Luca Villeneff - ENVS3000 @lvenvs3000f23 - Tumblr Blog

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This blog was created for ENVS*3000, University of Guelph.

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the University of Guelph.

The University of Guelph is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by this blog.

Final Blog

Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?

To start, I think it's important to tell you my mindset before I started this nature interpretation course. My outlook on the relationship between humans and the environment was clouded in negativity and pessimism. The overwhelming sense of helplessness in the face of environmental degradation had led me to lose hope. A transformative experience during a family trip to Portugal's Azores Islands one summer forced me to confront the harsh realities of the human impact on the environment.

My connection to the Azores was deeply rooted in family ties, as my father had grown up on Terceira, one of the islands. Excitement buzzed within me as I anticipated exploring the rich culture and meeting long-awaited relatives. Little did I know that this journey would reshape not only my perception of the culture but also my understanding of humanity's relationship with the natural world.

The moment that remains etched in my memory is encountering stray dogs on the streets of Terceira. One image, in particular, lingers—a three-legged dog navigating the crowded beach, scavenging for survival. Astonishingly, this seemed to be the norm, accepted by the islanders as part of daily life. The harsh reality hit me when I visited my grandmother's countryside home, only to find her neighbour chaining multiple dogs to their house, surviving on stale portions of bread. The dogs were denied the most basic elements of a dog's life—walks, human connection, and exposure to the outdoors.

As a dog lover, I couldn't turn a blind eye. I freed one of the dogs, and for the rest of the trip she came everywhere with me. Many moments with the dog and I were the first she ever experienced how to be a dog. However, the painful dilemma arose when I had to return her to the chained-up wall before leaving. Did I truly make a difference, or did I unknowingly subject her to more heartache?

This experience, though emotionally charged, was a cultural shock that revealed the absence of animal welfare laws and services on Terceira. The lack of legal safeguards against animal cruelty and the absence of an animal control system spoke volumes about the necessity of shelters and services in maintaining a humane society.

In that moment, I felt powerless—confronted with the harsh reality that there seemed to be nothing I could do to address the systemic issues contributing to the mistreatment of animals on the island. The trip left me questioning the effects of my actions and the impact of individual efforts in the face of a deeply rooted problem.

However, enrolling in a nature interpretation course became the catalyst for a shift in perspective. It rekindled a sense of hope by revealing the ways I could leverage my abilities to share the profound impacts of human behaviour on the environment. The journey of becoming a nature interpreter is not just a choice; it's a passionate commitment to fostering a deeper connection between people and the natural world. As I navigate the enriching course of nature interpretation, my personal ethic evolves, contributing to my beliefs, responsibilities, and approaches that shape the lens through which I perceive and communicate the wonders of nature.

Foundations of belief:

The story of my trip in Terceira forms the foundation of my belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings. It underscored the intricate relationship between human actions and the well-being of animals, emphasizing the need for compassion and responsibility. The dogs surviving on the streets of Terceira weren't just part of the landscape; they were sentient beings with their own worth. Nature, I realized, is not separate from us; it is an integral part of our existence, deserving of respect and protection.

I also believe in the transformative power of nature experiences. Nature has a unique ability to inspire awe, curiosity, and a sense of belonging. As a nature interpreter, I carry the belief that by fostering a meaningful connection with the environment, we create caretakers of the Earth – individuals motivated to protect and preserve the precious ecosystems.

Responsibilities as a nature interpreter:

One primary responsibility is to bridge the gap between the scientific intricacies of nature and the diverse audience I engage with. It's not just about presenting facts but about crafting narratives that resonate with people from all walks of life. This requires careful consideration of cultural contexts, diverse perspectives, and the emotional connection individuals have with nature.

Equally important is the responsibility to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity. Nature interpretation isn't solely about imparting knowledge; it's about sparking a genuine interest and fostering a lifelong love for the natural world. Cultivating curiosity encourages continuous learning and a desire to explore the mysteries of nature. It's about empowering individuals to take positive actions, whether big or small, to contribute to the well-being of the planet.

Approaches aligned with my individuality:

As I navigate nature interpretation, I've come to realize that my individual personality and insights play a crucial role in how I connect with others. One of my key approaches is the cultivation of curiosity. I believe in igniting the spark of wonder that resides within each person. By fostering curiosity, I aim to inspire a lifelong love for learning about the natural world.

Storytelling is another powerful tool in my interpretive arsenal. By weaving narratives that highlight the intricate relationships within ecosystems or the struggles of individual species, I aim to captivate hearts and minds. Stories have the ability to evoke empathy and forge lasting connections between people and the environment.

My approach is rooted in the idea that experiences in nature are transformative. Whether it's a serene walk in the woods, the exhilaration of spotting a rare bird, or the beauty of a breathtaking sunset, these experiences have the power to evoke emotions and create lasting memories. I believe in fostering these personal connections with nature, as they often serve as the catalyst for a deeper understanding and commitment to conservation.

Furthermore, I recognize the importance of fostering a sense of community. Nature interpretation is not a solo endeavour but a collective journey. By building a community of individuals passionate about nature, we amplify our impact and create a network of like-minded individuals dedicated to the preservation of our planet.

What the course taught me:

Through this course, I found my passion for nature reignited. It became clear that my role as a nature interpreter is about using my voice and creative expressions to weave narratives that resonate with others. By fostering an understanding of the interconnectedness between humans and the environment, I believe we can inspire collective action and pave the way for positive change.

Through the readings, discussions, and interacting with other students blogs, I've gained valuable insights into different perspectives of nature interpretation. The course has reinforced the idea that effective interpretation is not a "one size fits all" approach, but requires adaptability and creativity.

In conclusion, as I evolve as a nature interpreter, my ethic is influenced by my interconnectedness, responsibility, wonder, and inclusivity. Guided by these principles, I embark on a mission to inspire others to appreciate, understand, and protect the extraordinary beauty of the natural world. 🌿🌎✨

Thanks for reading :)

Shanel

lvenvs3000f23

Hi Shanel!

I’m really glad to hear about how you used such a heartbreaking memory to produce change - I think that’s really something to be proud of! It’s incredibly hard to have those feelings sometimes, as they can easily turn to pure despair. Unfortunately, I feel that in biology it’s really common to end up feeling hopeless with so much bad news over and over - species declining, climate change, etc. It’s hard, but someone has to be the vector of change, right? 🙂

I love your approach to how you’d like to create this change, as igniting the spark is what will create it. If not great change, then at least more people who are conscious of issues and how we affect the world around us, which I really wish every person had the ability to. I think storytelling is an incredible way to do it, as stories can help people of all ages and everyone loves stories. It’s lovely to see how you’ve opened your mind up so much throughout this course - it’s something that can truly be challenging and is nothing to scoff at. I feel like your love and passion for the world around you will drive you to be a great interpreter and will be able to provide the change that is needed in areas like Terceira. Good luck, I believe in you!

rgenvs3000f23

Blog 10

Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?

Hey! For our final blog post, we were asked to write about our personal ethic as we develop as nature interpreters.

I’m currently in my final year of university, and I’m beginning to look for jobs. And for the first time in my life, I’m looking for career jobs, instead of part-time of summer positions. So needless to say I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what jobs I ideally want, what jobs I’m willing to do, and what jobs I’m not willing to do. Our course readings for this week mentioned a fear of a desk job being a potential motivating factor for pursuing a career related to environmental interpretation. That one did admittedly resonate with me a bit. My last job was more or less of a desk job, where I worked as a research assistant in a lab. And even though, on paper, it was closer to what I want to do as a career, I didn’t enjoy it very much. I missed working in the service industry, I missed the high-energy, social atmosphere, I missed getting to work with my hands and see the results right in front of me. Spending most of my working hours not only indoors, but in a dim lab staring at a laptop just made me irritable. So I’d love to find a job in the sciences that’s more hands-on and active, but I’ve realized I’d happily move away from research if I can’t find a job in that field that lets me move around.

Every week or so I get an email from the university describing job opportunities. It hasn’t been very useful in finding jobs, but it sure has been useful in helping me figure out exactly what place/companies/fields I am not willing to work for. There’s always plenty of decently paying opportunities working for mega-corporations like PepsiCo, and the like, as well as their countless subsidiaries. I know now that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I worked for a place like that. I would much rather go just about anywhere else, including back to the service industry. I might have a less prestigious career, but I care about having a job that I enjoy doing and that I see as important. During my last job, it was difficult to get up and go to the lab in the morning when I couldn’t really see the effects and importance of the research that was being done. I know that whatever I end up doing, it needs to be relatively active, and even better if I get to spend time outdoors as part of it. As long as I’m still able to spend my free time outside, that much is negotiable.

I wanted to go into more details about my beliefs/motivations/self-assigned responsibilities. First, the rather apparent role of nature in mental health and our current culture around it. Not that I have enough space to go into all of my thoughts on that, but I’d like to include a few of them here. One, on mental health being treated like an individual problem, when it really should be recognized as a systemic one. Even if people admit that it’s systemic, the “solutions” and treatments that are currently popular tend to be highly individual. Take mood-regulating medication, go to eternal therapy, isolate yourself from others in the name of self-improvement. In general, mental health has been both commercialized and capitalized upon. Like I mentioned, I don’t have the adequate space to go through my thoughts on the systemic causes of mental lack-of-wellness. But as I’m sure many of us are aware, spending time outside and spending time with other people (or even both at the same time!) have been shown time and time again to be beneficial to human well-being. Honestly, I don’t think we need more research in that area. We already know, and as much as I like numbers, more statistics aren’t going to save us.

So for me personally, all that means that I don’t want to have a job that drags down the health of other people, or my own. I would love to have a job that helps remove some of the barriers that have been put up between nature and people, which I don’t think should belong in different categories in the first place. But an important caveat for me is that I don’t want my career to be a constant fight. I’m quite tired of war analogies. There’s less of a point in destroying something if there’s nothing better to work towards. I don’t want to dedicate my life to fighting climate change, because I’ll make myself miserable and make everyone around me a little less happy. That’s not to say I don’t care, but I do think that a bunch of sad and lonely people aren’t going to bring about much positive change. Like the video with David Suzuki and Richard Louv mentioned (I think it was Richard Louv who mentioned it), it’s hard to make change if people don’t have any sort of positive idea of a future to look forwards to.

So to summarize as neatly as I can: If I end up doing something related to nature interpretation, I want it to get people excited and help people feel more connected to the world around them.

Picture: One of the Arboretum gardens after a snowstorm

On the same note as working towards something rather than solely working against, I have a book recommendation for anyone looking for a sci-fi story with a positive outlook: Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers (and its sequel)

Thanks for reading!

lvenvs3000f23

Hi!

I really resonate with you talking about your job search - I am not in my final year yet but I have very similar feelings. I always wanted to go into research but part of me worries that maybe it’s not what I enjoy as much - I really do love the hands-on experience of biology and find my own love in it. I think it’s very interesting to be able to find out what you aren’t willing to do as well, as it helps guide towards what things really do interest you, even if it sometimes may be hard to narrow it all down. I also fully agree with your philosophy that I'd rather have a job that I enjoy doing rather than something “prestigious”. I don’t see a point to working doing something you hate forever, it doesn’t sound to me like a way I'd like to live my own life. I think the systemic lack of mental wellbeing is something really important to talk about! A lot of biology jobs are incredibly depressing from what I've heard, many of them working for people who don’t care and just seeing how much we can push nature before it breaks. I feel like your post did speak to me, and while I have limited space to talk about it, I think that you have a very good outlook on things. Please go do what makes you happy, I believe in you! :)

Final Post: Myself and Interpretation

Prompt: Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual? (1000 words)

Welcome back everyone! Thank you all for coming along with me for this adventure - this course has been a lot of learning and it’s been incredible to be a part of it! Now, if you don’t know me, I will introduce myself again for the last time!

My name is Luca Villeneff, currently studying Zoology here at the University of Guelph. My dream one day is to become a professional Ornithologist and I work incredibly hard towards it every day of my life. Nature interpretation is important to me and my career due to how interconnected science and interpretation are.

Currently, I help as a vice president for a birding club where we do interpretive walks often. In these walks, we have professionals and/or experienced birders teaching others about the beauty of birds! We focus heavily on birds as we are a birding club, but we are here to love and experience all types of nature of course! Having been on many of these walks, I can say that it’s a great experience for interpretation, and it’s really changed its meaning for me. I thought at first that interpretation was really formal - a professional title that only experienced people could do. I thought that it was incredible and I have always wanted to learn how.

I’ve realized now that interpretation is much more than that - fundamentally, it's the connection between people and nature. You don’t need anything to do it, you just need someone to listen. I realize I’ve been doing interpretation my whole life, telling all the people I do and even don’t know about all the cool facts I know, pointing out birds and birdsong, learning to ID plants and other creatures, and telling everyone about it. It’s ultimately just an exchange of knowledge.

Doing it professionally can be more of a challenge I realize. I’ve seen some great examples from the lovely people I know who work at Quest Nature Tours (https://www.worldwidequest.com/index.php?page=trips&cmd=theme&key=quest_nature_tours). I love hearing about the interpretation work they do worldwide, and being able to provide these lovely pieces of knowledge to incredible people who love to learn! Getting to meet a lot of them as well has been amazing, as they are all incredible interpreters, always teaching me about things I didn’t know. I do realize that I am lucky to have made many of these connections, and I hope that they make me a better interpreter as I keep growing.

Throughout this course, I’ve been practicing my own interpretation and science communication skills through running my own impromptu birding group in preparation to start doing interpretation on a larger scale, though I have been invited by the club I work with to do so before. It can be scary especially when starting out and I am definitely still trying to find my own voice inside this. I have also gotten a lot of help being a volunteer with Wild Ontario here at the University of Guelph, as I have been trying to find more of my own voice and have been learning to present and talk to people about nature in more formal settings. It’s been so incredible to do both, which I am still genuinely so grateful for. I want to eventually use these skills to become a better interpreter and be a good teacher to those who wish to learn!

My ethics and values in terms of Interpretation are:

Learning: We are all here to learn, so I hope that people learn at least something small from the interpretation that I do. It could be as small as knowing a birdsong or as large as genuine issues that affect wildlife.

Respect: I want to instill inherent respect for wildlife. I want to make sure people know why we do what we do as interpreters, why nature needs respect, and the effects that we as humans have on them.

Teamwork: I want everyone to know that we are a team. Interpretation is a conversation, not a lecture. I want people to ask questions that we can all rack our brains around and figure out together! It makes everything more fun and can provide opportunities for different systems of learning and thinking that we may have not considered.

Kindness: I want everyone to know that everyone is in a different place in their journey and nobody should be shamed for knowing more or less or asking genuine questions. I want to make sure that everybody is included and that nobody will be left out.

Some other goals of my interpretation is that I would love for it to be as accessible as possible - as someone with a disability, I want to make sure that everyone can gain the same experience as nobody is less than anyone else. Recently, my club partnered with the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) and Birds Canada to help create a map with accessible birding sites (http://ofo.ca/site/content/enabled-birding), that is in the works to be made public soon!

The approaches that are most suitable for my style of interpretation may vary, as I am still trying to find my own voice and style as I do this! When I go to interpretive walks and events, I find that what helps me tends to be the passion of whoever is speaking. When I see someone like Chris Earley talk, I feel so compelled to listen and take in everything he says just from his energy alone. I find his style of interpretation incredibly captivating! I think just his energy and views on everything draws people in. I have been to other walks with other people where taking a careful hand to make sure that you have had the same experience as others is important. A lot of walks I have been on have had the lead (and sometimes the other participants) helping out anyone who hasn’t seen the bird or whatever they have been looking for. I hope to eventually employ these styles into my own work.

Thank you everyone for coming along with me for this adventure! It was great to have you!

twsenvs3000f23

Week 9

Prompt

Interpret (through this blog) the most amazing thing you know about nature – get us excited. This is your blog – you audience isn’t out in the field with you so bring the field to your armchair reader.

Hello everybody, there's only a few blogs left to write for the semester. It seems like it went by pretty quick for me! This week our prompt is to interpret something amazing that we know about nature. For me, something I find amazing about nature has to do with fungi in the forest, specifically the mycelium/mycorrhizae. These function kind of like the roots of the fungi that exist in the soil. The reason I think mycorrhizae is so amazing is because of the relationship it has with plants, mycorrhizae has a symbiotic relationship with almost every plant. They attach themselves to the roots of plants and take up their nutrients from the roots of the plants to survive, even though this sounds detrimental to the plant it actually has a symbiotic relationship with the plant. These super thin roots of the mycorrhizae are capable of getting water and nutrients where the roots of plants can't reach, then give the plant those extra nutrients and water that it has taken up. My favourite thing about mycorrhizal fungi is that it can create a large network of interconnected plants called a common mycelial network (CMN). Plants within this network can exchange signals and nutrients which travel through the mycorrhizae to each other. It is amazing how a community of plants can all become connected through these thin small roots that exist everywhere in the soil. Unfortunately in the field the only way to really see these tiny fungal roots is to disturb the soil and plants and see if there are any attached to the root of a plant. This means that if I were in the field interpreting with a group of people, I wouldn’t be able to show people the mycelium making up the network because I don't want to disturb the soil and tear out plants just to show people. Showing people a small part of the mycorrhizal network also doesn’t give a good sense of scale for how large of an area this network takes up. The total length of mycorrhizal fungi in the top 10 cm of soil is more than 450 quadrillion kilometres long! For reference, that's almost half the width of the milky way galaxy, which is incredible that something so small can grow to be that long. I got this info from spun, who are a group of people attempting to protect underground networks like mycorrhizae. They believe that these networks sustain and improve plant life on our planet. Mycorrhizae is both a super interesting and very important part of nature and the role they play in our ecosystems is incredibly large for something so small. Interpreting nature by looking at it from the perspective of something as small as mycelium in the soil helps visualise how everything in nature is connected through one form or another. It also helps understand that the size of things in nature does not always correlate to the effect that they could have on an ecosystem. Thanks for reading about me rant about mycelium this week have a good day!

Link to SPUN website:https://www.spun.earth/

lvenvs3000f23

Hi there!

Reading about mycelium/mycorrhizae has been super cool! I always thought fungi was super interesting, but I unfortunately haven’t been able to learn lots about it yet!I think it’s really cool how they make the common mycelial networks, they must be absolutely massive! I think it’s so cool to read how long they get as well! It’s cool to see how plants can create these kinds of networks too - it reminds me a lot about Pando, the clonal quaking aspen from Utah. If you haven’t read about it before, Pando is a “forest” of a single tree with the same DNA that has been cloning itself and has a huge interconnecting network of roots, which is why I think of the CMN as similar. I think asexual reproduction of plants and fungi is quite incredible due to the sheer size of how large they can get sometimes! Sometimes I fear that these giant clonal organisms could get wiped out however as they are not as resistant to disease as hybrid plants can be.

Regardless, I hope that my love of fungi will fruit (get it?) soon, and I can have the opportunity to learn more, as they are absolutely incredible as well!

Week 9 - Crows

PROMPT: Interpret (through this blog) the most amazing thing you know about nature – get us excited. This is your blog – you audience isn’t out in the field with you so bring the field to your armchair reader.

Hello again everyone! With only a few blog posts left for this semester, let’s make sure that they are good ones!

For this blog, I will be talking about one of my favorite things to learn about - Birds! Specifically, I would like to talk about a very special interest of mine, corvid intelligence.

Corvids are from the family Corvidae which include crows, jays, magpies, rooks, ravens, and more. They are incredibly special birds because they have a high amount of intelligence equivalent to a great ape, which is incredibly impressive for such a small bird.

I first became entranced about specifically corvids when I was in middle school, reading Mind of the Raven in math class instead of paying attention. It was a really interesting book about different experiments that were done on corvids and explained in depth about their neurology and what part of their brains contributed to what behavior. It was incredibly interesting, although a really tough read for me when I was so young! I remember the back of the book had a whole diagram of the brain that I’d try to sear into my mind as hard as I could. I think this book was my big spark into my love for corvids as well, which is now something I am so passionate about and love to share with others! I currently have two american crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) tattooed on my body as well.

In 1972, Stanford University created a study called the “Stanford Marshmallow Experiment” which studied delayed gratification and future planning in children. In this experiment, they had children sit in a room with a marshmallow and were told that if they didn’t eat it in 15 minutes, they would get a bigger reward of two marshmallows. What’s interesting about this is that they also tried this experiment with new caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides), where they had a rotating tray with a small treat and a large treat in a glass case with a hole. The crows were able to immediately get the smaller treat, but had to wait to get the larger one. The larger treat would either be better quality or quantity. They tried this with the rewards hidden and the rewards being visible, and the study showed that the crows did better than the children when the rewards were shown. They were able to judge that they should take the better reward if there was one, while children did not have the ability to judge it as well when they could see both.

It’s really incredible to see these creatures working, and I would one day love to help in this sector of academia as well! There are many other experiments done with crows in particular, such as learning that they can recognize faces, learning that they understand mirrors and their own reflections, they are able to understand physics such as water displacement, and that they can even work specially-designed vending machines, which shows they are able to solve complex puzzles!

Overall, corvids are super incredible and smart birds that I believe everyone should look into the research done on them - they can do such cool things and I would personally love to know just how much they may know! We are slowly learning more about birds such as studies done on Japanese Tits (Parus minor) showed that the order of calls can be similar to language and mean different things!

elleenvs3000f23

Week 7: Music and Nature - Nature and Music

Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?

Nature in music

When I think of how nature exists in music, I remember how I feel when I dance and figure skate. Dancers are taught to use our breath in our movements, to give them strength , flow, and power. Musicians do the same when they sing or play, using the breath to power notes, find pause, and build rhythm. I think that at the core of music and dance, the fact that I find a life process crucial to mammals is very indicative of how innate music is to nature. To me, the breath in music connects us to the environmental cycles that keep us alive and proves that we aren’t separate from nature, we are part of it, and dependent on it. When I need to calm down, I breathe. When you step outside on a fall day you take a deep breath to take in the earthy smell of the season. We connect to nature and are part of nature because we breathe.

I also think there is nature in music because we use metaphors and imagery in lyrics. Singers talk about weather like rain or sun as a proxy for emotions they are feeling, flowers represent beauty and mountains represent challenges. Because we have emotional ties to nature we lean on it when we self-express through music.

Music in Nature

I’d like to think that other animals appreciate music as well. My dog Wally will often join me when I play guitar, he likes to rest his head on the instrument (he also used to try and put his head in the bell of my clarinet, I think he likes how the vibrations feel). There are also videos online of dogs singing along to music such as this duo on Britain’s Got Talent Meet Aaron and Buddy: the amazing SINGING DOG! | Auditions | BGT: Unseen - YouTube. However, I have no idea if he hears and experiences music the same way I do. Reading in Gray et al. (2001) that whales and birds naturally tend to structure their songs while writing similar rules and patterns to us gives me some hope that Wally appreciates and experiences music the same way I do.

Gray et al. (2001) explains that whales and birds structure and compose music in the same way we do, but I had always thought whales and birds make music for a different purpose. My baseline assumption was that humans use music to entertain and animals use music to communicate and find mates. This week’s material made me reconsider this assumption, because communication and entertainment are not actually separate things. As interpreters we make our communication entertaining in order to gain attention, focus and interest and we make entertainment communication in order to cause social and behavior changes (ei inspiring conservation actions).

Assuming that animals only communicate with music might also be incorrect. Whales have a high capacity for emotional intelligence so it is reasonable to assume they don’t just share information, but also feelings in their songs. And what could be more romantic than birds singing to find patterns just like we do when we share love songs. I am having a lot of fun considering how animals might share more than objective facts with music.

Bonus: A song that reminds me of a natural landscape

Is He’s a Pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. I am a runner and one of my regular routes takes me in and out of a cedar forest along a river. The second last kilometer is a rocky, up-and-down straight shot along the edge of the forest and the river bank and I have developed a habit of putting this song on and seeing how fast I can run the stretch. It makes me feel adventurous and strong which is always something I have loved about outdoor sports and spending time in nature. I get to pretend to be a daring explorer like I did when I was little (a dream that I think spiraled into my current career in environmental science). Every time I hear it I can feel myself flying around trees and over rocks.

I am aware that it is considered rude online to talk about pets without sharing a photo so here is Wally :)

lvenvs3000f23

Hi there! I loved reading your post and seeing Wally! What a good boy <3

I really love the little story behind your song, I think that the songs we listen to in our routine are so important and remind us of that scenery! What other songs do you listen to while you run? I would love to hear! I think it’s really cute that you ended up being a daring explorer in your career!! I think it’s so fun to revisit those childhood passions in our adult years. I know when I was a kid, I had a lot of the same passions as I still do now, even though as teenagers we can often reject those loves because we may want to fit in while we are in school.

I really loved reading about animals and their musical structures- it's so interesting to see them compose things like we do! I think that’s something that would be really interesting to be studied a lot more. I know that birdsong is also a language, and exchanging the parts of it can sometimes have a completely different meaning depending on the order!

I bet your dog enjoys your music though! I absolutely love what it does to people and how it brings everyone together. In human nature, it's especially awesome to see! I love when certain songs come on and everyone starts to belong their hearts out together with strangers! It’s one of my favourite examples of community in western society. I hope you and wally have some more awesome adventures together!

Week 6 - Music in Nature

Prompt: Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?

As a follow-up (focus on the above two before you tackle this one), what song takes you immediately back to a natural landscape? What is the context? Share it with us – I would imagine many of these ideas may have similar underpinnings of a campfire, roadtrip, backpacking journey, etc.!

Hi all,

Music can be found anywhere - it is made through nature itself! Music is special as it is essentially just noises produced from oscillating sound waves at different frequencies. Nature creates its own music often, though it may not always be the same form as you expect! Birdsong is an easy example of music in nature - the lovely harmonies they sing to attract mates is inherently musical!

Music can be found in fun ways as well, such as the company PlantWave, which creates a device that monitors the electric signals of plants and uses it to create music! Attached below will be a video to read more about it, but it is really lovely! Each plant has its own “rhythm” so to speak, which makes it an interesting way to really combine music and nature.

Listen to plant music with PlantWave! Tune into nature and hear plants make music.

In music, nature is a larger part than may be expected! Most instruments are made of wood- each type having a different quality. I grew up playing guitar, so many guitars are made of different types of woods. A nice cherry wood would provide a more mellow sound while other types such as a maple would be a lot more bright. Other than the technical aspects of music, nature is found in music in songs. There are many signs that highlight or use nature in it, such as birdsong or just the lovely sounds of rain!

Below are two contemporary songs that I think of when I think of nature:

- The Bug Collector by Hayley Hendrix

This song reminds me of a slightly chilly, foggy morning in a cottage alongside a river. I imagine the sun trying to peek through all the clouds and the fog, and all that can be heard is the buzzing of bugs. I can see myself sitting in the back garden with some pastries and tea just taking in the scenery.

This song specifically reminds me of some of the lovely morning birding walks I've had in the University of Guelph’s Arboretum. Sometimes it gets a bit too buggy for me as well! It’s always lovely though.

- Landscape with a Fairy

This song reminds me of a meadow, the leaves starting to change. They start in spring, green and bright and covered in florals. As the song goes on, it makes me think of the seasons changing to autumn and winter. It’s a very scenic song and it’s one I hold dear to myself!

Even in classical music, nature has always been an inspiration. For example, Vivaldi’s Seasons is one of the first pieces I think of that can evoke such a sense of nature. It really creates the experience of each season. Looking outside of the western world as well, a lot of traditional chinese music emulates nature, such as in Horse Racing (赛马) where the Erhu, a traditional instrument, emulates the horse, even neighing!

In my experience, a lot of traditional chinese music really represents nature and embodies the environment, really providing a sense of what the song describes, it’s incredible! More for your listening enjoyment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujzMHLac404

Hi all,

Below are two contemporary songs that I think of when I think of nature:

- The Bug Collector by Hayley Hendrix

- Landscape with a Fairy

Even in classical music, nature has always been an inspiration. For example, Vivaldi’s Seasons is one of the first pieces I think of that can evoke such a sense of nature. It really creates the experience of each season. Looking outside of the western world as well, a lot of traditional Chinese music emulates nature, such as in Horse Racing (赛马) where the Erhu, a traditional instrument, emulates the horse, even neighing!

In my experience, a lot of traditional Chinese music really represents nature and embodies the environment, really providing a sense of what the song describes, it’s incredible! More for your listening enjoyment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujzMHLac404

#Youtube

elleenvs3000f23

Week 6: Things are boring - stories matter

Prompt: “There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.” - Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation) - Unpack this quote.

Hyams' is suggesting that integrity and storytelling is not only a key to good interpretation but the goal of interpretation - we need to bring all the pieces of a place or event together to authentically give them meaning.

“Ancient things” can be compared to plants or features of an environment; on their own they are just a fact, but by connecting facts and ideas we can tell stories with emotional impacts. By connecting pieces of nature and history together for our audiences we are moving our work away from just sharing information to interpretation. Our readings in Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage describe good interpretive writing as needing to connect to:

the life of the reader

a tangible thing (ei a artifact or place)

create an emotional connection between the reader and the thing

guide the reader towards a change in thinking or action.

(Beck, Cable, and Knudson, 2018, 304)

I think Hyams’ quote really speaks to the WHY of interpretation; yes, learning history is fun, we like stories, we like fun facts and we like visiting new places. Having interpreters involved in parks and tourism takes the fun and makes it meaningful and long lasting in the minds of the audience.

A great example of how an interpreter can take a thing and make it special and meaningful comes from when I visited Prince Edward Island. I was on a tour with my highschool band and a history interpreter told us stories about the sidewalk tiles going up from the harbor. Sidewalk tiles are objectively boring. Here’s how good interpretation made sidewalks amazing and symbolic of East Coast culture:

The tiles were meant to cover the sidewalk of the whole main road from the harbor to city hall. But the hard tiles were shipped in blocks of stone to be cut once they arrived on the island. Unfortunately cutting hard granite wasn’t possible on an island that on ever has soft sandstones. Instead the city council decided to just bury the blocks of granite and only have a stone path for the first block leading up from the harbor! Our guide went on to comment on how reflective this is of East Coaster’s mentality; they prioritized welcoming guests as they arrive from their ships above all else (and they don't see the point of stressing over a complicated solution when there is a simple option).

Sidewalks are boring until you connect them to a broader story and that story to the cultures and values of people.

Unfortunately I have to take this conversation in a sad direction to address the second key idea in Hyams’ quote where he claims that “to think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it”. You’ve heard the old adage about history repeating itself. If we forget the lessons we have learned we risk repeating them; interpretation can teach us things so that we don’t have to experience suffering first hand to learn from it. Earlier in this course we learned about the Tragedy on the Timiskaming in 1978 when a group of students on a canoe trip ended up falling into freezing water at the cost of many young lives. James Raffan shares the story through a song "The Last Place" A song about the 1978 Temiskaming Tragedy - YouTube performed to students of his own who will go on to be interpreters and guides. The song not only makes the story memorable and emotional, sharing the story serves as a reminder to the students that they should think twice before making decisions in the wild - nature has little mercy and accidents tend to pile up. Essentially, Raffan is sharing history in the hope that his students can avoid repeating it - saving them from having to make a fatal mistake themselves. By learning history in memorable ways that connect to our own experiences we not only take information but lessons.

Overall I think Hyams’ quote speaks to the connections interpreters need to prioritize: attaching a thing to its story and the story to a message.

lvenvs3000f23

Hi Elle!

I really love your take on the quote! I think it’s really opened up my eyes towards what it might mean. I agree that it is our goal to be able to put these pieces together. I think that we should be the ones putting in the work to research and find these answers as well, do you agree?

I think that providing meaning through history is incredibly important. How are we supposed to know how things came to be if not by knowing the history? I took the second half of the quote to mean that people tend to forget about history, believing that it is a series of isolated events instead of a chain that is all connected. I think it’s interesting to learn about things like that boardwalk, and I would love to learn the deeper history as to WHY the culture of the island is that way. I wonder if it was always that way? Do they really love having newcomers? For example, Newfoundland has a history of being incredibly welcoming, so much as to help out those stranded due to the 9/11 tragedy in Gander, called Operation Yellow Ribbon. There is this rich history of the east coast being so welcoming, and I would love to know why it is so renowned in those parts. I would love to hear about the history of the land and the people on it. I think both of these things are incredibly important to think about, but I loved hearing your take!

Week 6 - History

"There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it."

(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

This quote talks about the importance of the past, especially in interpretation. He starts off by saying there is merit in integrity, and describes it as keeping parts of a whole together. By this, I believe that he is talking about how we must protect these “ancient things” as having old things means nothing, while being able to have something as a whole is much more meaningful. I think this in a non-literal way, as in saying that the history of this thing is what gives it meaning. For example, a map is not as significant when you do not know what it is for. If you know its history, then the integrity of the past that has kept it together will show its worth. Maybe it was from a famous explorer, or maybe from someone who should have known.

This isn’t just for physical objects though, as even small things such as the passing of knowledge can count as this “heirloom”. Knowledge is something passed down in families - the traditions and cultures that we share to connect ourselves is what should be kept whole. Knowing something doesn’t mean much unless you know its context and know its history. You can know that the sky is blue, but that doesn’t mean you know why it is that way. It’s a very philosophical discussion, but I think that history is important to everything. We should know the history of the land we are on, the people who live (and lived) there, and all of this should be a part of our interpretation. It’s not completely meaningless without it, but it is much deeper than just claiming that something is something.

In regards to the second half of this comment, I believe Hyams is trying to mention how people separate history from reality sometimes, as if it would not happen again. History is not a series of isolated events but instead many things that are linked together - there are patterns and events that lead to where we are today. It’s foolish to ignore those events and believe it wouldn’t happen again, just like how he talks about the train. The railway station exists beyond the seconds you spent in it, just as history does. The “train” is time as we experience it, while the railway is the historical events that go by.

Overall, the big picture of this quote in regards to interpretation is that we should know the history of everything we interpret. We should know the land we interpret on, who has lived their, their histories, and how things came to be modern day. We can spend hours walking along the humber river valley, but what does it matter if we don’t talk about the long history of the Anishinaabe great migration. See what the people of the land who loved here for centuries before us used the land for. There are some trees in Toronto that were used as waypoints for the indigenous peoples who lived in those areas. It feels foolish to ignore history, as it is not disconnected from us.

Week 5: Bird Banding

Prompt: No prompt - write about anything! Welcome back everyone,

Since I have the freedom to write about anything I want, I wanted to talk about my experiences doing research and work with birds! To start off, birds are my passion if not already obvious! They mean a lot to me and are the thing that makes me truly happy. As a kid, I always loved them, and that love has grown more and more as the years have gone on to where I am today.

I was really lucky this summer to be able to start my experience in doing research with birds, where I was learning bird banding and migration monitoring with the TRCA in Toronto. I would wake up at a crisp 4 in the morning to drive down to the park before sunrise - people always gawk at that timing but birds are always up so early, so we have to get there before they do. We head into the park and set up big nets called mist nets - they have large pockets that birds will be caught in when they fly into. We head into the research station and check the nets every half an hour. When we come across a bird caught in our nets, we carefully extract them and place them into bags to be banded. We head back to the station and start the process of giving each bird their own unique ID band and then releasing them.

The purpose of banding birds is to track a lot of things, especially migration. The tags are incredibly unique and only correspond to one singular bird, so if it migrates, you are able to track where it’s been since birds stop to rest while migrating. A lot of data is kept, such as species, age, sex, ID number, the amount of fat they have on their bodies (which can tell us about migration habits), and wing length. We use specialized tools for these, and while stressful, is a harmless process for the birds. Sometimes, other research is tied in as well. When I was volunteering, we were also plucking tail feathers on birds to use in research studying isotopes found in those feathers. This research is used in many ways such as finding breeding grounds of birds, studying diet, immigration of populations, just to name a few.

Banding in general is incredibly important as a science since it is the only way we really know about migration habits. We can learn where they go, how long it takes them to get there, and where they stay over the winter. Especially in modern day, this also heavily contributes towards conservation efforts since songbirds especially have been rapidly declining for decades.

My experience was extremely pleasant and I am happy to continue doing this and being able to teach others about birds and helping others learn in workshops.

ksenvs3000f23

Prompt 3: The role of privilege in nature interpretation.

What role does “privilege” play in nature interpretation? Please include your working definition of privilege.

I believe that privilege has a major role to play in nature interpretation, but before that is discussed, I believe that it is important to explain my definition of privilege. The formal definition of privilege is “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group”. I believe that my definition of privilege is nearly identical to this one, while I would add that for most of the people who have privilege, they remain unaware of it, as in today’s society, privilege is deeply ingrained.

Now that we have my working definition of privilege, we can discuss the various roles it plays in nature interpretation. One being the access to natural spaces, one of the most significant ways privilege affects nature interpretation. People living in urban areas such as Toronto have limited green spaces and limited diversity among the flaura and fauna that they are able to identify and see, while someone even such as myself, who grew up just outside of Orillia, Ontario, has a much greater access to green spaces and diversity of living organisms and environments. Furthermore, those with a higher economic status are able to have better nature interpretation due to the access to cars and vehicles to reliably transport them to said landscapes. Also, they can pay the entry fees and day passes to certain landmarks or provincial parks that others might not be able to afford.

Another way that privilege plays a role in nature interpretation is access to jobs in environmental fields or outdoor locations. I am very privileged to be so close to a provincial park and to be able to work maintenance at said provincial park. This means that I am spending 40 hours a week at minimum in nature and have access to a provincial park where one of the main goals ins species diversity and environment rehabilitation. The same cannot be said about others. Some people have to work indoors, at desks, in cities, in factories, in order to live, while I get the opportunity to work in the place that I do.

Finally, privilege plays a major role in environmental awareness. Those that have access to the education and literature may have a larger understanding of the environment and ecological issues. Those that are able to take courses, afford books, or even have a major in an environmental science or nature specific course load may have a greater knowledge of certain things in nature then others.

While these are not all of the issues that privilege has on nature interpretation, I do believe that these are some of the major ones, and it is important for everybody to recognize the privilege they have, whether it be in nature interpretation or in all facets of their lives.

lvenvs3000f23

Hi there! I like how you really discussed in depth about how privilege is in nature interpretation. I completely agree with your point on natural spaces - I grew up in a city so I never had as much interest in nature as many others did. I only could really discover it as I grew older as many urban centres don’t focus much on greenspaces, especially ones that aren’t just fields full of grass. Vehicle reliability is also a huge issue, as a majority of jobs tend to be out really far away. I think having access to jobs in urban spaces could be a good idea, what do you think? I don’t have a car so that is something I have definitely dealt with and have found to be really hard to obtain jobs, which really sucks when the cost of living is already so high and you have to pay for a car and insurance on top of all that.

On your note about availability as well, the closest provincial park to where I grew up was an hour and a half drive, which really made it hard to see anything as well. Along with this, there sometimes is a huge lack of programs to teach people about nature in the city. There are some organizations that do, but they can be hard to find if you don’t already know about them and aren’t in the nature circle already.

Week 3: Privilege

Prompt: What role does “privilege” play in nature interpretation? Please include your working definition of privilege.

Privilege can be defined as a “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.” While this definition is correct, my personal definition adds a bit more towards this: an important note is that privilege in its roots is a systemic issue based against minorities that can include race, social class, ability, gender, or orientation. Many systems that we have in place in western cultures really wish to see people the same as livestock and crops - a singular monoculture of workers. The reality is that people are incredibly diverse and our differences are something to be celebrated, not shamed for. Everyone deserves equal opportunities, although I know in reality many don’t get the opportunities to do so.

What’s so important to note about privilege is that most have it in one way or another. It is not necessarily a bad thing to have, as it means you have had access to certain things in your life, which is beneficial and good. Some people just do not have the environment to be able to have these same privileges. It is not shameful or bad to have privileges, but the most important part is that people who do have it can recognise it. Being able to recognize privilege can create a space for conversation and being able to brainstorm ideas on how to provide the opportunities to others that they may not have previously had.

It can range from something as simple as access to green spaces, where people who live in cities, especially lower income areas, tend to have less green spaces. Growing up in Toronto, I lived beside a lot of low-income areas, although I never was in one myself. Even growing up in that vicinity, I rarely had any greenspaces that were more than just a park the size of my bedroom that was always an hour walk away. It can sometimes make it incredibly hard for many to be able to get into nature interpretation and nature in general because of this.

From my own personal experience, although I am a person who has privilege in some aspects, in others I may not. One issue I notice heavily with nature interpretation is its accessibility issues for people who are disabled. As a disabled person myself, I get many people asking me if I would ever be able to actually go out and do fieldwork and interpretation. It’s frustrating, as a lot of places may not be as kind to people who may just need a bit of help. I hope to one day be able to challenge those people who doubt, but also hope that more opportunities will be available for people who deserve an equal chance. It’s hard as a lot of places try to define what someone can or cannot do but in reality it is up to the person signing up to determine if it’s truly the right fit or not. Overall, Privilege is something that people as a whole need to have a larger conversation on and figure out how it really does affect people. It’s not bad, but it is important to be honest and look at what you do have so we can try to provide these same opportunities to those who may not.

ssenvs3000f23

Teaching Learners

Blog 2: Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need?

My ideal role of an environmental interpreter would be to act as a guide to connect people to the world around them. I say that I would prefer to act as a guide because every person will have their own unique bond to nature based upon their lived experiences. Ideally as an environmental interpreter, I would not be dictating these relationships but rather providing resources to increase an individual connection.

As an interpreter my goals would be to help establish initial connections, draw attention to the benefits of having a healthy relationship with your natural surroundings, and give opportunity to further knowledge about the natural world. I am fortunate to have grown up with a very positive and rewarding connection to nature. I can’t begin to express how much I have learned about myself and nature from these experiences. I want to share those types of learning experiences with others so that they can understand the joy that nature can bring. Recently, I have found that there is a serious disconnect between people and the natural environment they live in. It is my belief that increasing personal connections to the natural world will result in a positive climate influence. Nature has given me so much throughout my life; the benefits of simply being exposed to green spaces have been extensive and plentiful. From this, I feel as though I have a sense of duty to giving back to it through sustainable living and helping educate others. I want to help foster meaningful connections to the natural world.

For as long as I can remember I have been drawn to the ocean and its inhabitants. The marine biologist in me would absolutely adore to be a guide on whale watching tour. Whales have been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember, so to interpret in that setting is the dream. Although I would be thrilled to do this job anywhere, I have always wanted to travel French Polynesia, specifically Mo'orea. This location appeals to me as it is located on part of the humpback whale migration path from June to November. Not to mention, there is an abundance of marine life that I would be eager to observe. Species of interest include stingrays, sea turtles, and black tip sharks. My pre-existing knowledge about the species would be an obvious asset to creating a meaningful experience for guests and my passion for the ocean would only add to the fun.

Drawing on my experience as a swim and lifesaving instructor I would say that there is a plethora of skills required to pass on information to a variety of age groups. I’ve taught a wide range of ages (3 months- 65 years), so I have experience catering to different groups of people. It is so important to use a variety of methods to deliver information as everyone learns differently. In my ideal interpreting job, my primary goal would be to ensure that every person walks away from the experience with a positive story to share.

lvenvs3000f23

Hi there!

I really loved hearing your ideal role. I completely agree with all your goals - I think that connecting people to nature is one of the most important things we can do. I personally hope to be able to do so as well, as I believe that connecting people to nature will allow them to gain interest and love for it, which may one day help us reverse a lot of damage that has been done to the planet. I also remember the joy nature has, and still does, bring me as well - I remember being in awe of the birds I would see the Earth Rangers bring to our schools, and now I feel so happy that I’m doing the same thing and I really hope that I can make others feel how I felt.

As a bird nerd, I do a lot of research with birds and frequently band them. Whenever kids come into the research station, I always try my best to teach them as much as I can and (safely and with permission) release a bird from their hand. I have seen that same sparkle in their eyes where they are absolutely enamoured, and it’s what I do all of this for to be honest!

Hearing about your ideal tour sounds absolutely magnificent! I would honestly join for that, as I don’t know much about whales but the passion you show from your post makes me want to really learn from you! I hope that one day you are able to do it, I believe in you!

Week 2: Ideal Role

Prompt: Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need?

Hello again everyone,

I hope everyone has been doing well! I’ve been quite busy but doing a lot of good work! <3

When I used to hear “nature interpreter”, I honestly never really knew much about what it meant. I thought, “why would nature need an interpreter? It doesn’t speak.” Over the years, I have of course learnt that it in fact does. A nature interpreter is someone who, like a language interpreter, is a link between two different worlds, allowing us a glimpse into something we may not have been able to know beforehand. Nature does not speak but instead shows us what it wants to say, and their job is to tell everyone else about it. For example, interpreters get to show others the beauty of nature through behaviours of animals. Sometimes there may be a flock of birds “mobbing” (a bunch of smaller birds annoying and attacking other larger birds) which means that these larger birds, usually birds of prey, are in the area. This can be great for people who would want to see these species, or even just people who enjoy nature as a whole.

My ideal role of being an interpreter would entail a focus on birds- my absolute favourites! I have always been a huge bird nerd, although I do enjoy many other aspects of nature! I already do a lot of work with interpreters to set up guided birding walks through the club I have been helping to run for the last little while, so I know about what it entails.

My dream walk would likely be either something somewhere across the world travelling and leading birding walks, or in the province where I would take people to one of the large provincial parks that are under the atlantic and/or mississippi flyways such as Point Pelee provincial park during peak spring migration. I am always a little bit more biased towards the spring as you get to see birds out of their wintering plumages covered in the bright colours they are known for. Along with this, Point Pelee is home to one of my favourite warblers, the protonotary. Canada is believed to only have around ~30 breeding pairs left so it’s a truly special palace to be able to see them. Along with this, it’s an incredibly important place to many birders as hundreds of people flock (pun intended!) to see some birds they may never have seen otherwise as they migrate.

I would love to be able to host a nice tour with a smaller group where we can all learn from each other and I would love to teach them everything I know about birds. I would need a bit more skill with my bird calls, as they are definitely my weakest spot. Knowing calls is really important, but I find it to be quite hard sometimes! I would also need to know the routes and find lists of birds that commonly are found there, as well as potential migratory fallouts that could appear. I really hope that one day I may be able to do this!

otenvs3000f23

Week 1

BLOG PROMPT: Describe your current relationship with nature. How has this developed/evolved? Who offered you “a sense of place,” as described in our textbook?

Hello, my fellow nature interpreters!

I look forward to getting to know you all through sharing our thoughts on Tumblr – I honestly forgot this platform even existed! Nonetheless, I wish you all luck in your studies and am excited for this semester with you!

Do you guys ever think about the things that have shaped who you are and your interests? What influences and experiences made me who I am today? If you’re anything like me and coming up to your ‘quarterly-life crisis’, you might spend countless hours pondering (and stressing) over who you are and what you’re meant to do; what is going to bring me happiness and a sense of meaning? At least for me, I think this is where the natural world comes into play in my life.

Let us begin…

For as long as I can remember, I could always be found reading some book or encyclopedia on wildlife. I’ve always been fascinated by animal behaviour, animal physiology, wildlife conservation, and pretty much anything animal-related. Was anyone else obsessed with BBC’s Earth nature documentaries? I would argue that David Attenborough must be one of the best nature interpreters of our time. He encapsulated millions by sharing breathtaking landscapes and all the life that depends upon it. His impassioned rhetoric brings meaning to conservation efforts and displays the beauty of our home. His documentaries profoundly enriched my admiration and awareness of the fragility and adaptiveness of nature. As I grew older and as my knowledge of animals expanded into the natural world and the environment, I began to notice the interconnectedness of life; I learned of issues our planet was facing, such as how climate change was affecting wildlife and biodiversity, the inequalities and ethical concerns found within so many industries, and most importantly, how utterly crucial it is to protect our beautiful little planet.

After the release of several articles all over social media explaining that we are in the ‘decisive decade’ and on the brink of the sixth mass extinction, there seemed to be nothing but bad news everywhere. Essentially every article and social media post alluded to the idea that humanity is doomed and that we’ve completely screwed up our planet. I honestly struggled with a lot of anxiety around this, and I took this issue personally (and still do).

On a side note, I like the idea that amongst chaos and ruin, nature and life on Earth will continue to rebuild itself – maybe we can look at times of hopelessness and chaos in our own lives this way, we are forever transforming and learning, perpetually being rebuilt despite it all. I think if we all look at nature as our friend instead of trying to be separate from it and viewing it as a commodity to be exploited we can instead appreciate our planet, and then perhaps we can save it too.

While I always felt that anything I did would be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, I still do my best to live more sustainably and try to encourage others to do the same. After having such a defeatist mindset about the state of our planet for quite some time, I would say I grew quite proficient in appreciating the natural world around me and am in constant awe of its resiliency. If you pay attention to the beauty of it all, you too can feel a little more at peace. Take a minute to look up and be captivated by the stars at night, isn’t it neat that the longer you look, the more stars that seem to appear? Study the intricate chevron markings on the legs of a grasshopper. Stick your arms out and feel the heat from the sun on your skin and the wind blowing across your face. We come from nature, it is ingrained in who we are; so take a moment to be present and admire what our wonderful world offers – I hope it brings you as much peace as it does me.

lvenvs3000f23

Hi Olivia,

I completely relate to the ‘quarter-life-crisis’ ! A lot of people may think that all of us would be too young to have a crisis but a lot of us are just trying to find ourselves and where we are in the world. I was the same kind of kid who loved reading books about animals and other nature, although I tended to be a very indoorsy kid so I never got to use much of it in practice. My personal draw for biology as a whole is the ability to know what everything is and being able to connect it all, just like you also explained in your post. I still find it so interesting to see the tiniest building blocks of life build up to humans and beyond!

I believe that all humans should be trying to live more sustainable, even though honestly a lot of change will not happen unless we keep the top polluters responsible - which usually aren’t us everyday people unfortunately. It’s frustrating because the fate of the planet and all these beautiful things are in the hands of people who don’t care. It’s our job to keep them responsible and make sure the world improves instead of getting worse. I know it seems bleak but I think that we need to also take a breath and just enjoy what we still have and believe that things will be ok as long as we take action. Thank you for this post, it really made me think!

Week 1 - Beginnings of a Naturalist

Prompt: Describe your current relationship with nature. How has this developed/evolved? Who offered you “a sense of place,” as described in our textbook?

Hello everyone,

My name is Luca and I am currently based in Guelph, although I come from the big city of Toronto. As a kid, I was never that directly into nature. Growing up in a concrete jungle, sometimes it’s hard to really gain that appreciation of nature when you don’t get a “true” sense of what it is.

As a kid, I thought that nature was the perfectly landscaped parks with freshly clipped grass and large playgrounds. The park near my house that I still go to sometimes is just that - just a husk of what nature once was. It’s a giant flat patch of grass with barely any trees. Kids are found playing on the playground in a large patch of wood chips, or sometimes they are found at the baseball diamond or the tennis courts getting exercise. I never had much appreciation for what was there, but that was not the same nature that I know now. Nature to me more than a decade later is quite a different concept. Instead of pristine fields it is quiet and no longer feels artificial. It feels like home.

Now, nature is something I study and my whole life really does revolve around it. I grew up going on camping trips and long drives with my dad, always just choosing random directions to go until we end up somewhere fun. Some nights we would sleep inside his car, which he named “Bob”, or we would pull out tents and snuggle up under the stars in sleeping bags. We still go on long car rides to this day, even if not the same overnight to multiple week long expeditions like we used to.

Another of my biggest draws was one of my teachers in highschool, Ms. Kim. She was one of the best teachers I had ever had, really being kind and fostering kids’ passions for science. She did a bachelors in science and ended up doing a masters degree relating to birds. I remember one morning in her grade 9 science class she had been talking to some of the homeroom class students before class, including myself. She had quieted us all and started to identify all the birds that were singing outside. I really found it amazing and it kickstarted the passions I had taken with me as I grew up. Along with her, I had another amazing science teacher in grade 10, Mr. Vlahovic, who would talk to me every day at lunch to help me get where I want to be, even when I had a lot of pushback in my life.

From there, I started to delve into science more and decided that I wanted to pursue a love of nature, especially of birds, that I always had. Even with a multitude of struggles in highschool, I ended up graduating and applying to study at the University of Guelph. Since then, I have worked really hard to be able to gain a lot of amazing experiences and am very lucky to be where I am.

Thank you to my dad, Ms. Kim, Mr. Vlahovic, and many others who have supported me enough to get to where I am. You all have changed my life for the better and I am forever grateful.

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