My place in nature
I figured I’d start this post off by defining what ethics mean to me - ethics are principles that follow a specified assortment of morals. In all honesty, I’m not totally sure that my ethics have changed since I started this course. I’ve always been a big believer and practicer of the Leave No Trace ethics ever since I was trained in LNT when I was sixteen. I also feel that LNT incorporates the practice of sustainability, in terms of nature interpretation, which is a big part of my life. Trying to be as sustainable as possible can be very hard, and honestly, we all have days when we can’t avoid waste or consumerism. I try to be sustainable in every aspect of my life - I carpool/bus/walk whenever I can, I live a low-waste/minimalist lifestyle, I eat vegan (I recently just celebrated my one month veg-anniversary!), and I try to incorporate my passion for protecting and conserving Mother Nature into everything I do.
Following some friends backpacking the Highland trail 35km loop in Algonquin Park (2016).
The beliefs that I bring to my interpretations are that everything in nature matters, to respect Mother Nature at all costs, and to honour the land in the most respectful way possible. Now, you might think that I’m lying, but I’m really not - this is how much I care about nature and its future. Everything in nature matters. Simple as that. Everything has a purpose, and I try to emphasize this in my interpretation. I’m really interested in birds and plants (as I’m sure you’ve all gathered by now), but there are other things - the little things - that I also enjoy. Whenever I’m walking I tend to notice the fungi and lichen throughout the forest, and I’m constantly pointing them out and telling my friends all about them (walks take ten times longer when you bring me along). These fungi and lichen have their purpose in the ecosystem, and I am so appreciative of them that I can’t help but share them with others. Respecting Mother Nature is something that seems so elementary, yet so many people don’t do it. It can be as simple as picking up litter during a hike! And your actions speak to others - someone seeing you picking up some litter on a trail can inspire them to do the same or even be more conscious of their actions. Honouring the land is something that really resonates with me. I’ve been inspired by Indigenous practices and traditions for a long time now (my first powwow was in second grade), and I think we should be offering our respect to the Indigenous folks that were the first stewards of the land. This can be done in so many ways, but my favourite way is through land acknowledgement, which can be a simple or specific statement that acknowledges the territory that is being used, that the occupation of this territory is due to colonization, and offering respect to the Indigenous communities. Land is sacred and honouring the land helps acknowledge its history and significance.
Trumpet lichen (Cladonia fimbriata) in the hemlock grove of Thunder Cape, Ontario (2017).
As a nature interpreter, I believe there are many responsibilities, but I’ll highlight a few of my main ones. Keeping the audience safe is my utmost priority, and I think this is the most important responsibility. This can be done through risk assessment and mitigation, both before and during the interpretation. Keeping the topic and discussions relevant - I can be side-tracked quite easily, so I am constantly trying to stay on topic! Another big one for me is keeping the audience entertained. I’ve personally never enjoyed icebreakers or team-building activities, so I never think to include these in any of my presentations, but for certain audiences, this can be super useful! I really enjoy learning cool facts and how to identify things in nature, and I tend to focus my interpretations based on this, so I need to work on incorporating facts with activities to keep the audience engaged.
Upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) on a fence post in the Carden Alvar, Ontario (2018).
For me personally, I find factual and practical approaches are the most suitable. I’m not comfortable with speaking to an audience (I’m working on it), but a lot of my default actions when I’m nervous are spewing out facts or talking in depth about something. I also find facts really stick with me, and I can remember them really well, which would be useful to add to my interpretations. Practical approaches like learning how to identify things work great for me, since I am very familiar and comfortable with identification. I find that my go-to combo is based on factual and practical approaches; my favourite is identifying something, talking about it: providing background information, its history, and how to identify it, then letting the audience go out and try to find it or another species they can identify, and then bringing everyone back in for a discussion about what they found and how they identified it. I think this is a great way to develop identification skills, since everyone can have a different perspective on the same object.
Me backpacking the Western Uplands 35km loop with some friends in Algonquin Park (2017).
As a whole, I think this course has helped me strengthen my interpretation skills and has pushed me to interpret nature in so many new ways. I would like to offer thanks to everyone for making this course so enjoyable and for offering so many new perspectives that I had not previously considered. Happy trails!
I’m also a firm believer in incorporating sustainability and LNT principles into day to day life! (Congratulations on your one month vegan-niversary!) I think personal beliefs are a huge part of everyday interactions with people, and although I surround myself with like-minded people, there are frequent instances where I am inspired or am inspiring others with passion for these beliefs. Just last week, my friend taught me about soap nuts, a natural way to wash your clothes! You can buy them at bulk barn, and you put several into a little bag with your laundry, and after a few cycles you can put them in the compost! Bringing beliefs and passion for protecting and conserving are important in interpretation. It’s so great when you can sense someone’s excitement about a topic, and even if the friends you hike with don’t share a similar passion for lichens, enthusiasm can be contagious. You mention how you personally find factual and practical approaches most suitable, and how you wouldn’t include activities (like icebreakers) which you personally don’t enjoy in your interpretation. Sometimes we try to follow recommendations from textbooks which are believed to be the ‘right way’ to do things, but I believe that if you are thinking something, there’s a good chance others are thinking the same thing. I know I find icebreaking activities super uncomfortable. By tailoring your interpretation to your own preferences you create something you are excited to present, and bring a more modern approach to your walks!
Oh geez, I love soap nuts! Another great (and free!) alternative to buying soap nuts is using horse chestnuts (link for how to do this here)! There are tons of horse chestnuts in Guelph to get them from too. I’ve personally opted for creating my own laundry detergent using castille soap, essential oils, baking soda, and washing soda, but I used to use soap nuts.
Also, something related to laundry… Patagonia has created a washing bag for synthetic garments to reduce the amount of microplastics and microfibres entering the waterways! I think this is a brilliant idea, and I’m sure you can find a cheaper version from an off-brand, since Patagonia is pretty expensive (more like Pata-gucci, right?).
Anyways, I just thought I’d include this to your reply in case you weren’t aware of these alternatives!
I’ve never heard about using horse chestnuts, thats super cool!
I’m using my own laundry detergent mixture as well! My roommate has a HUGE collection of essential oils, so its really fun for me to create different scents.
I may add the Patagonia guppy bag to my christmas wishlist, I agree it can get super expensive.
Thanks for your response :)
