What is my personal ethic and how does it relate to the way I interpret nature? I have had a very hard time trying to understand what my own environmental ethics are. If the topic was bioethics including abortion, assisted suicide or organ donation, I would have written this post 5 days ago. I don’t know why environmental ethics are so much harder to articulate for me. To begin, I need to break the question down.
What exactly are ethics and what is the difference between ethics and morals? The only definition that makes a bit of sense to me is this;
Ethics are rules whereas morals are opinions
I know there is a lot more to this, but I am not a philosopher. Based on this definition, my environmental ethics include;
- Minimize my carbon footprint - Enforce environmental law to preserve natural landscapes - Large corporations should be held accountable for disproportionality degrading the environment - Humans should not be prioritized over other species
All of these are based on my love for the environment, which was instilled in me from a very young age. In my first post I told the story of how nature has influenced my life. My parents turned nature from a ‘space into a place’ through backcountry camping trips, hiking, blueberry picking in our backyard forest, biking, nordic skiing and cross country running (Beck et al., 2018). I practically grew up outdoors.
This type of childhood is becoming far less common. David Suzuki and Richard Louv discussed the negative effects that urbanization, technology, and fear are having on children as it pertains to connecting with nature. Richard Louv’s story about Juan Martinez from South Central LA really stood out for me. Juan was headed down a pathway that would likely result in gang life, but after getting in trouble at highschool he was forced to choose between getting kicked out or joining the Eco Club. His decision to join the Eco Club would soon become the biggest turning point in his life. Their field trip to Grand Teton National Park sparked something in him. He is now the head of the natural leaders initiative for the children and nature network and is the founder of a regreening project for his neighbourhood.
When I was in highschool, I was one of the first people to join the new environmental specialist high skills major (SHSM) program. This is similar to the eco club that Louv was talking about where we took field trips to nearby parks to plant trees and pick up garbage, started a composting program at the school, and came up with regreening ideas that were brought to the school board. In my first post I also mentioned the petition to protect Bennett Lake from road development which was brought to city council and voted in favour of. This petition was created by my friends and I who were all part of SHSM and all grew up with very similar childhoods. Coincidence? I think not.
This moral obligation to save the environment has led me to pursue a degree in environmental biology. I also applied at Ontario Parks in the summer after first year where I started as a nature interpreter/discovery guide and recently transitioned into a park warden. The discovery program incorporates many of the same ideas that we have discussed in class. My park’s programs incorporate art, science and technology. The programs are divided into topics, each with different activities that apply to different learning styles. Hands on activities include scavenger hunts, finding insects, and making art. Listening activities include bird call identification, asking them to close their eyes and tell me what they hear, and simply having conversations. Visual activities include demonstrations, the paint chip challenge where they have to find things in nature that match their paint chips, and looking at species identification placemats that we have from the arboretum.
These are 2 frogs we caught and observed in the Amazing Amphibians program
The goal of this program is summarized by the pledge that every child has to take if they want to be a ‘true discovery ranger’; “Explore parks big and small. Observe plants and animals. Discover the wonders of nature”
This program provides children with a framework to start exploring nature and hopefully develop the same sense of love that I developed as a kid. My hope is that this will be a good motivator for the parents to explore with them and help foster this love.
As a park warden, I can take environmental ethics one step further by enforcing legislation such as the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006. There are a lot of laws that we as park wardens can enforce but I tend to focus on the ones that revolve around plants and animals. Did you know that it is illegal to hurt or even disturb plants and animals within a provincial park?
My personal life has also been influenced by my environmental ethics. I have become a vegetarian in the last 5 years in an attempt to reduce my carbon footprint. I also grow a lot of my own produce in the summers, carpool to work, use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and collect rain water to water my gardens.
Once it is financially feasible and I own my own home, I would love to switch to solar power and buy an EV after my current car bites the dust.
There are more drastic steps I can be taking to reduce my impact even further, but these aren’t enough to make a difference on the global scale. We need the largest greenhouse gas emitters to become net 0, we need to place the environment before the economy for once, and we need to understand that earth is more than just habitat and resources for humans. I highly recommend watching this documentary by David Attenborough on Netflix because he touches on all of these ideas. This is the trailer for it.
All in all, I want to share my love for our natural world and hope that it inspires others to do their part in protecting it.
Hi,
I really enjoyed reading your blog this week. It is evident you put a lot of thought into your post. Reading your environmental ethics it is clear we share similar points of view. The one ethic you mention that really stood out to me was " Humans should not be prioritized over other species". I find that humans believe themselves to be the smartest, or most important species on earth and believe the whole world should revolve around them. However, this shouldn't be the case, because humans are only one small part of the environment. Humans would not be able to exist successfully if it weren't for other species, and we should reflect this in our beliefs. I believe we are lucky to have somebody like you in a leadership role at provincial parks because you understand the importance of protecting our wilderness.
In your closing paragraph you mention that there are other drastic steps you can take to reduce your impact but suggest that these steps alone aren't enough. While I agree that on your own it's not enough I think that if everybody takes a few more steps towards change then the collective action will be enough to make a tangible difference. Instead of admitting these steps are not enough I think you should use your platform as an environmental interpreter to promote change as it relates to the environment.
Here's to hoping your car battery dies soon! (see you in a tesla?)
Cheers,
Lucas





















