Unit 10 :) 🦋☘️🐢
The past semester along with the blog posts have taught me alot about being an interpreter in nature, specifically. The blog post prompts in particular have made me unlock the level in my brain regarding how I view nature, and how it has impacted me in my life. I have learned a lot about myself, but as an interpreter, I would say that I believe in respecting nature and what it has given us as people. Now, I know that may sound so generic that anyone can say it easily because we all love nature ( hopefully), but as mentioned in my earlier blog posts, it's not about liking it or not, but appreciating the actual beauty and this gift we have that a lot of people look down upon. The past blog prompts have made me delve even deeper into the idea of being a nature interpreter, because this can be done in so many ways, from music to art, and more.
I personally have never had a great connection with nature growing up, because I enjoyed the comfort of staying in, away from the scalding heat or extreme cold temperatures. I would see people outside going for walks in any temperature, and it would shock me why people would put themselves out like that. I would be in awe, but growing up my perspectives about nature kept changing, and eventually led me to my current program. My parents are one strong pillar behind my enthusiasm and role in the nature interpretation part of my life, because they would always encourage us to go out in nature, and appreciate and love what god has given us. From a small walk, to a far away trip to a beautiful ocean, any of this made my parents make it a teaching experience because they would tell us about the small things within what we saw outside. The plants that we would see would make my parents teach us about them, like herbal remedies, and how some plants could be used medically. I slowly have begun since then to appreciate what we have in the outside world, even though it is being damaged. By damage, I mean climate change, and this is something that has been on the radar for so long because it is getting worse by the moment.
My favourite place to visit in the summer with my parents is the beach. It has opened so many learning opportunities for me, because it grew my love for nature even more! (NatGeo)
I see my role as an interpreter is to appreciate nature and love it, and to take care of it as if it were our own home. I believe that every leaf, blade of grass, rock, is to be appreciated, and respected because it is what builds the earth, and makes it a home for other animals that we also need to respect and care for when the opportunity comes. I see it my responsibility to get other people to love and respect the outside world. It is not something to run away from or pass and not care about, but something to respect. There are a variety of ways to help encourage oneself and others on how to love and appreciate nature, and make it feel like your own home rather than something boring. This has been showcased through the blog post prompts we have had, like through art and music. My favorite one was music, because nature being incorporated in sounds and rhythm is something very interesting to me. It can make one appreciate the naturalistic sounds more when you hear it in famous singers' songs. It can make one realize that nature can be that beautiful that is being used in some famous songs with millions and millions of views. This is one way nature can be loved and appreciated more in my opinion. What's great about these prompts we have had over the semester is that it can open more doors in one's mind and knowledge about the deeper side of things, like nature in this situation. It is so much more than what we see, it's delving more deeply, and understanding it from an artistic or creative lens almost.
The approaches that are the most suitable for me as an individual when it comes to nature interpretation is getting people together to appreciate what we have in the outside world and the environment, and to make them appreciate nature as much as I do or other people that share their love for nature. I obviously am not referring to a forceful way, but in a nice way where someone can learn something. This can be like joining community center programs like helping clean up a certain place in your neighborhood. Another example is a program to plant plants around your city, and this can be something for all ages. Having youth based programs or getting togethers are a great way to appreciate and love nature, and in a fun way because that's how it's supposed to be. Overall, there are just so many ways one can imagine in order to connect, appreciate, respect, nature and make it as their own. I have learned so much in this course, especially the blog prompts allowed me to do, and I never thought there was so much more to nature and outside world in a critically thinking manner.
Good luck everyone with your future endeavours :) 🦋🌊
Beach. Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/beach/
Hi Fatima!
I enjoyed reading your post and it made me understand you as an interpreter. If I’m being honest, I never really had the best relationship with nature when I was younger. I only started to develop an appreciation for nature as I got older. When I was younger I was always scared of bumble bees and insects, but as I get older I realize how important they are for our environment. This being said I am sure that many people fear visiting interpretive sites due to many reasons (Beck et al., 2018). Some of these reasons include; being unsure of park rules, fearing potential wildlife encounters etc. (Beck et al., 2018). I believe that there is one important approach that we can take as interpreters in order to alleviate this fear so everyone has a chance at interpretation.
One approach we can take is to introduce bilingual staff (Beck et al., 2018). Lack of diversity has been identified as one of the main challenges for National Park Services (Beck et al., 2018). Individuals who are part of minority groups, for example, being part of a minority group that doesn't know how to speak or understand English can create anxiety for individuals in an all-English environment. Put yourself in their shoes. How would it feel to go to a zoo where the majority of the staff speaks English only and you can't understand anything? Exactly, it would feel terrible, this is why interpretive programs need to be made multilingual so everyone has a fair chance at diving into the beauty of interpreting nature accurately.
Do you know of anyone that has been through this struggle and lost the opportunity to interpret nature because of it?
Thank you,
Sanjna Farma
References
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.


















