Ethics Beliefs and the Future of Interpretation (week 10)
Hey everyone, welcome back to another week of nature interpretation! I have some unfortunate news: this might be my last post in awhile. Iâm moving on from blogging to explore where I can make meaningful contributions elsewhere.Â
That being said, I am excited to share some of my final thoughts about nature interpretation, and share my personal beliefs and ethics. As some of you may remember, my university major is Biological Science, but my courses have become progressively more focused on biodiversity and conservation as the years have gone on.Â
So, letâs get into my personal ethic as a nature interpreter. Now, thereâs probably a million different things that comprise my views if I were to deeply analyze them, but letâs focus on the most important components. First, I believe in having a fundamental respect for the intrinsic value of nature, acknowledging that it exists for its own sake. Believing that nature has intrinsic value helps us reframe our interaction with natural resources as not something that is owed to us by nature, but rather something we should respectfully take only when we need to.
 In terms of the art of interpretation itself, I believe that presenting authentic and scientifically accurate information about the natural world is paramount (Beck et al, Chapter 7, Serving Diverse Audiences). This should be obvious - we donât want to give people misconceptions about nature. Nature already has so many interesting things to offer that exaggerating is both not necessary and unethical.
Something that is often overlooked is striving to make nature interpretation accessible and inclusive to people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, and identities (Beck et al, Chapter 7, Serving Diverse Audiences). Nature is everyoneâs heritage regardless of their background! These are but a few of my major guiding principles.
One of the most important beliefs I hold is that interpretation should empower others to take positive action based on their newfound understanding and appreciation of nature, especially through local communities. Learning to love and interpret the natural world is incredibly important, but action is necessary to make real changes. Urgent issues such as climate change, food scarcity, malnutrition, and loss of biodiversity are highly complex and contested in both science and society. To address them, environmental educators and science educators need to engage people (Wals et al., 2014). In this way interpretation benefits society by promoting healthy communities and helping to inform the public which democracy requires (Beck et al, Chapter 3, Values to Individuals and Society).Â
Iâd also like to take a more detailed look at one of my ethics for interpreters ourselves. I believe that we should try to act in ways that minimize harm to the environment. Doing a better job recycling, planting native species, etc. This summer I am trying to grow a vegetable garden, and am continuously urging my family to convert parts of our yard to more native species. Even though addressing massive systemic problems is important -Â we should try to live out our values on a personal level.Â
Another primary belief I hold is that actions which protect nature actually work to promote human flourishing (Beck et al, Chapter 5, Guiding Principles). Letâs look at a practical example. Over the last number of decades, it has become extremely difficult to repair and acquire parts for appliances. This forces consumers to toss out their old stuff and buy new. Recently, there has been a focus on right to repair laws in Europe and Canada that would increase the ability of consumers to repair. This helps consumers as they aren't wasting money on brand new items and lessens the demand on nature for resource extraction and landfill facilities. These kinds of actions can be a win-win for people and the environment!
Here's a picture of me repairing something! I mean it counts right?
Lets look at my responsibilities - hereâs a simple yet difficult one - staying positive. Interpreters are encouraged to have a sense of humor, and to not despair, but rather to find solace in nature (Beck et al, Chapter 5, Guiding Principles). There is plenty of nihilism regarding climate change and ecological destruction to be found, but this is not useful. We should act as though we truly can make a positive difference, because if we donât weâre guaranteed to fail. I think this fits into another goal of interpretation which is to âenjoy understandinglyâ - weâre supposed to enjoy the natural world while understanding the real threats it faces (Beck et al, Chapter 3, Values to Individuals and Society).
I think another responsibility is to communicate well with people who disagree with you. It is easy to do interpretation with others who agree with you. For example, among the students and staff in my program, there is deep passion about conservation. However, there is some deviation between this setting and the general public. It gets much harder to interpret for example, when someone fundamentally has different beliefs than you do. A common example of this is climate change denialism. It is almost impossible to do interpretation without inevitably addressing climate change, and it's even a goal of some programs (Beck et al, Chapter 5, Guiding principles). Of course, your audience does have the right to retain and express their own values, but offering new perspectives, being respectful, and asking your audience where their beliefs come from can go a long way.Â
Okay to end this off letâs take a specific look at how I can interpret best as an individual. Iâve been thinking about this a lot - I donât know what specific âjobâ or âcareerâ I want in this regard: will I become a park ranger or work in a museum? I mean I wouldnât be opposed to trying out those roles but I just donât know
At the end of the day, I could realistically see myself working at a summer camp as a counselor and leading a cabin in tons of fun and chaotic activities while still helping them connect to nature. I know I would personally enjoy that setting, which would obviously help me display enthusiasm naturally in my role. The fond memories that theyâll carry with them will instill a love of nature. We obviously aren't perfectly rational: we donât just care about nature because of rote facts relating to how much timber we extract from forests for housing. We are often led by emotion and our personal experiences. In whatever role I hold, I will strive to maintain the ethics and approaches I listed above, and continue to hone my communication and interpretation skills!Â
Anyway, that's all for now folks!Â
I wasnât sure how to end this post, so hereâs a picture of a cute young snapping turtle that I forgot that I had taken until now
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing.
Wals, A. E., Brody, M., Dillon, J., & Stevenson, R. B. (2014). Convergence between science and environmental education. Science, 344(6184), 583â584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515Â Â