitates a connection that is graspable, enabling audiences to forge memorable experiences on the topic of interest.

              Privilege is the very essence that allow interpreters to connect with people around the world. Interpreters often interact with non-captive audiences; individuals who pursue the knowledge because of their genuine interest in the topic. This allows interpreters to foster real relationships with people in way that is informal and engaging and puts interpreters in a position in which enthusiasm can be enjoyed by both parties. The real-life connections this occupation harbours also enables a true discussion that involves various perspectives, in a space that is safe due to its nature of fostering interest and learning together. Unlike informants, the privilege of nature interpretation is that it is an activity that is meant to be enjoyed! It’s far more than simply reciting facts to an audience; good nature interpretation is a cultivation of experiences and knowledge that allows individuals to relate in a meaningful way. I feel like when learning from a good interpreter there is no fear to seem dumb. People aim to undergo an intellectual awakening that fosters all the senses.

              The privilege of learning from an interpreter is that information is usually presented in a way that is relevant, making it easily digestible; the information is understood in relation to something else the audience already knows. Interpreters can tell stories on a personal level to connect with things that audiences not just know about but care about. The brilliance of interpretation is the ability to spark a flame within the audience; it’s the art of provocation. It allows individuals to experience revelations in the way they think, observe, and understand the world around them.

              Interpretation in not an activity that everyone is able to enjoy; the ability to enjoy and learn without interference from the pressures of the world is not an opportunity everyone gets to exercise in their life. When I think of the privilege I experience as Canadian, who lives in safe country with a more than comfortable home life I just cannot help but be grateful for all the blessings my parents have given me, given our ancestral history. Thus, while privilege can certainly be a bad thing that causes people to suffer inequity, I believe that privilege in nature interpretation is an opportunity to grow and is one that we should be grateful for.