Me as a nature interpreter
In this week’s Ares reading, Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give up Hope by Jacob Rodenburg, the line “If I had a job description, it would be simply this: to help reveal wonder and cultivate awe.” really stuck out to me, and I immediately got out a pen and paper and wrote this down. Jacob Rodenburg is the executive director of Camp Kawartha and The Camp Kawartha Outdoor Education Centre, located in Ontario, Canada. As I mentioned in several of my previous blog posts, my experiences as both a camper and a counselor at my summer camp (also located in Ontario, Canada) have been very formative in my development as a leader, sense of self, scientist, and global citizen since this space has encouraged me to cultivate my curiosity, embrace my leadership, and live my values. I think the core purpose of any youth educator, especially in an outdoor nature educational setting (such as summer camp), is to do exactly what Rodenburg said: to explore the wonder in the world and just keep exploring and pursuing what brings us joy and fulfillment. After reading this article, I decided to share the wisdom of this statement with my greater summer camp staff community in our WhatsApp groupchat.
The WhatsApp message I sent my summer camp staff regarding Rodenburg's article.
There is an annual Jewish summer camp in person weekend-long conference for summer camp staff members across North America called Cornerstone by the Foundation for Jewish Camps (FJC). Cornerstone is such a valuable education space since it acts as a melting pot for the ideology of Jewish summer camps across the continent, and so much institutional and anecdotal knowledge is exchanged among the participants. Each participant signs up for a series of workshops to participate in during their weekend at the conference to learn skills and activities transferable to their jobs at their respective summer camp. Last year, I signed up for an activity about science and wonder. My key takeaway from this program was extremely inline to Rodenburgs words: it doesn’t exactly matter what you are teaching or how invested the participants are — your job as an educator is to give children the tools they need to explore the world for themselves, appreciate the wonder in any way they can, and celebrate them for their discoveries instead of shame them for their neurodivergence. This program inspired an activity I ran for my summer camp community this summer that I have linked here. This activity embraced the idea of using nature interpretation and exploration as a form of self care and avenue for discovery. Magnifying glasses were given to all the campers for if they got bored at any point during the activity so they could always keep investigating the world, even to the small details in the blades of grass beneath them. This activity was composed of (i) a nature-themed check-in reflexive activity, (ii) a game where they were encouraged to act out nature and empathize with its components, and (iii) a game to observe their surroundings through trust and touch, without their sense of sight. (iv) This activity concluded with one-on-one discussions reflecting on their experience observing nature, applications for self-care practices, and what it was like to search for and embrace the wonder in the world, from small blades of grass, to forests, to whole ecosystem dynamics.
Me explaining my takeaways regarding nature interpretation from Cornerstone to my greater summer camp staff community.
My personal ethic as a nature interpreter resides in the belief that there is no one way to engage with the world and ourselves. This is a very individual process that is constantly evolving and changing. I think providing each other with support, co-creating safer spaces, and building personal connections allows us to feel empowered to explore the relationship between ourselves and nature. I believe that with love and care we can foster an environment that enables youth to grow, discover, and care. Afterall, I believe effective learning is unable to happen when we don’t feel safe and cared for. Therefore, as a nature interpreter, it is my responsibility to actively evaluate my privilege, make nature-based education accessible to as many people as possible, and emphasize positive relationships among individuals that push us to grow and challenge ourselves. We have our comfort zone, where we are not challenged. We have our danger zone where boundaries are violated and not respected. And somewhere between these zones, we have our learning zone, where we are pushed to try new things, reflect with ourselves, and question the status quo in a safe and consensual environment. It is my role to find the learning zone of those around me and provide them with the support and guidance to navigate this zone. For example, this can include learning about tick safety and the increasing population and range size of ticks due to global warming caused by climate change, while giving them the proper tools and advice to enjoy nature while being tick-safe. This can also include sitting together by the water with a guitar and writing a song together about the nature around us. Music can feel like a very vulnerable task, so in this case my role would be to help guide the musical framework and celebrate contributions made by the group.
The approaches most suitable to me as an interpreter stem from foundations of mutual trust and respect. I am a strong believer that we need a space that values trust, respect, and kindness in order to share our thoughts and ideas in a meaningful way and can be further built and inquired upon by the group. I feel most connected to nature when I am in a forest or ravine and I investigate the tree species around me and the sounds of birds chirping nearby. I have lots of questions about the life history of the organisms I see around me and make hypotheses about why some species may predominate in an area versus others. I share these thoughts with those around me, not to provide them with answers, but to awaken a space where curiosity is valued and celebrated and to care enough about nature enough to want to further inquire about it. I am also passionate about using nature interpretation as an avenue for self care. I encourage others, either by themselves or with me, to play guitar by the water and ground themselves in one thing they hear, one thing they smell, a thing they can touch, a thing they can taste, and something they can see. Nature interpretation is of immense value to me and I have been so grateful to see my relationship with nature and as a nature interpreter grow over the past several years. I am filled with warmth and gratitude in knowing that I have the opportunity to be outside at summer camp with the purpose of helping children learn and grow in their relationship with nature and themselves.
Soaking in the nature beauty and wonder of the summer the with the summer camp staff the evening before the kids would arrive for another intense and rewarding summer.
Hey Melanie,
I really enjoyed reading your post, and also thought that quote was wonderful and believe that should be what every individual should strive to do. It is the epitome of nature interpretation! It was interesting to read that the summer camp has shaped your personal ethics in nature. It is these memorable and valuable experiences that allow you to connect with and appreciate the beauty of nature. You brought in an interesting perspective to the idea of personal ethics that "there is no one way to engage with the world and ourselves", which can be associated with the different learning styles (Beck et al., 2018). As a visual learner, when I am exploring a new area or natural landscape, brochures and field maps are most helpful. I am wondering that as a camp counsellor, did you take into context the cognitive development theory and how did you create activities for different ages (Beck et al., 2018)? What did you have to consider when working with these children? I believe young children have some perception of nature already, and with the concept of constructivist, you can build new knowledge and views on their previous perceived thoughts of nature (Beck et al., 2018). It is so important to communicate the preservation of nature for our future generations to enjoy. It is intriguing to know that you are actively involved as a nature interpreter and have the opportunity to inspire children by communicating and displaying your own love for nature. I hope you continue sharing your personal ethics and inspiring children at the camp!
Works Cited:
Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage or a Better World (1st ed). Sagamore Venture.










