Hanna's Blog

Leave your fears behind

[apack2003]

The Gifts Received and the Responsibilities that Come with Them

Spark, revelation, beauty, joy, passion and hope. These are not only six of the “gifts” that a nature interpreter can possess, but they are my personal code of ethics and beliefs that I have learned to carry, and will carry with me, into the future wherever my path may take me. Over the last twelve weeks I have not only learned and obtained multiple skills and tools, but I have learned that I had already had some of them in my possession without my realization. When I became aware of the skills I had acquired from the gifts I possess, I now understand what Uncle Ben really meant when he said the famous words “with great power comes great responsibility”. In the final blog post of the semester I am going to delve into my personal ethics, values and beliefs and describe how I believe we as nature interpreters have a great power to make change. To finish off, I am going to share which skills I have used in which circumstances that outline my optimal ability as a nature interpreter.

 In my very first blog post I reflected on how my first experience with the “spark” of nature was when I was younger when I went to my cottage and spent a few weeks camping during the summer. Although I didn’t outline it very well in that post, I believe that the “spark” is the basis of a person’s entire experience with nature. It doesn’t have to happen when you’re young, but I believe for you to truly start your personal journey with nature you need to have this “spark”. For me it was spending time in nature when I was young, this led me to observe and experience my surroundings more, and eventually allow me to appreciate and then choose a career path that will help preserve it one day. As stated in the first chapter of the textbook, effective interpretation allows for the trigger of brain paths and stimuli and for the information to be processed and stored for later use. This is the first step someone must take in order to become a nature interpreter.

This picture of my sister and myself was taken on one of my various camping trips where I created the basis of my journey as a nature interpreter.

The Gift of Revelation is not one I knew I possessed until taking this course. My mom and dad were both the ones who bestowed this onto me through our experiences while camping. The Gift of Revelation is helping people make the connection between the tangible (what they can see, hear, smell, feel and taste) and the intangible (aesthetics, beauty, etc.) of the environment around them and what it means emotionally and mentally to the people within the system. Giving people this gift is like “peeling back the layers of the world” as I like to call it. Giving people this gift is probably the most important step in their nature journey because without the understanding of how important something is to other people you come to a dead end. When you give people this gift you allow them to understand why it’s important to protect an endangered species of plant because it may provide a vital ecosystem service, or why not to hunt a species of fish because it is important to Indigenous Peoples’ culture. This is the start of giving people the power to change their ways and to aid nature.

Part of gifting the “spark” to another person is being able to find common ground with them to draw them into your world. This building block translates perfectly into The Gift of Beauty. If the “spark” is drawing them in, then The Gift of Beauty is making sure their mentality is permanently within the world of nature interpreters. In chapter thirteen of the textbook there is discussion of the definition of beauty. The topic of beauty and the parameters of defining it are one of the most subjective things in the world. How you define it as an individual is an extremely personal and intimate act. That’s why as an interpreter I do not waste time trying to convince others that what I view is beautiful, but rather I open up and show the more intimate side of myself and share my outlook on nature with them. This enables people to put more of their trust in me, as well as it allows them an opportunity to show their vulnerable to others, enabling others to share their views on the beauty of the world. This creates a very strong trust and bond among up and coming nature interpreters.

This photo was taken on the nature walk in the greenhouses near the UC. The beauty of this flower opened my eyes to how important greenhouses are.

The Gift of Joy is one that can be traced back thousands of years to philosophers such as Aristotle. The feeling of pure joy is one that can be hard to come across, but we as nature interpreters have the power to take steps towards creating that for ourselves and others. Rich feelings of enjoyment can come from pushing our bodies and minds in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. As discussed in lecture, while guiding people as nature interpreters we should encourage people to step out of their comfort zones and push themselves to try something new. Whether it be canoeing for the first time, or trying to identify different wildflowers, once we encourage people to attempt new things and we push them in the right direction, they will voluntarily push themselves to new boundaries. This will lead to them experiencing joy out of the new activity. We have the ability to change a person’s outlook on their experience and nature as a whole.

 One of the final steps and one of the most important steps is using The Gift of Passion to pass on the knowledge and experience you have as a nature interpreter. I believe this gift should be renamed “The Gift of Imparting”. Passion comes from the very heart and soul of what you love and what you cherish and what you want to protect most in this world. Through spark, revelation, beauty and joy you have gone through the journey of becoming a nature interpreter, peeling back the layers of the world and appreciating it and understanding it more than you had at the beginning. Once you have the knowledge of a nature interpreter you have such a rich understanding of the world that you want to protect it. Because of your passion towards nature, I find it is my duty and responsibility to share this passion with other people so they too start their journey in becoming a nature interpreter.

Finally we must look towards the future. The Gift of Hope is the most powerful tool we as nature interpreters have because hope transcends the physical world and is something that people can feel inside them and share together. To look past the human destruction and degradation we see in the present day, we must believe there is hope in the future. Using the “gifts” as tools we are able to create hope for the future. I am in the field of environmental science because I want to help the world one day. I have used many of these gifts in the past and I will use them all in the future in all aspects of my life.

“To express hope by some star, the eagerness of a soul by a sunset radiance. Certainly there is nothing in that of stereoscopic realism, but is it not something that actually exists?” - Vincent Van Gogh

I believe Van Gogh wanted people to look past the woes of present day life, and into the future, seeing unimaginable possibilities. This is my responsibility as a nature interpreter and as someone in the field of environmental sciences, to use my gifts to work towards a hopeful future.

[malenvs3000-2018-blog]

Hi Jamie,

I really enjoyed reading your last blog post. I too think that I will carry the gifts that this course has bestowed upon us for the rest of my life. I agree with you, even though most people feel the spark when they are in their formative years, that isn’t always the case. You can be ‘sparked’ at an older age or at several points in your life. I would say the latter is true for myself. I was sparked at the Guelph Lake Nature Centre, through a water bottle assembly, through TERRA and the Environmental Science SHSM, through my Insect Diversity and Biology class, and now through this class.

The greenhouse walk was one of my favourites too, I love seeing tropical flowers even though we do not live in a tropical place. Greenhouses really are essential to our food production in Canada and I too did not realize how important they are.

I believe that gifts of hope are really important now a days. As an Environmental Scientist, I feel that most of what I hear and see in our field is very negative. But we are not doomed, there is hope still, but we must use our tools as nature interpreters to get people to become invested in nature like we are so that they too will want to protect it.

I really love that you used a Vincent Van Gogh quotation. He was truly remarkable and misunderstood. Have you seen this trailer? It looks really great and I am definitely going to see it. 

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Hey!

Loved your post! Really liked how you included all the gifts of interpretation in there. 

I especially enjoyed the part where you talked about giving the “spark” to someone. When it comes to nature interpretation, its almost like your giving an interview for nature with your group audience as your interviewers. You list everything good, highlight strengths and weaknesses and give out the history or “experience” nature has in order to really sell to your “buyers”. This of course, like any interview, comes as stressful because you know you really want the job and truly love the background it contains. When you are out there, you really are selling nature to your audience. Buy this tree! Buy this rock formation! It’s amazing!

Additionally, in another post, the thought of “passing on to generations” was also mentioned and I think you demonstrate a well-rounded perspective of that phrase. Forming a sense of connection in order to get your message across is a very effective way of becoming a successful nature interpreter. If people generally understand you and feel like you are their friend, it is harder for them to forget you. In my post, I mentioned making memories that stick and stories that teach, and the gift of revelation definitely applies to that connection and making memorable experiences. 

Also love the Van Gogh reference! He’s my fav!

[malenvs3000-2018-blog]

My Life as a Nature Interpreter

I believe that nature should be respected because nature has intrinsic value and we (humans) do not have any ownership over it that entitles us to destroy it for our own personal gains.

Before I took this class, I knew that I had responsibilities as a steward of the earth from my Catholic school education. I may have gone through Catholic education, but at this point in my life, I do not consider myself a religious person. What I do consider myself is a steward of the earth. Stewardship in Catholicism comes from the belief that we are created by God who created the universe. Looking after earth is the responsibility of the Christian steward. I have had a spark instilled in me at several stages in my life: through my visits to Guelph Lake, through a presentation in my elementary school about the horror of plastic water bottles, through a TERRA program as well as an Environmental Sciences SHSM, and through classes I have taken at the University of Guelph. As I grew and took classes in high school, my thinking evolved that my responsibility to protect nature stemmed from my responsibility as an environmental scientist. Now, after taking this class, I realize that my responsibility to the earth is as not only an environmental scientist, but also as a nature interpreter.

(A picture of the TERRA group in Algonquin Park, February of 2012. I’m 5th from the right)

I discovered last year that my greatest interest in nature is insects. I did not discover my immense interest for them until I took a class with Morgan Jackson. Morgan teaches ENVS 3090 (Insect Diversity and Biology) at the University of Guelph and his background comes from fly research rather than nature interpretation. That course has to be one of my favourite courses that I have ever taken at University of Guelph because I found all of the tests fairly easy owing to Morgan’s ability to frame each insect group as a story in his class. If I did not take ENVS 3090, I am positive that I would not have even considered applying for the field entomology trip I went on (which was one of the best experiences I’ve had at the University of Guelph) and that I’m going on again this Spring. I know that I want to do my masters in Environmental Sciences at University of Guelph next year and if I ever become a teaching assistant, I’d like to be able to command my audience’s attention and leave them with stories that they’d be able to remember long after they take the course (Like I have with ENVS 3090). After taking this class, I am confident that I can do that and that I can also add importance to each story.

(2018 Field Entomology Trip Class, May 2018) 

That is the responsibility of a nature interpreter. To give their audience gifts such as the 15 that our class learned from The Gifts of Interpretation. I believe the most important gifts that a nature interpreter can give their audience are the gifts of spark, story, provocation, personalizing the past, relationship, beauty, joy, and passion. The gift of a spark inspires people to continue with nature and spread what they’ve learned to other people. It’s probably the most important gift a nature interpreter can give anyone because it makes more nature interpreters. We are all human and we have a limited time on this planet so encouraging the next generation to continue with an idea is essential because they’ll do the same and the cycle will (hopefully) never end. Nature interpreters can give their audience the spark through giving them gifts of story, personalizing the past, beauty, and joy. Gifts of provocation, relationship, and passion follow because if you can make someone care about something, they’ll be inspired to protect it through their actions, perhaps they’ll be able to give financial/volunteer support, and they’ll bring their passion to the table to accomplish protection goals.

(My boyfriend practicing his interpretation skills as a Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory Volunteer, June 2018)

I have a young niece. Her name is Luna and she is two years old on December 4th this year. I bring her up because I believe that my responsibility is not just in academia. I have responsibilities to her and to the rest of my family and friends to show them the beauty of all things in nature and make them realize how important nature is and educate them on how their actions impact nature. Already Luna is interested in the outdoors because my family has taken her outside and have shown her things in our backyard such as flowers, leaves, bugs, birds, squirrels, and trees. She loves to bring in leaves from outside and just the other day she learned how to say turtle. Her mother, my sister Mary, is afraid of spiders. Mary and I have had a few chats about her bias against spiders and she knows that she has a responsibility not to bring that bias into Luna’s life. One of Luna’s favourite toys is a stuffed animal that’s a spider. 

(A picture of Luna! Taken July 2018)

I know it’s easier to get young children interested in the outdoors because they have lots of energy, but the challenge will be getting older adults more interested in the outdoors because they have more ‘closed’ minds and are set in their ways. It will also be a challenge to have them release their bias’s and preconceived notions about certain organisms such as spiders. I believe that I can do make adults more interested in the outdoors by noting what is in their invisible backpacks, and illustrating the importance of nature to younger generations and that the actions of adults will impact the future of natural areas. I’ve only come to this conclusion by taking this nature interpretation course. My nature interpretation ideas have shifted from how I would communicate cool facts to how I can pull at peoples’ heart strings and make them care about aspects of nature. The approaches that are most suitable for me as a nature interpreter are through telling stories right now to my family about nature facts and volunteering for organizations like the arboretum and in the future, as a teacher, a parent, and a donor.

(A picture of a scarab beetle - included just for fun, April 2018)

I just want to end my final blog post by thanking our instructor, Amanda Hooykaas for an amazing and eye opening semester. I would not have considered nature interpretation as a career choice and responsibility if I did not take this course. Thank you :) 

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Hello !

I really enjoyed reading your post! I feel that it speaks for everyone here when you talk about how certain courses have heighten your interest on certain topics (in yours case insects). For me it was all my Botany classes. Learning about the anatomy of plants and seeing the cells close up on a microscope was so fascinating to me and if I did’t take those courses I’d still be in ZOO 2700 LOL. Because of those course I love plants so much and enjoy deny opportunity of going outside (in the summer of course).

I like your idea on passing on to other generations. We do not think about it much I feel, but we have power to positively influence future generations. As interpreters this comes as a common responsibility. If we haven’t inspired anyone, we haven’t done our job! It also makes you set a personal goal for the future to be the gateways of someone potential career interest. Like today when Chris Earley was talking about the person who attended all his interpretations and based his profession on his performance, I imagine that it would feel amazing to have someone look up to you like that. 

I also love to hear how you have influenced your family into loving what you love! Not only do I feel that they are really proud of you but I can see that they loving showing off your passion too, like how your niece has a stuffed spider in your honor (super cute by the way). 

Lastly, I agree with your appreciation for the course. It has definitely opened my eyes to new possibilities and giving me the opportunity to practice and share my knowledge with others. Yay Amanda!

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

From what I’ve learned

Throughout this course, we have touched on many topics regarding interpretation. We have learned about appreciating the values in our lives that give us extra experience in nature; embracing our invisible backpacks. We have been taught how to prepare for risks yet still succeed in maximizing potential rewards. Out of everything we have learned, however, the part that I realized was most important was being able to read your audience. We have been taught to recognize sensitive subjects and realize when a member of the group is uncomfortable. We have also been taught to approach those who do not know how to naturally engage in the group through various activities, both passive and active. With this in mind, we have been left to perceive new ideas and get creative.

One characteristic that I feel some of you might see from me is that I am quite charismatic and am very much a people person. When I was younger, I never considered myself a social butterfly, although throughout my school career (including this course) I have learned to overcome that fear. As a result, I am able to express my thoughts and passions to others, which for interpretation comes as a great asset. Fears and phobias are topics that we have briefly touched on in this course as a subtopic on risks and regulations when approaching a group. Having a fear of talking in large crowds because of judgement or denial is very common, one which I have gone through. In spite of this, I have a common understanding with others who are shy and timid, yet, want to engage. This makes it a personal responsibility of mine to make sure everyone is having fun and participating in some way. Here, I reference my camp leader, whom not only was super fun but knew how to handle such situations. She often helped me out when I was unsure about a group activity and held my hand when picking teams. Although she respected my alone time, she believed that (ironically) being a part of a group is a good way of bringing someone out of their shell, as long as it is not activity where the person is put on the spot (like answering questions or presentations). What I admired about her the most was that she made time for activities that everyone enjoyed. For example, she knew that I enjoy arts and crafts so, at down time she often had crayons and blank paper for those that wanted to draw pictures. She started out with so many activities and overtime, realized that the kids had their personal favorites which she heartedly took into account.

 (Picture of grade 7 me balancing on a rock at camp (and yes my favorite color is blue))

The point I would like to address is that being able to read your audience is an efficient skill to have when being an interpreter. Additionally, since you can not understand your group first hand (or even have a lot of time) it is effective to have many activities planned and make sure everyone in the group has a particular moment of the interpretation in which they can reflect on. With this, my belief is that nature interpretation is meant to set a positive memory and give people the opportunity to leave behind their fears in order to learn/ experience something spectacular.

 In the future I hope to perfect my approach to different types of people and send out a positive vibe at the end of every nature experience. I want my group (in which I would be interpreting in the future) to feel comfortable with asking me questions and expressing their ideas towards me since I belief that an interpreter can receive knowledge from their followers as well as give out knowledge. Making people happy as well as living in full optimism is my motto and main goal in life and plan to share that with others in future endeavors of being an interpreter.

[cmenvs3000-2018-blog]

Trees on UoG Campus

The presentation that caught my attention last weekend was one about something amazing… trees! This presentation happened just before lunch, but managed to get my mind off of the thought of food. This group showed us the many different types of trees around campus, and how they have developed, as well as the struggles they face in this urban environment.

What went well?

This presentation was extremely interactive with the audience. The walk was very well targeted to the audience- a group of University of Guelph students. The walk featured many of the trees that I personally walk past and admire every time I am on campus. This was clearly incorporation of the gift of a targeted program, as described best by Beck and Cable (2011). The gift of history was also incorporated as the struggles of each trees positioning was elaborated (Beck and Cable, 2011). My favourite piece of information that this walk provided was that the tree database for the University of Guelph campus includes basically every tree! I have always wondered what the little tags on the trees around campus were, and now I know about the database. This is something that I will definitely remember!

What did not go well?

I think that this presentation was held back simply by the season. Most of the trees’ leaves had already changed and fallen, and the summer version of these trees was hard to picture. The group made reference to the fullness and density of the summer leaves on the hedge maples by the canon, but with the leaves falling all of the branches appeared quite sparse. This is simply a downside of the time of year this program was administered, but could have been taken into account by the guides.

What techniques worked for me?

The group asked many questions in order to engage our group. Questions such as “What differences do you see between these two trees of the same species?” force the audience to look at the trees in more detail, and consider what have caused them to develop this way. This strategy of involving the group helped get us more involved and it was successful.

What might I change if I could?

If I were to recommend improvements for this program, I think it would be to provide visual materials that help the audience understand points that are harder to see in off-seasons. Pictures of the full foliage versions of each tree would help us see the differences in how pruning at a younger age changes the development of a tree.

Overall the presentation was enjoyable to be a part of and used good interpretive techniques to keep the audience captivated. Although the fall season might not have been the most effective time to try to show the differences in foliage in some trees, the walk was still quite successful. With a few improvements to props that could be incorporated into the conversation this walk would be extremely effective, and could be a great tool for campus groups to use.

References:

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

[lpenvs3000-2018]

This walk was one of my favourites, especially since it opened my eyes to so many interesting trees on campus. I will never see them the same way again! Upon reading your review, I realized that we share many of the same opinions on the walk’s strengths, and things that the program needed to improve on. 

To add onto the gifts that the group addressed, I would say that they hit the Gift of Revelation pretty well, considering you took something away from their tree comparisons! As far as I remember, the guides impressed quite a few people who never knew that we had a cork tree smack dab in the middle of Branion Plaza, or that the tulip tree in the Plaza could actually grow significantly larger. I think it opened up the eyes of the walkers to how diverse the tree species are on campus, and how life on campus can be different for a tree than in the wild.

I agree with your point on using some supplementary material to reinforce the knowledge and identification of trees. This would definitely help with the Gift of Wholeness, as it would create that multiple-season connection between participants and the trees and allow them to be aware of more things than just what they saw in front of them. Then, they would be able to take the connection with them all year-round! As well, it would have been cool if they incorporated the use of technology (The Gift of Illumination Through Technology) as one way to do this - maybe using iNaturalist or LeafSnap. We are definitely a tech-centered generation, and I believe that it could have gotten the audience out and applying their knowledge. Maybe they could have shown that database as well as speaking about it!

Overall, the walk had some amazing information! I believe that the group was very passionate about what they were speaking about, and that that passion shined during their walk. For next time, I would definitely engage the audience more, as I believe that was the best part of the walk and what resonated with everyone the strongest.

References: Beck, L., & Cable, T.T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Hello! I am one of the leaders that organized that group and I am very pleased to hear that you enjoyed it! Our main objectives were to teach the audience about an area they see everyday, making sure everyone was on board with our topic and I am happy to see that you were able to engage in the experience we created! I will definitely take your recommendations on using more visuals for the walk. I realized that for many of the trees, having a physical picture of the trees in bloom or in adult form would be very helpful when expressing our concepts. I also wished that this walk was done at the beginning of the semester instead of the fall in order for all of you to see the tree in their full life (apart from the Austrian Pine which just always looked weird funky year round haha).

Having someone else in the audience looking back on our presentation allows for revision on our weakness as well as our strengths,which I feel is the purpose of this weeks blog. Thank you for all your guys’ support ! 

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

A Debrief of the Dairy Bush

My last post was referenced towards my own Interpretive Walk and what was missed. For this post I would like to acknowledge the other groups’ walks. All of them were very intuitive and interesting and I enjoyed engaging in every single one of them. The one that stood out to me the most was our first walk about the Dairy Bush. Although it was very cold and very early in the morning, this group did very well in expressing their knowledge throughout the group. Three gifts that I believe they portrayed are the gift of story, the gift of beauty and the gift of revelation.  

The Gift of story – Before the walk within the actual Dairy Bush we were given a brief introduction on the history of the general area. Through a well organized flashback, we were given factual information about the dairy bush dating back hundreds of years ago. I especially thought that the fact about the hill by the dairy bush being used was as a ski hill was interesting. This is only because I used to walk over and down that hill everyday when I lived in chancellors a couple years back.

The Gift of Beauty -  I especially loved the part of the walk where we had the chance to stand in the middle of the dairy bush and simply listen to the sounds coming from the environment. I really liked having to take that moment and reflect on where I am and how I am a part of it. It gave me a sense of appreciation towards nature and allowed me to see a new perspective of the Dairy Bush (one that most forest lovers hope others see). I will make a small comparison with another group (the last group) where they did a similar activity. After doing both those walks I thought about the differences in sounds from the Dairy Bush and the Arboretum. From that reflection I came to realized how unique the Dairy Bush actually is. For example, when we were in the Dairy Bush I heard both rustling of trees and the sound of cars driving by, which is not something you hear when you’re in a forest. This experience made me grateful that we have something like the Dairy bush so close to rural and highly populated areas.

The Gift of Revelation – In this walk we were informed on many connections towards the establishment of the Dairy Bush which can be titled under revelation, however, there was one concept that really connected with me. After we were asked to listen to our surroundings and reflect on what we heard, the group leaders touched on tree communication. It was informed to us that trees emit chemicals though soils or through mycorrhizal organisms in order to communicate and talk to one another. Through this process, trees are able to warn other trees about an upcoming attack or possible disturbance coming their way just through a transfer of chemical energy. I have taken many courses on diffusion processes through roots and bacterial relationships, but I never thought of it like “tree talk”. This experience allowed me to gain a new perspective on a scientific idea which I thought was awesome. 

(Cool panorama I found on the UofG website of the Dairy Bush ~ https://www.uoguelph.ca/ib/)

Overall, I enjoyed each and every group. I feel that everyone expelled the gift of professionalism, since I believe all groups were prepared and really into their topic. Having the opportunity to debrief our projects (which in most classes we don’t normally do) really opened my eyes to the objectives each group was intentionally trying to achieve; with time to think about future improvements. As interpreters this should come as a natural response each time we do a walk in order to perfect our skills.  

[spenvs3000-2018-blog]

Some Food For Thought... Literally!

So a common struggle I find for myself when I go out hiking, is packing the right amount and kind of food. I am a big foodie, I love eating good healthy food and am a sucker for dark chocolate. So this week I’ll be going over, the foods I like to bring while I’m outdoors, whether it’s on a day hike or a weekend camp trip.

(My mom and I eating some yummy mac and cheese while camping)

While hiking or camping you would probably bring different food compared to if you were staying in a hotel! While spending a day or weekend outdoors you want food that is easy to pack, doesn’t need a lot of refrigeration, while also providing you with the protein and vitamins you need! Another thing to keep in mind is the duration of your time outdoors, you want to be sure you have enough food to sustain yourself for that whole time. Plus a little extra never hurts, you can never be too safe in the event that possibly get lost!

So now let’s get into the good stuff…. THE FOOD!

Usually when I go out on a hike my favourite go to snack is trail mix, funny enough I am usually on a trail when eating this! Trail mix is a great source of protein with all those nuts. The fruit and dark chocolate (if you choose to put it in) are a great source of sweetness to give you that extra boost! Trail mix is really easy to carry in a jar or container. Fruit is also my go to when going for a day hike especially apples or oranges, you don’t have to worry about them getting too squishy in your bag. Finally, granola bars are a great quick snack to bring that are really good for an energy boost!

Next up I’ll go into some great camping snacks and meals! Now this obviously depends on what you will be bringing to cook food on so I’ll try and keep it simple by just sticking with a fire.

So let’s talk breakfast, probably my favourite meal of the day! While camping my favourite breakfast food is overnight oatmeal, its easy to pack and you can pretty much put anything in it! I always do a good mix of peanut butter, banana, and some pumpkin or chia seeds and then add milk. Bagels or toast are also really great breakfast meals with peanut butter or cream cheese on it. 

Next up, lunch! For this one you could always go with the old fashioned sandwich, you can never go wrong with some yummy cheese, ham, avocado, spinach and tomato. But if you want to mix it up, quinoa is a really delicious lunch time snack as well! I like to add tomato’s, cucumber, feta, and olives and some chicken, with a little bit of Greek dressing! 

Alright, now its time for dinner, with this meal it can really be anything that can easily be packed, and is mainly up to your preferences, like all the other things I mentioned above. Usually, I will bring something warm like chili or a stew, you can just warm it up in a pot on the fire. Hamburgers are also a really great dinner. These are all fairly easy to make or easy to prepare before your trip!

Since this blog post was on food, it is also really important to mention the idea of leaving no trace. Sometimes the food we bring can come in packaging, so it is important to ensure all the packaging is thrown out and not left lying around. Try prepping your food before hand and bringing it in containers or jars! Another side of leave no trace that people often forget is the fire that the food was cooked on. It is ideal to leave as little disturbance to the areas you visited and that means being sure to properly put out your fire by dumping water on it or sand!

I hope this helped you realize that the food you bring outdoors doesn’t always have to be really bland simple food, it can really be anything as long as you have the proper equipment to cook it and prepare ahead of time! 

If you have any yummy recipes I would love to hear about them ! feel free to post the link in the comments !

[rmsenvs3000-2018]

Cooking and camping is my worst nightmare. I never make anything good and I either pack way too much or too little. I need all the advice I can get. Breakfast and lunch are always fine I can usually figure that out but dinner is where I struggle. I went camping last weekend and the meal my friends and I decided on was 3 month old soy burgers we found in our freezer. Normally that would be very gross but after a full day of hiking I was so tired and hungry it was actually pretty good. That’s the one good thing about camping is you have to work, so by the time you are ready to eat it is so much more worth it than if you made it at home. I wish I though of the chili instead and it definitely would have kept us warm on the cold weekend. 

Leave no trace is such a big issue I have been dealing with at work. I work for a provincial park thats pretty close to Toronto. No shade at people from the city but it feels like a lot of the population coming from the city down for the day hasn’t learned the value behind the no trace lifestyle/method. It is definitely something as interpreters we need to work into every program or interaction. 

[ddenvs3000-2018-blog]

Nice list of different food for different times of the day for hiking. I have similar ideas mostly with great snack to bring being both a bunch of granola bars and pre-made trail mix. Those would probably my favorite foods to eat while hiking in my opinion because I enjoy those just on the go whenever you have slight interest to eat just something small to munch on plus, they’re both just super enjoyable foods.

I’d say other possible good lunch foods similar to sandwich that I enjoy are wraps. For wraps you’d need to have each item separately and make it write before you eat it, but in the middle of the hike I find it actually pretty enjoyable just to stop and make some food out in nature. 

For dinners, I’d also go with chili like yourself and although I am not sure if this is the reason you make that, but I personally have that as a big option because it’s easy to bring canned goods along for hikes. Generally, I try to bring cans because they’re good multi purposed items where you can heat the cans themselves and use them as a bowl, and you can continue using them as bowls/cups for water or other possible things. I also prepare kielbasa on a fire for dinners as well on hikes, seeing as you can roast them on a stick easily like marshmallows. Overall, though great food items, now I need to bring some quinoa for my next long hike! 

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I definitely relate your struggle! Having nutritious food while camping is always hard, and you need to prepare so much too! Whenever I go camping with my family we always end up bringing so much food (which comes as a problem since we need to fit the tents somewhere in the car). Through the years though we have come up with a couple tricks, most of which we prepare before hand. 

The overnight oats is also a personal favorite of mine. I always love pairing it up with fruit and such for extra flavor. For coffee in the morning, we bring ground up coffee with us and paper towels to use as coffee filters. We fold the paper towel in a cone shape to mimic a paper towel and put a cup of ground coffee in it.  We boil up water in a pot and then pour it on top. Ta da! coffee! You can also do this at home if you do not have a coffee maker. If personally don’t like to waste so I bring my little reusable coffee filter from home. It works just like the paper towel would but you would just have to wash it after.

My sister gets pretty antsy if she dosen’t have her morning pancakes so we actually make pancakes batter before hand and put it in old squeeze bottles (ex. empty ketchup bottles). It mess free and reusable!

We also like having eggs in our diet so boiling eggs in a pot makes as a popular food. We bring cut meat and cheeses to put with the hard boiled egg as a sandwich for lunch and fruit as snacks. My mom likes to soak almonds in water and eat them after a couple hours. It makes them a lot softer and more tasty too!

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Some extra stops

I would firstly like to acknowledge all the groups on their amazing job on their interpretive walks. Everyone was really into their topics and it was super fun to engage in the activities provided (despite how cold it was). For our walk, I’m not sure if you all remember, but we focused on the types of trees on campus and their importance in this environment. We only addressed a couple points, considering it was a short walk, however I wanted to use this blog as an opportunity to tell you guys some more about Guelph and its trees!

 In addition to the various trees we stopped at there was another that I wanted to tell you guys more about. Beside the Hutt building on the west side there is a giant American Elm tree, or more commonly names as white elm, which was part of a very interesting scientific discovery. In 2012, scientist from the Department of Agriculture worked together to find a potential clone of an American Elm that is susceptible to its biggest killer, The Dutch Elm disease. This fungal infection has become a nuisance over the years killing thousands of elm trees decreasing their overall population. Only a tiny fraction of elm trees is resistant against this pathogen, and you would be interested to know that a couple of them are actually are here on campus. Using the DNA from various elm trees through micropropagation, including the one by Hutt, Guelph was successful in producing a disease –resistant clone of the American Elm. This information has been sent out across the world to areas where the disease is futile, like down south in the US. Just goes to show what historic background some of these tree on campus can have.

(PS. The American Elm is native to Ontario in case you were wondering, we just figured out a solution before America did lol)

If you want to know more about this project click here!

I also wanted to point out which is not on campus but I thought would be interesting to address. I am not sure if any of you know about the Sakura project, but in 2002 Vineland Research and the Innovation Centre at the University of Guelph hosted an Ontario wide action where over 3000 Sakura trees were planted across the province. These trees were planted to represent the bond of friendship between Canada and Japan. The Consulate General of Japan donated some of these trees to the University of Guelph and planted at the Friendship Garden at the Vineland campus. The finished planting them all in 2012, so the project has come to a close. However, if you do ever see a Sakura tree, wherever you are, you’ll know why its there and hope to smile knowing that it was there out of friendship. (Kinda corny but still cute)

If you want more info click here! 

(Sakura Trees in Specer Smith Park, Burlington, Ontario. Retrieved from: https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=sakura+tree+ontario#id=_) 

Also, if you guys were interested in the Austrian Pine tree there’s a couple I urge you to check out! There’s a variety of them south of War memorial that have golden tips on Johnston green, and one in front of War Memorial that’s super weird looking. Remember how visually crazy these trees grow, this one probably takes the cake!

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Trees from Antarctica???

Ok everyone, I am incredibly excited to share with you all something ancient and mystical living amongst us today. It comes from a world that we will never know, but is still our own. This living memory may be one of the loneliest beings on earth as its species slowly dwindles and fails, but as the last survive, they provide testament to the resilience of life, the desire to survive, and evidence that the world around us will never be the same as it is in the moment we experience it. Today I share with you my favorite tree, Nothofagus moorei, the Antarctic beech.

The Antarctic beech is one of the only remaining species (I was told the only remaining but I question the reliability of the sign I read as it is my only source) native to Antarctica living today. Now, I know what you must be thinking. Yes, that Antarctica. The one with the lightless winter, miles thick ice sheets, and not a single tree to be found; let alone a deciduous tree that can grow to 50 metres in height. However, the southern extreme we know today wasn’t always that way.

(Photo by Neil Ross, 2013). 

Tens of millions of years ago after the dissolution of the supercontinent Pangea, a new landmass was forming in the southern hemisphere. This continent, named Gondwana, was comprised of what is modern day Africa, South America, India, the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, and you guessed it, Antarctica. The dominant ecosystem across much of Gondwana was cool, subtropical and temperate rainforests. It was in this environment that the Antarctic beech came into being. Over the following millions of years, Gondwana started to break and the last to pieces drifted south together, what would become Australia and Antarctica. The tree is believed to have originated in the Antarctic portion, with small populations extending into cooler alpine regions of Australia. As the two landmasses finally split, the trees living on their native Antarctica slowly dwindled to extirpation as ice devoured their ancestral range. Today only a handful survive in elevated peaks scattered along eastern Australia.

Unfortunately, the trees are currently believed to be on their last legs in their final stronghold today. Evolving in a cooler climate, the increasingly warm Australian temperatures have robbed the trees almost entirely of their ability to reproduce sexually. In addition, their alpine homes were traditionally out of the reach of the bulk of the fires that regularly reset life in Australia’s lowland bush. In the past decades though, drier weather has promoted the spread of fires into the mountains. Unlike the majority of Australian flora, the beech is not resilient in the wake of fire. The final figurative “nail in the coffin” is the slow but steady erosion of the mountains that host them as time rolls along. With large root systems that favour deep soil, the thin mountain topsoil exposes the roots to mosses and parasitic plant and insect species. With some trees alive estimated to be up to 12,000 years old, the age of this ancient beauty is coming to an apparent end. Fortunately, its timeless message of consistent beauty in the face of constant change will long outlive it, and possibly even us who learn this lesson. 

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This is so cool! I would have never thought that Antartica could have a native tree! Its amazing to think that these trees have been around since the continental drift and have not been tempered by evolution at all! Thats crazy! This tree actually is like the plant version of the horseshoe crab. 

It makes you wonder about the true origin of plants and whether where they were originally found, or mostly grown, was where they first grew. I took a course on food plants and herbs in third year and we discussed about the origin of many different foods. Tomatoes are apparently grown wildly in southern Mexico so Italy didn’t actually have tomatoes until the New World was discovered. Cannabis was also originally found in Asia but then moved to Jamaica to be grown within factories as profit. 

It also makes you wonder how such a plant could completely cut out all dispersal remedies like genetic drift and the bottleneck theory. Species that totally outwit natural selection is just amazing. 

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Nature as a complex color palette

The science that comes into nature can result in such amazing things, like how ripples form on sand dunes after a wind storm or how snowflakes form such beautiful shapes. I am sure many of you have taken a walk somewhere, whether it was local or part of a distant land, and found something so peculiar you couldn’t believe it’s actually real. Situations such as these are the reason I am in the program that I am. Figuring out how nature is connected and understanding the physics in certain relationships fascinate me to the core, and today I want to share with all of you one nature wonder that I find just super amazing which is the idea of a pink lake. When you think of a lake, you normally relate its color to blue, brown or even green, but there are many lakes in the world that are in fact pink. Some of these lakes, such as the Masazir Lake in Azerbaijan or Lake Retba in Senegal, are related to the very high salt content within the water. The salt crusts are known to have a red type of bacteria that gives the lake its pink hue. To this day these lakes are used for salt collection however some lakes have stopped cultivation since the toxicity in the salt was titled unsafe for consumption.

(Lake Retba, Senegal. Retrieved from: https://traveleering.com/10-best-pink-lakes-world/)

Some lakes, such as the Pink Lake in Western Australia, gets its hue from the way the sunlight hits the salt water. This lake, specifically only turns pink a couple times a year, however it has been recorded that since 2017 it has not turned pink once. Although the salt level comes as the dominant argument in the reason behind the color of these lakes, a very popular addition to the salt level comes into play. In lakes such as Lake Hillier in Australia, there is a small microorganism called Dunaliella salina that is known to produce large amounts of cells that produce color pigments called carotenoids. These microorganisms are largely found in high salt environments and happens to produce a carotenoid that makes pink. Unlike the Dead Sea, this lake in particular is completely safe for people to swim in since it is more the microorganisms that are doing the coloring. Note that carotenoids can be different colors based on their exposure to sunlight in the sense that different wavelengths can allow them to produce different colors. Having said this, it can be argued that similar types of microorganisms are the reason behind why our foods are different hues, such as purple cabbage or yellow tomatoes. So next time you are on a travel expedition and come across a pink lake you can say, “Hey you know that pink stuff? Yeah I ate that.”.  

 (Lake Hillier, Australia. Retrieved from: https://traveleering.com/10-best-pink-lakes-world/)

Some solutions however, can be inapplicable to certain situations. In terms of pink lakes, there is one lake where the origin of its color is unknown. The Dusty Rose Lake in British Columbia has no record of salt of bacteria residing in its waters yet still has a pink color. Weird right?

 (Dusty Rose Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Retrieved from: https://traveleering.com/10-best-pink-lakes-world/)

It just goes to show how in nature there can be multiple types of solutions behind one answer or that there is an solution so complex we simply just have to admire the answer. Nature itself is amazing and beyond our understanding which is why we have to come to appreciate it.

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Animal Orchestra

For our nature interpretation lab this week, James Gordon came into our class and wrote a song with us. For those of you who do not know, this is James Gordon. Our song was about leaving the city and escaping into a forest. In our song, we described many nature sounds. It was a very fun and eye opening experience because it made me realize how musical nature really is. Our lab with James Gordon also made me realize how music can be used as a tool in nature interpretation to involve everyone and get a meaningful message across.

Where is music in nature? Music is in all sounds in nature. It’s the wind through the trees, rain drops hitting the ground, the rustling of leaves, in birds chirping, in crickets stridulating, in frogs and toads croaking, and in fire wood crackling as it’s engulfed in flames. These are just a few of the sounds that I associate with music and nature. Because nature is so musical without even trying to, sometimes I’ll find a forest and just stop and listen to the noises.

(Colour Box, https://www.colourbox.com/image/falling-leaves-image-5477056)

The more interesting and less obvious question is, where is nature in music? Like music, nature is everywhere. It’s in the materials used in the physical production of musical instruments, it’s the people playing the instruments, and most of the time, it’s the inspiration for music. I listen to a lot of folk and ‘Canadiana’ music and in those kinds of music, it’s more obvious of the artists’ inspiration by nature. Even though music genres such as electronica and rock aren’t traditionally inspired by nature, they can be. Some electronica music can even incorporate natural sounds into their music. I was browsing on YouTube and I found this interesting nature electronica.

Here is an article explaining stridulation if anyone’s interested or don’t know what that is! Crickets and grass hoppers are in the same scientific family and both stridulate, but do so in different ways. 

Even though I am musical and enjoy listening to music, I found this blog post difficult to write because what’s to say about nature and music? It’s almost indescribable. I was looking up music in nature and stumbled across this article in Science.

To give you a summary of this article, it’s about the history of human music and it goes on to describe other music in nature, establishing a concept of ‘universal music’. Human music dates all the way back to 50,000 years ago.  This concept is related to mathematical Platonism which suggests that there’s a universal mathematics awaiting discovery. The authors of this study believe that instead there’s universal music awaiting discovery because there are many similarities in our music to that of birds’ and whales’ music. This concept is very enlightening because it means that we are all part of an ‘animal orchestra’ and are all connected through music. I knew that music could connect people and bring them together, but not that it could also connect people and animals.

(Colour Box, https://www.colourbox.com/vector/musician-animals-in-the-wood-vector-16360418) 

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Thank you so much for your post! I found your discussion of the Gray et al. (2001) paper extremely resonant, particularly the idea that there is a “universal music awaiting our discovery.” Growing up, I was trained on the classical guitar; I use the term “trained” versus “played” because as a child and certainly as a teenager, I was often less than thrilled by the prospect of practicing and writing theory exams and performing in recitals. I wanted to go run around outside with my friends instead of being stuck inside with my dad insisting on at least 45 minutes of practice a day, making sure I performed all my scales 3x each and rehearsed each piece with the metronome. I begrudged those 45 minutes more often than not and was perplexed when my dad would say, “Music is the universal language. One day you will thank me for teaching it to you.” At the time, I was highly effective at the art of eye-rolling and would huff and dramatically go back to the practice room. I was too immature to understand and appreciate this universality. Today, however, I do thank him, immensely. The ability to go pick up the guitar when I’m stressed and just get lost in the music, or play with my dad and sister on Sunday afternoons or visit my grandma in the hospital and play for her and other patients – I can just pluck the strings and, somehow, I communicate to those around me without saying a word. I, like yourself, have come to realize the ability of music to be a universal language among humans but had never considered it could expand even farther and be a language understood and shared between other species. Music, it seems, is more universal than even my dad thought! 

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Amazing post! I have never heard of nature electronica music until now! I honestly looked up so much of it and downloaded a bunch of playlists of just nature sounds! (Honestly listening to it right now it is so soothing). I interestedly came across many videos of people putting natural sounds found in nature such as singing birds in the background of classical music. You would not believe how well they compliment each other! I find is very soothing definitely a must check out!

I also found the part about the arctic very interesting. It is very interesting to see how music can connect us with nature. If you think about it, for animals I feel as if music is almost a kind of language. The way birds sing to each other can be similar to our vowels and the way we pronounce our words in different tone. When I hear people communicating in another language, of example, I cannot understand them however I notice the speed, enunciation and volume of each word. It can be fascinating to think that maybe music and various noises are how animals communicate to each other, and we can’t understand them because, obviously, we do not know their language (Although it would be pretty cool to know).

Other wise great post! Keep it up!

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Nature is my kind of music

Music is an interesting feature. The fact that a set of vibrations, or waves of pressure, set off from a medium can come together to make such beautiful sounds is just amazing to me. I have played piano for about 11 years now, and although I do not practise as much as I should, being able to make music brings me great comfort and ease. Having knowledge in rhythm, pitch and all the technical insight that comes with studying piano rudiments for those 11 years, gives me a sense of appreciation towards music and all its small parts that make it whole. You will often find me studying to classical music only because I love it so much (and because music with lyrics often makes me want to sing not study). Today, there are so many different genres of music to match so many sounds and new types of music is being discovered everyday. The reason that music is so popular is because it not only is lovely to listen to, but you also gain a sense of connection with the tune. The level of pitch humans hear is typically similar for everyone, however, since the human brain works in a number of ways, the way people perceive sound can be very different all around. To be quite frank I feel is the reason we have so many genres of music now.

Similar to a painting, music is also an art, and most art is left for the viewer, or listener, to interpret. Music specifically, I feel, is very good at expressing its way through emotion, like how a high pitched flute makes you feel dainty or how a low tuba makes you feel heavy and loud. If you look at nature, the sounds you hear can have a similar effect. Some examples include, the sound of a softly, flowing river makes me feel you feel a sense of continuous relaxation and completeness, a whistling sparrow can make you feel happy, the roar of a bear can make you feel scared and on edge. The list is endless, however, in reference to the point I made before, these feelings can differ for different people. For example, when I hear the sound of thunder and lightening I feel calm and protected while others can have a feeling of fear and alert. One very weird sound I enjoy is the buzzing of bees in a colony. It makes me feel at rest knowing that they are hard at work while I sit there looking at them (with enough distance of course).

Music can also be connected with memories, such as the lullaby sung at bedtime when you were a kid or the song playing during your first slow dance at middle school (mine was Collide by Howie Day). Since I was outside quite a lot when I was little, hearing the rustling trees, the pitter patter of the rain and the calls of the wild just bring me back to those family camping trips and cottage days out in the forest. I feel that because those memories are particularly good ones, my mood is usually tranquil and relaxed when I am outside. In contrast to good memories, the sound of a garage door usually scares me since I got my foot caught under one when I was younger.

 Overall, music I believe is in nature just naturally because we perceive it as music through good memories or good feelings.

What are your favorite sounds of the wild! Comment down below!

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The Freedom of Multi-dimensional Beauty

I found the two questions posed in these weeks prompt deserving of significant and individual attention, Thus, my response has been split into two sections. This first section addresses the question who are you to interpret nature through art?

The capacity of art to be a form through which nature can be interpreted lies in a commonality shared between both art and nature: their procurement of beauty. Beck and Cable (2011) point out, beauty is personal and subjective, thus it follows that beauty is necessarily multidimensional and inclusive. Boeckel (2015) posits that arts-based environmental education does not rely on pre-established knowledge, but rather, involves a “groping forward.” This free and uninhibited process allows multiple meanings to be interpreted and accepted. The multiplicity of beauty, seen in both art and nature, permits a diversity of perspectives, and therefore anyone can appreciate nature through art because both nature and art procure beauty and there is no succinct definition, no right or wrong, to what beauty is. Given this, I believe everyone, including myself, has the right to interpret nature through art. We need not rely on pre-established rules or notions, rather we can simply give ourselves over to the experience of viewing nature, similarly to the way we can give ourselves over when viewing a painting in a gallery. As interpreters we can acknowledge that everyone has a different notion of what beauty is and rather than insisting to our audience that a given environment is beautiful, we can facilitate an atmosphere of acceptance, mindfulness, inclusion and focus. If we encourage our audience to slow down, to not only look at an environment but to be immersed in it, fully and completely, taking in its details through all the senses, the multi-faceted nature of this experience may allow them to sense at least a component of the environment as beautiful and meaningful. In this way the beauty of nature may actually be more accessible than that of conventional art – for it allows for all, not just one, of the senses to be activated. However, the concept of viewing a piece of human-made art is one that may be more familiar with the general public, thus by drawing the analogy between art and nature, we can illuminate audiences to the unlimited meaning and beauty of their natural environments.

Our visit to the sculpture garden was illustrative of this characteristically free process. None of the sculptures had signage indicating the title or offering any background information on the piece. While some audience members found this limited their ability to interpret the pieces, it also allowed for increased freedom in gleaning meaning and perceiving beauty. All we had was our own physicality and the opportunity to relate ourselves to the piece in front of us. Through conversation with my classmates it became apparent that many of us understood and related to the pieces very differently. However, one interpretation was not superior to the other, rather they both were personal and meaningful to their respective observer.

Retrieved from: https://upload.org/wikipedia/commons

The following is my response to the second question from this week’s prompt how do you interpret the gift of beauty?

As Beck and Cable (2011) urgently make clear, beauty evades a universal definition. It is a personal, subjective concept that necessarily requires freedom to embody all places and objects. As an interpreter it is our role to unveil the beauty in perhaps the more innocuous aspects of nature. Given beauty’s lack of definition and its elusiveness (resulting from its ubiquity), the task of interpreting beauty in nature presents a significant challenge. In order to interpret the beauty of nature myself, I think it essential to acknowledge the idea that beauty involves more than just looking but rather necessitates understanding and feeling. Ted and Beck (2011) suggest that an interpreter can reference their own journey of understanding the subtle beauties of nature to aid their audiences in perceiving and experiencing nature’s beauty.

I would like to share a journey of my own; I fear it may be a clichéd story, however it is one I have experienced and perhaps the cliché will be an advantage when it comes to interpreting for others.  When I was younger, I was terrified of spiders (likely the result of Aragog from Harry Potter). Not so conveniently, my childhood home appeared to be continuously plagued with spider infestations. These eight-legged buggers would scurry across my bedroom ceiling and when they did – well the rest of the house certainly knew! I would shriek and yes sometimes even dissolve in to tears, paralyzed in my spot and terrified no one would come and save me. Typically, it was Dad with his newspaper-sword-of-death. He would come in, calculate his angle and WHACK! A quick unceremonious end-of-life tribute followed with a flush down the toilet. I would be flooded with relief and gratitude and finally be freed from my paralysis. At that time, I saw no beauty in the critters creeping across my walls. Today, however, I adamantly refuse to kill spiders, and that is thanks to my friend Maddy.

Tan-jumping spider (Platycryptus undatus) , commonly found in southern Ontario (and in our office!) https://spiderid.com/locations/canada/ontario/

Maddy revealed the beauty of spiders to me while we were working together in the Rouge. Our “office” was a kind of tent/cabin structure that appeared to simultaneously operate as a popular lodge for spiders. By this time my fear of spiders had somewhat dissipated but I was far from finding them beautiful. Maddy, on the other hand, when seeing one, would lay out her arm, allow it to crawl up her palm and then cradle it between her two hands, peering between the cracks in her fingers to admire their various colours and patterns. At first, I was astonished by her behaviour, but as the summer progressed it became apparent that my new workspace was going to remain multipurposed (ie. office and spider lodge) and so I too began peering through the cracks in Maddy’s fingers. These “peering” sessions revealed to me the diversity of spiders, their character, their uniqueness and ultimately a connection to myself. Their physical characteristics varied (red, gray, brown, yellow, polka-dots, stripes, hairy), their behaviour in Maddy’s hand was diverse (frozen, zig-zagging, circling) and they too were having to share their space with others. Upon reflection, I found these spiders, in fact, were just like my co-workers and I – a diverse group of individuals coming together to interact, work and live. I was thus able to connect with these spiders and glean enjoyment from their company. (Although perhaps my boss would have preferred we spent less time studying spiders and more time completing data entry)! When it became apparent that our workspace was going to be decommissioned and re-located, my co-workers and I earnestly protested. I wanted to stay with the spiders, and the thought of their home being destroyed saddened me. I had not only overcome my fear of spiders, I now cared for them. Beck and Cable (2011) recognize this shift as the result and reward of effectively interpreting nature’s innocuous beauty. When one understands the beauty in a thing, they begin to care about it and care then harbour a sense of stewardship.

Golden-rod crab spider (Misumena vatia), commonly found in southern Ontario https://spiderid.com/locations/canada/ontario/

I believe the most effective way for me to interpret nature’s beauty will be through sharing stories such as these, that trace my progression from aversion to appreciation.

Yellow gardn spider (Agiope aurantia), commonly found in southern Ontario (saw many in the field but they were not common frequenters of our office/lodge) https://www.flickr.com/photos/49503114554@N01/1527631292

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Truly moving post! Very intuitive! I completely agree with the idea that art is a subjective discussion where perspectives stretch for miles and miles. Such perspectives is what makes art so intriguing and intuitive. Incorporating such attributes into nature then makes the world so much more interesting and valuable.

 I guess a classic example in this case is the story of Beauty and the Beast.The whole story is based upon the teaching of not judging things at first glance. Belle was scared at first, much like you were with spiders, however found a sense of beauty in a beast and fell in love in his morals and interests. You similarly found beauty, with help from Maddy, by realizing spiders work somewhat like humans making you value them more. Others may not understand your connection or even find it scary, while in your perspective you just sit in awe and admire the eight legged critter in your hand. 

All in all, it is safe to say that art can be defined as “beauty that lies in the eye of the beholder” and if you think about it, this teaching has been presented everywhere for centuries. You find it in society, where you meet an odd couple that at first glance you would not see together yet fit so perfectly. You see it in media where women are encouraged to love their mind and body instead of their reputation and image. In wildlife, where a male and female that mates for life finds their soul mate. In our eyes they all look the same, (plus the fact that we don’t think like they do) but they have a certain connection with their partner that draws them together. That I feel is the definition of beauty. Beauty within. A tale as old as time.

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Nature as an expression

Nature in my opinion is a characterization of art. Nature expresses itself with seasons, where light carries color and temperature paints the circle of life through weather patterns and stochastic events. Being able to sit back and admire the beauty of a landscape whether it be a meadow, mountain or body of water, become a rare skill and one that I feel is essential when trying to connect with the environment. Possessing a sense of wonder through questioning nature’s history and existence as well as associating philosophy with visual art becomes both a talent and struggle many interpreters come to pass.

Many of you do not know this, but I do at times consider myself an artist and have a secret passion for expression through hands-on projects. When it comes to nature, it is safe to say that many famous artists have expressed their view of the environment as a “gift of beauty”. One of which I find most inspiring is a man named Tom Thomson. He was a Canadian raised oil painter in the early 20th century (mostly self-taught) from Claremont, Ontario and grew to be one of the Group of Seven, which came to be one of the most famous artist groups in history. His family were environment enthusiasts, just like him, which came to life in his 400 oil paintings of plant life. He was employed as a graphic designer in Toronto until he found a new love for painting on his first trip to Algonquin Park, where most of inspiration came from. What I find most interesting is that his favorite thing to paint was rugged, unkempt scenery (hence why he was excepted into the Group of Seven) using very short yet broad brush strokes. This style followed his impressionist stature giving more emphasis on the meaning behind his work as opposed of making it look identical to what he was painting. The painting “The West Wind” shows a pine tree standing in early winter with the Canoe lake in the background and is one of his most famous pieces. He loved painting trees since it reminded him of great structure and unity, but pines he loved especially. In this piece, the pine represents the Canadian character or in his words:

“the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that vast tracts of Canada have no pine trees” ~ (2006, Firefly Books)

(Painting by Tom Thomson, “The West Wind”) (2006, Firefly books) 

The reason I bring Tom in the picture is because he poses as a great example of reconnection with nature through artistic processes. Educating ourselves just by simply being aware in our surroundings can bring us closer to nature and help us appreciate the environment and what it gives us. Now Tom Thomson is only one perspective of beauty in nature. I personally love seeing nature and a home and almost a fantasy world full of creatures we can’t explain. This idea keeps reminding me that there is still so much we do not know about nature and its vast connections.

(Quick sketch I drew a couple years back of life in a potted plant)

What do you use to express you love for nature? Comment down below!

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I wasn’t until I posted this did i realize someone has already talked about Tom Thomson, however I want to say in no means did I mean to copy anyone. I just truly feel I connected with him as an artist. 

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Nature as an expression

Nature in my opinion is a characterization of art. Nature expresses itself with seasons, where light carries color and temperature paints the circle of life through weather patterns and stochastic events. Being able to sit back and admire the beauty of a landscape whether it be a meadow, mountain or body of water, become a rare skill and one that I feel is essential when trying to connect with the environment. Possessing a sense of wonder through questioning nature’s history and existence as well as associating philosophy with visual art becomes both a talent and struggle many interpreters come to pass.

Many of you do not know this, but I do at times consider myself an artist and have a secret passion for expression through hands-on projects. When it comes to nature, it is safe to say that many famous artists have expressed their view of the environment as a “gift of beauty”. One of which I find most inspiring is a man named Tom Thomson. He was a Canadian raised oil painter in the early 20th century (mostly self-taught) from Claremont, Ontario and grew to be one of the Group of Seven, which came to be one of the most famous artist groups in history. His family were environment enthusiasts, just like him, which came to life in his 400 oil paintings of plant life. He was employed as a graphic designer in Toronto until he found a new love for painting on his first trip to Algonquin Park, where most of inspiration came from. What I find most interesting is that his favorite thing to paint was rugged, unkempt scenery (hence why he was excepted into the Group of Seven) using very short yet broad brush strokes. This style followed his impressionist stature giving more emphasis on the meaning behind his work as opposed of making it look identical to what he was painting. The painting “The West Wind” shows a pine tree standing in early winter with the Canoe lake in the background and is one of his most famous pieces. He loved painting trees since it reminded him of great structure and unity, but pines he loved especially. In this piece, the pine represents the Canadian character or in his words:

 “the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that vast tracts of Canada have no pine trees” ~ (2006, Firefly Books)

(Painting by Tom Thomson, “The West Wind”) (2006, Firefly books) 

The reason I bring Tom in the picture is because he poses as a great example of reconnection with nature through artistic processes. Educating ourselves just by simply being aware in our surroundings can bring us closer to nature and help us appreciate the environment and what it gives us. Now Tom Thomson is only one perspective of beauty in nature. I personally love seeing nature and a home and almost a fantasy world full of creatures we can’t explain. This idea keeps reminding me that there is still so much we do not know about nature and its vast connections.

(Quick sketch I drew a couple years back of life in a potted plant)

What do you use to express you love for nature? Comment down below!

[joenvs3000-2018-blog]

How to Plan a Trip

In August, I travelled the north and south islands of New Zealand for 3 weeks with my sister and mom, and I wanted to take this opportunity to free write to talk about it! 

After being thousands of kilometres away from each other for over 7 months, suddenly, my sister, mom, and I found ourselves squished every night on a two-person mattress in the back of a van. Fortunately, it was winter in NZ, and as I lay cocooned between the two of them, I was quite thankful for the body heat. Not to point any fingers, but my mom had chosen a non-self containing vehicle (aka not the best winter home). 

(Our noble steed/kitchen/bedroom) 

My mom had always dreamed of going to NZ, but she’s not the best at planning trips (she’s really indecisive and also sucks with maps), so I knew it would be up to me to plan everything out (I love planning trips). For months my mom would send me videos of seals and penguins, and I read blogs and asked friends who had gone for tips. The advice and recommendations I got from people were indispensable. I knew we had only 3 weeks to see as much of both islands as possible, and began creating a plan almost down to the hour of the activities, driving times and which campground to sleep at. However, talking to my friend Virginie changed my mind. She had planned out her entire trip, but her first day a local warned her of a snowstorm that would ruin her trip, and recommended that she do her trip backwards. She followed the advice and had great weather the entire time! I decided to plan out the first 2 days, and have a rough idea for the rest of the trip. Every night I would plan out the next day, and I used an offline map to plan out where we stayed at night (an app called CamperMate; it shows you the price, utilities, and reviews!) 

My first approach was to browse through the Contiki tours available in NZ. Someone had done the research on what the best tourist spots were, and how to see them all in 2 weeks. Then I added all the recommendations and ideas from friends, blogs, and my moms research. Then, I read a guide book. This is something I had never done before; it felt like an outdated method of travel. But my friend Laurent (who lived in NZ for 3 years) sent me the pdf version of the best guide book I have ever read. And I’m not just saying that because it’s the only one I ever read. It’s called NZ Frenzy by Scott Cook, and its well organized, easy to read, and puts each spot on a scale of obscure to popular. This guy has been travelling NZ for years, and after reading the book I felt like I knew as much as he did. He had such a detailed and honest way of describing each spot that I was inspired to keep a detailed log of our trip, something I hadn’t tried before. I wrote how many hours the map (an offline map called Maps.Me that works all over the world and has all the features of an online map) said it would take to get somewhere vs how long it actually took, what we ate and where we slept (and my opinions on that), how much things costed, what we did, what we did right and recommend, as well as what we should do instead next time. I’m always pretty terrible at keeping my travel journals updated, and this time I finally did it & it felt great! 

The attractions that are popular are popular for good reason. There wasn’t any natural landscape in NZ that hadn’t taken my breath away, but the obscure ones were extra special, maybe because they felt like a hidden treasure. Our favourite spots were all one’s I had read about in the guide, rated obscure. Amongst them was Abel Tasman National Park (north western part of the South island), with attractions like Rawhiti Caves (pronounced Ra-fi-ti) and Wharariki (Fa-ra-riki) Beach.  

Some pictures from my phone:

(Moeraki Boulders, south-west on the South island)

(A yellow-eyed penguin at the Katiki Point Lighthouse; I saw over 15 there, plus a bunch of cute seals!)

(A campground on the way to Milford sound, the building you see was a 4 star vault toilet)

(we waited around at the completely empty Monro beach in the hopes of spotting the world’s second rarest penguin; the Tawaki/Fiordland-crested penguin. No luck + we got absolutely chewed by the sand fleas, but we saw a breathtaking sunset which I captured much better on my DSLR)

(We hiked a hidden trail to find the obscure walk-wire bridge, and walked down this beautiful tree root staircase that made me feel like Snow White)

There were so many beautiful spots and I cannot wait for another chance to see them again. Has anyone else used a guide book to plan a trip? Do you have any recommendations? Do you keep a travel journal? 

 **(Re-reading my post, I feel like I’m really ragging on my mom & I just want to say that I love her to bits. She’s a crazy lady and a great person to travel with since she’s super adventurous and down for anything). Plus she had done all the research on which campervan would be best. We had an Apollo, but I would recommend the self-containing one)

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Great read! Your pictures from your trip are simply gorgeous! NZ is definitely on my travel hit list now! I totally get last minute ideas and I am pretty indecisive as well, so i can relate to your mom in that sense since traveling takes a lot of quick decisions. Putting aside the stressful planning, it was clearly still worth it and I applaud you for taking such initiative in order to see this country for your mom. I recommend looking up some nearby hostiles and take on backpacking while your already there! Its efficient and much cheaper transportation wise! I had friend that travelled through Peru and Columbia for three weeks and spent 3 grand for the whole trip including the plane!

This website is just one example but do some research on it if your planning on going again somewhere! 

[everythingfox]

Croissant

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Creatures like us

Just yesterday I came across an article in which I though was both cute and super interesting. It has been proven that reptiles, in this case lizards, can dream just like we do. This becomes as new knowledge in the science world since only mammals and birds have been recorded to have a dream sleeping state. As a brief explanation of the article, a team of researchers staring to investigate sleep habits of the bearded dragon lizard and Argentine tegu in 2016. Results showed that both lizards had two types of sleeping states. It was sated that more experiments will be done in relation to the origin of sleep. As curious as I am I decided to do some research about sleeping animals and dreams and found out the most peculiar types of animals and how they sleep.

 One of which was the jellyfish which came as a huge surprise to me since they don’t even have brains. The paper where I found the information stated that researchers decreased their pulse at a small portion of the night and found that they were non-responsive to food or movement during that time.

 This then made me think about plants and how they, like jellyfish, do not have a central nervous system and wondered if researchers have experimented if plants actually sleep. I was unsuccessful in my research but I did find that plants have a 24-hour circadian rhythm just like we do. It almost like an internal clock that tells them when its time to make energy and when to store it. I guess we have more in common with nature then me thought!

 This information may not seem of great importance, but random facts like these make me feel more in tune with the world and help me understand our ecosystems. The idea of dreaming in reptiles in particular made me smile because it made me think about how connected we are to the environment and reminded me that non-human animals have natural tendencies just like we do. Like how cows can be paranoid and can only eat in the direction of the north and south poles, how tropical birds clean up a forest floor when a “girl” is coming over, or the fact that turtles can have favorite colors. Hearing these facts can’t help but make you smile and it personally makes be realize how animals are just like us and how we should do everything in our power to keep them safe.

 Tell me about times where your pets have done human like things! I’d love to hear it!

Click here to read the article about lizards!

Click here to read about jellyfish!

Click here on a video about animal sleeping habits!