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BLOG 9: UN 10: MY ETHICS

When I consider my personal ethics as a nature interpreter, I can't help but recall David Suzuki's discussion at the AGO. He mentioned an area in nature that he used to go to when he was a kid to escape and how it no longer exists (DavidSuzukiFDN, 2012). As I listened to his storey, I wondered who was responsible for protecting that land from development. Was it possible that it was his responsibility? He cherished the area, and it held emotional significance for him. As a nature interpreter, he could have communicated that worth to anyone who was considering building on that land. But, at the time, I don't believe he was old enough or in a position to do so. As a result, the question remains "who is to bear responsibility?". Maybe it’s no one or possibly everyone. I attempted to recall a time in my childhood when a particular aspect of nature was significant to me. An old willow tree on my family's land was one notable spot I could remember. I would spend hours climbing the tree and playing amongst its shade. Unfortunately, the willow leaves would pollute the area in the fall and caused damage to our pool by clogging the filter. As a result, the tree had to be cut down. My first experience as a nature interpreter was probably fighting to save that tree. I expressed how important it was not only to me but also to the land. I didn't have the authority to prevent the tree from being cut down, but I tried anyway. I couldn't help but feel responsible. I've dedicated my entire life to defending people who are unable to defend themselves. I felt the same sense of duty for that tree for some reason. I’m not saying that I’m a super eco-friendly person. However, there have been instances when I felt a line had been crossed without cause. I acknowledge that some environmentally harmful behaviours cannot be completely prevented. However, in this case, I discerned that it could. I believe that my memories associated with the willow tree were a part of my determination to prevent them from cutting it down. Furthermore, there was always a sense of urgency to maintain its history and importance. Thinking back to the unit on nature interpretation via history. Every time I looked at that willow I saw the barks' ability to treat pain and fever. I'm astounded by how this one plant species has saved so many lives. The presence of its age was palpable. How it had been planted in the earth for generations. Who were we to remove this tree and its history? I cited its age and historical relevance when campaigning to save it. I noted how a tree of that size would take years, if not a lifetime, to reach its current status. I considered everything that willow had to endure to survive. Droughts, blizzards, and strong winds are some examples. Yet, the tree's demise would be brought about by a human who was younger than it was. What a depressing outcome, I thought. My efforts to save the tree did not succeed in the end. However, I did end up planting a tree to replace it. Was that, however, enough? Is there anything else I could have done? Was it entirely my responsibility? When I think about these questions and my professional ethics as a nature interpreter, I can't help but wonder about something else. Why did it matter to me? What continues to make me care? I wasn't in a moral dilemma at the time. I knew this because the people around me assured me that nothing was wrong with what was happening. Therefore, I couldn't say it was a conflict between right and wrong. However, for me, it was wrong. Morals are determined by societal consensus. Ethics, on the other hand, is personal. The definition of ethics is the "moral principles that govern a person's behaviour" (ETHICS | Meaning & Definition for UK English, n.d.). So, I must consider what governs my behaviour. Perhaps it was the encouragement I had as a child to explore the outdoors. My father would often take me fishing and hunting. The tranquillity of the water and the forest have always intrigued me. Long periods spent outside taught me to appreciate nature. I quickly learned that I am

only a small component of a vast and diverse ecosystem. These early childhood experiences may have influenced how I perceive nature. It definitely inspired me to learn more about how things work and interact in the environment. The majority of my current studies are focused on environmental sciences. Furthermore, I was constantly encouraged to join nature-focused clubs when I was a kid. Such as girl guides. We'd practise navigating our way through the woods. The majority of my time in girl guides was spent doing adventurous activities outside. While in the group, I helped with fundraising efforts. Which produced funds for many nature/wildlife protection foundations. Being in girl guides showed me that I could make a difference despite my age and lack of authority. Perhaps my actions are guided by this early foundation of kindness and a love for the outdoors. Overall, I believe I was fortunate. I don't think I'd be as passionate about nature if I hadn't been exposed to it as much as I was. As we discussed in unit 8, today's children spend more time in front of a screen than they do outside. I find this disappointing. My ethics were formed as a result of firsthand experiences with nature. Without any connection to the environment, there isn't any drive to protect it. Of course, technology has been beneficial to me in terms of allowing me to communicate and be informed about topics involving nature. However, I believe that getting kids interested in the outdoors is becoming increasingly difficult. As a nature interpreter, I would utilize tactile and visuals when sharing my interpretation. However, thanks to this course, I now have the ability to convey my nature interpretations through writing and technology. Hopefully, the skill sets I acquired will be used in my future endeavours as a nature interpreter.

References:

DavidSuzukiFDN. (2012, July 20). David Suzuki and Richard Louv @AGO [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5DI1Ffdl6Y&feature=youtu.be

ETHICS | Meaning & Definition for UK English. (n.d.). Lexico.com. from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ethics

rmenvs3000w22

I really enjoyed reading your post this week!

Like you, I found I always had a very strong moral compass when I was young. I always found it frustrating because I find kids opinions are automatically dismissed without consideration or thought. It’s really a shame because I think kids actually provide some of the most valuable opinions. They often say as they feel without understanding societal norms that shape and mould peoples opinions as adults. Like your story with the tree. It didn’t matter to you that the tree caused problems for your pool because the most simple and obvious thing to say would be don’t put the pool there in the first place or deal with the leaves as they fall. The tree was there first and just as you said - who were you to cut down the tree? You didn’t yet know that the societal norm or expectation would be to just get rid of the tree - you just knew it felt wrong. I think we need to value the opinions of our youth more and be considerate of what mindsets we are changing. Kids question everything while I find most adults just follow along with societal norms regardless of how questionable the matter is.

Similarly, I think adults teach our kids that the responsibility of being environmentally friendly belongs to someone else. As climate change is so difficult to see short term I think there is a massive diffusion of responsibility among everyone in the world. We teach that helping the planet is important but then show that if something inconveniences you you do whatever it is to get rid of the problem regardless of the consequences. We teach that we don’t need to consider the Earth in our decisions, and that someone else will take care of that. But they won't.

I think that everyone has an equal responsibility to preserve and protect the land that we occupy. Even at such a young age you knew that as you took on that responsibility and tried to make change. Perhaps if everyone accepted that responsibility and stopped leaving it up to someone else we would have a very different relationship between humans and the Earth.

Thank you for sharing your story!

Riley

hsenvs3000w22

Ethical Interpretation of Nature

One’s personal ethics are built from a foundation of virtues, morals, values, and principles (Waggoner, 2010). Ethics are what guide us around what is right and what is wrong, resulting in the decisions we make both in our personal and professional lives. Personally, as I develop as a nature interpreter there are various core values and ethics that I would like to carry into the profession. For example, I believe that nature interpretation around the world should consist of socially, culturally, and intellectually responsible heritage interpretation which recognizes minorities of all kinds (Beck et al., 2018). It is the responsibility of nature interpreters to ensure that all participants feel included and comfortable, in order to provide an optimal experience of learning and inspiration that they can carry with them beyond their visit. Furthermore, an approach that would be most suitable for me as an individual would be to sustain and interpret the unique heritage of local communities, to foster a sense of worth, and to disseminate it broadly in order to nurture a greater mutual understanding (Beck et al., 2018). In doing so, nature interpretation can contribute to harmonious interactions between visitors and local community members. Secondly, I believe in the power of knowledge and the importance of sharing that knowledge with future generations. The ability to acquire knowledge, preserve and pass it on to future generations is what gives us the tools to be better and continue to evolve in a positive direction. Therefore, I believe that promoting educational training programmes and providing opportunities of growth for interpreters and volunteers is crucial to their success (Beck et al., 2018). Accordingly, an approach that would be most suitable for me would be to help develop courses, programs, and training opportunities to share knowledge around the principles of nature interpretation (Beck et al., 2018). In addition I would like to promote academic research focused on the impact of nature interpretation on a local and global scale (Beck et al., 2018). In this way, I can fulfill my responsibility in promoting the positive outcomes associated with nature interpretation and spread awareness on the importance of it, not only on local communities but also on tourists and visitors. As nature interpreters we have a responsibility to advocate for all individuals involved. This includes, heritage site owners and operators, tourists, local minority communities, and education professionals (Beck et al., 2018). In conclusion, the beliefs I bring to nature interpretation focus on inclusion, recognition of all, advancing education, continued learning, with a foresight on posterity. I hope to carry these efforts into both my personal and professional life in order to better understand the world around me.

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Waggoner, Jessica, “Ethics and Leadership: How Personal Ethics Produce Effective Leaders” (2010). CMC Senior Theses. Paper 26. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/26

rmenvs3000w22

What a great post!

I particularly appreciated the bit you wrote about the preservation of knowledge in society. It’s a bit odd to think about but everything we value and know in society is based off of past generations. Interpretation in some ways has always been how information has been passed on - by sharing our personal views and opinions with youth. As a society we have a choice to emphasize valuable and good ideologies, but that never tends to be what happens. We can promote anti-bullying campaigns and environmentalism in schools but that doesn't change the messages being sent to our younger generations. Every crime that is committed and every war that is started lets our youth know that it’s okay. Everything they see or experience has an influence on what they learn from society and teaches them how to act.

I have never considered formulating the content of educational or training programs to promote the basis of environmental interpretation but I think it holds a lot of weight and responsibility. We can select what messages we want to be passed on to our future generations. What are our kids learning now? Are they being taught to be kind, respectful and reflective or are they learning algebra? I think a push towards learning content such as environmental interpretation instead of memorization based information would have a lot of power to change our world and they way it operates.

I think formulating content would be a great way to express your own ideologies, ethics and passions that would have potential to impact our communities. I hope at some point you get to live out that dream as I think you would be really great at it!

Cheers,

Riley

Blog 9

Hello everyone,

It is hard to believe this is our last blogging week! This semester has gone by so quickly but so slowly at the same time. I have learned a lot this semester not only about nature interpretation, but about myself and how I learn, communicate, and relate to others around me.

Through these blog posts I have also discovered that I have several strong personal ethics and beleifs that drive me. I value kindness, passion and genuine human connection and see interpretation as a way to spread all of those things to the people that surround us. I think it is part of our meaning in life to listen to our beliefs and to value them in everything we do. I think interpretation is an incredible privilege and opportunity to promote those values and beliefs to others in hopes of making a difference in the world. As I covered in my post about privilege, a large part of being an interpreter is carrying and accepting the responsibility of privilege and acting accordingly. Being able to interpret at all and having the opportunity to have an impact on others is a privilege itself. I will use interpretation to share knowledge, spread love for the Earth and nature, promote kindness, and encourage self-reflection and growth.

As one of my passions is environmentalism and caring for the Earth, I really loved this weeks content and its focus on the responsibility of interpreters to help foster the development of environmental stewards. Environmentalism has always been very important to me and I resonate a lot with the quote by environmental interpreter Jacob Rodenburg:

“I’m trying hard not to get discouraged. Being an environmental educator in today’s world feels like you are asked to stop a rushing river armed only with a teaspoon.”

I have always struggled with accepting the reality of our world and how we treat it and eachother. As the quote describes, it can feel impossible to make any difference when all we can control is ourselves. Treating the earth poorly is so engrained in our society and what we teach our children that it just seems like that’s the only option because everyone just follows societal norms like sheep. When our world is dominated and controlled by mass companies and governments, it feels like not using one plastic straw will do absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. And realistically, it may not. Only when we as a society change our norms and expectations will change begin to really happen. Like Jacob, I find hope in knowing that change is possible and knowing that the fate of our society rests on our youth.

The chance to make change by promoting environmentalism and respect for the earth gives me motivation to apply my knowledge in interpretation. I think the basis of my motivation is also sourced from the desire to achieve personal growth and happiness.

In terms of approaches to interpretation that are most suitable for me, I have found I really enjoy utilizing my linguistic intelligence in addition to an auditory focused format. I love talking and communicating with people in a genuine way that I feel like I can get through to people with. Personally, I find some methods of interpretation to be too distant and find that it can become washed out or ignored by audiences without a personalized component involved. Of course formats like information brochures and visual pieces are helpful in scenarios like trails or monuments when an interpreter is not present, I just personally would rather be involved in other methods of interpretation. I enjoy small, personal interactions with audience members where there can be discussion, debate, and opportunity for new ideas and concepts that I can learn from as well. This would give me the chance to really integrate my own insights, personality, and ethics into my work. It would also give me the chance to grow, reflect and develop my own beliefs and ethics.

I really value personal reflection as it relates to nature and would love to be in a scenario where personal growth and awareness are emphasized. I also love science and would love to have a position where I would be able to share knowledge and information to help an audience gain a better understanding of nature and its constituents.

When I first began this course, I really had never heard of nature interpretation nor did I understand the thought behind it. I genuinely have learned a lot this semester and I am very grateful for the privilege to be able to have access to education. I am willing to take on the responsibility that having that privilege comes with and will use what I have gained to spread knowledge, my passions, and hopefully a little bit of kindness and love.

I hope you are all prepared to do the same.

Cheers,

Riley

mbenvs3000w22

BLOG 8

Hello everyone!

The blog prompt this week is to talk about something in nature that is amazing! At first, when I read this multiple subjects for interpretation came to mind so I gave myself some time to choose what I truly wanted to talk about – the Northern Lights. Ever since I could remember I always dreamed of seeing them one day, and still do!

This week’s textbook reading highlights the importance of using interpretation to help educate visitors about the historical and natural significance of the location. I think that anyone preparing to see the Northern Lights should educate themselves before seeing them to truly take it all in. There are many different resources and interpretive tools that can be used when learning about the Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights occur from collisions of electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. The different colours that can be seen are a result of the type of gaseous particles that collide. The green colouring results from the oxygen molecules that can be found 60 miles above the world. The red colouring, which is rare, is from high-altitude oxygen molecules which are about 200 miles above the Earth. The blue and purple are produced by Nitrogen. The pink and green colouring is most commonly reported by Northern Light viewers. The lights can be seen from the northern and southern hemispheres’ magnetic poles. The lights seen in the northern hemisphere are called the Aurora borealis and the lights in the southern hemisphere are called the Aurora australis. The best place to see the Northern Lights is in the Northwestern area of Canada, including Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Alaska, Iceland and Antarctica. It is best to see them in small community areas as there is less light pollution. The best time to see them is during the winter months on a clear night.

When interpreting the Northern Lights it is important to discuss the historical significance and beliefs associated with them. Many different cultural groups have legends about the Northern Lights. For example, in medieval times the lights were believed to be a sign of war or famine. A more popular belief by the Menominee aboriginal group of Wisconsin believed that the lights told the location of manabai’wok (giants) which are spirits of great fishermen and hunters. The Inuit people of Alaska believed the lights were the spirits of the animals they had hunted. If I was an interpreter at the Northern Lights I would make sure my visitors appreciate this to help them develop a stronger relationship between themselves, the beauty of the lights and its heritage.

Lastly, the textbook discusses how experiences of “awe” can spark curiosity, purpose, perspective and curiosity. I would predict that experiencing the Northern Lights would be a moment of “awe” for any person.

Reference:

Waldek, S. (2022, January 7). Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis): What they are & how to see them. Space.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed.). Sagamore Publishing.

rmenvs3000w22

Hi Makayla,

What a great post! I really loved your use of GIFS to attract attention and keep interest. It captures some of the movement of the lights without being too overwhelming, which is very eye-catching! I really enjoyed learning a little bit about the Northern Lights as I recently made a move to Banff, Alberta where you can see them decently often. Banff is generally in the Northwest area of Canada as you described the lights frequently are, but I think it’s a little too south to see them as frequently as the Northern territories. As you said, small communities are best for viewing them as there is reduced light pollution, and Banff fits that category for sure! I work at a ski resort in Banff, and the people that live at the top of the mountain (on resort) get to see them quite frequently. They're a little harder to see from the town of Banff as you’re not quite as close, but apparently you can still see them! I can’t think of a prettier place to stargaze and look at the lights other than at the peak of a mountain. I will have to stay with a friend at their place so I can experience the lights from the top of the mountain before the season ends!

I never knew that the lights had different meaning to different cultures, and I learned a lot about the interpretation of them! It’s very interesting how vastly interpretation can differ based on background and culture. It reminds me that no interpretation is wrong - they’re just different. I may look at the lights and interpret a completely different meaning than someone beside me. I think it’s great to highlight and recognize that so we can better understand each other and learn to see things from more than one perspective.

I’ve never seen the lights myself but I think my chances are pretty high living here. There have been a couple nights where they've been expected (everyone lets each other know) but I haven't been at the top of the mountain to see them. I tried to go out the one night to look from outside my apartment but the mountains were in the way. Hopefully I will catch some before the end of the season! If you want to see the lights you could always consider taking a ski-trip out here and staying at the top of a mountain - you might have a pretty good chance!

Riley

Photo 1 - My view of the ocean at the top of a hike in Oahu!

Photo 2 - The green sun I mentioned in my most previous post (https://earthsky.org/earth/can-i-see-a-green-flash/)

Hi everyone,

I feel as though this week is a great week to bring a little bit of my recent Hawaii trip to you all. I talked a little bit about it in my previous post but I am so in love with the ocean I figured I would take every chance I can to write about it. I’m a big fan of using all 5 senses in interpretation so I figured I would walk you all through my experiences with the ocean through my senses!

For those of you who haven’t seen the ocean in a while, I’m going to try and bring the ocean to you!

I think one of the first things you always experience when you start to get close to the ocean is the sound of it. Hawaii is known for it’s massive waves, but I was not prepared for what I experienced – and more specifically heard! We took a drive up to the Northshore of Oahu to see the waves at a beach called pipeline that is known for its surfing. On the walk from the car to the beach you could hear the waves roaring and smashing down on the sand. It was one of the loudest things I think I have ever heard -and I’ve been to a few rock concerts. The waves falling made it feel as though the entire earth was going to shake when they fell, but it didn’t. It was almost as though you could feel the weight of the water crashing down when they fell just from the sheer magnitude of noise they made. It really puts into perspective how forceful and unforgiving the ocean is. I included a video I took at pipeline of the surfers taking on these massive massive waves!! You can see probably 20 of them got scooped up by one of the waves, although it didn't look like anyone got hurt. See-doos were out to help as well.

The second thing that always hits me when I get close to the ocean in the smell of it. If you’ve been to the ocean you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, but the ocean has one of the most distinct smells I think I’ve ever experienced. It’s not particularly pleasant if I’m being quite honest, but it’s one of those smells that is nostalgic enough to make you appreciate it and love it anyways. I had to look it up to understand exactly what I remember smelling and everything indicates that the smell is actually dimethyl sulphide (sulphur) that is produced by bacteria as they digest dead phytoplankton. Regardless of what it is (maybe seaweed or salt sometimes), it’s very strong and will let you know exactly where you are.

Actually getting to see the ocean is the next step. My favourite part about looking out at the ocean is being able to see the bend of the Earth at the end of the horizon, as it really just amplifies how significantly massive the ocean is. You can look forever and never see anything. You can fly over the ocean for hours and never see land. You can sail the ocean and not see land for years. One thing I got to see while I was in Hawaii was something called a green sun. A green sun or green “flash” as some people call it happens for a split second while the sun dips below the horizon on the ocean. I wasn’t able to photograph it as I really wasn’t prepared and had no idea it would happen, but I found a photo from online that shows what it looks like! Green flashes are considered quite rare and I feel so fortunate that I was able to experience one. I wasn't sure how to combine a video post with photos, so I will include images in a secondary post.

After seeing the ocean, of course you have to jump in it. Hawaii was blistering hot (really, I got burnt so bad I blistered all over), so the ocean was always refreshing and life-giving. Before this trip I had never swam in open ocean before, but I got the chance to snorkel out off one of the dive boats we had taken off the coast. I was a little concerned at first, because while I’m a good swimmer, I wasn’t exactly planning on just plopping myself in the middle of it and drowning in the massive waves while the currents whisk me out to sea to never return. But that’s what people do and that’s what the guide said to do, so I decided to try it. One thing that really stuck with me was when he told me to trust the ocean. So I did. And I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever felt more out of control but also free at the same time. You can’t fight the waves, you simply have to flow with them. I never had to worry once about treading or even swimming as somehow the buoyancy of the salt water was enough to let me just float and watch as stuff swam by. I’m not sure if there’s any experience in the world quite like giving your power away to the ocean and letting it just float you.

After you’ve been in the water, you’re going to undoubtedly consume more seawater than you think is probably healthy and let me tell you something I didn’t know until this trip – it BURNS. Salt water does not taste nice. Sulphury, fishy and questionably clean sea water does not taste nice. I’ve heard that you get used to it after quite some time, but that time frame is definitely longer than 10 days because every time I got out of the water after hours of swimming my ears, nose and throat would burn from the saltwater.

The main reason I think I love the ocean is that it is so mysterious, unforgiving and cruel. Not all of the experiences I had with the different senses were good, but that’s not what makes me appreciate them. All in combination, I am amazed by the ocean and will continue to gravitate towards it and learn more about it forever.

To bring in this week’s course content:

This is what I still wonder: What life exists in the ocean that we haven’t yet discovered? How many species we now think are extinct still exist? Are there phenomena we can’t even question the existence of because we’re so far away from finding it?

This is where I will find inspiration: Visiting the ocean, looking at photography, listening to waves

This is how I can get fired up: Watching documentaries!! I love learning visually about the ocean as I find it resonates its magnitude with me the best. Although seeing and hearing the ocean is different in person, I think auditory and visual senses are the only senses you can experience while not actually being there. That will have to do until I can find my way back to the ocean where I’ll happily let it burn my throat and sting my eyes.

Have you been to the ocean? Did you have similar experiences? What makes you appreciate the ocean the most?

I look forward to hearing from everybody!

Riley

rjsenvs3000w22

Blog 6: music & nature as one in the same

Where is music in nature? To me the answer is everywhere. We often listen to music when we’re taking time for ourselves and wanting to relax, and the sounds of nature have the same effect. There’s a popular quote by George Santanaya saying, “The earth has music for those who listen”, with the important part being those who stop and listen. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind, rain dropping, birds singing, cicadas humming, thunder rumbling ect is all part of the symphony of the earth. Not all notice these noises, but they are constant and everywhere in varying degrees. This reminds me of the saying “it’s like music to my ears’’ which people normally say when hearing something they like that’s not traditional music. When I think of this, I picture myself on an empty beach listening to the waves crashing on shore, as I consider that a form of music. What comes to your mind?

After reading this weeks content I read the paper that published the quote shown in the notes called The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music by Gray et al. They answered the question of whether or not other species show musical language and expression by explaining how whales and birds use similar musical techniques as humans (Gray et al 2001). They have the ability to memorize and recognize musical patterns, showing they use music to share and interpret information just as we do.

Where is nature in music? With this I think of either turning natural sounds into songs, or songs that mentally take people back to natural locations. A good example of one of these was provided to us as DJ Ecotone. He creatively took nature sounds and turned them into a modern style of music that would appeal to kids. His passion started with recording bird calls and then adding beatboxing to connect others with nature as the birds had done to him. Even the recordings of nature sounds have been shown to improve peoples mood and mental state. Sometimes when I’m stressed I’ll go on Spotify and listen to playlists that combine nature sounds with classical music to relax. It always works to help calm me down before an important exam or presentation.

A song that takes me back to a natural landscape would be “A Horse with No Name” by America.

I was 13 in the back of my grandparents car driving through the deserts of Arizona when my Grandpa thought it would be ironic to play a song about being in a desert. Although, we ended up listening to the entire album 3 times in a row by which point we were all very sick of it. Now everytime I hear that song I think about looking out the car window into the deserts of Arizona and the vast and flat landcape.

-Reilly

References:

Gray, P. Krause, B. Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C. & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science. 291. 52-54.

rmenvs3000w22

Hi Reilly,

I really enjoyed reading your post and hearing your story about listening to A Horse With No Name - an iconic staple!!! I love how literal your memory would be as obviously he’s talking about the desert - what a great memory to have associated with it though!

I really appreciated how you noted how essentially every noise in nature is a part of the “grand symphony of the Earth”. Waves crashing is a sound that is for sure music to my ears as well, but a personal favourite has always been crickets chirping! Leaves rustling in the wind is another favourite of mine. I think it’s crazy how many things you can hear when you’re away from sound pollution and really pay attention. The world has so many beautiful noises for us to hear, and my only hope is that more people can learn how to recognize simple “noises” as beautiful music and melodies as well!

Thanks again for sharing,

Riley

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a great reading week!

As music plays (and always has played) a major role in my life, I loved the content of this week! I personally find that there is nothing quite similar to the way music is able to provoke emotion and thought. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts in response to the question prompts this week!

Where is music in nature?

Music is all around us in nature! I honestly really enjoyed reading the article about the science of music in nature and found I learned a ton. Of course I knew that animals have calls and melodies, but I kind of thought that all calls served the same purpose of just pure arrhythmic communication, similar to just talking between humans. I had no idea that bird or even whale songs have structure similar to human composition, and that seems kind of baffling to me. It is also absolutely crazy to me how they use similar note intervals and timbres to the music we make. It leads me to wonder if humans based our music off of those natural noises of birds and whales as suggested by the article, or if those specific frequencies and rhythms just naturally sound better to all animals. I don’t know if there will ever be a way to prove either theory. It is very intruiging and I intend to do a ton more research on this as I have so so so many questions!

Where is nature in music?

I really enjoyed listening to Ben Mirins music as a “wildlife DJ” where he incorporated sampler recording of nature into his work. I had never considered the concept, but I really liked how he felt as though the birds he lived around were his most valuable teachers growing up. I think we all have so much to learn from the nature around us and I think Ben did a great job of showing just how beautiful it can be when we learn from and value it. I also really appreciate the way he travels around the world to make mixes specific to one area or culture, using their native species they have there. I think it’s such a great way to celebrate and embrace new culture, all while having fun with it! As we read in the Ares reading as well, music such as the traditional folk music in Finland can be used to represent culture and communicate the value of nature.

Other than Ben’s “wilflife DJ” music, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of wildlife noise being incorporated into songs. Some music videos definitely start with birds chirping in the morning or things like that to set the scene, but I’ve never heard of them being put directly into the music. I know Billie Eilish and Finneas incorporate surrounding noises into their beats sometimes, but I don’t think they’re from nature. I know in Bad Guy Billie said that the main beat was based off a recording she took on her phone while she was at a crosswalk in Australia which is kind of cool! The concept is quite similar in that beauty and melodies surround us and whether or not we choose to tune it in or out is up to us.

What song takes you immediately back to a natural landscape? What is the context?

A song that takes me back to nature is one I just found this past week actually, called Haywire by Bootstraps. It’s not a song that you would think relates to nature at all, but I spent a ton of time listening to it while in Hawaii last week and now it sounds and feels like listening to waves to me. I think that one of the most empowering things about music is that it can carry such strong associations with it. I’m sure you have all experienced something similar, but I find if I listen to one song for a long time over a certain period, if I listen to that song 5 years later it has the ability to transport me back to that time and instantly allows me to feel the exact same way I did at that time. For that reason, I think its hard to instantly provide that same “nostalgic” feeling after only hearing a song a couple times, but I think I would still share songs along with interpretation to provide a specific feeling. Haywire instantly had a calming effect on me the first time I heard it, and it slowed my breathing so I was able to focus on the sound of the waves in tandem with the music. It allowed me to really just focus on my surroundings and be in the moment! I think it would be a great choice for a song to share with others while guiding interpretation. Above I included a video of some of the waves I got to appreciate while I was in Hawaii.Below is a link to Haywire if you would like to listen to it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4chXhf6cDhM

Does anyone have a song that brings up nostalgia every time they hear it?

vwenvs3000w22

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana, 1905)

Why do we want to know as much as we can about our ancestors? Why do we care about the past? Why is history important? In the following blog post, I will analyze a quote split into two parts about the meaning of the past.

Part One

The importance of memories

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.

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

In the first part of this quote, the author states that integrity (wholeness, completeness) is what matters and that is why history matters. Think about it this way: Who would you be without your past? If you were to wake up tomorrow with no memories, would you feel whole?

The importance of ancient things

The idea of memories is just one part of the quote, Hyams says that integrity gives ancient things meaning. I remember going to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany and a part of the exhibit was pairs of shoes from Jewish people that were killed in the Holocaust. The sign next to the shoes described who they belonged to and told me their story.

Without any interpretation, I would have fully ignored those shoes. The interpretation gave it meaning, provided integrity and made the shoes more than just shoes. This museum also had a cinema where they told the story of the concentration camps. This provided me with a personal authenticity experience (Beck et al. 2019). My parents thought they lost me in the museum because I spent two hours just exploring.

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial.

The importance of knowledge

In the 1880s, the Canadian government and multiple churches opened residential schools. I will never fully understand the horrors that indigenous people have gone through. If they survived the schools, the children weren’t even able to communicate with their own families because they were taught to forget their language and culture. Knowledge matters for integrity, for indigenous people and for us Canadians. If we ignore the past, how can they ever forgive us?

Part 2

Trains and Time

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)

The second part of the quote by Hyams uses a metaphor to illustrate why ignoring the past is wrong. The author compares the past to the train station that a train has just left. If we ignore the past, we refuse to take notice of the train station’s existence.

Do you care about the train station?

The reality is that most of us are more concerned with where the train goes to than where it was. I spend most of my time planning future events such as when I will complete my blog post for next week. In a way, we don't ignore the existence of the station; it just is not important at the moment.

The past is important. I grew up in Germany and we spent multiple years in school studying the two world wars my nation has caused. It took me a while to grasp the importance of learning this in so much detail. It is just as George Santayana says: If we don't remember the past, it is condemned to repeat itself.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

rmenvs3000w22

Hi Verena,

I really enjoyed getting to read a little bit about your perspective on this quote. I really like the spin you took on the importance of understanding history in order to prevent it from repeating itself. I think this is more important than ever right now.

I also like how you asked the question “if you woke up tomorrow without your past memories, how would you feel”, as I think that's a great way to prompt people to self-reflect and understand the weight behind forgetting or ignoring the past. I think primarily people would think of the happy memories they would be sad to lose (friends, family, pets), but then I hope they would start to realize they would also lose the hard lessons they’ve learned and the knowledge they’ve gained. On a path of growth, forgetting all that's behind you puts you back at the start. I think promoting questions like that is a great technique for interpretation and could really spark thinking and self-reflection in an audience.

I think we all need a little more of that!

Riley

Blog 6

“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)

I think this quote really emphasizes the importance of our work as interpreters to bring the past to life. As the quote explains, historical things can lack significance to an audience if there is no knowledge or memory associated with it. If a group of hikers looks at a historical place or artifact, it can be very easy to pass over it without a second glance or appreciation. Once we share the proper knowledge as interpreters, we can allow the audience to appreciate the merit associated with the past.

I particularly liked the second half of this quote where the author compares disregarding the past to believing moments outside of our immediate presence are non-existent. When I first read the quote I thought of the age-old question – if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise? I think the quote by Hymas proves that yes, it would indeed make a noise, as occurrences don’t revolve around us. It seems that way, as we only view the world from our own perspective but just as the past occurred without us, things continue to happen at the railway station after we leave, and trees still make noise even if we aren’t there to hear it.

I regularly think about concepts similar to this quote, which is why I found it very valuable. Sometimes when I am driving I’ll look at all the cars and all the people and think about how their whole world is from their own perspective and not anyone else’s. Everyone is going different places for different reasons, and to them, that’s what everything else circles around. They may see me and process me just as another person driving by and not put any thought into it, the same way we all do.

I think this quote carries a message about perspective and highlights the importance of viewing situations from different perspectives and paradigms. This is such a key portion of interpretation as I think gaining new perspectives and knowledge is one of the goals of interpretation itself.

I think this is a great quote to keep in mind when interpreting, but also when going about our daily lives. I think it can help us understand why people act the way they do and it can help build a sense of empathy. Everyone’s lives are centred around them, because well - that’s what makes them them. Being able to realize that and realizing that everyone has different experiences and realities is a really valuable thing and something that I work on regularly!

Do you think a tree makes a noise if it falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear it?

rsenvs3000w22

What have I been thinking about? Fungi!

As an interpreter, it is essential to ask yourself the following questions: where do you find inspiration and how does it motivate and drive you? For me, I find inspiration in learning more about nature around me. This motivates me to share this information with others and hopefully generate a sense of stewardship. Passion is an essential ingredient in interpretation and serves as an effective tool for illustrating to others the importance of conservation (Beck et al., 2018). So for this week’s post, I figured I would talk about a topic that I’m recently passionate about; fungi!

Basidiomycetes from Ernst Haeckel’s 1904 Kunstformen der

More specifically I’d like to tell you about what most people will call a mushroom. Mushrooms are just one group in the kingdom of fungi. They come from a major division called Basidiomycota which also includes many other groups that may be mistakenly called mushrooms or not recognized as fungi at all. These include chanterelles, boletes, polypores, bracket fungi, and many more. Basidiomycota is filamentous fungi composed of hyphae that reproduce sexually through specialized spores.

Thomas J. Volk, in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (2001)

But now what does that mean. Well, what you see in terms of these fungi is just the tip of an iceberg. In reality, around 95% of these fungi is mycelium, the vast network of cellular strands called hyphae in which its entire life cycle plays out. Fungi regulate the flow of energy and information throughout these hyphal networks. They use them to consume and distribute energy and can even use adaptive defenses when threatened. The top of the fungi which most people call a mushroom is the fruiting body. This part is responsible for producing and distributing spores that will germinate elsewhere and reproduce.

Picture was taken from GroCycle (2022)

Basidiomycetes are the only major organism that can break down or significantly modify lignin, a key structural component of wood. As such this major group of fungi plays a critical role in the cycling of nutrients in ecosystems. The fungi’s spores or mycelium enter through wounds, dead branches, branch stubs, tree stumps, or damaged roots and use enzymes to break down wood and organic matter to nutrients. Most species, they release spores in wet seasons to increase their chances of germination. Therefore, you’ll often see them on dead or dying trees in early spring or fall.

Fungi tend to get very mixed reactions of delight and disgust. Personally, what has intrigued me about this group of fungi is that many are edible and have traditionally been used for medicine. For example, Ganoderma lucidum has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the prevention or treatment of many diseases including cancer (Han & Qin, 2014). Many fungi are recognized as a dietary supplement to aid in cognition, gut health, cardiometabolic diseases, and cancer (Harvard School of Public Health, n.d.). Psilocybin and psilocin, the active compounds in “magic mushrooms” are currently gaining interest for treating mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. While it hasn’t been legalized yet it’s interesting to see growing interest in the use of fungi for a variety of health conditions.

If you’re ever wondering why the mushroom gets invited to all the parties. It’s because he’s a Fungi!

Keep reading

rmenvs3000w22

I heard that the fungi actually got kicked out of last night’s party, cause there wasn't mushroom.

I loved your post on fungi and found it very fascinating! I’m not sure if there’s any around Guelph but there’s a mushroom called chaga that's decently abundant in my hometown. Like the example you had mentioned, chaga is known for it’s anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and cancer-treating properties. Chaga is also packed full of pretty much every vitamin and nutrient you could need - it’s truly a super food! We would crush them up into a tea and add a little bit of homemade maple syrup to taste. It’s quite a strong tea in my opinion, but it reaps numerous and very incredible benefits! We also always used to pick puffballs, which are also super delicious!

Of course proper safety precautions and knowledge on native mushroom species are essential when harvesting on your own, as there are several poisonous or deadly species that are quite good at looking 99.99% like the ones you’re looking for. If there was a course at Guelph that studied native mushroom species I would absolutely take it!

I think mushrooms are an incredibly healthy and nutrient packed food to eat that often get overlooked. Thanks for bringing some light to them and sharing some of your passion for fungi!

Hi all,

In this week’s content I really enjoyed the ted talk presented by Washington Wachira. I love the passion he had for birds and the points he made about how unique their ability is to make such beautiful feathers. I also loved the symbolism he threw in regarding their ability to defy gravity and their freedom they gain from that ability.

I did some research on some of the birds that are in Banff National Park and decided I would take a hike to see if I could identify any of them.

I didn’t hear a single bird! I guess it is winter, but I’ve seen a ton of magpies and ravens running around while I’ve been here, so I figured there would be some on the mountain. Nope. But that hike was the first hike summit I’ve actually done - not only since I’ve moved here, but ever!!

Although I didn’t hear any birds like I was expecting, there was a ton of information to take in. I hiked alone, and along the way I was kind of hoping I had an interpreter of some kind to help me process the information I was looking at! I could see the whole town, but I didn’t know anything about the view or which mountains we had view of. At the top I asked some other hikers about their favourite hikes and which ones they recommend, and they recommended I try sulfur next.

There’s not always going to be an interpreter to help us process information, so I think it’s really valuable to learn how to interpret ourselves so we can thus pass that information on to others.

Along the trail there were a couple maps and visuals to provide some interpretation, but I am realizing I didn’t even read them and chose to ask some other hikers instead. I think that backs up my test result from a couple units ago that indicated I am an auditory learner. I have also been asking fellow hikers about their personal recommendations for gear as well, as I really value peoples experience over marketing of a product or advertising. I would love to be able to stand at the top of any mountain and be able to identify the other mountains and the scenery around them.

It is on my bucket list to see the northern lights from the top of a mountain, and I won’t leave Banff until I’m able to do that!

I took this video at the top.

If anyone has hiked around Alberta or BC let me know what your favourite hike is and I will add it to my list of ones to do!

nbenvs3000w22

Nature Through Art

Ok, so I will be honest. As soon as I read the blog prompt for this week, I was a bit worried. I am no artist or art interpreter, no matter how much I tell myself I can "see the deeper meaning" in a painting. My boyfriend, who is very artistically inclined, always tries to explain to me that art needs to have emotion and personality, which I struggle to understand while doing anything artistic. So trying to interpret nature through art may be a bit of a struggle for me, but I will try my best to navigate through this prompt!

Who are you to interpret nature through art? For starters, I am a student learning about all the different aspects of nature. Through university, I have learned the ins and outs of different animals, plants and ecosystems that are in our world today. From a micro to a macro scale, I'd like to say I am pretty knowledgeable in anything ecology-based. But to dig deeper, I have always found a sense of peace within nature - it's almost like my second home. Whenever I am stressed or feeling down, I walk to my local park and listen to the sounds of the stream and the wind in the branches of the tree. I have always felt happy exploring different areas and checking out the views, etc. - however, happy never fully encapsulated how I felt. There are so many other emotions attached to various features of nature; it's hard to pinpoint an exact feeling.

So, due to the nature of this blog post, I decided to google "nature art." As I scrolled through the images, there were a lot of stunning pieces, but I only connected to some. I tried to interpret the feelings and emotions behind each image. However, I only seemed to connect to a few. However, this made me realize - everyone has their own interpretations of art and nature. No one person shares the same feelings towards a particular part of nature; everyone expresses it differently. That's why no art piece is the same; "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." So in regards to the question, I am not qualified to interpret nature through art (for obvious reasons). Not one single person is - there are no qualifications that can make a person truly understand the purpose behind an art piece. I believe the interpretation lies in the "eye of the beholder." No one person is right or wrong about what an art piece is trying to convey. All that matters is that the interpretation is meaningful to you.

Now, like myself and many others, sometimes it's hard to see the beauty in some aspects of our world. For myself, it's art, but for others, it may be nature. As nature interpreters, it's our job to help people understand the beauty of nature. That comes from "the gift of beauty," which can help others connect within nature. Through my interpretation, "the gift of beauty" is assisting people in getting that "Aha!" moment, where they realize a forest isn't just a bunch of trees. This "Aha!" moment happened to me while driving to Florida with my family. As a child, I used to H A T E doing road trips, mainly because it took forever to get to the final destination. My parents would drive through the mountains in Virginia and North Carolina, typically stopping to enjoy the view. As a child, I couldn't care less - they're just mountains. However, about four years ago, I decided to do the dreaded drive with my parents. However, it was different this time around. When we stopped, the view was breathtaking; I had no clue why I complained. This was my "Aha!" moment, which was very important to me. So hopefully, as a nature interpreter, I plan to teach people nature's sense of beauty so they can get their "Aha!" moment too.

Here was my exact "Aha!" moment while driving down to Florida. The video doesn't really do it justice.

~Nicole

rmenvs3000w22

Hi Nicole,

I really enjoyed your post and value the honesty of it! I also find it hard to connect with visual art sometimes. However, linking this back to last weeks content of preferred methods of learning and communication, I am quite strongly an auditory learner and I’m wondering if that may be why I have difficulty connecting to visual art sometimes.

Not everyone learns and communicates visually however, so I also think that truly good art has the ability to reach a wider group of people - more than just those who naturally gravitate towards it. I think that's a super important point to keep in mind when we’re considering the medius in which we choose to portray our interpretations - are even those who don’t usually learn from that style going to be able to gain something from it?

I’m interested to know if you (like me) are an auditory or kinaesthetic learner! Do you think that could have an effect on the mediums we feel we connect to?

The Gift of Beauty - "Interpretation should instill in people the ability, and the desire, to sense the beauty in their surroundings—to provide spiritual uplift and to encourage resource preservation."

I’m really quite excited to explore the nature interpretations through different mediums, beginning with art this week. I think art provides the opportunity for an artist to share their own unique view of the world and allows an audience to see something the way the artist saw or imagined it. I think that really is the gift of new perspective, and I think that is an incredibly valuable thing. I think it is such an amazing way to communicate ideas that may not be able to get across as effectively by other methods. It also allows artists to highlight beauty in their surroundings that other people may not have noticed or put emphasis on. I think visual art is such a powerful gift as it has the ability to teach others how to look for the beauty in the world and allows them to see things from different perspectives.

Art is also a great way to show what the past may have looked like when interpreting historical sites. Since there is often no concrete evidence of the past, we as interpreters have the ability to intake information and known facts in order to create a visual representation of the past. This can allow an audience to quickly create an image in their head so they can begin to imagine the art as a reality.

I think using art is a great way to introduce a lot of concepts, including nature interpretation. Especially now in the age of social media, art or photographs are a great way to grab someone’s attention. It is also a really great way to extend interpretation of local nature to anyone. Like the content from this week said, it’s also a way to share the appreciation of an element of beauty within a moment that otherwise no one else would experience. I think moments like that deserve to be shared.

Above I attached a video I took from my commute to work - even though it’s super early and I am always a little cold (this particular morning was -35!!!!) and tired, the views truly are beautiful and I thought I would take the opportunity to share it.

Riley

mpenvs3000w22

Privilege

I began to prepare for writing this post by first examining my invisible backpack. There is no doubt that my entire life has been helped along by my vast amounts of privileges. While I am a queer woman, the fact that I am white, middle-class, and well-educated has given me enough of a level of privilege and security that it continues to benefit me to this day. It is this security that allows us white people to stay comfortably unaware of the disadvantages that others around us face. This is why my personal definition for privilege is the advantages given to you solely for your membership within a group as well the ability to not see these advantages.

Privilege is often invisible to those who possess it, which makes fighting for social change an often insurmountable task. In the case of racial injustice, many white people remain oblivious to how deeply intertwined they are, it’s no longer just a case of “not being racist”. I myself only really became aware of how deeply systemized racism was during the Black Lives Matter movement (this ignorance is in itself a privilege).

When it comes to nature interpretation, there are countless ways in which privilege and ignorance come into play especially when considering racial injustice. When reading chapter 7 of our textbook by Beck et al. (2018), the authors highlighted many fantastic ideas for promoting inclusivity such as:

1. Reducing economic barriers by providing transportation to those unable to travel to natural history sites

2. Reducing cultural barriers by “inviting, including, involving” minorities

3. Reducing communication barriers through strategic communication using varied languages and media

While all of these suggestions are absolutely amazing and do have the potential to help make nature interpretation accessible to all, the authors fail to mention the main root of the issue. Much of the book refers back to the national parks service, yet there is no real mention about the racial issues within this agency. When I was reading through the chapter, it was honestly of no surprise when I read that the majority of national park visitors were white, yet I found myself asking “what about the national park service itself?”. I was forced to do my own research, and found that the NPS is actually one of the least diverse agencies in the United States, with 83% of the total workforce being white (this number is assumed to be even higher within its seasonal employees). How can we expect POC to feel comfortable walking through these parks and taking advantage of the wonderful programs being offered when there is such a clear racial bias. By having 80% of the NPS superintendents being white, there is a slim chance that black, hispanic, indigenous and asian voices are being considered when making changes to park programs.

Research conducted by the Center for American Progress found that less than 25% of park sites focused on the cultures of minorities and underrepresented groups. And when these areas are supposed to be a place where the country’s history is being showcased, so many communities are being erased from this history, which is both morally and factually wrong.

As a nature interpreter it is very important to be aware of the systemic racism that is prevalent within all systems of our country, even those we cherish such as the National and Provincial parks. All of this leads me to wonder how we, as relatively new nature interpreters who have yet to be doing this as a career, can make a difference? I would love to hear your thoughts as I often get quite frustrated when thinking about such a large and seemingly insurmountable issue.

rmenvs3000w22

Hi Marie,

I really loved reading your post about privilege! One thing you said that really stuck out to me was your definition of privilege where you included the ability to not see the advantages that one may have. I completely agree that ignorance in itself is a privilege. Not only do those with privilege have the advantages it provides, but often they don’t even have to think about those who don’t have the same privileges or how they got the privilege in the first place.

I expanded on this in my original blog post where I explained how I think everyone who has privilege also has a responsibility to understand it and act on it. I think you might really enjoy reading it based on what you’ve written!

I too often think about how overwhelming big issues such as privilege are. I try to work on the things that are important to me and choose to surround myself people that do the same. I share my thoughts with those that welcome them and hope that I can inspire at least a few to consider them. At the end of the day, I think that’s all we really have control over. Maybe if we connect and share our thoughts with enough people, some will start to do the same and our passions will spread. I think that’s all we can hope for!

I’m glad to know there are other people out there that have similar thoughts as me!

Thanks for sharing,

Riley

Blog 3: The Role of Privilege in Nature Interpretation

Hey everyone,

I really enjoyed the content of this week. I particularly liked the supplemental ARES reading and appreciated the analogy of having an “invisible backpack” as I think it’s a great way to help understand and visualize the concept. I think it would be a really great way to introduce the concepts to kids as well.

I really appreciated how thoroughly the textbook went into different kinds of privileges and where they can stem from. I also like how it reviewed how to properly interact with people based on their needs so that everyone feels equally respected and heard.

I think privilege plays a very key role in environmental interpretation as it really can affect what an audience is able to interpret as well as how they interpret it. We all have a huge responsibility as environmental interpreters to understand privilege so we can ensure that what we’re creating or teaching is equally accessible to everyone. So far, my definition of privilege is “access or opportunity to things that are only available to certain groups or people”.

Up until recently, I understood that I had privilege, but I didn’t really understand what it meant. I wanted to share one really influential moment in my life that happened last year that taught me a lot about privilege and really shaped the way I think about it.

At the time, I was working as a technician at a vet clinic and everything was still operating curbside. The clinic I worked at specialized in reproductive medicine, so we would regularly have scheduled or emergency c-sections on dogs. Sometimes, we would require dogs and their owners to come in daily to do blood work and have an ultrasound so we could monitor the pups. One of our clients at that time had hired a gentleman to drive her dog to the clinic every day for these appointments as she worked and couldn’t take the time off. On one of the days her dog was scheduled, I was walking back inside from the parking lot when the driver of this client stopped me. He asked me if I had ever been to Africa. A little confused, I said no. He then told me that where he’s from, mothers die when they have complications with their pregnancies because they don’t have access to doctors that can operate on them. But somehow here, people can get the same surgery for their pets 24 hours a day without a second thought.

The driver went on to tell me about his life in Kenya and how he had come to Canada to make a better life for his family back home. He told me that because I’m well-off and have white skin that I have a unique privilege to be able to make change in this world. He wanted me to go to Africa with him to experience the things he told me about so that I could come back and tell people what was happening there. I told him I didn’t have enough money to get there, but that wasn’t entirely true. I had savings for post-grad school and for my first down payment on a house. If I wanted to, I could make it happen. But I didn’t.

So why don’t we prioritize helping others if we have the ability or privilege to do so? I think we are all so surrounded by privilege that it seems like nothing is happening outside of our lives. We have such strong social constructs that tell us we should go to school, immediately get a nine-to-five job and save for a house to support our future families because that is what makes us “successful” in life. No one stops to think about the people our wealth was stolen from or the state of anyone else’s lives other than our own, because that’s not what we were taught to worry about. That in itself is a privilege – the privilege of ignorance.

Even if we can’t end world hunger or make sure every mom has access to medical care by ourselves, I think appreciating that we have the privilege to be able to make change and taking responsibility for the ignorance surrounding it are the first steps. Although poverty in Africa is a very different aspect of privilege than what we may deal with on a regular basis or what we’ll deal with in interpretive roles, the same concepts still apply. In our society, we have been taught to prioritize ourselves and to not think about others. We have the ability and the privilege to be able to change that.

Our roles as environmental interpreters can give us the opportunity to lead by example while we practice taking responsibility for our privileges. If I can understand that I have the privilege to communicate in any way I want, I can then use that privilege to be able to make my presentations available to those who may only be able to communicate in a single way. If I understand I have the privilege to be able to educate myself on whatever I want, I can use it to teach those that may not be able to do the same. If we understand our privileges in life, we can begin to notice how we can use them for good. Through our other privileges, we gain the unique privilege of being able to help and make change. I think that is such an amazing gift that so few people realize they even have.

I am so appreciative of that gentleman that took the time to pull me aside and remind me of not only the things I am uniquely capable of, but of the responsibility that comes with those capabilities. We ended up talking for about a half an hour, and even though I knew my boss would probably get me in trouble for staying outside for so long, I also knew that what this man was telling me was one of the most important things I would ever hear.

It was. I now regularly work on taking responsibility for the privileges I have by taking the time to identify them and consider how I can use them to do good. If I do end up in an interpretive role, I will incorporate these practices into my work so that I can act on my privilege to make change – even if it’s just within a single person or a community. I was gifted such an amazing ability to be able to help others and make a difference in this world, and I intend to live my life doing so.

My only hope is that I can try to inspire others to do the same.

Riley

Blog 2.5: My Ideal Role in Environmental Interpretation

I wanted to make a separate post this week to discuss my learning styles and what they may tell me about potential environmental interpretation roles.

Auditory, Visual vs Kinesthetic

Based on the little quiz I took off the lecture I am primarily an auditory learner (60%), but I also learn visually and kinaesthetically (20% each). This is not super surprising to me as I grew up playing, studying and listening to music. I could ace every hearing test for Royal Conservatory exams and could play any song after hearing it on the radio, but if you asked me to sight read I would drop down to the level of a second grader. In relation to an ideal role, I think this means I would prefer to talk to people and have conversation rather than write or read about something or physically do something. As I quite like the idea of physically being in nature to interpret it, I think I should focus the work I do on the conversation or interaction with people while being in nature. I think it’s important to try and ensure all learning types are accommodated for when teaching, so I would also try to include a visual component into my work. As the content states, however, it is also important to account for our own needs as we all learn as we go! I also think we naturally excel in our primary learning methods, so I think my work would be better if it was based around auditory experiences. In addition to conversation, I think it would be really quite cool to incorporate sound and natural noises into my interpretation. I think highlighting everything from songbirds to rivers or waves crashing would really add a layer to my interpretation. I have a passion for music as well and would love to be able include that as well, although I’m not quite sure how. I am super excited to learn about the role of music in interpretation in the upcoming units!

Active vs Reflective

I think my second blog post is a really great example of an active learning style and the “let’s try it out and see how it goes” philosophy. I had tried to formulate a plan about my entire post, but that didn’t end up working out so I eventually had to just start writing down concepts. I often try to have a reflective approach and try to think about what I’m going to do but I quite easily get overwhelmed. I only start making progress when I just start writing or talking. I think in application to an interpretive role this could suggest I might like formulating conversation topics or even paths on a hike as I go. I’ve always been the kind of person to make presentations on the fly, so I don’t have a problem discussing concepts or thoughts as they come to me. I think I would quite like this as I think it would encourage me to have discussion on what I’m actually experiencing rather than what I predicted I would be experiencing. I think it would also promote awareness which I think is vital in interpretation!

Sensing vs Intuitive

I think I am more so an intuitive learner as I really love applying information to other scenarios and enjoy making connections where there may not be already. I also aggressively dislike memorization. I think that also suggests I shouldn’t have a script or pre-planned presentation of any kind. I think intuition would be well incorporated to a discussion based experience, so I would definitely try and include that in any kind of interpretation role I had.

Sequential vs Global

When someone is explaining things to me, I’ll often have a very random “AHA” moment where I suddenly understand everything. Sometimes it goes away and I have to have them explain it again until I have that moment again, after which I usually can retain the information. I think this aligns with being a global learner. I’m not quite sure how that applies to a potential role, as I think it’s more important to those who are trying to understand my communication rather than to me. I think a conversation based teaching style would help to accommodate both styles though!

I think understanding different learning styles is really key to being able to clearly communicate with others. Sometimes I think if we all assume everyone learns the same way as us, it can be frustrating when other people don’t understand the way we explain things. If we are able to understand even the fact that everyone learns in different ways, it opens us to be able to communicate clearly to a larger radius of people. I think it also makes us more sympathetic.

I think my ideal role would allow me to operate in learning conditions that are best for me, but would also allow for other to interpret my work no matter how they learn. I think that’s a super delicate balance that would be hard to satisfy, but I will always keep it in mind when formulating interpretations!

Riley

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Nature Interpretation with Riley