Final blog post #1: My beliefs and tools as a nature interpreter
For the final week of blog posts, I would like to take the chance to deeply reflect on what I have learned and how I can give back to my community, once I have graduated. I believe that as an environmental interpreter, I have the responsibility to teach, to inspire, to learn and to grow. In order to perform all these duties in an effective manner, I need to establish a set of beliefs that I need to follow:
Teach effectively by incorporating many styles of learning, do not settle with just the bare minimum (i.e: only giving out factual information like what a plain textbook already has, a nature interpreter is a person, not an audiobook).
When it comes to inspiring people, effective communication is an absolute necessity. This can only be done if I understand the topic, do my research, and communicate with audiences with a passion.
Always stay humble. Being able to own up to oneâs mistakes is the most effective way to learn and mature from oneâs faults. Besides teaching, it is very important to keep an open mind and open ears to listen, no matter who my audience is. There is always something they know that I do not.
Planning and design is important before embarking on any journey. However, keep in mind that there isnât any perfect plan for every situation. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to handle any challenges in the most calm manner as possible.
Working in this field means I need to do my best to encourage participation and collaborative efforts (Knudsen and Seidler, 2013). This translates to giving my audience the opportunity to touch, feel, and smell nature, that way they get to experience nature to the full extent. This directly ties into the naturalistic intelligence that Howard Gardner suggested in 2011 (Beck et al., 2018). Even though it is the latest to be added to the list of learning style intelligences, I personally think it is the most relevant way to connect with nature on a deeper physical and spiritual level.
A useful tool that I can use to effectively communicate with my audience is probably my sense of humor. I have always been afraid of boring everybody whenever I talk, therefore, over time I learned how to level up my linguistic intelligence (Beck et al., 2018). However, it is important to keep in mind that there is an extent to the use of humor. Too much would just make the audience question the seriousness of the issue or the subject that I am trying to interpret, and will likely backfire on me as an interpreter.
Finally, we are living in an era where information and technology is only one click away. I think we should maximize this to their fullest potential. The textbook suggested that as interpreters, we do not need to be afraid of technologies as distractions, but rather, we can turn them into a tool by smoothly incorporating it into the ways we teach (Beck et al., 2018).
For now, that is where I am going to end this blog. I will see you all in the follow-up blog some time this week! Thanks for tuning in!
Duong (Robin) Nguyen.
References
Knudsen, M. A., Seidler, P. H. (2013). Nature interpretation for children and young people in the Nordic countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. DOI: 10.6027/TN2013-534
Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore Publishing.
Hey Robin!
I really enjoyed your post this week!
Isnât it neat that we now have knowledge (or at least more of the knowledge) that enables us to effectively connect with others and share with them the value of nature? Understanding the different ways that people learn as well as the different ways that people can interpret nature (music, art, history) will allow us to convey the value behind conserving nature.
You mention effective communication as something necessary for inspiring people. I also think that that is a crucial tool. A lot of information can be mistaken with poor communication, which can disengage and confuse your audience.
Staying humble is also a very important tool. Understanding that everyone brings unique values to the table is important, and also, using mistakes as a learning opportunity rather than an error encourages participation and removes the fear of failure that may reside in your audience.
I, too, believe that technology can be a valuable tool to facilitate nature interpretation. But I think we must be careful and make sure that technology does not replace the outdoor aspect of nature education. So much can be learned from simply being outside, things that cannot be replicated by technology. Therefore, technology should be used as a tool to enhance education rather than a replacement.


























