Touching Grass (And Trying to Interpret It)

Making Sense of Why I Like Going Outside so Much

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 1: Launching Into Nature Interpretation

My current relationship with nature drives me to seek out new experiences outdoors, be it for some sort of exercise-based activity, or for something more reflective. This past summer, my relationship with nature strengthened considerably due to a new job working in my hometown’s parks, as well as making the decision to start running again.

At this point, I would describe myself as an avid runner, and I find the opportunity to focus exclusively on myself and the natural space I am in to be incredibly calming. By being outside while tuning out the stresses and worries of other components of my life, I find that I can better appreciate the parks and natural spaces in my area. The sense of place it provides me instills a sense of gratitude for the specific environments I used to play in as a child and continue to use through exercise.

Attached is a photo from my family’s 2022 vacation to Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas, on which I maintained my running routine as best I could in the brutal tropical heat. While the route I took could be described similarly to the forests and fields of my hometown on paper, the difference in climate and vegetation provided something new. I think that experiencing nature in new ways like this is important, as while I could appreciate the gorgeous scenery and new challenges the heat provided, it also made me even more grateful for the spaces I can use at home. No natural space is the same and experiencing the nuances of each allows for a deeper appreciation of the sometimes similar and sometimes varied ways they can make you feel. When I returned home, I found myself excited to run at the park near my house again, with a renewed sense of appreciation for a running route that began to grow a little stale after a summer’s worth of repetition.

While this story is a little more recent, I have always felt a similar way about being in nature and am continuing to learn about my relationship with the environment to this day. As mentioned above, I spent a very large portion of my childhood biking through and running around forests near my home, and various hobbies such as paintballing and riding BMX continued to strengthen that desire to be outside into my adolescence. Some of my earliest memories involve going on hikes with my grandfather, and the times I spent with him outdoors influenced my interests in nature and ecology greatly.

Looking back on my previous experiences in nature and how my relationship with the environment continues to evolve, I am excited to continue chasing these new experiences and appreciating the old ones, while gaining a more advanced skillset to interpret these spaces and what they mean to me.

Disclaimer

This blog was created for ENVS 3000, University of Guelph.

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the University of Guelph.

The University of Guelph is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by this blog.

[jpenvs3000w23]

Being Outdoors Allows Us To Explore

This week brings us to our final blog post, I’m excited to share with you my final thoughts about what I’ve learned is important to me as a nature interpreter and how I want to share my knowledge with the public going forward. 

As an interpreter, my four main goals are to educate, connect, engage, and inspire those I’m interacting with. I believe that these are essential components of what being an interpreter means and the impacts they should have on those around them. As an environmental steward and a future educator, personally, I believe some of the most important people to interact with and inspire are children. Although some adults are receptive to change and new ideas, many are not. The media clearly shows us this by reporting the decisions governments and big corporations are making. For example, the Willow Project, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the project so I won’t go into too much detail, however even though there are many economic benefits the environmental repercussions of this project could be huge. Not only will 239 million metric tons be emitted over the project’s 30 years, but what about the harmful effects of building roads, increasing the human population, building more houses, and more noise, and light, what effects will this have on wildlife (Puko, 2023)? On the plant and climate change? People like Biden, and there are many others, say one thing and then do something else. People like Doug Ford want to develop the Greenbelt, an important protected natural area in Ontario and even with large opposition from the public (Jones, 2022). I don’t want to get too political here, but I want to make a point that, in my opinion, many adults cannot have their minds changed and continue to deplete and ravage the natural, endangered world around us. 

For me, my focus and my passion as a future educator is to teach and inspire the new generations to be aware of and respectful of the environment. Taking them outside on a nature walk or on a field trip allows them to learn about the environment, and connect with the world around them through touch, sight, and sounds. It engages them in current world issues such as pollution, deforestation, and animal conservation. And hopefully inspires them to learn how they can help, inspires them to become environmental activists, and inspire them to teach people in their community. But, as mentioned in Jacob Rodenburg’s article, getting kids outside to explore and learn is becoming more difficult because it's cheaper and “safer” for kids to be inside (2019). I want to directly quote the article here because this short sentence is powerful “leaving kids indoors cuts them off from the knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a living being that shares a world with other living beings” (Rodenburg, 2019). I think this is such a powerful quote and is seen in our modern-day, corporate world. I honestly believe that some people forget that we share this planet with other living beings besides other people. They see plants, trees, squirrels, and birds daily but I don’t think they truly make the connection that we share the environment, they just think that they are living in our world. 

You can only learn so much inside a classroom, that is where the differentiation lies between a teacher teaching you about the environment and an interpreter connecting you with it. Kids need to see it, touch it, explore it, listen to it, hear stories about it, and interact with it, learning about the environment from a classroom cannot create the connection that being outdoors can (Rodenburg, 2019). In schools, there is still a lack of balance between education, well-being, and life skills/exploration. But I believe incorporating environmental exploration and learning from nature interpreters can be a great way to balance all three. We came from the Earth, it is connected and has guided us for millennia, but with the rise of technology, we have become disconnected from it. Nature has been proven to help improve mental health, an important focus in today’s schools, it educated us, it tells stories by watching trees grow, seasons change, and animals hunt. And it gives us the space to explore and fulfill this biological need to connect with the environment around us. 

As a future teacher, I believe it is my responsibility to my students to teach them about and interpret the environment around them but to do that they need to be in it. As I’ve gone through this course and reflected on my own guided nature experiences, I’ve discovered that I, as a nature interpreter, enjoy interpreting through stories. Not necessarily made-up stories like about a snapping turtle named Snappy, but stories that are about history, about the daily life of a grizzly bear, about the life cycle of a plant, stories that help to explain the world around us. Interpreting in this way, I believe, brings a sense of clarity and allows connections to form. These connections can lead to inspiration to help conserve and protect our environment and its inhabitants.  

I believe it is my responsibility and my calling as an interpreter to teach children about the importance of the environment and how to connect with and be respectful of the world that provides and lives around them. Helping them understand the environment and creating healthy connections with the Earth will hopefully inspire them to as they grow up learn more, educate others, and get involved in protecting the environment and its inhabitants who, unfortunately, do not have a voice to advocate for themselves. That is another hope I have as an interpreter is to not only teach and build connections but to inspire others to do the same, and if need be fight to preserve the environment for generations to come, because at this rate there isn’t going to be much left. 

Jones, R. P. (December 22, 2022). Ford government forges ahead with Greenbelt development plan despite ‘broad opposition’ in public consultation. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/greenbelt-oak-ridges-moraine-regulations-1.6692337

Puko, T. (March 24, 2023). What is Willow? How an Alaska oil project could affect the environment. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/17/willow-project-alaska-oil-drilling-explained/ 

Rodenburg, J. (2019) Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope. Clearing. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I think you made an excellent post this week that really captured the importance of educating the next generation well, so I figured I would respond and try to offer some of my own insight into the issues you have discussed.

Your mention of the Willow project and Ford’s development of the greenbelt are important topics to discuss that I do not think are political matters at all. Regardless of a politician's standing or the party they associate with, as nature interpreters, we need to be able to speak for the benefit of the environment without worrying about the fear of entering into a political debate. The politicization of environmental issues is deeply problematic, as in large-scale cases like that of climate change, many brush off the risks of continuing to act the way we do as a global society and simply wish to live in ignorance. Ever since the covid-19 pandemic, it feels like a large portion of the general populace no longer trusts science, and while the issues we’re discussing are not directly linked, this lack of trust extends to environmental issues as well.

Similar to what you said in your own post, I think the best way to remedy these issues is to better educate the next generation via nature interpretation. I care about the environment as much as I do because of the experiences I had outdoors as a child. Convincing kids of the future to get out and do the same such that they value nature into their adulthood is of key importance, and it is our duty as interpreters to guide them down this path.

Once again, great post!

[jprenvs3000w23]

Nature Interpretation's Role in Environmental Sustainability

As a nature interpreter, I do feel that I have to be careful about how I conduct myself. Ultimately, the intent is to guide people towards understanding why they may relate to nature more than they thought they would, but also to allow people to realize on their own that they should go out into nature to develop this opinion for themselves. Perhaps my own interests are rooted in the well-being of my surroundings, in the sense that I am interested in nature and everything it encompasses, but not everyone necessarily relates to that. So, I consider this rooting to ultimately be of my own interest, that way I can express this belief in a way that presents it as an interest like any other person would have. I simply think nature should be allowed to exist, for it brings me great joy in many ways simply by existing in its unmanaged state, but if I were to express in an objective manner that my audience also allow nature to exist in its unmanaged state, then it might be hard for me to keep said audience. 

One of the beliefs I have that I still struggle to get across in a way that people can get behind is vegetarianism. I’ve been avoiding animal products for over six years now, because after informing myself of how they are obtained and what the costs of doing so are, it made sense to me that it was not something worth being a part of. So, without much hesitation, I simply decided that I was going to stop being a part of animal product consumption. At the time, I had no idea how people would react to how I was now going to conduct myself, though I was in for a bumpy ride. As a pretty typical white male tenth-grader in a suburb of Boston, I hadn’t really had much in the way of insecurities, and I’d just opened myself up to a wave of criticism from people who come from a plethora of backgrounds. To make that long story short, I was often questioned about my choice to become vegetarian, in ways that made me less open about it. I felt people wanted to talk civilly about things they were able to relate to, but once the topic became something they already had in their mind as something so preposterous, they became more defensive and uncivil in conversation, and it started to become a bit of an insecurity. However, despite all the insecurity I felt around doing what I believed was right, I never let up, and I think it’s helped me to express myself in general more confidently.

Something I learned here at the University of Guelph from keynote speaker Payton Head, a queer black man with a history of strong leadership, on the topic of interdisciplinary inclusivity, is that everyone grew up with their own set of environmental conditions, and are only able to shape their thoughts and beliefs. While we may see another person’s views as ignorant, we can still only empathize with a person if we want to discuss their thoughts and beliefs in a way that we may see as benefiting from change, regardless of how different these thoughts and beliefs may be.  I only see the need to dismiss one’s self from an interaction if there is a lack of common respect coming from one or more of the individuals interacting. So, with all that in mind, I feel my best approach for perhaps being influential as a vegetarian is to simply lead by example. People tend to look up to others who have shown they can conduct themselves in a calm and collected manner, and do well by themselves, even if not necessarily doing so at all times. I think that as long as I can continue to conduct myself in such a manner, while still doing things the way I see as right and respectful towards other people, then I may be able to keep myself approachable to someone intrigued by it, and possibly influence how they choose to conduct themselves.

If we are to take a more collaborative approach to it though, I think the best change should start with children. As Jacob Rodenburg put it in this week’s reading, children are disconnected from their natural surroundings, and not by their own choice (2019). Young children, for the most part, are restricted by their parents/guardians as to where they can be throughout most of their early life. If we want to allow people to make their own choices as to how they want to conduct themselves, starting in their younger years, I believe we owe it to them to show them what exists, including nature, how we operate society and its food supply, and so on. Nature is full of different plants and animals which we have learned to appreciate throughout the course of life. When one takes their kid to a farm, they often want to pet the farm animals, as they perceive the world as being friendly; uncorrupted. Hunters often say that if most people had to kill their own meat, then people would eat far less meat–not for the effort it takes to track down an animal, take its life, then prepare it so that it is both edible and palatable, but simply because they become aware of what takes place when they eat meat. I think the same would absolutely be true with children. If Children, who often learn to love and adore animals, saw how they needed to be treated in order for them to eat, they might resist eating them in the first place. In one case, a farmer even decided he would resist such after having lost his cattle to bovine tuberculosis, by going vegetarian himself (Bearne, 2022). Considering the environmental impact that agriculture has on our planet, I ultimately feel responsible to make it a part of our knowledge pool.

Literature Cited:

Jacob Rodenburg (2019). Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope. Journal of Environmental Education in the Cascadian Bioregion. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300

Suzanne Bearne (2022). The meat and dairy farmers who are going vegan. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61565233

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I enjoyed reading your final post this week and found it really interesting how you linked acting as a nature interpreter and vegetarianism via your words about leading by example. The theme of understanding the backgrounds and upbringings of other people is central to nature interpretation, so I thought your discussion of it was quite compelling.

Chapter 7 of the textbook discusses how nature interpreters sometimes need to deal with diverse audiences, and similar to what you spoke about with the backlash you received for changing your diet, not everyone will be the most willing to develop more environmentally responsible habits (Beck et al., 2018). As interpreters, we provide others with our truth in a sense, and while others may not immediately agree, we can still teach about the beauty and value we perceive in nature. We can make such education easier for others as well depending on the demographic we are reaching out to, and the toolsets we have gained throughout this semester would make doing so much easier. Employing art, photography, music, a podcast or a guided hike, nature interpretation comes in many forms so while it may be more difficult to reach certain people, we at least have a multitude of means to try.

At the end of the day, not everyone will see the value in nature and that’s okay, but even then, leading by example and appreciating nature to the best of our own abilities is definitely a good first step.

Thanks for the insight :)

Reference:

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed.). Sagamore Publishing.

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 10: Nature Interpretation's Role in Environmental Sustainability

This week, for our final post, we have been tasked with taking a look inward at ourselves as nature interpreters, and breaking down what our ethics, beliefs, responsibilities and approaches to interacting with the environment. I think this a really good way to finish off a great semester of nature interpretation blogging, as it gives us the opportunity to take another look at ourselves after learning so much.

My ethics and beliefs as a nature interpreter have definitely changed over the course of this semester, as while I always considered the environment as something we need to protect, this semester has instilled a sense of duty in me. Having learned about all the different ways we interpret nature and how it provides us with so many impactful and nostalgic memories, I now understand how valuable these experiences I’ve had outdoors are as well as the importance of securing the opportunity for future generations to have the same. Being a biology major with an anthropology minor, I interact with both conservation and humanitarian issues in the subject matter of my classes on an almost daily basis, which I also feel has shaped my sense of environmental ethics. Ethical issues involving conservation can often be quite tricky, as conflicts between human well-being and environmental well-being often arise. When looking into these issues, I often try to consider both perspectives such that harm to nature is minimized and benefits to humans are maximized. These can be tricky issues to navigate but placing a focus on protecting the environment over the long term should always be a main priority.

In terms of our responsibilities as nature interpreters, I think our main goal should be to project such ethics and beliefs while educating others on the value of the environment. Similar to the way this class helped me realize the worth of the memories I have in nature, acting as an interpreter allows one to start others down the same path. I will touch on methods that can be utilized to do so in the paragraphs to come, but I think that acting as a nature interpreter allows one to advocate for a critical piece of our Earth that otherwise lacks a voice. Anyone can go out into nature and experience its beauty, but it is the responsibility of nature interpreters to encourage others to do so, or to bring some of that beauty to those that can’t.

One of the most important things this course has provided me is exposure to the wide array of nature interpretation methods. Starting off in week one looking at past experiences allowed my interest in these topics to blossom throughout the semester, as our initial blogpost established why nature interpretation is so important for me. Going forward into the weeks that followed, I felt the desire to get others to start interpreting the same way the first blog prompt had pushed me. This first post also introduced me to the concept of one’s sense of place, which helped shape my understanding of why we appreciate specific environments, and it gave my feelings of nostalgia more legitimacy in the scope of the course.

An important method of nature interpretation touched on in the earlier blog posts was photography and art, and I found the various means of bringing the beauty of natural spaces to others quite compelling. Ever since I thought deeper about how pictures can act as a way to interpret nature, I have taken more photos of my natural surroundings and will continue to do so, such that I can save more snapshots of different places and seasons. Furthermore, thinking about these methods allowed me to appreciate art depicting nature more, as I could better understand how various mediums can extend the act of nature interpretation to those unable to reach a given location, and even inspire them to get out and interpret for themselves.

Another important method of nature interpretation that I didn’t realize would be so impactful was the making of my group’s first podcast. I had never considered that a podcast would provide an effective means to inspire others to get outside and interpret nature, but I found myself considering going out and birdwatching after making an episode about said topic. Furthermore, the subject matter of my group’s podcast got me to take a deep dive into birds as a whole, and while this episode was aimed at young children, even I found myself surprised and appreciative of some of the bird calls that I hear so commonly but had never pinned to a specific species. The act of making the podcast itself was quite informative, and I can now see how such a medium would be effective in bringing certain aspects of nature interpretation to others.

The last method of nature interpretation I found extremely interesting was music. While I had always considered human-made music inspired by nature to fall under this category, I had never considered that the sounds of nature themselves would also be considered a form of music. I have always listened to nature sounds while I study and work (I’m even doing so right now), but I had never thought about how these tracks could be considered forms of music produced by the environment. I found this quite compelling, as it allowed me to further conceptualize how auditory information can impact how one interprets a space.

Overall, I think the course’s use of a multitude of nature interpretation methods made me much better at doing so over the course of the semester, and the knowledge I gained both improved my appreciation of the environment around me while pushing me to help others understand the same concepts. Whether direct or indirect, nature interpretation provides us with the toolset to both appreciate the outdoors and gain a sense of environmental ethics, which act as essential lessons for the future that, hopefully, we can teach others as well.

I look forward to reading everyone else’s final posts :)

[skgenvs3000w23]

Sense-making of Nature Interpretation

As a wildlife biology and conservation major, I found this topic to be the most difficult to pick a topic for so far! I knew from the get-go that I would initially choose an animal and interpret all the fun facts I knew about it, but choosing the actual species proved to be a difficult task. As someone who has experience working hands on with a variety of native and exotic species, I have a good amount of baseline knowledge as well as fun facts ready for use. For these reasons, I decided to choose to write about my knowledge and experience caring for raccoons! I worked last summer as a general wildlife care intern at a wildlife rehabilitation and will be returning this summer as a staff member in the raccoon nursery. Between the months of last May-August, we had admitted and taken care of around 250 raccoons ranging from orphaned litters of babies to badly injured adults. While most people who live in cities or even in rural areas consider raccoons as a pest species, they are funny creatures that deserve respect as well. Educating the public on their role within the environment and how to help their species as a whole is a great way to bring awareness. We do private tours of the facilities as well as open houses on every Saturday so the public can come in, see how we operate and learn some information about protecting native wildlife. One of the best ways they can do this is by slowing down on sections of roads that are known to be highly trafficked areas for wildlife crossings. This helps reduce the number of animals hit by vehicles and in turn can reduce the number of orphaned raccoons.

My job as a wildlife care member is to feed, clean, vaccinate and medically treat any raccoon that is admitted to us. Depending how old they are when they first come in, they are either fed 3 or 4 times a day with a specific powder-based formula that acts as their mother’s milk that they would be usually eating in the wild. Once they grow older, we supplement their diet with a kibble-based dog food, provide them with cooked egg for protein and some form of meat, typically a ground beef. This mimics their diet in the wild so that once they're released, they can find similar sources of food that give them the same nutritional content. Once they are old enough to move outdoors, they begin living in one of our outdoor enclosures to start being introduced to the natural habitat and climate. One of my favourite parts of raccoon rehabilitation is watching the sweet babies turn into the typical angry raccoon or when they ‘wild up’ as we call it. Although this can seem sad as your favourite creatures no longer enjoy your presence and consider you their mother, it is an indication of a job well done. If an animal doesn’t wild up and consider humans a threat is typically not able to be successfully released and therefore your job was not completed properly! Although it may seem sad to see them go, they are always better off living their lives in the wild where they belong which to me makes it a redeeming process.

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and think that you highlighted the importance of understanding the animals around us so that we can interpret them effectively. Your discussion of how you cared for raccoons and how younger individuals act in your care was quite compelling, and you offered more insight into these furry creatures than I had ever discovered myself.

Informing others about wildlife you know a lot about is an important form of nature interpretation as it provides others with a new lens through which they can interact with the environment. Similar to my own post where I discussed the waggle dance and honeybee behaviour, providing an understanding of an animal that supplements one’s existing knowledge can allow one to view wildlife in a new light and find a deeper appreciation for the habitat they live in.  

Many people go out into nature and enjoy their time observing the beauty of it all, but having an understanding of the wildlife you share these spaces with can allow for a much more interconnected and holistic interpretation, as we are not just appreciating what we see, but also the mechanisms behind it.

I have always found raccoons to be extremely interesting, as the way they traverse different environments reminds me a lot more of monkeys than other mammals living in North America, and the information you provided through your post offered me a little more context that I really appreciate.

Thanks again and great post!

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 9: Sense-Making of Nature Interpretation

This week, we have been tasked with discussing something we find interesting in nature, and I figured I would use this space to talk about bees and their behaviours, which I have been learning about at length this semester and find quite compelling.

The first thing that came to my head upon reading with week’s prompt was a specific behaviour of honeybees called the waggle dance. Honeybees are pollinators, which forage over large spaces outside their nests in order to find the pollen and nectar of flowering plants that they need to survive (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). Sometimes, finding optimal foraging patches can be difficult, but honeybees have the waggle dance; a system of communication designed to map out where other bees need to go to find the patch in question (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). Upon finding an area where other worker bees should be foraging, the discoverer will use a vertical pattern of polarization in the sky that extends from the sun to the horizon called the azimuth (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). This pattern acts as the baseline for communication, as the bee can then show where the patch is in relation to its angle from the azimuth to other bees (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). Attached are two diagrams showing how the information available to the bees when out in the field translates to the dance in which they tell others where to go.

Waggle dances are carried out in a specific area of the hive, often called the dance floor, where incoming bees inform the outgoing where they need to go to find optimal flower patches (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). As these dances rely on the angle between a patch and the sun, the information is time-sensitive, and bees often visit the dance floor right before leaving the hive (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023). The distance of the patch is communicated as well via the duration of the middle portion of diagram B, where the bee waggles back and forth before returning to the start point so it can dance again (N. Raine, lecture notes, ENVS4070 Pollinator Conservation, January 25, 2023).

          I find this piece of information involving bee communication so interesting, as it demonstrates the intricacies of another species that we would not be able to understand by simply observing them in the wild. Given the extent of our technological advancement, it can be easy to see humans as vastly more intelligent than other species, but things like the waggle dance remind us that even honeybees have extremely intricate methods of living that we would otherwise be ignorant to. Learning this information was quite impactful for me, as finding out about how various systems we would never notice in nature is one of the reasons I find the environment so exciting. Learning things like this shows us that nature is bigger than hikes in the woods, and the biological explanations behind so many different natural things can demonstrate how lucky we are to be able to experience and learn about it all.

I hope I could shed some light on a topic I find extremely interesting, and next time you see bees buzzing around flowers, you may be able to appreciate the intricate communication system involved with these foraging practices.

References:

Raine, N. (2023). ENVS 4070 Pollinator Conservation course notes. University of Guelph.

[lkenvs3000w23]

Music and Nature

The two main questions for this week's prompt were, Where is music in nature? And where is nature in music? 

Where is music in nature? Well, music is actually everywhere in nature! In my opinion, it would be very hard to go for a walk in the woods without hearing some of the music nature creates.  I think that the most common way people hear music in nature is through bird calls. I am sure we have all woken up on a spring morning to the sound of multiple birds singing their songs right outside your window. However, you can hear music in nature in many different other forms too, such as hearing a frog's mating call, listening to a river flow, hearing the wind move the branches of trees, or the best is hearing all these different sounds come together. Personally, I find all the different forms of music nature makes to be very calming and a great way to destress. One of my favourite ways of hearing music in nature is when there is a thunderstorm. At my cottage, one of my favourite things to do is sit in my boathouse as a thunderstorm comes in from across the lake and just listen to all the amazing sounds it makes like the rain hitting the lake, and hearing the sharp crack of thunder as lightning fills the sky.  

Where is nature in music? This question is a little bit harder to answer than the first question, but I would like to start answering it by discussing how musical instruments were first created.  First Nations are a perfect example of how humans used nature to make musical instruments. They would make rattles out of gourds and horns, they would make horns out of birch bark, make drumsticks out of carved antlers and wood, and make drums out of carved wood and animal hides. Even today with such advanced technology many musical instruments or parts of the instrument still come from nature. For example, pipes, violins, guitars, and drumsticks are all made out of wood. Nature is also in music through inspiring artists to write certain songs about it, such as, “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver, or “Earth Song” by Micheal Jackson. Some artists have even used their talents to promote conservation efforts, for example, Miley Cyrus released a song called “Wake Up America” which lyrically discusses climate change. 

A song that immediately takes me back to a natural landscape is “Toes” by the Zac Brown Band. Every summer my friends and I do an Algonquin Park Canoe trip, and every year we listen to this song multiple times on the ride up. Every time I hear this song it always makes me think of summertime and just enjoying my time canoeing and camping with my friends.

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I think you made some really good points this week regarding the various links between nature and music. I completely agree with everything you said regarding the sounds of rivers, storms or bird songs being different forms of natural music. Furthermore, your ideas on how nature exists in music through First Nations instruments being made from materials in the environment around them form a really compelling take on the matter.

As I mentioned above, I couldn’t agree more with your approach to how music exists in nature. While these sounds we hear outdoors may be more abstract than human-made music, the raw, spontaneous and often beautiful nature of the auditory experiences we can have in the environment is one of the reasons I enjoy being in nature so much.

In terms of nature being in music, the concept of First Nations communities using instruments of natural make is a component of the subject I had never considered. The idea of these trees and animals used for the creation of instruments already making musical noises themselves in their environments and being repurposed for further sounds and songs is a really beautiful concept to me. Just as food chains carry the energy of a given organism through multiple others, we can do the same with music through the creation of these instruments. Furthermore, as I mentioned in my own post, you can often tell when someone making music has a love for nature through the sounds and themes they demonstrate audibly. In terms of these natural First Nations instruments, I can say with confidence that the music they produce has these naturally inclined qualities as well.

Once again, you made some really great points this week and I appreciate the extra insight you provided me regarding how nature can be incorporated into music.

Thanks :)

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 7: Nature Interpretation through Music

This week, we were tasked with looking at where music is in nature and vice versa, which got me thinking about what the sounds of nature mean to me alongside the associations I make between these spaces and different forms of music. I am absolutely obsessed with music in many different forms so this is an important topic of discussion for me. I hope I can shed some light on how I link such a major aspect of my life with natural spaces I love so much.

In terms of music existing in nature, I think such a concept is a key factor in our ability to interpret the environment through auditory means. Many often say that there is music in all things, and this can certainly be seen in nature. Whether one is hearing a bird’s song or something more abstract like the wind blowing through the trees or the droning trickle of a small stream, these natural forces have musical qualities that can’t be ignored. As a child, I suffered from really bad insomnia and still sometimes do today, but often found that putting on a long playlist of forest sounds or falling rain would help calm me and see me off to sleep. I believe these “nature sounds” as they’re often referred to as on streaming services to be an important genre, as while they aren’t created in the same intentional way as more concrete songs, the fact that the environment can produce such beautiful sounds is one of the reasons I find nature so enthralling. Next time you are trying to study and are having trouble focusing, try throwing on some nature sounds. You may find it easier to focus than whatever music you were listening to before.

In terms of nature existing within music, one can obviously point to the sampling of natural sounds for artistic means, but I find songs that don’t do so while still reminding of these spaces much more enjoyable. Upon reading the prompt, the first thing that popped into my head immediately was the soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The developers clearly had quite an appreciation for nature while making the game, as its design and general gameplay loop are heavily focused on exploring vast natural landscapes. The title’s audio design is one of its most well-executed aspects, as instead of trying to drown out the natural sounds of the environments you are in, soft pianos accent the existing soundscape. Due to such a strong pairing of pianos with natural landscapes, I often think of real-world spaces when presented with the soundtrack in its raw form. This leads back to the idea that nature in music can depend on the associations you make between the two. Attached is a picture from the game so anyone unfamiliar can see the developers' focus on natural environments, as well as a link to the soundtrack I am referring to. Another example of this for me would be how my running playlist reminds me of the parks I go through on my summer route. While you can just put nature sounds into your music, I think these personal connections are a lot closer to the other aspects of nature interpretation that we employ to convey why these spaces are so meaningful to us.

I look forward to reading about the connections everyone else has made between nature and music in this round of posts :)

the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tf8LXYMAKg&ab_channel=GamingThemes

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Unit 06: Nature Interpretation Through the Lens of History

There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it. (Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

The significance of integrity and the past's contribution to maintaining it are both stressed in this quotation. Hyams contends that something's merit originates from its integrity rather than from the fact that it is old or ancient. Hyams suggests that maintaining this integrity requires a knowledge and memory of ancient things.

Hyams uses a metaphor to illustrate this point, comparing the past to a railway station through which a train has just passed. The implication is that the past is not simply a place that we have left behind, but rather a part of a larger whole that we are still connected to. The maintenance of integrity, then, requires an understanding of the past and its connection to the present. This is espically prevelent when dealing with nature interpertation. As Beck et al. (2018) states, The interpretation of both nature and history should typically be provided at the same location because history and natural sites are connected. We cannot view nature while neglectaing the history that comes with it as our understanding of it will not be true. When it comes to conservation efforts, climate change or overall environmental conservation, most of what we know about it now comes from studying the environment in the past. Scientists, ecologists and nature interperators require the knowledge of the history of the land in order to understand the present as well as see how the history connects with our lives (Beck et al. 2018).

A further example of how history is connected to nature interpretation is Indigenous-led conversation. When we look at lands managed and protected by Indigenous communities, we can observe how the methods employed are the most effective ways of reducing wildlife loss, habitat loss, and climate change as well as boosting diversity. We cannot look at those lands without acknowledging the history of how Indigenous communites cared and tended to these protected conservation areas with their generational experience. This can also aid further conservation efforts in general as we can implement some of the strategies used in these protected conservation areas. Thus we cannot further our understanding or efforts without looking and learning from the past as well.

Hyams suggests that a disregard for the past is a disregard for the continuity of our existence. By forgetting the lessons and experiences of those who came before us, we risk losing sight of the larger picture and fragmenting the whole. Therefore, to truly maintain integrity, we must hold onto a knowledge and appreciation of the ancient things that have contributed to our present, and continue to see them as part of a larger whole that we are still connected to. The quote encourages us to maintain a sense of historical awareness and memory, as this is essential for upholding the integrity of our world and ensuring that we are connected to the larger whole of human experience. By acknowledging and valuing the past, we can better understand and appreciate the present, and ensure a more stable and coherent future.

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed). Sagamore Venture

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and found your discussion of looking to others and how they treated nature in the past quite compelling. Looking at indigenous communities and how they utilized natural spaces is key when including history in nature interpretation, as such perspectives can serve to augment our appreciation of the environment in question while also providing further means to care for it.

You unpacked the quote’s discussion of integrity quite well, noting that we need a holistic understanding of nature in order to appreciate all aspects of its merit. I find the way different environments change very compelling, and as I noted in my own post, think it would be quite boring if the nature we interpreted never changed. Nature still has an aspect of permanence, but such is rooted in its ability to change. It is a consistently inconsistent kind of thing, as even if we are unable to perceive change in any time frame we are capable of as people, the change is inevitable.

This is what makes nature interpretation so interesting, as we are finding meaning and value in things that are fleeting. A forest will not always exist where we see it, and it did not always exist in times before, but we have the privilege to experience it as it is in the now. Others may experience it differently in the future, and we can predict what changes they may see by looking to the past.

By looking backwards at the perspectives of those before us, we can figure out what they found meaningful and how they cared for it, allowing us to apply similar methods in the present in an attempt to preserve the beauty of nature for those who will come after us. Those who come after may root their understandings of nature in how we acted, so we need to ensure that we interpret and care for nature effectively, to maintain the integrity of these spaces as best as possible.

Great post :)

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 6: Nature Interpretation through History

“There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it.”

This quote is critical to the concept of history in relation to nature interpretation because it captures both the permanent and temporary qualities of the natural environments we experience in this course. It presents nature as something that changes, just as a railway station may vary in how trafficked it is at any given time, while also being permanent, having experienced so much and continuing to do so in the future. In the grand scheme of things, we experience nature like that train, passing through, but never staying long enough to fully appreciate the enduring nature of these spaces.

In an age of so much man-made infrastructure and technological distraction, we may still be able to interpret the nature that exists today, but without historical context, we would be unable to see how our interactions with the environment have changed over time. Nature is not as abundant as it used to be and understanding how those who came before us respected nature more or less than we do can provide important context to how we interact with what remains today. Nature interpretation is a discipline largely focused on perspective, and through historical means, we can discover a multitude of views on versions of natural spaces we may never be able to experience again. By tracking these perspectives and how different spaces change over time, we can gain a more holistic understanding of nature, dissecting how it once was, how it is today, and how it will continue to exist into the future.

Doubling back to the train analogy, the quote states that we should avoid being “done with the past,” as such would lack a sense of the permanence of the railway station. By looking back at how spaces we inhabit were once far more natural and how we developed them, we can combine such with the value we place in nature and try to avoid bringing similar destruction to the environment we have left. An important aspect of historical nature interpretation is understanding why the railway station was built in the first place but noting that its existence removes the need to build another. Human society in its current state exploits nature in many ways and has destroyed large portions of it, but looking back at this destruction is critical in understanding how to care for the spaces we still value today.

Furthermore, from a less conservation-oriented perspective, it is just really cool to look at how natural spaces change. Looking at how caves or various rock formations came to be, or reading accounts of how different regions used to be forested, entirely covered by water or just different in some distinct way is very compelling. We might just be passing through a railway station on our train, but our ability to take a snapshot as an interpreter, and explain why a space was so meaningful to us in that moment is truly beautiful. No one’s account of a place in nature will ever be entirely the same, as while we have differing perspectives touched on in previous weeks, such is further altered by time itself. Nature would be a lot less interesting if everyone who experienced it saw, felt and heard the exact same things. The wild spontaneity of nature is one of the things that makes it so compelling and the historical perspective nature interpretation provides allows us to appreciate it.

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What's On My Mind?

Looking at this picture there are multiple thoughts that run through my brain. I think of the beauty that this picture holds, a sense of belonging, I think of the science behind snow turning into ice and I think of how hard it’s going to be to shovel the snow and clean my car before going to class. Throughout the last five units we’ve been learning how interpretation works, we’ve learned what it takes to be an interpreter, how to interpret, for example, using science to interpret things, interpreting through art etc. and much more. 

This picture is a great representation of what offers me a sense of belonging (Beck et al., 2018). This is a picture of Chancellors Way, housing services near the University of Guelph, where I live. The people that live in these buildings all offer me a sense of peace, especially my roommate (Beck et al., 2018). My roommate (my best friend) is the reason I enjoy staying at this apartment. She explains all the beautiful scenery and all the science behind it, she is a true biomed major (Wals et al., 2014). When it snows she goes into the whole science behind why snowfalls occur, she explains the chemistry behind the snow turning into ice and then turning into water puddles when the sun comes out. When the sun comes out and flowers start to flourish she explains the whole concept behind photosynthesis! These scientific explanations help me feel more connected to our environment and also offer a different lens to interpret nature through. 

I believe that my roommate is helping me interpret nature through science education (SE) (Wals, et al., 2014). Science education focuses on environmental education stressing the “incorporation of values and changing behaviours” (Wals et al., 2014). This can be seen through the examples I listed above for example the changes occurring in snow turning to ice and the photosynthesis of plants. She also talks to me loads about climate change. She stresses how human behaviour is impacting our world's climate so every time we walk outside and see garbage on the ground she reminds me of how our planet is being harmed (Wals et al., 2014). Although it is not in the form of a textbook or journal article she is still teaching me about the environment and the science behind it all. 

An interpreter's job is to get individuals to feel more connected to nature whether that be through explaining the history behind different scenery or offering them a sense of belonging or even just entertaining them and influencing them to come back and visit the same area (Hookyaas, 2023). This being said, I hope that everyone is able to find themselves an interpreter. Although my relationship with nature has always been great, by being exposed to multiple interpreters I have been able to see and interpret nature through many different lenses and am learning how amazing and beautiful our world is! I have also learned that our world is complex and that it is getting ruined due to human influences. We need to treat our earth with more respect especially since it is everyone's home!

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.

Hookyaas, A. (2023). Unit 02: Teaching Learners. Courselink.

Wals, A. E. J., Brody, M., Dillon, J., Stevenson R. B. (2014). Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Education Forum.

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

While reading your post this week I really enjoyed the notion you presented of nature interpreters existing all around us and how extending scientific concepts and passion to others can ignite the desire for conservation in an audience.

In my own student housing, a few of my roommates and I are in biological science, so I definitely have the privilege of being in the presence of other interpreters all the time. We are often able to appreciate the environment together in a way similar to you and your roommate. Whether we do so through scientific knowledge while discussing the material of various courses, or just hanging out outside, it is clear that surrounding ourselves with like-minded people is very beneficial as we learn to appreciate nature more and more.

While myself and my roommates place great value in the environment as a result of our schooling in combination with past experiences, not everyone I live with is in biology. Some of my roommates are pursuing other unrelated majors, but I find that the shared interest in nature within our house has definitely bled into the way they think as well. For example, only half my house was involved in our snail experiment I mentioned in my own post, but by the end of last semester, everyone was invested in the project’s outcome. By teaching our other roommates little things about the snails as we learned to care for them, we ended up extending a bit of our own appreciation for nature to them.

I really like this train of thought because it extends further than the formal nature interpretation of the text and applies to us as university students. By looking at how we can interpret smaller components of nature in our day-to-day lives, we can extend these important concepts to others very efficiently, and get more people interested in protecting the environment we love so much.

Great post :)

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 05: Nature Interpretation through Science

This week we looked at how science plays a role in nature interpretation. Given the open-ended nature of the unit 5 blogpost, I figured I would elaborate on some topics the bird TED talk from Washington Wachira inspired me to think more deeply about.

In the talk, Wachira emphasizes the importance of simplifying science for audiences not familiar such that the need for environmental conservation is conveyed. In his case, the TED talk provided the audience with plenty of facts about different birds, and the speaker then used the interest he built in the audience to shine light on risk factors for different avian species around the world. Scientific concepts can often be daunting when presented to audiences without experience in the field. If one is able to gain an understanding of their audience however, they can effectively convey their points. Knowledge of one’s audience is also important when interpreting nature, so it makes sense that fitting the material to the needs of the viewer is so crucial when using these scientific concepts in the interpretation itself.

Another key subject Wachira touched on were his childhood memories of caring for and observing an augur buzzard, which created a deep interest in birds he still keeps today. Last semester, I was tasked with caring for a population of brown and white-lipped snails for a group animal behaviour assignment. Like Wachira, interacting with a species I was unfamiliar with deepened my interest in them considerably, and I will probably never look at garden snails out in my backyard in the same dismissive light I used to ever again. When I used to think of snails, I thought of the little shells out on the sidewalk whenever it rains, but in caring for them for a semester, I was able to observe them much more closely and appreciate the nuances of how they live more than ever before. Below is a photo of a few of the snails in their enclosure. We fed them every few days and misted their tank with distilled water once or twice a day.

One of the most interesting things about keeping this tank of snails wasn’t how my interest in them shifted but was instead how I was able to get guests asking questions about them. Whenever we would have parties or get togethers last semester, I would always find myself at the snail tank answering questions from friends who are less familiar with them. In hindsight, I was definitely carrying out some form of nature interpretation, providing watered-down scientific facts alongside my opinions on why snails are so cool.

As nature interpreters, we can use science to convey the value of different species or environments to less knowledgeable audiences. In my case, it was with snails, and it was with birds for Wachira, but the point remains. By gaining better scientific understandings of different components of nature, we are able to better convey their value to an audience if presented correctly.

I look forward to reading everyone’s posts this week!

Wachira, W. (2017). For the love of birds [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/washington_wachira_for_the_love_of_birds

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Unit 4: Nature Interpretation through Art and Planning for “All” Scenarios

Art is an extremely powerful force, which uses the talents of artists under many different mediums weather it's visual art, music, or poetry, to provoke an emotional response from the audience and get a message across. This is an extremely important aspect of nature interpretation, as art speaks to the emotional side of how we perceive nature, and can seek to capture the moments of reverence we feel when confronted with a beautiful landscape. When I find myself in a beautiful moment in nature, I often feel the desire to capture it and use photography as a medium of art, so I can look back and remember the beauty I experienced in that moment.

A photo I took in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah, USA, this photo helps me remember how amazed I was with the mountainous landscapes of Utah.

In my opinion, what makes art such a powerful and useful tool in nature interpretation is through its subjectiveness, or the fact that people can derive different meanings from the same work of art. How we perceive a work of art is based on the part of our soul that it speaks to based on our own personal experiences. For example, when seeing different landscape pieces from the group of 7, some might be reminded of their fond memories spent in similar landscapes of the Canadian wilderness, but for others the painting may speak to a completely different meaning. This makes art so valuable in nature interpretation as it can evoke a powerful reaction to people of all walks of life, and transcend things such as language barriers, as well as help convey the emotional passion that nature instils in so many people.

In the text, "The gift of beauty" is defined with relation to the purpose of nature interpretation to "instill in people the ability, and the desire, to sense the beauty in their surroundings" (Beck et al. 2018). This to me speaks to how important exposing people to the beauty of nature is to us as nature interpreters. It is easy for us to get lost in the intellectual aspects of nature interpretation, and the various facts we find interesting, however it is often the beauty that we experience in nature that truly leaves a lasting impact. Through exposure to the beauty of nature in the form of the sights, sounds, and smells that nature produces serves to make use feel more connected to nature, and in turn inspire a feeling of responsibility and passion towards preserving this beauty so people can continue to enjoy it in the future. This allows us as nature interpreters to demonstrate the value of nature to people in a way that is tangible and powerful, as the intrinsic value of nature is often brought up when talking about why preserving nature is important. It is for this reasoning that beauty is such a crucial tool in nature interpretation, as it can be used to illustrate our passion for nature and speak to the "soul" of our audience so we can demonstrate the value of nature and its preservation.

Citations:

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore Venture.       

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and think you captured why the subjectivity of art makes it such an effective way to interpret nature. As we try to convey the personal importance of various environments we are fond of, using art can extend the way we portray emotions we associate with these spaces. Depending on the situation, art can serve to guide the viewers down similar trains of thought that the artist had while viewing the nature they wished to portray, but there is also the possibility of a viewer taking something completely different away from a given piece. Such subjectivity in the way we perceive different pieces of art is very similar to how we interpret nature, making it very easy to link these concepts.

In terms of the gift of beauty, I really like how you approached the idea of appreciating sensory aspects of nature instead of getting caught up in the intellectual or factual. What makes a space beautiful is rooted in our senses and subjective views, which influence how we make art and interpret nature. It's easy to look at the environment and learn about various ecological concepts, but to go out and appreciate the beauty of it all is important in gaining a deeper understanding of what makes nature so special. By focusing on appreciating the beauty of nature, we are able to better convey why we need to protect the environment to audiences that may be bored by concrete facts, allowing for more effective nature interpretation.

Great post :)

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 4: Nature Interpretation through Art and Planning for “All” Scenarios

This week, we are looking at and discussing how we interpret nature through art, as well as how we are able to interpret the gift of beauty in our own unique ways. For me, interpreting nature through art can mean a lot of things. I drew a lot when I was younger, but never really found that I wanted to capture the beauty of natural spaces in this way. Instead, I greatly prefer taking pictures to capture the importance of different environments.

Photography is such an effective form of artistic nature interpretation as, similar to statements in this week’s reading, scenes are often able to interpret themselves (Beck et al., 2019). While I do enjoy other depictions of nature, be it paintings or drawings, I never felt that I was able to capture the beauty I intended to in these ways and instead opted to take pictures. Below is a photo of my local park over the most recent winter break, when a bad snowstorm had just hit, and the high winds made for a treacherous walk. While it isn’t a picture of a sandy beach or a secluded forest, I could find beauty in how harsh nature could be in this context and wanted to save the moment for later viewing and interpretation. While I did not appreciate my moustache freezing to my face at the time, I may think back on it more fondly when I am working outside in 40-degree weather this summer.

The gift of beauty is described as interpretation providing us with the means to sense and understand the beauty of our surroundings while giving us the desire to do so (Beck et al., 2019). For me personally, my desire to do so involves using artistic depictions of nature to transport me to other settings I find meaningful. Just as I mentioned above, I did not appreciate the freezing cold, winter winds while I was braving them in the park, but will likely look back on the experience fondly later on when I’m hot and exhausted. In terms of most nature interpretation, the most effective means of understanding a place’s beauty would be to go there yourself, but this is not always the case. Areas with extreme weather or an abundance of environmental risks may not be very pleasant in the moment, but through art, we can interpret them in a more reflective light and appreciate the value we may not have been able to see at the time.

Artistic depictions of nature and how we interpret them allow for us to extend the value of the environment past the actual physical experience of being there. In the same way art can transport us to places with different temperature extremes as mentioned above, it could similarly invigorate people to look into conserving places they may not have before. Acting as a visual extension of the value of other places in nature, artistic interpretation allows leaders in the field to teach a multitude of lessons involving the environments they care so much about.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Publishing.

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Unit 3: Role of Privilege in Nature Interpretation

I define privilege as being someone or a group of people that have some kind of advantage over others. Historically, privilege is focused on gender, race or both (Black & Stone, 2011). Privilege can be defined based on the context of oppression where certain groups are given a lot more attention relatively to other groups (Black & Stone, 2011).

Privilege in nature is the idea that we are given access to nature everyday and that it should not be taken for granted. Whether it is through a walk in the park or appreciating your houseplants collection. Nature is always around us. Not everyone has the same opportunity to experience nature. For instance, for those that live in a busy city area, there is not much greenery to look at compared to someone who lives in a nice rural area. I am fortunate enough to live in the suburbs where we get a little bit of both. There's so many local parks and conservation areas around to enjoy and appreciate nature.

I remember we did a creek study for my final project in biology class which was probably the best projects I have ever had to complete. We spent three days outdoors collecting samples and documenting pictures for analysis . The goal of this project was to better understand the condition that this creek had to offer for living organisms. For instance, was the quality of water ideal for living organisms to inhabit? To answer this, we tested different properties of the creek water using devices or instruments. Several other tests were taken for data analysis later on. Ultimately, this trip was extremely memorable and as a group, we enjoyed being able to appreciate the diversity around us. I definitely felt privileged to be able to experience a learning activity like this.

Here is a picture of the creek that we studied.

Privilege in the context of nature is definitely an interesting area to reflect on and is important to discuss. It makes us recognize that having access to nature is a privilege.

Black, L.L, Stone, D. (2011). Expanding the definition of privilege: the social concept of privilege. Counselling and development. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2005.tb00020.x

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey,

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and can relate to the privilege associated with access to nature that you touched on while covering your creek study.

As a child, I spent a lot of my time down by the creeks near my home, and while I could discuss these spaces and how I interpret them for hours, understanding the audience we are talking to and the different levels of privilege they may have is crucial to conveying these ideas effectively.

Not everyone has access to nature so easily, and acknowledging this is key when trying to reach and inspire those unable to relate to our creek adventures. People with less access to nature may still have experiences they find meaningful, and allowing them to discuss why they think the environment is important may be the key to interpreting nature effectively with these audiences. While someone may not be able to relate to my morning runs in the Bahamas, I could certainly relate to the value they place in their local park, and allowing them to set that lower baseline could be beneficial in starting a dialogue.

In such a personalized discipline, privilege will always play a role, as it is our own experiences in life that shape the way we interact with our surroundings. By understanding these variations in lifestyle and trying to accommodate people with different levels of privilege and access to nature, we can convey our senses of place and help others develop their own much more effectively.

Great post :)

[wmenvs3000w23]

Unit 03: Risk versus Reward in Interpretation

This week, we are looking at how privilege can affect nature interpretation. Privilege can exist in many different aspects of people’s lives, and in a discipline as personalized as nature interpretation, one’s experiences outdoors and what they take away from them relies on who they are as people and the advantages or disadvantages they have experienced.

My definition of privilege emphasizes the issues or hardships I will never have to experience because of where I live, my gender, sexuality, race, economic class and many more characteristics that impact how I live. Privilege involves acknowledging that not everyone gets the opportunities afforded to me for all these reasons and trying my best to understand and be grateful for these advantages while pushing for others to receive similar benefits. The way I interpret nature is heavily influenced by my privilege as I would not be able to have so many compelling experiences in nature outside of Canada if my family didn’t have the money to travel. I would never have had so many adventures in the woods as a child if I did not have the privilege of living in a safe, suburban, Canadian neighbourhood. Acknowledging these advantages I have been afforded is important, as understanding one’s audience and how to connect with them is a key component of nature interpretation. Explaining the beauty of these environments I have experienced in ways personal to me could be difficult when interacting with groups with less privilege, as their experiences outdoors may be drastically different than my own. It would be tricky to explain why going outside is so nice to someone who has to worry about air quality or violence when leaving their home.

When looking at these discrepancies in lifestyles and how much one could prioritize nature interpretation in different parts of the world, one could look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. A study from Kenrick et al. formed a revised version of the pyramid, demonstrating the levels of priority humans place on various aspects of life.

If one is unable to satisfy these lower, more important needs that I am due to my privilege, they may have less time or capacity to study the nuances of nature and why we need to preserve the environment. In terms of global conservation efforts, we need to do better in understanding the different scenarios that people live in that lead to them making unsustainable choices. To sit on a high horse and tell people with significantly less privilege how they need to change various methods of development, power generation or food production without considering their living situations is deeply inconsiderate and colonialist.

Given all this, I still think people with different levels of privilege and life experiences can bond over nature interpretation, as nature is still present in some way in all of our lives. By letting those with less privilege lead dialogues involving nature interpretation, we may be able to connect better with things they appreciate instead of setting standards in the conversation some people may have trouble relating to. At the end of the day, understanding one’s privilege in relation to their audience is probably the best way to handle nature interpretation in these scenarios.

Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L., & Schaller, M. (2010). Renovating the Pyramid of Needs: Contemporary Extensions Built Upon Ancient Foundations. Perspectives on psychological science: a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 5(3), 292–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610369469

[msdenvs3000w23]

A very important aspect to take away from being or following an environmental interpreter is the overall idea of preservation. It is important to have a respect for the environment around you and work to preserve and share its beauty. Many different science courses in my educational career have allowed me to have an appreciation for these wonderful systems around us (from the molecular level all the way up to things as large as forests and ecosystems). I believe it is very important for an environmental interpreter to understand and share their appreciation as well as have the knowledge on their environmental passions to succeed as an environmental interpreter. Not only do we rely on the environment for basic life processes and entertainment, but we are very selfish with how many amazing resources are harvested and used on personal and manufacturing levels. I spoke about this in a past post but I would like to bring it up again; I only recently found an appreciation for the amazing world around us. I grew up spending a lot of my time outdoors on hikes, fishing, gardening etc., but I only recently ‘stepped back’ and said to myself “woah, this stuff is pretty cool and I take for granted all that is around me”.

My role as an environmental interpreter is to take the lead in sharing my knowledge and past experiences with scientific communities/ individuals. I believe that environmental interpreters can also be anyone that is able to articulate and share their experiences with a community. I know this is very broad, but I think it is the discussion, questions, and thoughts that shared experiences leave us with that allow us to learn. This can relate to the learning skills activity we participated in. Listening to stories and facts about experiences can help auditory learners while seeing pictures and watching videos can help visual learners. I believe since I am a kinaesthetic learner, I tend to ask many questions so I feel more included in the actual activity/ discussion.

[wmenvs3000w23]

Hey!

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and also think that preservation is key to nature interpretation. As we demonstrate our appreciations for natural spaces as interpreters, we are conveying the importance of conserving these environments to the audience, which they can then apply to other locations they feel similar ways about. By showcasing why we care about the spaces we have meaningful memories in, it allows an audience to make connections to the aspects of nature they appreciate themselves and how they can work to preserve them.

I feel like a lot of people want the environment to be preserved, and have meaningful memories in nature, but do not feel the drive to act themselves and hope someone else will. By connecting their memories to the importance of conservation through interpretation, one could contextualize why preservation is so meaningful to a demographic that may not have been invigorated to do so otherwise. As you said in your post, the memories we have in nature are easy to take for granted, but interpretation can push one’s audience to acknowledge the value of these experiences outdoors.

You gave a very broad definition of what it means to be an environmental interpreter, but that is definitely the strength of such a role. Anyone can understand the value of their memories in natural spaces and articulate the importance of these locations to their community, allowing for a much wider range of people to be reached. Not everyone wants to listen to cold hard scientific facts, and the personal touch of nature interpretation may be all some people need to start caring a little more about conservation and the environment.