10: My Personal Ethics as a Developing Nature Interpreter
I cannot believe we are reaching the end of another year in our university endeavours. It feels like just last week, I was moving into residence, and now here I am three years later with new knowledge, experiences, and relationships. I invite you to join me one last time with this final blog, where I will share my personal ethics as a developing nature interpreter.
Whether for the better or worse, I am quite the strong-minded and sometimes stubborn (shoutout to all my fellow Taurus’) individual. Accordingly, I have lots of beliefs, morals, principles, opinions, etc., about the different aspects of life. However, when it comes to nature, I find my opinions not so ‘opinionated,’ if you will; the pure tranquillity of nature leaves no room for anything but peace.
That being said, I do believe that nature is one of the most incredible creations I have ever learned about. I won’t lie, I do really like having my phone, or being able to drive places, or having a microwave to warm up my food. But all these inventions and technologies are premeditated. I think what separates nature and what makes it so profound is that (in my belief) there is no creator behind it. What were once extremely dense packs of energy have now expanded to our universe, inhabiting tens of billions of persons and species and probably a myriad of unbeknownst aliens and other foreign pieces of matter. To put it plainly, nature is something that came from nothing. This evolution of life and nature serves many lessons for me. It inspires me to do the unimaginable. It serves as a reminder that I am just one person in a world of eight billion. It shows me that growth and change are okay. My admiration for nature is the foundation that motivates what I find to be my responsibilities as a developing nature interpreter.
I think it goes without saying that for many of us in this class, it is our responsibility to take care of the earth; to not litter, turn off the lights, respect wildlife, conserve water, etc. However, this is the bare minimum. I hope to keep myself responsible for more than the minimum, starting with helping others unpack their invisible backpacks, as well as my own invisible backpack. That is, making one’s invisible, unearned assets visible; acknowledge the passport, clothes, visa, tools, etc., that you were born with that give you an advantage in life compared to others (Gallavan, 2005).
Furthermore, I am responsible for doing what I can to make nature interpretation accessible for anyone, regardless of what is in their backpack. At this point in time, I do not think I have the tools needed to truly make nature interpretation accessible for all. However, one day, I would like to contest the significant barriers that prevent minorities from nature interpretation by reducing economic, cultural, communication, knowledge, and fear barriers (Beck et al., 2018).
Looking at this a bit more introspectively, I plan to hold myself responsible to always be curious – to learn from any opportunity that arises. Of course, during classes, when I come across a new term or theory, I will research it until I understand it, but outside of university, including nature, this same principle will apply. This may look like asking mentors questions, googling my curiosities, or putting myself into firsthand experiences. In extension, I would like to be responsible for sharing my knowledge with others, ideally with the gift of provocation, inspiring peers to broaden their interpretive horizons (Beck et al., 2018). The outcome of my responsibilities will be more successful if I follow approaches that are well suited to me as an individual.
I think it is crucial for nature interpretation to be approached through all lenses to get the entire picture: science, art, history, etc. Take for instance, the artistic approach from Finnish groups where they use folk poetry and folk music to convey myths about the world, traditional ways of life, and links to nature (Sahi, 2012). I agree with Sahi (2012) that an interdisciplinary approach to interpreting nature that goes beyond academic, environmental, or economic perceptions is needed. For my contribution to the interdisciplinary lens of nature interpretation, I believe my personal strengths and skills would excel the most in a scientific and research approach.
Beck et al. (2018) highlight several ways in which interpreters can meet visitors’ needs following a framework similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs with, for instance, physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top. I believe that the best level for me to help visitors meet as a nature interpreter would be either knowledge or understanding. The knowledge level refers to providing permission to access resources and data, managing meetings for discussion between interpreters and visitors, and allowing visitors to see practical applications of theories and ideas (Beck et al., 2018). One level above this comes understanding, which has interpreters provide visitors with continued studies of present interests, answers to public inquiries such as regulations, policy, and sciences, and provides experiments and activities for visitors to take home with them (Beck et al., 2018).
Revisiting what approach would be best suited for me, I find there are many similarities in the skills needed for a scientific or research approach compared to helping visitors meet their knowledge or understanding. For instance, researching gaps of knowledge and helping visitors understanding by answering public questions both require a degree of problem-solving skills.
In summary, my ethics as a developing nature interpreter are built on the belief the creation of our world is the most insane ‘invention’ yet. That I am responsible for helping others and myself continue to unpack their invisible backpacks, reduce barriers to interpretation, and to always be curious. Finally, the approach that is best suited to me will follow a research and scientific avenue to help others achieve knowledge and understanding of nature.
Thank you to everyone for sharing their thoughts throughout the semester – they have provided me new insight and perspectives on the various prompts. Further, thank you for taking the time to read my ideas, and I hope you have received some form of pleasure or benefit from doing so.
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. https://go-gale-com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=guel77241&id=GALE|A137921591&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=9fe2f151
Sahi, V. (2012). Spiritual values of protected areas of Europe: Using folk traditional music to communicate the sacredness of nature in Finland. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, 129-132. https://www.silene.ong/en/documentation-centre/spiritual-values-of-protected-areas-of-europe-workshop-proceedings#Proceedings_Spiritual%20Values_PAs_Europe.pdf