Nature Interpretation with Amanda

So here we are, finally rounding out the end of the semester, the last round of blog posts. This course has given me the opportunity to analyse and reflect on many different aspects of a topic I had a lot of intuitive understanding of, but one which I had not given much serious thought before now. I was also able to learn about several topics I had never considered before, and learn from a variety of different points of view through all of your posts. Of course, this week’s prompt is just as thought provoking as ever. 

In considering my personal ethic as a natural interpreter, I was forced to analyse the ethical views I hold in all aspects of my life. As a human being interacting with other human beings in this thing we call a society, I value things like honesty, responsibility, integrity, empathy, and above all, respect. These are important character traits that I try my best to embody in my own life, and hope that others offer to me. They are also important traits when acting as a nature interpreter, both for my own interpretation and as a group interpreter. 

As interpreters, we all bring certain biases into our interpretations. To be human is to be incapable of objectivity. Because of this, the next best thing is to be conscious of these personal biases, and let them affect my interpretation as little as possible. In a previous unit, we did a bit of reflection on our unconscious biases and unpacked our ‘invisible backpacks’ to get a better understanding of where each of us are at as we each come to the table as interpreters. This exercise was a good reminder of some of the parts of my identity as an interpreter which cloud my interpretation. No matter what, by virtue of the fact that we are all individuals with unique lived experiences, I will have inherently different points of view, which I have to make sure I am conscious of as I present various elements of nature and the world around us through an interpretive lens. 

Some of the things which influence me whether I like it or not are things like the circumstances of my upbringing, my education, my gender and my ethnicity. These are things which play a role in how I view the stories I will be sharing as an interpreter, and they have the potential to alienate my audience, or help us connect. There are many other factors which will influence my effectiveness as an interpreter. For instance, I have a strong inclination toward enjoying the outdoors, and get a sense of fulfillment from being in nature and learning about the various processes which make up the world around me. I conduct my interpretation through a naturalist lens, informed by my study of biology and general interest in pretty much all aspects of science. This offers me many advantages in explaining certain concepts and offering an interpretation consistent with our modern understanding of the world, but it also has the potential to alienate or just plain bore some people.

Respect is, in my opinion, the most basic and important ethics and character trait to reflect on. Respect for the environment we are interpreting, respect for the people I am helping in interpretation, and their respect for both of us are crucial elements of effective interpretation. It almost goes without saying that without this basic respect, nothing really meaningful can come of any interpretation which is done. From this basic understanding, all the other ethics come fairly naturally. 

Honesty comes with respect, and it is a vital part of building interpersonal relationships, and being an effective leader. Part of my role and duty as an interpreter is to be honest and truthful with my audience. A blog post that I began to write and which slowly morphed into a couple of thousand words’ worth of rambling focused on the HBO series Chernobyl. This 2019 miniseries focuses on the cost of lies and the value of the truth when disaster strikes and people’s lives are at risk. Eventually I may finish that essay (?), but at least I get to reference it here, along with the excellent show which inspired it.

Responsibility is another crucial element of being a good environmental interpreter. I feel an inherent responsibility to be a good steward of this Earth, and in my role as an interpreter, I have that same feeling of responsibility to instill that sense of stewardship through my interpretation and storytelling. I also feel it important to have a sense of responsibility towards those I am leading in interpretation, both in terms of their physical safety, and ensuring that they are receiving accurate, measured information, and hearing as many well reasoned points of view as possible.

Integrity goes hand in hand with honesty, but in my mind encompasses a general sense of not only being truthful, but also having that sense of responsibility and duty to what is true and what is right, even when no one is around to see. It means not being compromising in one’s ideals, while at the same time not being afraid to change one’s mind when new information is provided. This is, in my opinion, the trait which ties the rest together, and is especially important in education.

Empathy is, if you ask me, an underrated virtue. It invokes a sense of emotional vulnerability, but I find that it also aids one in understanding and being receptive to other people’s feelings, and one’s own. I think if more people were more empathetic, there would be far fewer problems in the world. I also think that when considering nature interpretation, or any kind of education, empathy is crucial to being a good teacher and understanding a student's needs. 

As we close out the semester and look to the future, there is a lot to think about. With each passing day, I feel more and more that we now stand on the precipice of several monumental changes. Anyone reading this now has already lived through many of them, both good and bad. The 24 Hour news cycle, the Internet, climate change, social media, the pandemic… “we didn’t start the fire!” 

I really enjoyed reading your blog post. As interpreters, we can definitely be biased even when we try not to be! It is difficult to become self-aware of this because it may not be something that you do on purpose, it is just your personal beliefs based on your own experiences. Therefore, I like that you added this into your post because it is great that you are able to recognize this as something to be mindful of in nature interpretation. Self-awareness will help you to avoid these biases when teaching to an audience that may not have the same view points as you do. This makes the audience feel more included in the conversation and create a better connection.

Two points that you made in your post that I did not think of to touch on in mine is the idea of honesty and respect. Two values that are super important and may be overlooked as a personal ethic! Although they may be basic, I agree that they are super important when looking at nature interpretation. We should have respect for the environment and for the people we interact with. Having respect will come out in the teachings and make people more inclined to want to learn because they feel that you are respecting their personal beliefs and learning styles. Having honesty on top of that brings vulnerability that can create open conversation and comfortability. Both concepts combined I think create an amazing building block for nature interpretation and connecting with the audience.

Every time a semester’s closing is near, it always amazes me how fast the weeks and units passed by, and working through this course has been no exception. It feels like just last week, I was scanning over the course outline, making note of each week's focus and theme, as well as documenting assignment due dates. Additionally, it feels like my personal perception and understanding of nature interpretation also developed and changed very quickly from the beginning of the course to where it stands now. My goal throughout this post, is to highlight the ways in which my personal ethic as a nature interpreter has shifted throughout these past 10 weeks, by touching upon the specific themes and subjects explored throughout the semester that have had the largest impact on my development. 

(Throughout this final post, I've included some of my favorite photos I've taken of nature, as a reminder of ultimatley what we're all trying to preserve and protect.)

After reflecting on my past posts, a trending theme that I’ve touched upon often has been a change in understanding and perception of what it means to be a nature interpreter. Whether the theme was music, art, or technology, week to week I began to notice and reflect on my own experiences as a nature interpreter in the work field so far, and began to realize just how stuck I must have been in both a physical and mental routine. Why wasn’t I thinking of including more non-science based curriculum in my program planning? How could I not have seen the obvious similarities between planning and interpreting an arts based program and a nature based program? Teachers college was always mentioning “cross-curricular planning” and ways to pack in as many expectations as possible in creative ways. 

(Burk's Falls, Ontario)

While sitting with these thoughts for some time throughout the course and especially for this week’s final post, I realized that at the time of my teacher’s college experience, I was generally not enjoying my classes and the content I was being presented with. There were a few reasons why I started to really drift away from wanting to be a traditional “classroom” teacher in the public system (lack of teacher support, high student class numbers etc), but the main one at the time was the sedentary style of learning, over controlling rules of child led play, and lack of outdoor time. It is through this dissatisfaction that I discovered outdoor education, environmental interpretation, and forest schools. The lack of nature inclusion in my programming may have been the reason why I’ve failed to consider bringing other curriculum and subject areas into nature interpretation, but I’m glad that I’ve gotten there now by working through this course, and I hope to bring in new subjects and ways of learning into my practice. This is one way in which my personal understanding of what it means to be a nature interpreter has changed. 

Related specifically to my personal ethic as a nature interpreter, it is one first and foremost about the audience. This includes designing and facilitating programs that connect with the audience, considering barriers to program access, as well as reflecting on personal privileges. As Beck et. al (2018) mentions in Chapter 7: Serving Diverse Audiences, we as interpreters must understand and reflect on why people don’t attend nature interpretation programs in order to create access to a wider, more diverse audience. Although I currently work for an ngo which provides programming for marginalized groups, I’ve worked for various organizations in the past who do not share the same mandate. At times, especially depending on confidence and years of experience, it can be easy to get stuck in routine without feeling like it’s one’s place to bring up issues surrounding inclusion and access. From now on, I hope to take my commitment to inclusion beyond just inclusive lesson planning, and instead take it upwards to management and those who are the decision makers. Although reasons for why nature interpretation experiences includes certain audiences over others, the barriers which cause this are deeply ingrained throughout society, and ultimately starts at privilege. As Gallavan (2005) describes, educational institutions have been designed to reinforce the practices and beliefs of privilege. Although certain aspects of privilege can sometimes be easy to overlook, something as simple as not knowing certain programs are available for public access can be a result of privilege, and must be addressed. 

(Lake of Bays, Ontario)

Understanding, reflecting, and addressing privilege will also allow me to follow another personal ethic of nature interpretation practice related to the audience, which is relationship building and connection. One of Tilden’s (1957) Principle’s of Interpretation mentioned by Beck et. al (2018) that has stayed with me throughout the course is "Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile (Figure 5.3)". One of my own personal goals of nature interpretation is to foster a connection, understanding and appreciation for nature, in order to spark environmental stewardship. In order for a program to be successful and achieve my goal, I must first take time to understand and connect with the audience. Whether it’s younger school aged students or adults, gaining attention and understanding first and foremost comes down to connecting with content. Relating to content is somewhat of a broad overarching topic and can include language, culture, learning style, hobbies, age etc. Although the list can be long, it can sometimes take just a few minutes of chatting and getting to know the audience, or doing some research ahead of time, to create that spark. And you can tell when it’s happened. 

For example, I was once teaching a water science program in a remote community in Manitoba, which was an area I was unfamiliar with. Although the core takeaways were set for my lesson on watersheds, I took some time prior to the lesson to walk around and explore the area around the school and I saw what looked like pelicans overhead! I was somewhat in disbelief, as I had only associated pelicans with topical destinations, seeing many on the beaches when my family would travel south in the summer. When discussing wildlife in the classroom during the lesson, I asked students if they had pelicans in their area, and told them that I had no idea pelicans came this far north. They lit right up. They were thrilled to share information about something that reflected their area and home, and shared various stories about areas where you can find large populations of pelicans nesting. After that moment I had noticed a shift in attention, and a willingness to participate in activities. Acknowledging someone’s familiar is the first step towards achieving one’s goals as an interpreter, and making your program more meaningful for your audience. 

(Gwillim Lakes, British Columbia)

I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities for reflection on my own personal interpretation practice that this course has provided me with. Although the saying may seem overused, this course has truly taught me that you never stop learning, even after you’ve been trained and practicing a job for years. Although the field of environmental science can be very doom and gloom at times, it is through education that I feel hopeful that society can shift perspective and begin to heal the ongoing destruction to our home. Without an understanding of the importance of various aspects of nature that keep all beings safe and healthy, we as a society cannot move forward. And so, the role of a Nature Interpreter is critical more now than ever.

Citations:

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

I really enjoyed reading your final blog post this week. I had the same experience as you in this course because at the beginning, I had a totally different idea of what nature interpretation is. Now that the semester is coming to an end, I have a better understanding of what it really is. Reflecting on my own experiences through all the blog posts was my favourite part and a reoccurring theme in my posts as well!

Your personal ethics are great and my favourite point that you made is how teaching can take on a more sedentary style of learning. As a nature interpreter, catering to your audience is the most important aspect because the ultimate goal is to be able to reach them on a personal level so they truly grasp concepts. Having more interactive teaching methods allows the audience to engage more and apply what they learned. It also provides the inclusivity to those who may learn better with hands on, interactive teaching styles.

I like that you also tied in the concept of privilege in your post because I think that goes well with your personal ethic of catering to your audience. It provides another way to connect with people on a different level. Opening up the conversation of privilege allows there to be a more open pathway of communication that is inclusive of everybody.  

I love learning about the interesting features and qualities different animals have that make them unique. One debate nature has to offer is the difference between horns and antlers! Antlers and horns oppose each other in many ways but are commonly mistaken for each other. 

Bison: horns (Rodriguez, 2023). 

Horns are used for activities such as fighting and protection, so both males and females typically grow them (Rodriguez, 2020). They are made of keratin, which is the same material as our hair and nails (Rodriguez, 2020). Horns are hollow but contain nerves and blood vessels (Myers et al., 2023). Horns grow continuously, meaning they are always a part of the animal. If an animal were to injure and lose its horn, though incredibly painful, it wouldn’t be gone forever. Considering the horn will continue to grow, it is pretty easy to spot animals who have been in this unfortunate circumstance, as their horns are uneven lengths. 

Mule deer buck: antlers (Eades, N.a) 

The entire purpose of antlers is to attract the ladies. Males will use them to fight others, and flaunt their big beautiful antlers to the females (Myers et al., 2023). Antlers are grown annually, beginning with the males growing their antlers slowly prior to mating season. In this stage, the antlers are not fully hardened, and are covered in a brown fuzz known as velvet (seen in the figure above). Velvet supplies the antlers with blood and nutrients while they grow (Myers et al., 2023)! Once the antlers have grown fully and hardened, the velvet sheds off, revealing the white bone most people are familiar with (Myers et al., 2023). This is a bit of a bloody and gruesome-looking process, but rest-assured, it’s natural. Once mating season has arrived, the males show off the antlers they have spent months growing. When mating season is over, the males get to enjoy the relief of dropping their antlers as they are no longer needed, only to grow them again the  next year (Myers et al., 2023). This is a continuous cycle for animals with antlers, and each year, the antlers tend to grow larger. As their purpose is typically to attract females, antlers are only found in males (Myers et al., 2023). However, one species defies that rule… 

Caribou: antlers (Caribougenomics, N. a). 

Both caribou males and females have antlers (Myers et al., 2023)! Caribou, also known as reindeer, use their antlers for more than mate attraction. Similar to horns, females protect their food and even their young from other caribou using their antlers (Field Museum, 2016). As depicted in the photo above, the portion of the antler that traces the bridge of the caribou’s nose is called a shovel. Caribou can use this shovel to dig through snow and chip away at ice to be able to reach their favourite food; lichen, a type of fungus (Field Museum, 2016). 

Thinhorn sheep ram: horns (Seeley, 2018). 

One of my favourate pairs of horns belong to thinhorn sheep rams. Of course, these well-known horns are beautiful, but they are also informative. Every winter, thinhorn sheep have limited access to food so they become malnourished. During these cold winters, a darker ring forms around the base of the horn (Eamer, 2014). As growth continues, multiple rings can be seen on the horns of these rams. Just like a tree, counting these rings reveals the age of the sheep, as it depicts the number of winters they have endured (Eamer, 2014).  

References

Anonymous. (2016). Antlers: What’s their function? Field Museum. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/antlers-whats-their-function 

Caribougenomics. (N. a). About [Photograph]. Genomics to Manage and Protect Caribou Populations. https://caribougenomics.org/en/about/ 

Eades, P. (N. a). Mule deer buck in velvet [Photograph]. Original Wildlife Images. https://petereades.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Mule-Deer/G0000JMfisUrHPEA/I0000EN9qOM12ljc 

Eamer, C. (2014). Yukon thinhorn sheep: Horn growth, genetics and climate change. Government of Yukon. https://yukon.ca/sites/yukon.ca/files/env/env-yukon-thinhorn-sheep.pdf 

Myers, P., Espinosa, R., Parr, C. S., Jones, T., Hammond, G. S., & Dewey, T. A. (2023). Horns and antlers. The Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/collections/mammal_anatomy/horns_and_antlers/ 

Rodriguez, E.. (2023). Bison [Photograph]. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/animal/bison 

Rodriguez, E. (2020). Horn. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/horn-zoology 

I really enjoyed reading your post on antlers vs. horns. I agree with you in that I love learning new things about animals. There are many cool aspects to their features and anatomy that have evolved to make them best equipped for survival. That in itself is super fascinating to me. What I found to be the most interesting fact in your post is how antlers fall off once mating season is over. Then it is a year long process to grow back which will start the cycle all over again. The part of this fact that is actually a new thing that I learned is that their antlers grow bigger every year they grow back. Yet now that I think about it, it makes sense because based on moose I have seen, the larger the moose, the larger the horns they will have.

I also loved your facts on thinhorn sheep. I did not know much about these kinds of horns and I find them really interesting. That is amazing that you can tell the age of the sheep based on the dark rings seen on their horns!

Personally, music is one of the most important things in my life. I know that sounds dramatic, but it is so versatile and holds value to me for many reasons. I enjoy finding new music, songs I can relate to, and bonding with others over it. Music influences my emotions, my energy, and helps me focus. I could go on for a while about all the reasons I love music, but today I want to address how it relates to nature. 

Growing up, camping was a big deal for my family. In the summer, every moment we could, we would go camping either just ourselves or with extended family and friends. A lot of people look at camping and ask, “why would you want to sleep on the ground and be dirty for a few days?”. Though this is completely valid, my family looked at camping as a way for us to connect together. We become so infatuated with our own daily lives that we forget to reach out to one another. What does this have to do with music? Well, one of my favourite camping activities is a nighttime campfire while my Dad plays the guitar and we all sing songs together. This music in nature empowers my family and brings us closer together. Bringing a guitar outside is of course not the only time music is found in nature. The most natural form of music includes birds chirping, wind howling, and trees blowing. Often when I go on nature walks, I take time to remove my headphones, and let nature’s music make me feel at peace. It is times like these that I feel calm, and am more in tune with both myself and the natural environment around me. 

Music requires inspiration behind it. I think relationships with nature are impactful enough to inspire many songs. A student from the University of Linfield wrote a thesis on The Essentialism of Music in Human Life and Its Roots in Nature. The student describes ways in which composers relate their music to the 4 seasons. She demonstrates how composers convey their emotions that accompany the seasons changing in their own music, or how they perceive one season in particular. Though I’m not familiar with classical music myself, I’d like to share a few songs that relate to this topic. 4 Seasons by Rex Orange County depicts how he feels about caring for someone who doesn't care for him, and how through the seasons though others have moved on, he still has not. we fell in love in october by Girl in Red describes a blooming relationship becoming more serious in October, and the complicated feelings she has about being in her first lesbian relationship. Lastly, in Autumn Leaves by The Walters, the group describes the difficulties in moving on from a relationship, and still being reminded of the one you love as time continues to pass (ie. the autumn leaves fall, similar to the meaning of 4 Seasons). 

I enjoyed reading your post this week. I liked how you talked about the time you spent camping with your family and how it was a great outlet for you to connect. I had a similar experience with my family since we loved to go camping all the time. My dad never played the guitar but we will always have music playing in the background. When I listen to some of those songs now, it brings back a lot of great memories not only with nature but with family. Like you mentioned, the most natural music can make you feel at peace. Listening to the loons in the morning or the owl at night is my favorite because it has a calming tone to it. It makes you feel a lot more in tune with nature when you sit outside with no music playing and listening to the music of nature.

You are right when you say that music requires inspiration behind it. I believe that those make the best songs because you can feel a lot more emotion behind it when it’s something personal. When artists write music about their own personal experiences that is always someone out there that can relate to it or draw an important message from it.

This blog post being a blank canvas is daunting - but I knew immediately I wanted to write about the thing on my mind the most these days, which is what my plans are for the future.

Throughout my time in my program I have often thought about what I will be doing after I complete my bachelor's degree. I'm in a bachelor of science in environmental science, with my major being in ecology. It is hard to think about my path following my degree as my parents are quite adamant they would like me to pursue a masters degree. While a masters degree is a great path to take - it is quite the undertaking, and even though I am already in my fourth year, I am still unsure its for me.

I've been looking for work/volunteer opportunities in my field very often since the end of my first year, and very little of it has worked out, unfortunately. I am only now working towards my full drivers license, which has limited my job opportunities significantly when searching on Experience Guelph in the past. I did work one co-op work term at the beginning of my third year however, and it was a great experience. My parents were kind enough to assist me with travelling when necessary, although I was mainly remote. Since then I have continued my search hoping for more experience as I know it would be very beneficial.

I do think a masters degree is a great option, and might be the most comfortable since I would still be a student, which is all I have known for as long as I can remember - job searching and ending school seems much scarier at this point in my life. I have made friends at my current job and through school, so this change would alter much more than just my status as a student.

I am optimistic for the future, I believe no matter which path I choose I will figure out how to enjoy and better myself. I suppose I just need to accept these upcoming changes and keep my head up as I search for my next opportunity.

On a less serious note, look how cool this picture I took in my botany lab is;

We were looking at the different tissues in plants and we did a cross section of celery. This is a close-up of a vascular bundle, the round dark circle is the xylem, and the light purple around it is the phloem. I think it's cool because it looks like a cartoon spaceship.

I really enjoyed your blog post this week because this is something a lot of people I am sure can relate too! I know I definitely relate to this because I am also currently in my fourth year and my plans for my future have changed quite a bit within the last two years. I have always loved animals ever since I was young so the most obvious job that I wanted to pursue was in veterinary medicine. Although I was young, I held onto the idea of this dream job going into my undergrad. To make a long story short, I found myself in my third year of my undergrad, not wanting to become a veterinarian anymore and didn’t know what the future held for me. This is a scary feeling when you feel pressed for time to decide what you want to do.

This is a picture I took last winter at my cottage. I am sitting by a fire most likely listening to music. Now that I am looking back at the photo, I am reflecting on what a good day that was. This is an example of interpreting nature through art. I interpret those photos differently than a lot of you do, however it is a really good way to feel connected with nature.

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

I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I totally agree that artists play a big role in protecting landscapes through their art. Everyone interprets art differently and our own personal connections with the artwork is what makes it so special to each individual. It can also bring up a lot of emotions which help people to take action. This is what we need in the world right now due to the climate crisis that we are currently facing. 

The group of seven is also a group of artists that I heard a lot about. Growing up we would learn about it in school and they created some of the most beautiful paintings of various nature scenes. Thinking back on this, when looking at these paintings and knowing that some were inspired by places that I would visit like Algonquin, I couldn’t help but feel a stronger connection with it. Emotions and memories then come back to you on those fun camping experiences that you had there and you have a greater appreciation for those places. 

The photo at your cottage also reminds me of all the times I spent camping and going to my cottage. I love photography as an art form because a photo is just a great way to reconnect with places you already visited. They bring back the great memories that you had and provide you with an appreciation for places like your cottage, which I personally can sometimes take for granted! 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines privilege as “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favour”. Specifically, I would define privilege as an individual or group that has an advantage over another individual or group of people. As well, privilege is commonly focused on gender, health, race, and economic status; all of which play roles in the opportunities available to certain individuals. Likewise, it is important to understand the idea of barriers including economic, cultural, communication, lack of knowledge, and fear (Beck et al., 2018). First, economic barriers are those involving the costs of doing something (Beck et al., 2018). For example, Ontario Parks locations require the purchase of a day pass to have access to hiking trails and its facilities. Likewise, travel to the park whether it be in a personal vehicle or on a bus, requires money. Therefore, those with enough money will have the opportunity to visit as they please while those who lack the required funds will miss out on this opportunity to experience nature. Second, cultural barriers cause individuals to think and act differently. For example, camping may seem like an amazing park activity for some, while others will associate it with being homeless (Beck et al., 2018). Third, communication barriers may be language barriers that prevent adequate interpretation (Beck et al., 2018). In Ontario Parks locations most information is provided in French and English, which is wonderful; however, many tourists who visit are likely not able to understand all the information being presented to them. In addition, a general lack of knowledge may act as a barrier for many individuals (Beck et al., 2018). For example, unless a parent goes camping or enjoys the outdoors it is unlikely their child will be exposed to those experiences. To limit these barriers, it would be beneficial to have field trips and include topics like these in the school curriculum. Finally, fear may act as a barrier (Beck et al., 2018). Again, I will use a child-parent relationship to demonstrate; if the parents are afraid of bears, then it is likely their children will be afraid of bears. Thus, they may be too afraid to spend time outdoors. There are also age barriers, physical barriers and more that I have not discussed. Overall, there are clearly many barriers people may experience when it comes to exploring the outdoors, and privilege has much to do with who experiences these barriers.

Furthermore, I would like to shed light on my own experiences and how they relate to privilege. First, my parents loved camping before I was even born; therefore, since I was a baby, I have been camping and exposed to the outdoors. Also, my parents have been in the middle class since I was born; therefore, they have been able to afford to book several camping trips each year. I feel that not everyone realizes how expensive camping is, even I had not until I started booking my own trips and the costs of this likely prohibit countless individuals from having these experiences. All in all, I do consider myself privileged and I feel that it is my responsibility to understand this and try to break these barriers down to make exploring nature more accessible to everyone.

References

Beck, L., T. T. Cable, and D. M. Knudson. 2018. Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing, CHAMPAIGN, Illinois.

I really enjoyed reading your post and especially liked how you went in depth on the barriers and examples of them that people face when they do no have the same privilege as others. The economic barrier was interesting to me because before looking into privilege in nature, this was not a factor that I considered before. It is something I may have not considered before because of the privilege I experienced growing up. It is unfortunate that some people cannot enjoy a relaxing nature walk without a price tag attached to it. Ontario Parks have some beautiful trails and it is sad to think that there are people that cannot enjoy these things. I remember going on school trips as a kid to many outdoor locations where we would go on hikes and play games to learn about local wildlife and vegetation. These were sadly paid field trips, so having a free option that allows children to have these experiences, without barriers will be ideal. 

I also wanted to add that I relate a lot to your experiences with privilege growing up. My family loved to go camping too and it was something that we just always did. So I was exposed to the outdoors at a young age. We would travel to different places and camp at various parks which can get very costly. It was a great experience that I took for granted at the time. I never realized that this was not something that a lot of people may have experienced and now I am grateful for those opportunities. 

When I first read the blog post question, I was not too sure exactly what was meant by an environment interpreter. The purpose of an environmental interpreter is to create critical interpretations of reality that are observed in natural and social areas. Interpreters must cater to each and every learner, and be able to quickly adapt to the audiences needs. Passion and drive is what makes an excellent interpreter, as well as their ability to make the audience care. 

As an environmental interpreter, my ideal role would be to promote the education behind global warming. Through my years of school, there have been very few teachers that have touched on these subjects, unless it was those who were passionate about this subject. Additionally, there has been a small number of guest speakers and presentations that have touched on this important topic. Stating that, as an environmental interpreter, it would be a dream to go and educate young learners about global warming, and what we can do as people to help save what we have left of nature. This will allow people to understand what is truly going on in our world. 

Educational speaking would entail a group of individuals, including myself, who are passionate about saving the world and want to pass their passion onto their audience. This professional speaking would start out in schools, educating the young, eventually making way to adult presentations held within the community. It could be interactive presentations, such as games, or it could be informational sessions with pamphlets to hand out. That being said, this begins to become a problem due to the fact that many do not believe in global warming. So this now becomes a very opinionated topic, and a topic parents may not want their children to hear about. Stating that, this might entail consent forms for parents to sign that will state if they wish for their child to take part in this presentation. Additionally, presenters must be understanding if people do not wish to attend. Overall, to be a speaker presenting such a topic, you must have passion and hope that we can fix the issues we as people have created. Moreover, you must be confident and proud about what you are doing, and how it can save the world and the human generations to come. 

This role as an environmental interpreter is super important because if presented in the right way, they can have a major impact on their audience. Having games for kids is a great idea for making it more fun for them to learn about these topics. Having a speaker that is very passionate about what they are presenting can make a huge difference in how the message gets across. That energy translates onto the audience and makes them want to work to become passionate on saving the earth. 

Growing up, I was grateful enough to have a family cottage that we'd visit whenever we could, but mainly in the warmer months. My cottage is located in the Township of Tiny, just off Georgian Bay's water. Like the township's name, my cottage is tiny, and it is a beautiful red cabin. However, its meaning and impact on my life has been far from small. My first memories at my cottage involve being surrounded by my older siblings, extended family, and my parents. We would spend our time swimming, walking on the beach, paddle boarding, and kayaking. The opportunities and activities were endless. There would always be something to do, and the beauty of it was that everyone did exactly what they wanted. My curiosity heightened as I grew up because I always tried to wrap my head around nature's beauty and how things came to be. I would closely look at the sand particles and admire their beauty and sometimes contemplate how many particles spanned the whole beach. I would watch the monarch butterflies near our milkweed plants and appreciate their presence around me.

However, my favourite part of each cottage day was watching the sunset. It was a simple pleasure that seemed to gather everyone together. It didn't matter if we were eating dinner or preoccupied with something else. Everyone would stop what they were doing and make their way down to the beach. I remember it as a “break from reality” since we all peacefully sat down to watch, and it felt like everyone let go of their stresses for that little bit. As a child, I was astonished by how the colours would span the sky and now, as I've grown up, my love for sunsets has only grown. The beauty is that each sunset was equally unique, so you could never guess how it would turn out. In the present day, it doesn't matter where I am; everyone knows that I will always take pictures of any sunset! Although, my cottage is where I can say my love for them began.

My little cabin in Tiny Township is truly the place where my relationship with nature has had the most significant amount of development. My parents and this cottage offered me my "sense of place". As I have grown up, I have started to understand how grateful I am for this cabin and the relationship with nature I developed from it. I have created the strongest personal connection to this specific location, and I believe it has guided me to what I am passionately studying today, environmental science.

On the other hand, my parents did a great job of showing me the importance of taking care of our earth. I remember many times we would go to the forest behind my house with the neighbourhood kids and safely collect any garbage and dispose of it properly. At first, this felt like an unwanted task that took away valuable playing time, but after understanding its importance, I became very proud even though our impact may have been small.

Overall, my relationship with nature is ever-growing. I continue to learn new things daily through my studies here at the university and through supplementary sources. I can genuinely say I am so excited to learn more and have this relationship flourish.

I loved reading your post on how you found your place in nature. Talking about the cottage is always such a nostalgic conversation for me because I had very similar experiences. While we ended up getting a cottage a little later in life, my family loved to spend a lot of time camping. My family, along with extended family, will do group camping trips which was always such a fun experience. There is always so many fun activities to do like fishing, swimming, kayaking and hiking. Going to campsites allowed everyone to do any activity they felt like doing. 

As we got older, we got a cottage on the water and enjoyed time up there together. This brought an even different connection with nature because there was no commotion of a campsite, it was just silence except for the peaceful sounds of nature. Similarly to your experience at the cottage, we loved sitting outside on the deck after dinner and enjoying the sunset over the water. It is amazing to see all the colours of the sky which I found to be most intense on the hottest summer days. 

Once I got older and looked back on all those amazing times, I was able to appreciate it more. These things are what made my love and relationship with nature start and today I continue to build this relationship through different experiences.