Personal Ethics as an Interpreter
Every time a semester’s closing is near, it always amazes me how fast the weeks and units passed by, and working through this course has been no exception. It feels like just last week, I was scanning over the course outline, making note of each week's focus and theme, as well as documenting assignment due dates. Additionally, it feels like my personal perception and understanding of nature interpretation also developed and changed very quickly from the beginning of the course to where it stands now. My goal throughout this post, is to highlight the ways in which my personal ethic as a nature interpreter has shifted throughout these past 10 weeks, by touching upon the specific themes and subjects explored throughout the semester that have had the largest impact on my development.
(Throughout this final post, I've included some of my favorite photos I've taken of nature, as a reminder of ultimatley what we're all trying to preserve and protect.)
After reflecting on my past posts, a trending theme that I’ve touched upon often has been a change in understanding and perception of what it means to be a nature interpreter. Whether the theme was music, art, or technology, week to week I began to notice and reflect on my own experiences as a nature interpreter in the work field so far, and began to realize just how stuck I must have been in both a physical and mental routine. Why wasn’t I thinking of including more non-science based curriculum in my program planning? How could I not have seen the obvious similarities between planning and interpreting an arts based program and a nature based program? Teachers college was always mentioning “cross-curricular planning” and ways to pack in as many expectations as possible in creative ways.
While sitting with these thoughts for some time throughout the course and especially for this week’s final post, I realized that at the time of my teacher’s college experience, I was generally not enjoying my classes and the content I was being presented with. There were a few reasons why I started to really drift away from wanting to be a traditional “classroom” teacher in the public system (lack of teacher support, high student class numbers etc), but the main one at the time was the sedentary style of learning, over controlling rules of child led play, and lack of outdoor time. It is through this dissatisfaction that I discovered outdoor education, environmental interpretation, and forest schools. The lack of nature inclusion in my programming may have been the reason why I’ve failed to consider bringing other curriculum and subject areas into nature interpretation, but I’m glad that I’ve gotten there now by working through this course, and I hope to bring in new subjects and ways of learning into my practice. This is one way in which my personal understanding of what it means to be a nature interpreter has changed.
Related specifically to my personal ethic as a nature interpreter, it is one first and foremost about the audience. This includes designing and facilitating programs that connect with the audience, considering barriers to program access, as well as reflecting on personal privileges. As Beck et. al (2018) mentions in Chapter 7: Serving Diverse Audiences, we as interpreters must understand and reflect on why people don’t attend nature interpretation programs in order to create access to a wider, more diverse audience. Although I currently work for an ngo which provides programming for marginalized groups, I’ve worked for various organizations in the past who do not share the same mandate. At times, especially depending on confidence and years of experience, it can be easy to get stuck in routine without feeling like it’s one’s place to bring up issues surrounding inclusion and access. From now on, I hope to take my commitment to inclusion beyond just inclusive lesson planning, and instead take it upwards to management and those who are the decision makers. Although reasons for why nature interpretation experiences includes certain audiences over others, the barriers which cause this are deeply ingrained throughout society, and ultimately starts at privilege. As Gallavan (2005) describes, educational institutions have been designed to reinforce the practices and beliefs of privilege. Although certain aspects of privilege can sometimes be easy to overlook, something as simple as not knowing certain programs are available for public access can be a result of privilege, and must be addressed.
Understanding, reflecting, and addressing privilege will also allow me to follow another personal ethic of nature interpretation practice related to the audience, which is relationship building and connection. One of Tilden’s (1957) Principle’s of Interpretation mentioned by Beck et. al (2018) that has stayed with me throughout the course is "Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile (Figure 5.3)". One of my own personal goals of nature interpretation is to foster a connection, understanding and appreciation for nature, in order to spark environmental stewardship. In order for a program to be successful and achieve my goal, I must first take time to understand and connect with the audience. Whether it’s younger school aged students or adults, gaining attention and understanding first and foremost comes down to connecting with content. Relating to content is somewhat of a broad overarching topic and can include language, culture, learning style, hobbies, age etc. Although the list can be long, it can sometimes take just a few minutes of chatting and getting to know the audience, or doing some research ahead of time, to create that spark. And you can tell when it’s happened.
For example, I was once teaching a water science program in a remote community in Manitoba, which was an area I was unfamiliar with. Although the core takeaways were set for my lesson on watersheds, I took some time prior to the lesson to walk around and explore the area around the school and I saw what looked like pelicans overhead! I was somewhat in disbelief, as I had only associated pelicans with topical destinations, seeing many on the beaches when my family would travel south in the summer. When discussing wildlife in the classroom during the lesson, I asked students if they had pelicans in their area, and told them that I had no idea pelicans came this far north. They lit right up. They were thrilled to share information about something that reflected their area and home, and shared various stories about areas where you can find large populations of pelicans nesting. After that moment I had noticed a shift in attention, and a willingness to participate in activities. Acknowledging someone’s familiar is the first step towards achieving one’s goals as an interpreter, and making your program more meaningful for your audience.
(Gwillim Lakes, British Columbia)
I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities for reflection on my own personal interpretation practice that this course has provided me with. Although the saying may seem overused, this course has truly taught me that you never stop learning, even after you’ve been trained and practicing a job for years. Although the field of environmental science can be very doom and gloom at times, it is through education that I feel hopeful that society can shift perspective and begin to heal the ongoing destruction to our home. Without an understanding of the importance of various aspects of nature that keep all beings safe and healthy, we as a society cannot move forward. And so, the role of a Nature Interpreter is critical more now than ever.
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.
Gallavan, N. P. (2005). Helping teachers unpack their "invisible knapsacks". Multicultural Education, 13(1), 36.