The Final Post
As the semester comes to an end and this course along with it I reflect back on all I have learnt this semester. Over the duration of this course I have learnt the many different roles that nature interpretation has through a variety of lenses. Looking back on past blogs I can see how I began to think deeper and more creatively as the course progressed. I believe I have grown as a nature interpreter and can now provide meaningful connections to nature which I hope that I can bring with me into future career paths after graduation. This course has helped me to understand the important role that nature interpretation plays in our world and its ability to bring different groups of people with different backgrounds and education together to connect with nature.
So, with the semester winding down this will be the final blog post. For this final post I will reflect on myself as a nature interpreter, my personal ethics, beliefs and my responsibilities as an interpreter.
When thinking of what my personal are I think the most important one would be respect. I think that respect is a personal ethic that is imperative for our society and environment to flourish. It is important to me that even when I do not agree with someone on their opinions on the environment, wildlife, climate change and so on that I still treat them with respect. I also think it is important for us as a society to have respect and to learn from indigenous peoples as well as other cultures who have been stewards of the land for centuries. I believe that it is a great privilege to be able to learn from others who have strong connections to the environment and I think that there needs to be more inclusion, collaboration, learning and communication between those who work in environmental fields and Indigenous groups in Canada. I think we have a lot to learn about how to live more sustainably and alongside nature from Indigenous people.
I also think it’s important to show respect for nature when we enter natural spaces. It’s a privilege to be able to access natural spaces so when we do enter them we must show respect and leave things as we found them. Also we treat wildlife with respect as well making sure to not harm, disturb or interfere with wildlife when we encounter it.
Another personal ethic that I would say I have is responsibility. I think that responsibility for our actions that affect others, the environment, and wildlife is incredibly important to have. I feel a sense of responsibility to live more sustainably in order to lower my carbon footprint because I care and think we should all care about protecting our planet’s health. I feel a sense of responsibility to use my education which I am privileged to have to help inform others about the environment and nature and also apply it in a way that will benefit the planet and all its inhabitants in some way, big or small. I feel like more people need to think more consciously about how their actions affect the environment because many may not even be aware of their own impacts.
When I think of my beliefs and responsibilities I have as a nature interpreter I find myself thinking forward into the future. What can I bring to the world? What kind of impact can I make to help ensure that our world has a future where we have a healthy environment? I believe we all have a responsibility to our planet and other life forms on Earth to best protect, nurture and restore our environment back to health. As humans have been the ones responsible for considerable and horrific damage to our planet we have a responsibility to make right with our Earth as for the most part we have inhabited it with little care of how our actions affect others with whom we share this planet’s resources and spaces with. I believe we all have the right to access and enjoy our world’s natural spaces, but with that we are also responsible to respect nature so when we take ourselves into it we should treat it as though we are invited guests into a home that does owe us anything but affords us with many privileges.
I personally feel that as an interpreter I have a responsibility to help others be educated in the importance of preserving, protecting and restoring our environment. As we have learnt through this course one does not need to have a degree or high level of environmental science knowledge to be able to connect with and understand how intertwined our lives may be with the natural environment. This course has taught me how to make deep connections between the environment and subjects that many people know and love such as music, art and history. As an interpreter it would be my job to make meaningful connections to nature and when given the opportunity to do so to help others make their own connections as well. It is not my job to force my own opinions and beliefs on others but instead pass on information and help others to make connections in a way that is suitable and specific to the individual.
As an individual I feel that the approach that best suits me as an individual is through visuals and verbal communication through technology through the form of videos and or presentations. Throughout my university career I have found that visual aids help to keep me engaged. I also find media such as TED talks to be engaging and informative as well, as they are often a more creative form of lecture. I personally find that images and videos can help an audience connect to the topic especially when the intent of the presentation is to gain engagement, conversation and more care and or concern. When information can be distributed media using technology it is also capable of reaching more audiences so I believe this is an effective tool to distribute information as it can be shared and passed on to interested individuals.
I really enjoyed reading all the great creative blogs this semester!
Thanks for sharing and thanks for reading:)
-Jaclyn
Hey Jaclyn,
Awesome read! I really enjoyed how you took information from the course and applied it to yourself. I like how you touched on respect and responsibility. The respect we need for our natural green space and each other is vital to the preservation of our natural areas. Especially with the people who have a long history with the natural areas, like you mentioned. They have a different perspective on the natural world compared to most science practices which can be used to preserve natural areas. Additionally, you mentioned that we as humans have great responsibility to take care of our world, since we hold the means to fix it. We are the ones who have damaged the earth so it is our responsibility to do what we can to fix it. I like that you tied this point in with privilege and since we are privileged to enjoy these green spaces, we have to work towards preserving them. I feel that is course really gave us even more responsibility to impose change towards a more sustainable world. We know how nature fits in with so many areas of our society and culture. We can use this as our advantage to spread the world, to get more people involved. I really like this theme of communication. I think there are a lot of misconceptions of the natural world, that become populator. This miscommunication creates unintended issues that become a barrier when trying to get people to value natural areas more. Through proper communication we can education everyone on what nature really has to offer especially now in the era of social media!
Awesome post, good luck on the rest of your semester!
Kiran




















