Nature's Kiss

I love nature; hiking, skiing, camping and learning. This blog will highlight the different ways to share nature with others. Enjoy!

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Live Long and Prosper

A show that boldly goes where no show has gone before, Star Trek not only brought to light interstellar travel and genius androids, but also the crew’s exploration into philosophical dimensions. It may be a popular sci-fi TV show, but since Star Trek launched in the 1960s, the series has blasted off with debates into metaphysical conundrums and ethical enigmas- such as questioning the nature of the soul to the foundations of society.

The “Prime Directive”, also known as the “Non-Interference Directive”, orders Starfleet crews to follow one rule: do not interfere with other cultures or civilizations. The actual order given in the 1968 episode called Bread and Circuses is:

“no identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations”

Photo of Captian Jean Luc Picard retrieved from: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/star-trek/

Captains take this seriously, like Jean Luc Picard from the original series who states:

“A starship captain’s most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive.”

The Prime Directive reflects both the Kantian commitment to respecting others autonomy and the consequentialist commitment to harm reduction. The assumption of the Prime Directive is that cultures are better left alone to their own devices, these devices can be social or technological. Any interference is judged to create chaos in unexpected ways, even if well-intended. If there are unintended harms to the culture it is better if they are a result from the culture’s own free choices. This commitment to respecting a civilization’s beliefs, practices and values rather than imposing “better” ones upon them is kind of an anti-colonialist ethos.

Are such policies in the universe’s best interests? If the Starfleet can save lives and civilizations from extinction shouldn’t they try to? By being bystanders does this make the Starfleet evil? Well, not according to the Westphalian sovereignty concept, a political paradigm embodied by the Starfleet. This concept comes from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia treaties which established modern thinking on nation boundaries and provinces and indicated that conflict would be caused through cross-border intervention. This thinking is discussed by Captain Jean Luc Picard who states:

“The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy… and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous.”

You can see Captain Jean Luc Picard further talking about The Prime Directive in a debate here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mH-L6UCCAE

The philosophy of the Westphalia treaty appeared to lead to peace, halting over 80 years of war in Europe when initiated. But, as you may have noticed, there have been a couple of near-apocalyptic world wars since then. In our intricate universe such simple concepts rarely lead to peace.

Photo taken of my brother, his friend, and I on Halloween. My brother is dressed up as Data from Star Trek the Next Generation.

An example that may resonate more with folks in the ENVS*3000 Nature Interpretation course is imagine if you’re a wildlife filmmaker and you come across a dying antelope, do you have a moral obligation to help it? Are you responsible for the death because you walked away? What if by helping the animal you are inadvertently starving a pride of lions that would have fed on the carcass? What would you do?  

Photo I took of a happy Garter snake on the Bruce Peninsula. 

I have a respect for the Prime Directive and within my nature interpretation I will apply concepts like this. Nature is beautifully natural, and when leading guided hikes watching, not interfering and leaving no trace will be the morals I follow and lead. I have made a list of guidelines that I will follow, and you can too, based off of my personal ethics surrounding the Prime Directive and the textbook “The Gift of Interpretation” by Beck and Cable. This list includes:

1.       Always place the welfare of your group above all else.

2.       When looking at wildlife, ensure that your subjects are not caused any anxiety, physical harm, consequential predation, or lessened reproductive success by your activities.

3.       When observing, do not do anything that with alter the natural behavior of your subject permanently. (For example: habituation, baiting, or feeding.)

4.       Do not restrict or restrain wildlife to attract predators. Do not drug or restrain wildlife to film them.

5.       Be aware and follow all local/national laws regarding nature. (For example: staying on trails, picking plants)

6.       Give credit where it is due.

7.       Always do research before you present, some information is updated or is subject to change.

8.       Allow all sites to easily restore to their original state after you have been there.

9.       Be prepared for unexpected conditions, both environmental or the subject.

10.   When observing animals be aware and take precautions. Certain species will never return to a site because they can smell you there. Nighttime observations should be made with natural light. Being near dens or nests can attract more predators.

11.   Nature is naturally beautiful, and everyone deserves to enjoy it.

This concludes my blog posts for the course ENVS*3000 at the University of Guelph. I hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts, a few of the prompts incorporated concepts I hadn’t considered before- so if you didn’t learn a lot, I sure did! I am very accustomed to scientific writing through University and having the opportunity to share my ideas in a creative way was difficult at first, but very beneficial and lots of fun. Thank you for reading, and to everyone in the ENVS*3000 course I wish you the best of luck! I have no doubts that everyone will guide rocking hikes, and use the skills learned on a daily basis.

References:

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing

Lau, A. (2007). Engaging first-year students in ethical issues via Star Trek. Pennsylvania University, 566. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/702a/b04eb5975f7a29a31701981bc5c1c25429d2.pdf

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First of all let me just start by saying I LOVE STAR TREK! It’s funny because all semester in class we’ve talked about  relate the subject material to your audience, and help them find their spark. Well Star Trek is definitely my spark to your post!

I think your post evokes a moral dilemma that I didn’t even know I was facing. Your antelope problem I think I can take a crack at. I do not think I would help the antelope that was dying IF the antelope was dying due to natural causes or nature. Even though it would be devastating to watch. Where the problem gets tricky for me is that humans have not followed Star Treks code and have had many interactions with nature. Humans have had their impact on nature which ranges from destroying habitats, limiting food sources, hunting for sport and more.

I really enjoyed your list of 11 things you will try to do when you find yourself leading walks, tours, or hikes. One that stood out to me is “When looking at wildlife, ensure that your subjects are not caused any anxiety, physical harm, consequential predation, or lessened reproductive success by your activities” (Moira Parker), I think a lot of people do not understand this concept. Trying to take close up photos of animals, causing the animal emotional harm. As well as trying to get close to the animal could result in you ruining their habitat or like you said physical harm. 

Thanks again Moira for your posts this semester and having the courage to combine my favourite TV show with a university level project!

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My Personal Interpretation Journey

          Throughout this course, we have learned a variety of interpretive skills that range from improving our communication to learning about effective ways to engage your participants in programs. Ethic is described as being a set of morals that are related throughout a specified field. With this in mind, my personal ethic as a nature interpreter surrounds being the most hard-working and inclusive interpreter I can be. I want to continue to develop skills that allow me to take information available and communicate it effectively to a variety of individuals. In terms of the beliefs that I bring to nature interpretation, I want to focus on three main ideas.  

One: Effective interpretation occurs in a place of inclusivity and encouragement  

         The first one is my belief that effective interpretation takes place in a space that is inclusive and encouraging. With that being said, I think by creating inclusive opportunities for individuals, it creates a space where connections with nature can occur freely. As mentioned in the course lectures, each individual contains an “invisible backpack”. This is where each of us contains a set of tools in our backpacks that we have, these tools can either be advantageous or the lack of tools can put us at a disadvantage. I believe it is important to create programs where it can accommodate as many people as possible. While keeping in mind that not everyone has the same resources, this definitely makes it difficult to create programs but is well worth it! Especially if it means that you can help to create as many nature connections as possible.  

         In the same mindset, I believe that it is important to have an idea of your audience’s background. This is critical when delivering effective programs as it allows you to better achieve your purpose. By knowing the background, you can create a better space of inclusivity that ultimately allows you to most effectively encourage your participants throughout the program. I feel that knowing your audience helps to create a space that includes everyone.  

Two: Communicate your passion  

         The second one revolves around my belief that nature interpretation stems from the ability of the interpreter to take their passions and communicate effectively. In the textbook, authors describe one of the gifts of interpretation to be passion. This describes effective communication stemming from the passion of the interpreter to share their knowledge in an effective way. I believe that it is important to have not only passion for the subject that you are sharing but also passion for wanting to connect participants to that subject. In the lab with Chris Early, I found it extremely interesting how he expressed that it would be excellent to have both of those passions all the time when delivering programs. However, you can help to create nature connections in areas that you are less passionate about (for me this is soil applications) by containing a passion or drive for connecting people to the environment. In my personal ethic as a nature interpreter, I believe that you need to be passionate about creating connections with people and the environment (in whatever area that may be).  

Three: Creating respect through connections  

         The third belief that I have is sparking a connection between an individual and nature. This allows the individual to connect through experiences and helps to teach them that we should respect the environment. It is well known that our anthropogenic influence can drastically change the environments in which we interact with. Thus, through nature interpretation, I believe that it is important to instill a sense of environmental stewardship or respect. As interpreters, we should be able to take the place that we are delivering a program in and create a connection between the participant and the environment. Thus, by creating this connection we are encouraging the participant to deeply appreciate and respect the environment through personal experience. An effective way to do this would be to deliver programs that focus on providing hands-on opportunities. Events such as tree planting, water studies, or bug studies are excellent ways for participants to connect to the environment. It is important to instill a sense of respect and love towards the environment and I believe that nature interpreters can do this through helping to create nature connections.  

         Overall, I feel as though my ethic or set of morals related to the field of nature interpretation throughout the course has definitely changed from what I would originally have expressed at the beginning. I feel as though I have a deeper understanding of the amount of passion, dedication, and research that it truly takes to effectively communicate or connect people to nature. This being said, there are some main responsibilities as a nature interpreter that I believe are important to always keep in mind. Some of which include: 

Being inclusive and adaptive  

Encouraging nature connections through self-exploration or guided tours  

Providing a safe space for learning and expanding knowledge  

Accepting that you will never know everything and to continually learn and grow  

Conduct background research, prepare, and plan out programs (to the best of your ability). This will allow you to deliver the most effective program.  

And many more!  

         Lastly, I will touch on the approach to nature interpretation that I feel is most effective for myself. As most of you know, there are three major learning styles. The first being visual learners which include individuals that learn best through seeing and watching. The second is an auditory learner which learns best with listening. The third is a kinesthetic learner that connects best with touching and interacting with things. It would be most effective when interpreting nature to incorporate all three of these learning styles into programs. However, I understand that it is not always practical to do this, and some activities work best with specific styles of learning. Throughout the course, we have experienced a variety of labs that include, the arboretum (parts aimed towards auditory learners, through the bird game), the downtown walk (also aimed towards auditory learners but also visual through a tour style), the art gallery (auditory and visual), and the indoor lab (aimed towards kinesthetic learners through participating in activities that involve interacting with objects). After being able to observe other interpreters deliver programs throughout a range of subjects, I have concluded that there is not one approach that I feel is most suitable to myself. Although, I have found that I prefer to incorporate or have programs incorporate hands-on learning activities. In terms of being a participant in programs, I prefer that they incorporate some aspects of kinesthetic learning. However, I also enjoy when those programs utilize visual and auditory cues. If I were to deliver a program to a group of participants, I would prefer to incorporate a hands-on activity. Although, I do see the benefit of incorporating auditory and visual cues to help connect the most amount of people I can to the content being shared.  

         To conclude this course, I have realized that what I thought I knew about nature interpretation was only the surface. To ultimately understand and appreciate the reach that nature interpreters have is far too much to do in this short period of time (one semester). However, I do feel like I have gained a deeper appreciation for those who share their passions (more specifically environmental ones) with the world! The main takeaway from this course for me would be that interpretation covers a wide range of subjects. But, to become a successful nature interpreter it only requires you to have a passion (of anything) and a passion to communicate and help create connections within others!  

         I am interested in your main take-aways from this course. Please share them with me, since interpretation can take on so many different forms and touch people in different ways, I am interested in how you feel with this course concluding.  

References

“The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011.

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Hey there! First I want to say congratulations on completing all your blogs! It’s been a long haul but a good haul. I really enjoyed how you broke this longer post up with your three main ideas! It would have been a lot to read if it was just one long paragraph.

As for your first idea / belief, I can completely agree. Inclusivity is extremely important when it comes to nature interpretation. I touched on the importance of inclusivity in my blog post as well. Although something I did not touch on was encouragement. That is a great word to associate nature interpretation with. One of the labs that I did not enjoy as much was the music lab due to the lack of encouragement. Having to vote on who’s lyric or idea is better, isn’t encouraging people to say their ideas, but instead making people worried if no one will vote for their idea.

Your second point of communicating your passion I also touched on in my blog post. Passion can be a very powerful thing if communicated correctly. I also enjoyed how you said you need to create connections with people and nature, kind of like the spark idea.

Finally, I enjoyed your third point about respect. We definitely should respect our environment since it is the only one we have! I definitely agree that running programs that are hand-on, such as tree planting, would help people more easily connect with the environment. Thank you for your post!

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The Conclusion of Our Journey

Hello all my readers, as you can tell by the title of this post unfortunately our blog days together are coming to an end. I have enjoyed sharing my perspective on different topics about nature interpretation throughout this semester. As this journey together comes to an end, I thought I would look back on how I have developed as a nature interpreter. So sit back, relax, and let’s conclude this journey.

Photo of my campers and I at the end of our hike / journey. Photo taken by Lucy Cook (co-worker).

My Beliefs

As someone who was raised to respect others, my core belief has always been “you do you, unless it’s hurting others”. Essentially I was raised to not care what others were doing, feeling, saying, loving, etc., unless it was effecting myself or others. I like to bring this same belief into nature. Going on a nature walk every four days at the Bruce Peninsula National Park, you see a lot of different people. My campers would sometimes make fun of other people who were taking selfies, or singing as they hiked, or using walking sticks. I always asked my campers if those people are living their life and what they’re doing isn’t affecting you, why do you care? What difference does it make to your life? Feeling embarrassed, they never really knew how to answer me. I believe that people shouldn’t judge each other especially in nature where everyone should feel accepted. Where my belief changes is if those people are affecting myself or others. A great example would be a young couple my campers and I came across who were smoking cigarettes and throwing their garbage onto the path. I kindly asked them to put their cigarettes out and told them that I could keep their garbage in my bag but suggested they bring a bag of their own next time. My belief of “you do you” changed because what that couple was doing was affecting nature.

Photo of myself at the Bruce Peninsula National Park, a hike where I practice my belief of “you do you unless it’s hurting others”. Photo taken by Jake Godfrey (co-worker).

Another belief I have while being a nature interpreter is that nature is essential to wellness. I believe that children, adults, and seniors should all have the time and the access to go out into nature. As a nature interpreter and someone who is a part of the nature community, I would try my hardest to reach out to everyone and get them outside. I personally believe being outside significantly increases your wellness and your mental health. For example, I had a camper who had recently transitioned and was going through a lot of mental health issues. He didn’t like camp since he was forced to be in girls cabin with a girl councillor (myself) which I cannot even imagine how difficult that would be for him. I finally convinced him to go to the park and when he saw a beautifully time rainbow on the water, he was taken aback. After that moment his mood completely changed. I am not saying that nature completely helped his mental health issues, but it definitely made a positive difference.  

Whenever my campers felt stressed, we would take a trip to the garden to calm down. Photo taken by myself.

My Responsibilities

As a nature interpreter, I believe I have many responsibilities, not only to nature but also to my audience. First there are the obvious responsibilities that I have to nature such as to protect and preserve nature. This means stopping people like my littering couple from before from using the earth as their garbage bag. As well, I owe it to nature to be educated and understand what is happening to our earth. This can help me educate the public on real dangers that are happening to our earth, such as climate change, habitat destruction, and more. With education comes preservation. I also have a responsibility to nature to do as much as I can to raise awareness, and get people out there. Getting people out into nature and having them experience it can lead to them loving it. It is harder to see something you love get destroyed.

Photo of an ice cave, not the most normal nature but still super cool to learn about. Photo taken by myself.

The second and maybe most important responsibility I have as a nature interpreter is my responsibility to my audience. I need to make sure that I am inclusive, accepting, and open to all. As my class talked about in my nature interpretation course, nature should be accessible to everyone. Unfortunately as of today I don’t believe nature is truly attainable to all, but one of my responsibilities will be to try as hard as I can so that one day it is. As well as I have talked about many times before, I need to give my audience a gift of a spark. The textbook I have been reading this semester states “To spark an interest, interpreters must relate the subject to the lives of the people in their audience” (Beck and Cable 2011). I need to be able to relate my audiences lives to nature, and spark their interest. “In addition to being passionate for the interpretive site, the interpreter has a passion for sharing his or her knowledge and wisdom with others” (Beck and Cable 2011). The combination of relating and showing the audience my passion will hopefully have my audience leaving the walk, hike, classroom with a new perspective on nature.

Photo of us councillors out on the court hustling to show our passion and hope the kids passion will shine through. Photo taken by Riley Windsor (co-worker).

My Approaches

As I talked about before in my blog post about my scientific hero, there are many approaches to take to teach auditory, visual and tactile learners. The approach I will continue to take and improve on will be taking my audience out into nature and doing an interactive walk / hike with them. I usually have printed out photos of certain flora or fauna that I like to talk about which can appeal to the visual learner. I also usually have paint chips in my backpack and give each student a paint chip and ask them to go find a flora or fauna that matches that paint colour, appealing to my more tactile learners. Finally I give facts and ask my audience questions for my auditory learners. Obviously, every walk / hike needs to be modified depending on the age and maturity of each group, demonstrating the gift of targeted programming.

Photo of fellow councillor and I dressing up before our hike to make it more interactive for the kids. Photo taken by Logan Barnes (co-worker).

Conclusion

I hope my blogs have provided everyone with a different perspective on nature interpretation and have been a joy to read. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my posts and respond to. I will leave you all with this final question, what more can we do to help nature be more accessible to all?

Reference: “The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011

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Without Music, Life Would B Flat

(If anyone is interested in song writing, here’s a little crash course! https://takelessons.com/blog/how-to-write-a-song-z02)  

“Take what you need not as you please

hard to see children grow up in need

Let’s keep in mind the things we share

like water and food–handle with care-”

Singing and song writing was entirely new for me and out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we were heading into the music lab, but boy was that fun! They always tell you that in university you will not always remember what you learned in class, but the moments that are fun and unique. I will definitely remember making a song and singing it, quite the memory!

When we first started just spitting out random ideas and sentences, I felt kind of awkward and I wasn’t sure where it was going. After a while I was very impressed with the way James would sort through our jumbled “mess” of words and sentences and form lyrics. From here, I felt excited to see where our song was going to take us and what it would eventually sound like. I think a lot of other students had the same first impression as I did and after a while we were all enjoying ourselves. I learned from this lab that sometimes it’s ok to try completely new experiences and you shouldn’t be afraid to take on new challenges. Crossing my boundaries created a very worthwhile experience! I will definitely use a similar activity if I ever teach a younger audience to get them out of their comfort zones. I was surprised with how “catchy” and unique our song turned out. I love that years from now down the road, I can share a song I made about nature, what a worthwhile experience to be part of!

The first gift that is relevant to this lab is the gift of joy. People do not truly experience joy without having their “bodies and minds stretched to [their] limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” (Beck and Cable 2011) In this lab, I believe that even though a lot of us felt uncomfortable at the beginning we overcame the difficult task and had so much fun creating a song together!

(We found joy through a worthwhile experience, https://freedomhillcommunitychurch.org/joy/)

 The second gift is the gift of story. I think this gift is important to give the audience something to hold onto. As it states in the textbook, the power of story allows the “listener to find personal value and carry it with them” (beck and Cable 2011). Through our song we were able to construct a meaningful story about climate change and reducing the amount of plastic we use. People will find it easier to remember a song with a message rather than just facts.

(We told a story through song, https://writingcooperative.com/telling-a-story-vs-storytelling-2c7a52377e95)

 The last gift I think this lab connected with is the gift of hope. We gave our listeners a chance of hope that the world is not doomed yet, and if we all work together to reduce plastic and not become “sasquatches”, we can fix this! This is the gift that could have been developed and expanded more. The length of the lab didn’t allow us to come up with a full song, but I think with more lyrics we could provide our audience with more connections and to give them more hope that the world can turn around. Also if we started doing more things we talked about in our song with the community, people could maybe see this more realistically and feel more hopeful and even help out at plastic clean up events, etc.

(All you need is a little hope, https://careerwise.ceric.ca/2019/05/17/the-flexibility-of-hope-in-career-development/#.Xc9hPS3Myu4)

I’ll leave you with a few lines from our song that I will be humming to for a while longer and I hope you will be too!

Don’t be a sasquatch

Not on my watch!

be mindful of your footprint

Live with good intent

Live with good intent

Question: Did anyone else enjoy the music lab? Why or why not? What did take with you from it?

References:

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The gifts of interpretation: fifteen guiding principles for interpreting nature and culture. Urbana: Sagamore Publishing.

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First of all I would like to say your title of your blog is pure genius material! So thank you for that! I went to the website for the crash course on song writing and what a great website. It was so cool how they had the different instruments and the different languages! I may use that website later, who knows!

Being a fourth year student at the university of Guelph, I totally agree that I cannot remember every lecture, lab or test throughout my years here. But the music lab will be one I can’t forget. Not to mention our song we made gets stuck in my head almost every other day.

I personally have written songs before but they have always been silly little camp songs that I create in front of kids. Like you, I was uncomfortable with sharing my ideas in front of my peers and felt somewhat awkward at first. But as the lab went on I started feeling more comfortable and realized no one would care if my idea sucked or wasn’t fantastic.

I definitely agree with the idea that this lab brought us the gift of joy. Most of us in that lab room were having their minds stretched to the limits with song creation. The gift of a story was involved in that lab since we couldn’t just make a song about facts. We needed to take our listeners on a story. Finally the gift of hope. The song would have been real sad if there hadn’t been any hope.

To answer your question I did enjoy the music lab for mostly the same reasons you did! Thanks for your post, and look forward to reading more from you!

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Let’s Talk About Gifts!

As many of my readers know, I have been taking a course ENVS*3000 which is all about nature interpretation. Almost every Thursday, my course has a lab. The one lab that stood out to me the most was about nature. At the university of Guelph there is a section on campus dedicated to gardens, walking trails, forests and plants called the Arboretum. One Thursday my class went to the Arboretum and had a guided nature walk with a man named Chris Earley (the chief naturalist). The guided walk started with an educational ice breaker game about bird sounds, then a modified walk (due to the poor weather), and concluded with on the spot interpretive presentations. In this week’s blog I am going to be talking about the three gifts that Chris Earley demonstrated and taught us about.  

Photo of my housemate Faye and I finding a trail near our house so I could share the spark I got from Chris about nature walks. Photo taken by Gabriella Ruzhytska (other housemate).

The first gift that Chris demonstrated was the gift of a spark. I personally believe that the gift of a spark may be the most important gift. The textbook states “To spark an interest, interpreters must relate the subject to the lives of the people in their audience” (Beck and Cable 2011). Chris started by explaining to us students how the Arboretum could relate to our lives. He talked about courses he taught through the Arboretum and programs us science nerds could join to be more involved. He realized his audience was university students and gave us a spark that made us more interested in learning about the Arboretum. Before this lab I had NEVER been to the Arboretum. But since Chris’s walk I have been more than five times!

Photo of my friend and I at a massive fire! Talk about a spark! Photo taken by Lucy Cook.

The second gift that Chris demonstrated was the gift of targeted programming. This gift is all about knowing your audience. For example an interpreter leading a walk for a seven year old wouldn’t dive into intense complicated lectures. Chris made sure the programming for the audience of third year science students was appropriate. In the textbook it is written “Just as adults can never be too old, children can never be too young to enjoy nature” (Beck and Cable 2011). We did start the walk with an ice breaker game where we learned bird mating calls. Some could see that as a younger audience game but I thought it was an amazing way for us to get out of our shells, and like the textbook said adults can never be too old to enjoy nature. Then after we played the game Chris lead a debrief and taught us more about the bird calls. Chris was able to target the kid in us as well as the academic student.

Photo of my older campers and I going on a hike. I had to realize since they were sixteen, I could not give them my usual talk that I give to my twelve year old campers. Photo taken by Faye Perchanok.

The third and finale gift that Chris demonstrated was the gift of passion. “In addition to being passionate for the interpretive site, the interpreter has a passion for sharing his or her knowledge and wisdom with others” (Beck and Cable 2011). Chris easily demonstrated this gift. He had so much passion for his work. Chris knew facts, stories, jokes, about everything. Chris was not showing off or proving how intelligent he was to us. Chris genuinely wanted all of us to enjoy the Arboretum like he does. Although at one point I thought Chris almost had too much passion. At one point Chris had us do on the spot interpretive presentations. Four people volunteered and they all did amazing. After the fourth person went, no one wanted to follow, it was cold out and we were all looking pretty tired. Chris was so passionate that he wanted more people to present so he started picking people at random to go. I think that would’ve been a great time to debrief and move onto another activity. I am a big believer in challenge by choice. I don’t think calling people out and forcing them to present something in front of their peers is an effective way to get them to share their passion.

One of my passions is working at this crazy camp and educating kids through games, costumes and fun! Photo taken by Brett MacMillan (camp nurse).

To conclude Chris Earley is an amazing nature interpreter who has many gifts to share, and I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to learn from him. 

Reference “The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011

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eee ooo eee ooo (chimpanzee noises)

Visionary Scientist, Leader, and expert.

That is what comes to mind when I think of my scientific hero, chimpanzee researcher Dr. Jane Goodall. A word I didn’t mention is failure, and not as an insult. Every scientist from Marie Curie to Einstein, to your high school science teacher, to me, have failed as being in science requires lots of persistence. Failure is a normal, useful part of science.

Dr. Jane Goodall in the 1965 film, “Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees” by National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/01/jane-goodall-book-excerpt-praise-difficult-women/

Dr. Jane Goodall is one of the most accomplished animal behavior scientists in the world. Discovering chimpanzee’s use of tools and social relationships through her passion. These discoveries came through some measure of failure, knocking her down and her daring to try again with a better idea during her first independent research project at 26 years old.

Dr. Louis Leaker, a famous anthropologist, asked Goodall in 1960 to study eastern chimpanzees’ behavior in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. This National Park is 52 square kilometers on the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. This expedition, which had funding for 6 months, began on July 14th. Goodall arrived with a love of animals, a high school education, and her mother.

Dr. Jane Goodall, English primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist, with a chimpanzee in her arms, c. 1995 (Photo by Apic)

This study was not easy and didn’t get off to a great start. Once arriving in Gombe Goodall and her crew, Rashidi Kikwale a porter and Adolf a game scout, found a fruit tree which would attract animals. Soon, 16 chimpanzees appeared. Unfortunately, the foliage blocked Goodall’s view of the chimpanzee behaviours, other than reaching for more fruit. When Goodall approached the tree further, the chimpanzees fled.

Over the next 8 weeks, the valleys of Gombe had been combed by Goodall and her crew but they couldn’t find another fruit tree that would attract the primates. The thick undergrowth and streams running down the mountains made for slow going and difficulty hearing any sounds from chimpanzees. To avoid scaring more chimpanzees, the group began observing from across the valley’s which was difficult to make meaningful observations, and still as the chimpanzee’s spotted Goodall, they would flee.

Goodall theorized that having a large group of people was scaring the chimpanzees and decided to go out on her own. Still, the chimpanzee’s fled. During this time, it was very frustrating as some days Goodall would see chimpanzees for a few minutes and other days she didn’t see anything. It didn’t matter if she was near, far, high, low, alone, or in a group, the chimpanzees would always run away.

Dr. Jane Goodall in the 1965 film “Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees,” Photo by National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/01/jane-goodall-book-excerpt-praise-difficult-women/

To add to everything, Goodall and her mother contracted malaria which is characterized by chills, high fever, and exhaustion which kept them in bed. Goodall thanks the camp cook, Dominic, for keeping them alive.

Two weeks of fighting illness later, Goodall climbed the valley to a clearing high above Lake Tanganyika. At this point she was 3 months in, with only 3 months of funding left and had almost no data to share. Goodall needed something to change.

Suddenly Goodall notices the movement of 3 chimpanzees about 75 meters away from her. The chimpanzees looked at her, and instead of fleeing they continued walking in the forest. After this a few hour later, a larger group of chimpanzees began to feed on a fruit tree in the bottom of the valley. They also noticed Goodall, but again did not flee and Goodall was able to observe them for several hours.

Goodall said:

“It was by far the best day I had since my arrival at Gombe, and when I got back to camp that evening I was exhilarated, if exhausted… That day, in fact, marked the turning point in my study.”

Photo by Micheal Nichols 

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2019/09/23/national-geographic-society-and-jane-goodall-institute-partner-to-produce-becoming-jane-immersive-multimedia-exhibition-on-legacy-of-dr-jane-goodall/

Goodall’s experience illustrates that science is not a straight line from start to finish. It is an iterative process that requires a healthy dose of mental agility and perseverance. Dr. Jane Goodall is my scientific hero because of this, and many other reasons. It is important to have role models within one’s field, and Dr. Jane Goodall, or Dr. Roberta Bondar are strong, female, scientists that I look up to. So, when your next study is a bust, don’t let it get you down. Failure is the price of admission into the scientific world, welcome to the club!

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Hey Moira, loved your post this week! I have never really looked into Jane Goodall besides what I was taught in a grade 11 anthropology course, so it was very interesting to read your blog post! I think failure plays a huge role in success. Many teachers always say that you learn from your mistakes, and the information you learn through failing will stick with you for a while. As well, I think it is important for young people to have heroes that are not perfect, so the pressure of being perfect doesn’t overwhelm them.

I found it very admirable of Jane Goodall to not let her failure get to her. I know if I were in her shoes, I probably would’ve given up. But even after contracting malaria she was still going back out into the wild to try and find any chimpanzees she could study. I also didn’t realize how young she started her research. I think it is nice to have role models in your similar age group because it makes your dream seem more attainable and not something you have to wait 20 years to start. Since I do not know much about chimpanzees, I was wondering if you knew why the second group of chimpanzees did not flee after seeing her?

After reading your post I can definitely see why Jane Goodall would be a scientific hero of yours. I really enjoyed how you said that science is not a straight line from start to finish because sometimes in classes or labs since you are just following instructions, you can forget how complex science is. Thanks again for sharing!

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Heroes; They Live Among Us

When you hear the word “hero” who do you think of? I being a massive marvel fan think of Captain America. In this week’s blog I am going to be talking about heroes, but not the fiction or marvel kind, the scientific kind. Now don’t worry this won’t be a snooze fest, I am going to be talking about who influenced my life as a kid to go into the sciences. As a kid I was extremely studious (I mean as studious as an elementary school kid can be) and hated getting low grades. But unfortunately science was a subject I struggled with a lot, I could never quite grasp the concepts. I was encouraged by my elementary school science teacher to take applied science in high school but at the time I wanted to become a OB-GYN and knew a background in science would be crucial. So I decided to take the grade 9 academic science course and my teacher was Ms. Pulford.

Photo of me in an airplane stimulator that Ms. Pulford thought would be a good idea to show me the different kinds of science. Photo taken by Charlotte Tenszen (sister).

My experience with Ms. Pulford made me completely change how I thought about science. Before I was terrified to put my hand up and dreaded the class, but after grade 9 science it became one of my favourite subjects and then my undergraduate degree. Ms. Pulford was an amazing teacher for so many reasons. First being that she actually cared about our success. She didn’t just want us to show up and shut up. Ms. Pulford wanted us to have questions, be curious, and demand answers. One thing we talked about in my ENVS*3000 class earlier in the semester was how everyone is a different learner. Another reason why I learnt so well in Ms. Pulford’s class was because she didn’t just appeal to one type of learner. She did experiments, videos, lecturing, reading, and even a podcast! When it came to her tests, she had a variety of questions such as multiple choice, short answer, long answer, and diagrams. She tried very hard to make sure the auditory, visual and tactile learners all got equal shots at success.

Photo of my teammates and I at a cross country event. A sports team run by Ms. Pulford who encouraged me to join as a way to manage my anxiety with physical activity. Photo taken by Ms. Pulford (teacher).

Most of you properly don’t know this but I use to be a very anxious kid. When my anxiety would get really high in class I would need to physically move or else I’d have an anxiety attack. My mom ended up informing all my grade 9 teachers so they were aware and would let me leave the classroom if I asked. Unfortunately I was really embarrassed and ashamed of my anxiety so I never wanted to ask to leave in front of everyone, which caused me to just skip classes entirely. Ms. Pulford recognized this and came up with the idea that every 30 minutes everyone in the class would get up, walk around the room, and change their seat, kind of like musical chairs. She told the class she liked doing this to give our brains a break which meant no one knew that I was the reason.

Photo of my friend Annika, two science teachers and I at a grade 9 leadership camp which Ms. Pulford nominated me to go on. Photo taken by Gabrielle Bettio (friend). 

My current career path has shifted quite a bit from OB-GYN since I am now working towards the goal of becoming a high school biology teacher. As I have mentioned before, in the textbook “The Gifts of Interpretation”, it talks about the gift of a spark and how nature interpreters must try to find a way for their audience to attain that spark. Ms. Pulford wasn’t my spark for nature but she definitely was my spark for science. Some desired traits that I want to take from what I learnt in Ms. Pulford’s classroom is being able to modify the material so all types of learners are able to learn. As well as being able to be there for my students and accommodate them accordingly. I believe these specific traits are important since they are what made me go from hating science to loving it. Ms. Pulford honestly changed my life and hopefully one day I will have the opportunity to change someones life as well. My question for you is, do you have one teacher that you will always remember and why?

Reference “The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011

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The Wonder of Plants

The most amazing thing (I think) about nature is edible and medicinal plants. I learnt a lot about these through my job this summer. Once you learn the hazardous/poisonous plants, you can explore everything else the forest has to offer!

First, we’ll start with my favourite – plantain. Not the plantain in the grocery store reminiscent of a banana, I’m talking about common plantain, a “weed” commonly seen all over parks or your front lawn. This plant is magical in its healing abilities. You can pick some, chew it up and apply it to your cuts/ scrapes. I don’t know too much about the science of it, but I do know one story from “Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask” (Geniusz et al., 2015). I was told this story from my co-worker, so I apologise for any discrepancies in the re-telling.

One day, a professor was working, and a man came into her office and left a big bag of freshly picked oranges on her table and left. Her boss said, to go ask that man what had happened, as she believed some healing had happened. She retrieved the man, and he said that he had learnt about plantain from her class and had taught about its healing properties to his mother. Later on, his mother went to a garden conference, and she began to feel strange after she found a cut on herself. So, she kept applying plantain throughout the whole day. The next day, she still felt ill, so she decided to go see a doctor. The doctor asked her many questions, and eventually he asked her what she was doing yesterday, and she said she was at the garden conference. He said, “I’m so sorry, but two of your friends have died”. Apparently, they got bit by a venomous spider, and died from it. They ran tests on the woman’s blood, and apparently, she had gotten bit by the same spider, but because she had kept applying the plantain, she had survived. The son of this woman had brought the freshly picked oranges as a thank you gift to the professor for teaching him this knowledge about plants.

So that is a story, courtesy of Mary Siisip Geniusz and my co-worker for telling me it.

That’s just one amazing medicinal plant that exists out there. I find it really interesting how many cultures, especially Indigenous ones, have such an in-depth knowledge about wildflowers and medicinal and edible plants.

Another plant I love dearly is Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), which is helpful for fevers, pain and headaches. I also love the mulberry trees for feeding the ducklings and feeding my soul, as well as providing me with a purposeful dye to paint with (Garrett, 2003).

I encourage you to find a reliable medicinal plants book. Currently I’m reading “The Cherokee Herbal” and supplementing it with “Newcombs Wildflower Guide” to identify plants with. I think that using the gift of beauty can allow us to find anything in nature as fascinating, if we go into learning with that mind set.

So the question I will leave you with is, where do you think you can bring a sense of wonder into your life to learn about nature, and what do you think you would like to learn more about?

-       CJ

Works Cited

Garrett, J. T. (2003). The Cherokee herbal: native plant medicine from the four directions. Rochester, Vt: Bear & Co.

Geniusz, M. S., Geniusz, W. D., & Geniusz, A. F. (2015). Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask: Anishinaabe botanical teachings. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Newcomb, L. (2011). Newcombs Wildflower guide: an ingenious new key system for quick, positive field identification of the wildflowers, flowering shrubs and vines of Northeastern and North-Central North America. Boston: Little, Brown.

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Enjoyed reading your blog post! I also have found medicinal and edible plants extremely interesting. My personal favourite medicinal plant is the Balsam Fir. It is a type of coniferous tree and it secretes a sap like substance that you can use to put on your cuts. It seals your cuts and prevents anything from getting in, due to its antiseptic properties. An edible plant I enjoy is chives. My cottage has a bunch of wild chives growing all around it and I use to love eating them all up as a kid.

I enjoyed your story about the plantain. I find it so fascinating what nature can do for us. The women in your story is extremely lucky. But I was wondering did the use of plantain completely rid her body of the venom or did the use of plantain just put the venom at ease before she required medical help?

To answer your question at the end of your post, I think going out into the physical nature helps bring me a sense of wonder. After Chris’s walk through the Arboretum, I was so inclined to look up more about the flora and fauna everyone shared that day. I know it’s hard for people to get out into nature but for me personally seeing and experiencing something makes me more inclined to learn about it than anything else. To answer your other question about what I would like to learn more about, I would definitely like to learn more about medicinal plants after reading your post. It intrigues me as I want to stop relying so heavily on pharmaceutical drugs. Thanks again for your post!

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Attack of the Snakes…. Or Humans?

Have you ever been horrified by a snake?????? Were you horrified because snakes can camouflage or slither around or bite you! What’s not to be afraid of!? Well actually quite a lot. Throughout this blog post I am going to try and teach my readers that snakes have way more reason to be scare of us than we do of them. The one snake I will mostly be focusing on is the Massasauga rattlesnake. The Massasauga rattlesnake is a venomous snake that lives only in Ontario. Now a lot of people get real freaked out about almost all kinds of snakes. I believe this fear starts as a kid. When I was younger I was terrified of snakes. In movies snakes are portrayed as evil or scary. I am not just talking about Indiana Jones or Snakes on a Plane but even kids movies like Jungle Book where Kaa (the snake) is very terrifying. It is no wonder people grow up to be creeped out by snakes. The problem with humans fear of snakes is that it is never based off of real facts, which can be extremely dangerous for all snakes.

Photo of a Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) on the Bruce Peninsula. Photo taken by Logan Barnes (co-worker).

When I started working at my summer camp, I finally learnt that snakes, especially the Massasauga rattlesnake are really amazing and interesting creatures. I learnt that I don’t need to be afraid of them because even though they are venomous, the Massasauga rattlesnake doesn’t want to bite humans. I know that sounds crazy but it is a common misconception. The Massasauga rattlesnake is very shy and likes to camouflage to hide themselves from predators. The rattle noise you’ll hear if you get too close is to warn us to leave, not saying “mmmm you look tasty”. Even if the snake doesn’t have a rattle, they’ll use dry leaves to create a fake rattling noise with the movement of their tail. The Massasauga rattlesnake will only bite you if you are ignoring these signs. Most bites from the Massasauga rattlesnake don’t even include the venom and are called “dry” bites. This is because the Massasauga rattlesnake only wants to give its venom to animals it can eat. A snake knows it cannot eat a human therefore there is no point in wasting its venom. No one has died from a Massasauga bite in over 50 years. That being said, should you ever get bit by a snake the best thing to do is go to a hospital to have it checked out just in case.

Photo of my co-worker Francesca Sanniti and I walking the Bruce Trail looking for snakes! Photo taken by Logan Barnes (co-worker).

You may be wondering why does Grace care whether or not I am afraid of snakes, it is none of her business. Well I care because a humans fear of something can be more dangerous than the venom of a snake. There was a study done with fake snakes and it was recorded that most cars purposely drove into the fake snake to try and kill it instead of easily avoiding it.  Our fear is causing the Massasauga rattlesnake to become extinct. Now the Massasauga rattlesnake’s population is also decreasing due to loss of habitat but humans going out of their way to kill snakes rather than avoid them is definitely not helping. One of my campers was telling me how she was poking a Massasauga rattlesnake with a stick and it tried to bite her. She got scared and told her dad who ended up killing the snake. This kind of behaviour is why people need to learn about snakes and not just assume they are evil. It’s also important to never try to capture or handle snakes. They are not toys and can be seriously injured if not handled with care.

Photo of a Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) on the Bruce Peninsula. Photo taken by me.

If there’s two things I can get you to take away from this post, it would be that leave snakes alone and learn about them because they are actually really cool. My questions to you are have you ever been scared of something but then after learning about it realized it wasn’t so scary? And finally, what is your favourite type of snake?

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Music Moves Everyone!

          It is well-known in this course that the role of nature interpreters is to connect individuals to nature. To be a successful interpreter (or naturalist), focus is placed less on a formal training and more on your passion for learning and sharing. Before you can truly share information that you are passionate about, you need to understand your participants backgrounds and potential advantages or disadvantages that they currently hold (ie. their invisible backpacks). To be more specific, there is not one box or pathway for becoming an interpreter and the focus is less on facts that you know and more on your ability to instill passion or create connections to nature for other people.  

          That being said, this week’s blog post prompt is very special to me. The reason this is has to do with my background as a musician along with my passion for the environment as a nature interpreter. Just like a successful musician, being successful at nature interpreting takes practice along with adapting. This idea of practice makes perfect was introduced to us in our textbook readings along with our lab at the Arboretum with Chris and can connect to the idea of being a musician. To effectively communicate our interpretations to others we need to understand the basics of communication and nature interpretation. Only then can we create our own personal styles and strategies. When I think of music in nature, I immediately picture a spring where birds are singing and those sounds mesh together to create a harmonic symphony. This is only one example, however, if you think about our brief walk through the arboretum we were exposed to a variety of sounds. Sounds such as wind moving through the trees, shoes crunching leaves, water being splashed around, and even the male birds singing in the bird call game. While not the typical music we first think of, the sounds we hear in nature are often an inspiration to artists when creating their masterpieces. To me, music to be is the combination of sounds to create a piece of expressive art. It can be used in a variety of settings, however, for nature interpretation it can be an effective tool when appealing to auditory learners when incorporated into programs. Thus, music in nature can be found everywhere sound is made and presents itself in a variety of difference forms. All combined to create a musical symphony depicting different lessons, as demonstrated with bird calls and their importance in finding mates and marking territory.  

          To answer the second question for this week, asking where nature is in music, it is evident that the environment influences many processes. Thus, it would not be a stretch to infer that nature has an influence on musicians when they are creating art. It is also expressed in the textbook how musicians utilize music as a vessel for sharing the beauty and timelessness of nature. Thus, music in nature and nature in music can be represented in a variety of ways. These ways being crucial tools used for interpreters to pass information onto individuals or for inspiration to be received by musicians.  

          I wonder, is there a specific moment where you were running an interpretive program that you found utilizing music or sounds to be beneficial in solidifying information?  

          Or if you are a musician (or artist), can you think of a moment where you felt inspired by the sounds of nature when creating a piece of art?

References

“The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011.

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First of all I wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading your post! I really liked how you brought up the invisible backpack idea again. I agree it is really important to know your audience and how they like to learn before diving into a lecture. Like you I also grew up with the opportunities to learn music, and I appreciated you saying how the phrase “practice makes perfect” doesn’t just apply to music but also to nature interpretation. I enjoyed how you mentioned our walk with Chris in the arboretum. I also found that experience extremely enlightening on how nature interpretation does not have a set way. I also think of birds chirping when I associate nature with music. I was wondering what your favourite sound in nature was?

To answer your posts questions, I have had a specific moment where I was running an interpretive program and found utilizing music or sounds beneficial in solidifying information. I was teaching my campers about rattlesnakes since the massasauga rattlesnake can be found all over our camp. They weren’t really interested or retaining the information so I taught them facts about the snake through a song our camp made up. They thought the song was so ridiculous that they sang it all the time, not knowing they had actually learned quite a lot. For your second question, I don’t create a lot of art but when it comes to doodling I always loved doodling trees in fall. Thanks again for your post and I look forward to reading more from you!

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I can Hear the Music!

Last week’s post was all about art and how we can use art to interpret nature. In last week’s post I mentioned a couple different forms of art. One form of art that I didn’t really touch on was music. Music surrounds our lives whether we notice or not. As a kid music was very much a part of my life. I played the piano and the violin. I competed in a lot of competitions and music festivals, either by myself, in a duet, or in an orchestra. I also performed in musicals and went to competitions for musical theatre. So needless to say music was everywhere for me. But music is more than the pop song you hear on the radio, or the classical rock playing in the restaurant. Music can be the sound of a river running, the sound of birds chirping, or the sound of the trees blowing in the wind. In this week’s blog post I am going to talk about music in nature and nature in music.

Photo of myself as a grade 9 preforming in my high schools musical Little Shop of Horrors. Photo taken by my mom!

In my nature interpretation class we talked about finding the beauty of nature and how to share that with others. My professor Aaron told us that when trying to connect with your audience, as an interpreter, you should try to find a form that resonates with them. In last week’s blog I talked about how you could get your audience to take pictures or draw nature that intrigues them. For someone who loves art, creating a drawing or taking a picture could really connect them to nature. Music is another way you could connect nature to your audience. While reading the book The Gifts of Interpretation by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable, I really resonated with this statement, “Bestowing this gift of beauty, interpreters can elicit inspiration and spiritual uplift”. Some people might walk through a forest and not realize the beauty that surrounds them. But maybe if you had these people stop and listen to sounds within the forest, they’d realize the beauty of nature and be uplifted. When a co-worker of mine did his nature walks, he brought his recording device and had his audience each record a sound they enjoyed in nature. Then they used all those sounds to make a song. All of the people who participated in making the song suddenly had questions about all the sounds they were hearing and what was causing them.  

Photo of my coworker Thomas Lemay on the Bruce Trail. Photo taken by me.

So where is music in nature? I believe that music is everywhere in nature. All the sounds we hear within forests, parks, and waterfronts can be consider music. You can also make songs out of nature. Like I said before my co-worker would take the sounds from nature and blend them together to make a beautiful song. On the same hand nature can also inspire music. Many songs were made because an artist found inspiration through music. I believe that nature can be in a lot of songs, albums or inspiration for music. My personal favourite nature in music is the song Big Yellow Taxi covered by Joni Mitchell and my favourite music in nature is the sound of crickets at dusk. My question to all of you is what is your favourite music in nature and what is your favourite nature inspired music?

Reference:  “The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011

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Art: it’s in our Nature

The prompt “who are you to interpret nature through art” appears to question whether we have the ability or authority to use art for nature interpretation. I believe any nature interpreter has the potential to use art to inspire people. We cannot overlook the opportunity to use the arts to inspire and teach people about nature.

Art and nature share a connection based on beauty, and nature interpreters can help people find beauty. Freeman Tilden, a pioneer of nature interpretation, suggested that interpreters “…prepare the visitors to be receptive to beauty” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 135). Though not a nature interpreter, our guide at the Guelph Art Gallery did much the same thing: she presented us with information that we could use to form our own opinions about the art. I agree that as interpreters, we cannot dictate what is beautiful to our audience. We can, however, help people find beauty in nature. And that appreciation can motivate people to protect wildlife and landscapes (Beck and Cable, 2011).

I had to look closely at shape, texture, and patterns when I drew this wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). Close observation helped me appreciate these little frogs and their place in nature! Drawing is my own.

I’m sure I’m like many of you in that I find beauty in nature. Nature is the main subject of my art and photography. A key realization for me occurred when I was reminded that “[nature’s beauty] encompasses all of our senses” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 137). Previously, I’d only really considered natural beauty that is perceived visually. Things like the vibrant colours of leaves in fall, or the symmetry of the shoreline reflected in calm water, or the intricate patterns of a bird’s plumage. I think because I’m more of a visual learner I’ve always narrowed in on visual beauty in nature.

I tried to capture the beauty of early morning with mist coming off the river in this painting (based on a local landscape). Painting my own.

The textbook describes how we can help people find beauty in ordinary landscapes (Beck and Cable, 2011). Yes, we can show people where to look for beauty, but let’s not forget to teach people how to look for beauty.  How can you use your senses to perceive natural beauty?

What is a beautiful sound in nature? For me, birdsong is the most beautiful sound in nature (especially the Veery, the Common Loon, and the White-throated Sparrow).

How about a beautiful smell? I love the smell of fir and cedar.

Maybe there’s even a beautiful feeling you find in nature. I love how dark rocks that have been exposed to sun all day continue to radiate heat after sunset.

Turn your volume up for this one! You can hear a few Veeries (Catharus fuscescens) singing. Video my own.

Beck and Cable (2011) suggest encouraging your audience to slow down and inspect details while searching for beauty. I think we can use multiple artistic media to do this. For example, recording audio of some sounds they heard; using sculpture to recreate a texture found in nature; writing a description of the landscape around them; or using paint to match the colours they see in nature.  Art can be a powerful tool for noticing and appreciating beauty in nature.

Citations

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

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First of all I would like to say I really enjoyed your post. I loved your drawing of the wood frog, it is quite amazing and better than any drawing I have ever drew. I also enjoyed how you included a video of the Veeries singing. I think adding a video to your blog was a very cool idea! I also agreed with you that any nature interpreter has the potential to use are and should use that potential. I don’t believe it should be limited to people who are amazing or educated in art. I liked when you talked about how we shouldn’t dictate what is beautiful to our audience but I was wondering if you’d change that opinion depending on the age of  your audience.

To answer your questions, a beautiful sound for me in nature is hearing the freshly fallen leaves crunch under my boots. I know that isn’t a totally natural sounds since I am making it but I love it. Another sound I enjoy is the rattle of a rattle snake, I just think they’re so cool. My favourite smell in nature is the smell after a rainfall, I find it such a fresh smell. When it comes to a feeling in nature, I love the feel of the extremely cold Georgian Bay on my body when I go swimming. I was wondering what is your favourite taste in nature? Mine personally is the honeysuckle flower, that gives off a very sweet taste. Thank you again for your post, and I look forward to reading more from you.

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The Combination of Art and Nature?

Art can mean a plethora of things. I personally imagine a museum filled with paintings I don’t understand and sculptures that I can’t relate to. I recently looked into what art can mean, and to some people art can be graffiti, it can be in the form of buttons, it can be a series of movement or it can be a beautiful photograph. One thing all these forms of art have in common is that art engages people. One of the ideas of art I came across was nature. I never really thought about nature in that way but after rethinking it, I realized how art can easily be nature. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world and therefore have been to my fair share of museums. For a lot of them I appreciated what I was seeing but it didn’t give me that wow factor art is supposed to give you. Yet when I travel to B.C. or Alberta or Newfoundland, I am in awe of the amazing nature around me. I realized while writing this blog that nature can be some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen.

Picture of me at a museum in France in 2013. Photo taken by my sister Charlotte Tenszen.

I do believe that everyone is allowed to interpret nature through art. I believe the more people that can get interested in nature, the better. My class went for a guided walk through the arboretum in Guelph with Chris Earley this week. Chris was an excellent source for nature interpretation. He mentioned how even if you don’t know everything about a subject you can still get your audience engaged and learn something. Which is why I believe even if you aren’t an art specialist, you can still use art to interpret nature. Something as simple as getting your audience to take pictures on their phones about a flora or fauna they are curious about can easily trigger an interest in nature.

Photo of a Northern water snake, Ribbon snake, and a Garter snake. Taken by Logan Barnes (coworker and best friend). 

As I have said many times before I worked up on the Bruce Peninsula during the summer at a camp that goes to the Bruce Peninsula National Park every four days. Many of the kids I guide through the park cannot believe the natural beauty that is the park. While reading the book The Gifts of Interpretation by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable, I really resonated with one statement, “One of the best lessons gained from the wholesome atmosphere of the Parks is the duty of preserving natural beauties”. During the hikes I take the kids on we have one major rule that is leave the park better than you found it. For example we pick up all the garbage we see and put it in decomposable garbage bags.

Photo of my grade 8 campers and I on the Bruce trail. Photo taken by Lucy Cook (coworker). 

I think this rule supports Beck and Cables statement that it is extremely important to preserve natural “beauties” whether that’s a mountain, park, lake or forest. I also really enjoyed the statement from The Gifts of Interpretation “Interpreters help people possess beauty by getting them to slow down, by directing their attention to the details, and then by helping them understand the significance and meaning of the place or object”. The kids I guide are used to having constant simulation from their phones, TVs, and video games. By taking their phones away and having them slowdown in take in their surroundings, they become aware of this beauty they would’ve otherwise missed. I am going to end my post with a question to my readers, what is your favourite beauty of nature you have ever seen and do you have an idea to preserve this natural beauty?

Reference:

“The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011

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Outdoor education comes in all forms!

          After doing some research regarding the podcast assignment that we have coming up, it has come to my attention the increasing need to encourage outdoor education. Undoubtedly due to a variety of circumstances that include the influence of technology, youth and adults are missing out on opportunities to connect with nature. It is well known in literature that physical exercise is key to healthy living and can influence your state of mind. In a study by James et al. (2017), researchers described barriers influencing the ability of children and adults to participate in outdoor activities. Unfortunately, some of these barriers are the highest in low-income urban communities. Thus, only furthering the need to encourage communities to create opportunities for accessible outdoor education. It is necessary as outdoor educators to do our best to mitigate any or all obstacles in the way of providing opportunities to connect with the outdoors to everyone. In the traditional sense, outdoor education has often been intertwined with schools that are fortunate enough to have the funds to travel around. However, the idea of outdoor education should not be limited to just schools or families that have appropriate funds, they should be inclusive to all.  

          In our textbook, the idea of integrating technology within interpretive programs has been cautioned. Technology can be a great tool for meshing comfort zones of individuals and helping to connect them to the naturalized world. It also allows for smaller nature or interpretive centers to share their knowledge on a larger scale. However, the textbook mentions that our technological age has caused researchers world-wide to be concerned about the impacts on our physical and mental health. This is consistent with research that I have found throughout exploring our topic of outdoor play in our podcast. It is important to note as interpreters that technological based programs can be expensive if utilizing high-tech exhibits. Although, it doesn’t always have to be financially draining as most people have access to a smart phone, laptop, or tablet. The question here would be, how do you utilize the common technology that many people have already?  

          In my experience with running outdoor interpretive programs, there is an increased trend in utilizing platforms such as iNaturalist. This app in particular, helps a variety of individuals (from a skilled ID researcher to a curious individual) understand and identify a large range of organisms in nature. It is designed to help integrate the common smart phone along with the convenience of taking a picture to encourage learning. This encourages many people to start learning about different biotic and abiotic components of their surrounding landscapes. Thus, the integration of technology is not always feasible or dependable in some cases, however, after understanding the background and the potential tools in your audience’s backpack. It may be beneficial to integrate tools as simples as an app that can be downloaded onto your smart phone. This may encourage learning through engagement and connection between the sometimes segregated worlds of nature and technology.  

          Since being immersed into the outdoor programing or interpretive world, I am curious whether those of you who have participated in similar programs have noticed an increased integration of technology? This could be through a variety of technological tools including; GPS units, phone apps, etc.

          This area of outdoor education is so vast and as interpreters I think we can become lost in the traditional idea of outdoor education. Thinking back to one of the earlier lectures, when googling “nature interpreter”, the images coming up are very similar to this one.  

Picture taken from: https://www.venus-line.net/en/sightsee/八ヶ岳自然と森の学校/

Depicts a “typical interpretive program”, after googling “nature interpreter”.

However, nature interpreters can come in a variety of forms during a variety of times. Meaning, you don’t have to have formal training, you just need a passion to learn and understanding or appreciation for the big picture environment.  

Photo by my band mates, depicting myself saving a green frog from being squished during a final performance.

Photo by my sister of myself holding a pine imperial moth caterpillar that I saved from being squished at a boat launch in Muskoka.  

References:

James, A. K, Hess, P., Perkins, M. E., Taveras, E. M., Scirica, C. S. (2017). Prescribing outdoor play: outdoors Rx, Clinical Pediatrics, 56(6), 519-524.  

“The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011.

[gtenvs3000-19]

I really enjoyed your blog post this week! I can easily agree with you that outdoor education is becoming a lost art. As a kid (like many kids in this class) nature was a constant part of my daily routine. Staying in a chair or classroom all day makes it extremely hard to learn and focus. It is also so much more interesting to learn with nature surrounding you. I took my grade 11 english course in Ireland, and the professor always took us outside to read poetry and plays. I always found the material we read outside I graded better on than the material we did inside. I also enjoyed how you said that outdoor educators need to eliminate the barriers that keep some students inside. I agree with outdoor education being accessible to all income families and schools. When it comes to the merging of nature and technology I do believe we have to be careful. Some of my best nature moments were because I was unplugged from everything and just truly taking in and connecting with my surroundings. At the same time I do understand that apps like iNaturalist can help people create that spark for nature. My camp runs an orienteering program with compasses and maps, and over the last five years I have noticed a huge decrease in kids that understand how to use a compass and map. The kids also don’t see the point in learning about orienteering when they can easily use their phone apps to get to where they need to go. To summarize, I do agree with you that technology can be used for good when it comes to nature, but in my opinion integration between technology and the outdoors should be monitored so that it doesn’t get out of hand.  

[gtenvs3000-19]

Land Acknowledgements

Throughout the summer I work as a camp councillor at a camp called Celtic which is up on the Bruce Peninsula (once known as the Saugeen Peninsula). During the months of April, May and June my camp has grade 8 kids come and stay for their graduation trips. For every trip (which is 4 days) half a day is dedicated to going to the Bruce Peninsula National Park and providing the students with a nature hike and talk. Since the park is a National Park, all the councillors must go through training with the park to be qualified to give the “park talk”. An important part of this talk is the land acknowledgement. I remember when I was a grade 8 student being taught history how white washed the curriculum was. I figured since my grade 8 was around seven years ago, that these grade 8s would have a way better understanding of Indigenous communities than I did, well I was wrong. Barely any of the kids that I took on my hikes knew what a land acknowledgement was, what a residential school is or even what it means to be an Indigenous person in Canada.

Photo of Georgian Bay. Taken at the Bruce Peninsula National park by myself.

When the councillors did our training we learnt a lot about the flora and fauna that are endemic to the park. But what stuck with me the most was the section on Indigenous appreciation. The people who worked at the park talked about what us as councillors could do to make our kids and ourselves more aware of the land. During one of the guides talk, she walked over to an Inukshuk that someone had built and gracefully took it apart rock by rock. She explained that Inuksuks are a navigational tool used for the Inuit, and other Indigenous communities. In the land acknowledgement she led at the beginning of the hike she mentioned how the Bruce Peninsula National Park is actually on the land of the Saugeen Ojibway nation. She explained how building Inuksuks on the park is not only cultural appropriation but does not even make sense since the Saugeen Ojibway nation does not use them in their culture. I would have never known that if it hadn’t been for that park guide and that inappropriately place Inuksuk.

Another photo of Georgian Bay. Taken at the Bruce Peninsula National park by myself.

Now when I did my hike with the kids, I always made sure to start off with a land acknowledgement for the Saugeen Ojibway nation before moving on with facts about cedar trees or rattlesnakes. I also took a moment of silence for all the Indigenous nations that lost their land due to the European settlers and more recently in history, the Canadian government. I also realized as a nature interpreter on Indigenous land, I needed to learn more about Indigenous communities in Canada than just land acknowledgements and Inuksuks. I started reading a novel call Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga (I highly recommend), which is all about the Indigenous communities in Northern Canada. What I ask of anyone who reads this blog is to educate yourself on the real history of Canada. I believe it is our duty as nature interpreters to learn as much as we can about the lands we use to give hikes, walks, and guided tours, as well as to properly acknowledge and educate our audience on the history of the Indigenous community’s land.

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#3. I just couldn’t “past” up the chance to unpack this quote.

I struggled to make sense of Hyams’ quotation at first. However, after “unpacking” it by analyzing sections at a time, I felt I understood it better. This process related to a quotation in the textbook that caught my attention: “…before you can study the forest, you must become totally familiar with the trees.” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 69). So, let’s look at these “trees”. 

“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…”

This tells me that old things are not special simply because they are old. Think an artifact, fossil, or ancient object. Now, in a reply tell me what that object is, how old it is, and why it is important. Here’s mine: below I’ve got a photo of part of a trilobite fossil from Craigleith Provincial Park in Ontario. I have no idea how many years old it is. But I can tell you that these trilobites lived at a time when a lot of what is now North America existed as a shallow sea centred near the equator. Perhaps you are like me and struggled to remember the dates and numbers, but had no trouble explaining what life was like at the time and how it is similar or different to life today. Timelines and numbers don’t appeal to our emotions, but places, characters, and activities associated with a historical time period do.

Partial trilobite fossil. The world was a very different place at the time this fossil formed. Photo my own.

“…and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things…”

We can look back on the history of what we are interpreting to help us better understand it in the present. We may even find that the story of a place, landmark, or group of people is continuing today. Sometimes history can shape your own personal identify. There’s a powerful quotation in the textbook that captures the importance of connecting past to present: “For reasons of both celebration and introspection, we must not forget our past.” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 76). Can you think of a time when you better understood a landmark, story, artwork, or something else after you learned about its historical context? Just this week, when we had our tour of Guelph, I finally learned the reason behind the faces of two men (Poseidon and Zeus, as we found out) and a bull sculpted into the front of the Old City Hall.

Old City Hall, Guelph. By Bardiak at English Wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3760932

“…. 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.”

Like the train station in the quote, things are present before and after we are around to experience them. This is an important reminder that we experience the Earth for only a fraction of its existence. Yet our society has altered the Earth in ways that extend way beyond any human lifespan. We should remember that just as the past shaped how we experience the world today, our actions today shape how people will experience the world in the future. Will your actions outlive you?

I walked up to this plastic balloon on the beach thinking I had found a jellyfish. Who knows where this plastic balloon came from or how long it was floating around in the ocean for. Photo my own.

Citations

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

[gtenvs3000-19]

I really enjoyed your blog post! I not only enjoyed the content but also the style of it (how you bolded the questions and the pictures)! I also agreed that when I originally read this quote I felt overwhelmed. I enjoyed how you referred to the sections of quote as to trees in the forest. I agreed with you that timelines and numbers aren’t what the audience will remember when learning history. It’s important as interpreters to relate the history by telling stories of the characters, and places instead of just dates and numbers. I can think of a time where I better understood a landmark because I learned its historical context. I was working at a camp that works with the Bruce Peninsula National Park. As councillors and nature guides, we have a day dedicated to learning about the park. One of the guides explained to us that Inuksuk are a navigational tool used for the Inuit, and other Indigenous communities. Since the Bruce Peninsula National Park is actually on the Saugeen Ojibway nation, building Inuksuk’s on the park is not only cultural appropriation but does not even make sense since the Saugeen Ojibway nation does not use them in their culture. I now better understand the landmark of Inuksuk by learning its historical context. I also agreed with you that the train station quote can relate to the impact humans have on the environment. I hope my good actions outlive me but my poor actions die when I do. Thanks again for your post and I look forward to reading more from you!

[gtenvs3000-19]

The Importance of History

“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).

This quote is going to be the focus of this week’s blog post. Honestly when I first read this quote I was slightly confused. I did not totally understand the meaning of the quote but after reading chapter 7 in the Gifts of Interpretation novel, I began to comprehend it a little more. I am going to break the quote down into two sections.

Photo of myself at the Blarney Castle, in Ireland. Photo taken by Charlotte Tenszen (sister).

“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” – (Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation).

This first section of the quote I broke down as old artifacts are just old items without knowing the history of them. For example an old castle is just an old building without knowing the facts and past of it. As interpreters it is important to fully understand the history of the material that is being presented. It is also crucial that as interpreters we try to relate this history to the audience, no one will connect with old information that has nothing to do with their present. A great example of this was a history walk through Guelph that I went on (thanks to the Guelph Civic Museum). Our interpreter Ken was talking about a building called the Albion (a restaurant/bar) and instead of just stating the history, he kept it relevant by referring back to the present. Another example of having history relate to the present was when I went to see the Blarney Castle (pictured above) I learned all about the people who had lived there hundreds of years ago. I connected to the lives of the women who lived at that castle and it made me realize how grateful I am for all the obstacles women have overcome to get to this point in their history. 

Photo of myself and Logan Barnes (friend) at the Kensington Palace. Photo taken by Charlotte Tenszen (sister).

“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).

This second section of the quote I have unpacked as just because the history is in the past doesn’t mean it has no relevance to the future. I believe it is extremely important as humans to learn from our past. Humans have made a ton of mistakes and it is essential we do not repeat them. For example, the World Wars (one and two) like the train have passed through the station, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t leave an impact that is effecting many people today. We should not just forget about the station just because the train is gone, we should learn from the train and strive to be better. We should also try to examine why that train went through that station on that particular day essentially learn from our mistakes. John Golda stated “Ultimately, the role of history is to provide the opportunity to examine ourselves and how we have become what we are today”. I think this quote is extremely relevant to the train station example. Which is why as an interpreter it is important to not only relate the history to the audience and their present but also to explain why this particular history is crucial to know. 

References:

“The Gifts of Interpretation” by Larry Beck and Ted T. Cable. 3rd Edition, Copyright 2011