Blog 9: Last But Not Least
As the last blog post of this semester, I want to talk about my personal ethics as a nature interpreter. Everybody interprets nature differently, governed mainly by their ethics, beliefs, and learning styles. One of my personal mantras/ethics is to treat everyone fairly, not equally. Although this might come off as something negative, I believe treating everyone equally can cause massive issues, especially when dealing with a diverse audience. As mentioned in Chapter 7, “Studies have shown that interpreters often don’t know their audiences well and have misguided beliefs about audience values, beliefs and motivations” (Beck et al., 2018). As a nature interpreter, we need to get to know our audience better before we engage professionally with them. When guiding visitors on a nature walk, we cannot assume everyone on the hike can see what we see. They could be too short or visually impaired to notice what we are trying to showcase. As nature interpreters, we should ask everyone to see what we see and even describe what we are looking at so they can paint a picture in their heads. In Chapter 7, we learn about how to serve diverse audiences, and the part that really stuck with me was that we severely underestimate the knowledge and wisdom older people have when it comes to natural interpretation (Beck et al., 2018). Older people have the most time and money to spend on nature interpretation, thus making them the most knowledgeable and experienced nature enjoyers. Yet, we bore them with simple interpretations geared for new visitors due to prior assumptions (Beck et al., 2018). If we spend additional time at the beginning and ask if they have been to the park before, we will know that we can delve more into complex topics instead of simple ones. I believe that treating your audience fairly by getting to know them allows you to make the event more enjoyable for everyone involved, but treating them all the same can lead you to alienate certain individuals.
My most prominent personal belief is that we should always respect nature. In my ‘Blog 1: First of Many’, I have already mentioned how my culture and heritage heavily impacted my relationship with nature. Those two factors taught me to respect and fear nature, as nature can be gentle but unforgiving. I believe that as a nature interpreter, you must respect nature as it can influence how your career develops and progresses. If you are a nature interpreter who routinely litters while giving guides, your littered work environment might attract unwanted attention from animals such as bears or coyotes, making your job harder. Your littering might also cause certain plant and animal species to disappear, drastically impacting the local ecosystem and your workplace. These factors can lead to fewer visits and interest from tourists and locals, all because you, as a nature interpreter, decided to disrespect nature by littering. As nature interpreters, it is our responsibility to help people respect nature, which is impossible if we do not respect nature (Beck et al., 2018).
Velcro was created by observing how burs work.
Another one of my beliefs is that we should let nature guide us. We as humans try to bend nature to our will too much, with constant deforestation, habitat loss, pollution, etc. We should and have started to let nature guide us instead. Much of our studies advancing research in cancer, age, and regeneration are being done by studying animals such as the axolotl, hydras, flatworms, and naked mole rats (Bellantuono et al., 2015). Many architectural buildings nowadays try to gain inspiration from nature, as most natural structures are solid and sustainable due to the long lineage of evolution and selective pressure (S, 2023). These are great examples of us letting nature guide us, and I believe that is where our future lies.
'Exotic' animals being sold in small plastic containers not suitable for their health.
My final belief is that we should not cage nature. As a person who grew up around wild and domesticated animals in Nepal. Seeing wild animals being kept as ‘exotic’ pets in small places that do not meet their habitat requirements feels weird. I specifically remember going to a reptile expo and observing multiple artificially and selectively bred boas, turtles, anoles, and frogs being kept in small plastic containers and bags that were too big to fit in. It disgusted and frightened me to see an exotic pet trade taking place under the title of an ‘expo’ where wild animals that do not belong in homes are being sold for profit. Domesticated animals, such as cats, dogs, and cows, are animals that have been tamed millions of years ago and now can safely live with humans and do not pose a threat when kept as pets. Exotic animals are wild animals that have not been tamed by humans over time but have been taken from the wild and kept as pets. Most wild animals kept as pets have huge habitat ranges compared to their body size, which they forage and roam for food, shelter, socializing, and mating. People who keep wild animals as exotic pets cannot accommodate these animals for their habitat size and instead give them drastically reduced cages where they are kept and fed way beyond their health limit. Also, these exotic pets are wild animals that have not been tamed. They cannot comprehend humans the same way domestic animals such as dogs can. This usually causes issues around the time these animals reach maturity, causing wild outbursts and violence against owners due to owners not caring for their exotic pets. There was a famous case in 2009 where a chimpanzee being kept as an exotic pet attacked their owner’s friend, severely injuring her limbs and face, leaving her permanently disfigured and traumatized (Gritt, 2021). The chimpanzee was killed in the incident, and investigation revealed that the chimpanzee was overweight, showcasing violent tendencies recently, and had been fed Xanax-laced tea to self-medicate for anxiety and lyme disease (Gritt, 2021). This is a classic case of owners keeping exotic pets and abusing those wild animals without realizing their wrongdoings.
Travis the chimpanzee involved in the 2009 incident was already overweight at the time of the picture.
Finally, as a nature interpreter, I like to learn visually and experience nature myself. I cannot feel a connection with nature without seeing, feeling, hearing, and experiencing the nature described by myself. I can enjoy documentaries, pictures, and videos of nature and nature interpretation projects, but that does not resonate with me as much as when I go camping, hiking, fishing, or identifying unknown plants and animals I stumble on.
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Serving Diverse Audiences. In Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage: For a Better World (pp. 127–158). Sagamore Publishing LLC. https://sagamore.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781571678669/pageid/145
Bellantuono, A. J., Bridge, D., & Martínez, D. E. (2015). Hydra as a tractable, long-lived model system for senescence. Invertebrate Reproduction & Development, 59(sup1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1080/07924259.2014.938196
Gritt, E. (2021, May 12). Crazed pet chimp wails as he rips off woman’s face and eats eyes in harrowing phone call. Daily Star. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/crazed-pet-chimp-wails-rips-24088031
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Values to Individuals and Society. In Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage For a Better World (pp. 41–56). Sagamore Publishing LLC. https://sagamore.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781571678669/pageid/73
S, A. (2023, January 17). Nature-inspired design: Biomimicry in architecture. Parametric Architecture. https://parametric-architecture.com/nature-inspired-design-biomimicry-in-architecture/