Unit 10: Nature Interpretation's Role in Environmental Sustainability
Throughout this course, we have touched on many things such as privilege, accessibility, learning types and more. All these things have helped me grow as a nature interpreter in so many ways. As a daughter of immigrants, I grew up in a household where my parents worked their very best to provide me with a better life than they had. I am very fortunate to have grown up in a country where I could go on hikes, learn about nature in school and watch birds and animals in my backyard. I had the opportunity to turn on a television, watch the Discovery Channel, and see and learn about amazing animals and wonderful ecosystems all around the world. I was able to go to places like the ROM and other museums that showcased dinosaur bones or paintings of wild landscapes that had me immersed. I distinctly remember a school trip in which we went to a high school known for its performing arts and watched a dramatic play about Shakespeare, a midsummer night's dream and many scenes took place in a forest.
Art in this way shaped my understanding of nature interpretation at a very young age. Now, after taking this course, I learned that art can help others connect to nature too, as it can help them relive memories of them in the wild through dance or song, or learn about nature through visual and performing arts (Chapter 10: Arts in Interpretation, pg. 229). My tour guides during my summers in Madagascar would use storytelling as a way to explain the things we saw and in a way, that is how I first learned to appreciate nature beyond just observation. Storytelling made the environment come alive, it gave animals' personalities, landscapes their own histories, and ecosystems a sense of interconnectedness. They would often share their own experience and interactions that they had and it would leave me feeling excited to go back out into the forest every single day, no matter how tired I was. One story in particular struck a chord with me. The story tells of a king who drowned himself in a lake to avoid capture by his enemies. This act made the lake sacred, and as a result, hunting crocodiles there became strictly forbidden. Today, the once-endangered Nile crocodile population has rebounded, along with native turtles and fish, all thriving under the lake's protected status.
Picture taken of a baby Nile Crocodile in Lake Ravolobe as my tour guide told me the story of why this lake is Sacred.
Experiences such as these have shaped my ethics as a nature interpreter. I believe that nature interpretation is not just about facts and figures but about fostering an emotional and personal connection to the natural world. My experiences as a child have shaped my perception and love for nature and now as I have learned ways to help others too connect to nature, my ethics and beliefs revolve strongly around accessibility and privilege. Somehow we have turned nature into a commodity, and many people around the world cannot access it. Whether through scientific communication that bars people due to education or through the assimilation of various Indigenous cultures, we have forced the disconnection of nature onto many, many people. As a nature interpreter, I believe it is my responsibility to break down these barriers and create opportunities for people to reconnect with the natural world. Nature is not something to be owned, bought, or restricted to those with the means to experience it. It is a shared resource, a fundamental part of human existence, and something that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with, regardless of their background, education, or socioeconomic status.
One of the biggest challenges we face is the way nature has been framed within academic and institutional spaces. Scientific language, while valuable, can often alienate those without formal education in the field (Unit 5: Nature Interpretation Through Science. By simplifying concepts, using storytelling, and incorporating diverse cultural perspectives, we can make nature interpretation more inclusive and engaging. Creative writing has always been a passion of mine and since coming to the University of Guelph, I have found it to be a powerful tool to connect science and academics to the public. I am currently immersed in op-ed writers such as Naomi Klime or authors such as Dr. Kerrian McGoogan who are using their skills in writing to interpret to a much, much broader audience than academia could ever reach.
Dr. Kerriann McGoogan's book, Chasing Lemurs is one of my favourite creative non fiction books and is a very important one due to the biodiversity crisis Madagascar is currently facing.
Through their writing, they make pressing issues relatable, accessible, and urgent, ensuring that knowledge is not reserved for the few but shared with the many. This approach is most suitable for me as I find reading about others' experiences with nature often helps me connect to them as well. Writing the script for my podcast also helped me realize my love for writing can be a powerful tool and a bridge between people and the natural world. Through storytelling, I can make complex environmental issues more accessible, weaving together personal experiences, scientific insights, and cultural narratives to create a deeper sense of connection. Moving forward, I plan to integrate writing into my work as a nature interpreter, using it as a tool to reach those who might not otherwise engage with environmental topics. Whether through personal essays, advocacy pieces, or podcast storytelling, I want my words to not only inform but also evoke emotion, spark curiosity, and inspire change.
Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.
