Natural Weird

...Comes great responsibility”

-The Peter Parker Principle

In some ways, the job of an interpreter is actually a very powerful role. Our job is to translate the natural, historic, cultural, scientific, artistic, political components of the world around us and communicate it with a wide range of audiences (Beck et al., 2018). But just like educators or language translators, the way we teach and the words we use can influence the way our audience perceive and act in their worlds. In our positions, we are given the influential power of being a professional in our field, an expert, or at very least a knowledge-holder, and this means that we have a certain degree of power over what our audience believes. Especially when speaking with a younger audience, this means it is paramount that we are aware of (1) the truth and (2) the nuances of our interpretation. While people love facts that tell an interesting story, especially ones that seem too crazy or amazing to be true, it is important that we not embellish for the sake of good storytelling or say things that can be misconstrued. It is also important to recognize word choice when speaking about other cultures. As a white Canadian, I need to be very aware of how I interpret aspects of Indigenous or POC culture and their connection with nature because of my personal biases growing up in western colonized society. As interpreters, I believe it is crucial for us to evaluate our biases, our privilege, our morals and ethics, and our values and beliefs, so we can justify our interpretations and be understanding of others.

As a white, fully-abled, cis-het women, who has a Christian background, was raised in a two parent income household I recognize I am afforded a lot of privileges and have many implicit biases. I try to be aware of these so as not to let my biases and privilege influence how I interpret on behalf of groups I am not apart of. I do this by educating myself on others perspectives and trying to be inclusive of multiple interpretations of the world and nature (not always perfectly, but I try). I recognize that voices and stories of minorities; indigenous, POC, disabled, members of the LGBT+ community, have been silenced or ignored and I believe it is our ethical duty to give room for the interpretations of these groups, particularly indigenous as their cultural history has been so closely connected to nature.

As part of our reading, we talk about environmental education, which can be rather depressing due to the state of our current climate and peoples response to this. When I grew up and learned about science, I felt like everything I heard was just all the bad news; that we are destroying our planet and its probably too late to fix it. This is not a helpful mindset and we need to stop this cycle. As the upcoming generation of interpreters, it is our duty to give our young audience hope. By helping ignite excitement, love, and curiosity about the natural world in the younger generation, we start the foundation for building the future protection and care for the enviroment (Rodenburg, 2019).

The ocean is a pretty terrifying place considering we have only explored about 5% of it yet it makes up 70% of our planet. Who knows what mysterious creatures lurch in the dark corners of the deep, especially since the creatures we’ve already discovered are horrifying. So frightening and vicious, our name for them literally includes the word killer. Beasts the size of a two story home, that can weigh more than 10 thousands pounds, can swim up to 45km per hour, and hunt in packs (Rogers 2019). Monsters that make even the Great White Sharks swim for their lives. That’s right, it’s killer whales.

Killer whales are excellent hunters, check out this clip of a pod working together to hunt a seal!

Killer whales, also called orcas, are actually majestic, incredibly intelligent, and highly compassionate animals. In fact, several instances have been noted showing that killer whales have highly complex and caring social structures. In the 90’s a group of researchers in BC discover a killer whale, lovingly nicknamed “Stumpy”, as he had lost his tail and part of his fin, however despite these severe injuries that stopped him from being able to hunting, members of Stumpy’s pod continued to care for him (Sullivan, 2013).. Stumpy disappeared for a while but was spotted again in 2008 in Queensland Australia, showing just how strongly they care for one another (Sullivan, 2013).

In the Northeastern Pacific, between British Columbia, Canada and Washington, US there are several communities of killer whales. One of the most well studied is the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). Communities are made up of several pods, the familial unit, and share similar diets, dialects, and will interact to mate. SRKW is made up of three families; J-pod, K-pod, and L-pod, with 24, 17, and 33 members in each respectively (EPA, 2017). Their diet consists heavily of salmon and they can eat up to 350-400 lb/day (Alava et al., 2018).

The bad news is since killer whales are high trophic level consumers, bioaccumulation of pollutants has become a huge problem, especially for SRKW which has been stated as the most contaminated marine mammal population (Ross et al., 2000). Killer whales are important to Canada for multiple reasons. As apex predators with global distributions, killer whales play important roles in many food webs. Tourism around whale watching as well as being a large, charismatic, social, and compassionate species, gives killer whales economic, intrinsic relational, and aesthetic value. Finally to the more than twenty indigenous communities in BC, killer whales hold a strong cultural and spiritual significance. Read more about how the Canadian Government is contributing to the management and conservation of SRKW here!

Fun fact: Moose have only a few nature predators but strangely killer whales make that list. As they perform deep dives as far as 6 meters down to retrieve seaweed, killer whales have been recorded on the rare occasion to eat moose. Check out this fun comic! 

References

Rogers, P. (2019). New study: Only orcas strike fear into great white sharks. Retrieved on March 21, 2021, from https://www.thedailyworld.com/nation-world/new-study-only-orcas-strike-fear-into-great-white-sharks/

Sullivan, J. (2013). Disabled Killer Whale Survives with Help from Its Pod. Retrieved on March 21, 2021, from https://usa.oceana.org/blog/disabled-killer-whale-survives-help-its-pod

Alava, J. J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Sumaila, U. R., and Cheung, W. W. 2018. Projected amplification of food web bioaccumulation of MeHg and PCBs under climate change in the Northeastern Pacific. Scientific reports 8(1): 1-12.

EPA [United States Enviromental Protection Agency]. 2017. Southern Resident Killer Whales. https://www.epa.gov/salish-sea/southern-resident-killer-whales

Ross, P. S., Ellis, G. M., Ikonomou, M. G., Barrett-Lennard, L. G., and Addison, R. F. 2000. High PCB concentrations in free-ranging Pacific killer whales, Orcinus orca: effects of age, sex and dietary preference. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40(6): 504-515.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2021). 2020 management measures to protect Southern Resident killer whales. Retrieved on March 21, 2021, from

This is how I order these by importance. If we are too occupied by the past or future, we ignore what is happening now and miss the opportunity to interact and enjoy the things happening now. Setting goals, being mindful of the outcome you want, planning; all of these acts as guides to helps us in the present and are only worthwhile as such, as focusing too much on the future can create anxiety. Using history, our mistakes, our regrets, our “what-if” to change and inform our decisions about our present and future are of course important but if we become to focused on these we become stuck and/or hopeless. That being said, none of these exist or should exist without the others because each have value to helping us grow and live meaningful self-aware lives. Does you order of importance differ?

Stick, rock, leaf: An exercise for reflecting on time

Taken by Jacob Kannel from Unsplash. 

When you want to help your audience reflect on their experience (especially a younger audience) this was a helpful tool I discovered. Ask them to collect a stick, a rock, and a leaf and have them say one thing that will “stick” with them (future), something that “rock-ed” (present), and what they want to “leaf” behind (past). This helps them to engage with their experience in the context of time.

Engaging with the Past

“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)

In this quote, Hyams is stating that while old things aren’t inherently more valuable, there is value in what they tell us.

“Those who fail to learn their history are doomed to repeat it.”

(Winston Churchill)

I am reminded of the over-quoted warning of not learning from history and as someone who is really interested in conservation, this is something I often think about when it comes to analysing conservation and management strategies. While our history is often sad, we have lost so many species due to humans impacts (overharvest, climate change, pollution, etc.), it is important to explain this to your audience with a message of hope. As I said earlier, past without present and future leaves us stuck, making it crucial to share our history to show our progress and encourage further growth.

“Yes our coral reefs are in danger but we are doing amazing things to combat this like using 3D printers to make artificial substrates to regrow coral!”(1,2). 

1.Perry, C. T., Alvarez-Filip, L., Graham, N. A., Mumby, P. J., Wilson, S. K., Kench, P. S., ... & Macdonald, C. (2018). Loss of coral reef growth capacity to track future increases in sea level. Nature, 558(7710), 396-400.

We all are aware that the government spies on us through our devices, laptops, webcams, phones. They track our movements, our interests, our thoughts. But there is a way they've been tracking us without our knowledge. Birds. Since the inception of the United States CIA program, the US government has been attempting to spy on all it's citizens. In 1986, the Reagan Administration, killed all the birds and replaced them with spies that are now watching us (1). More recently in a joint effort to extend their power, the CIA and RCMP are working to remove and replace all birds in Canada as well. The birds work for the bourgeois.

Still, these spy cameras have unique and fascinating features that are worth learning about. One of the largest models in Canada is Branta canadensis, aka the Canadian Goose which can weight between 5-14lbs. Their advanced cameras can capture image in 180 degrees horizontally and vertically. They are also waterproof and able to swim within 24 hours after instillation. These models have a terrifying attack function that causes them to produce hissing and honking noises, as well as biting and wing flapping to ward off anyone noisy enough to investigate their hardware (2).  

Taken by me in Ottawa 2017. A Canadian Goose ready to attack me

Because of this conspiracy, we have obviously seen a huge decline in the abundance of real birds in North America. Since the in the last 50 years, we have lost over 3 billion birds (3). We must protect our birds from being replaced by spy camera and work towards conservation. As citizens who care deeply about the contributions birds make to the environment (as well as reducing governmental espionage) it is our duty to contribute to conservation efforts(4). See how you can help protect real birds through through theses simple tips (5).  

Taken By Christopher Rodger from Unsplash

Reaching the technology Generation

Paul Caputo, Deputy Director of Nation Association for Interpretation, emphasizes that one of the most important aspects for using social media for interpretations is not being boring (6). Intriguing your audience helps you build it further through shares, comments, and interaction. When trying to reach an audience with social media, we need to recognize that peoples attention span is often seconds. Being engaging (like telling people that Birds are a conspiracy theory) gets them interested long enough to capture their attention so you can help them learn and engage more deeply with an important message (like about bird conservation). As I use my blogs to practice my interpretive skills, I try to be aware of my audience, my university peers in this class. What will catch their eye, as they scroll through the blogs looking to respond and interact?  

Tell me about what makes you stop scrolling, what topics about nature interest you, or if you think Birds are not actually real!

1. Birds Aren’t Real. (2020). The History. https://birdsarentreal.com/pages/the-history 

2. IOWA Department of Natural Resources. (2020). Eight cool things you should know about Canada geese. https://www.iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DNR-News-Releases/ArticleID/2868/8-cool-things-you-should-know-about-Canada-geese#:~:text=Historically%2C%20these%20birds%20have%20been,weigh%20slightly%20less%20than%20males.&text=In%20the%20early%201900s%2C%20giant%20Canada%20geese%20nearly%20became%20extinct.

3. Rosenberg, K.V., Dokter, A.M., Blancher, P.J.,  et al. (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science. 366:120-124

4. Greenwood, J. J. (2007). Citizens, science and bird conservation. Journal of Ornithology, 148(1), 77-124.

5. Nature Canada. (2017). 8 Tips to Help Birds. https://naturecanada.ca/cats-collisions/8-tips-to-help-birds/

Who am I to interpret _____? This is often a question asked in the art world, "who are you to judge what is good or bad art?" and the answer is infuriatingly simple. I am someone with an opinion. Art and nature are subjective, what is beautiful to one person may seem utterly worthless to another. But some opinions do matter more than other. If an art student walked through an exhibit and were to look at a piece, with all the education and understanding about the historical and cultural context, the intentions behind the piece, well their opinion matters more than the passive viewer who knows nothing and thinks it's something a child could do. Both may pass judgement on the piece, both may like it or hate it but knowledge and understanding about it will change the way you see it.

Photo by Ibrahim Rifath on Unsplash

As a nature interpreter, we want to change the way people look at nature. For good or bad, we want to engage people, help them  form meaningful opinions, and recognize things they may not have seen or understood on their own. The modern trend of society seems to pull us farther away from nature. This is dangerous in a world that is deteriorating due to climate change, when the people in charge of policies, companies, and corporations have no opinion or connection to the environment they are effecting. If we as nature interpreters can bring a sense of understanding, connection, and knowledge, we can help people make more meaningful and better choices. this doesn't always mean they will make good choices for the environment, merely that they truly understand the weight of their action. 

Photo by Sutirta Budiman on Unsplash

In the same way we cannot get everyone to love the same hobbies and things we love, we will not be able to convince everyone to love nature as we do. But through engaging people on a personal level, we can try to evoke emotional, spiritual, physical responses to the thing we love and at least leave people understanding why we feel the way we do even if they do not.  

Nature is beautiful. It is chaotic. Raw. Intense. Painful. It is also gentle. Empathetic. Nurturing. Orderly. By showing people all aspects, the good and the bad, we generate respect and awe for the wonderful world we live in. 

Thoughts of Nature Interpretation & Privilege

I have worked at MuskokaWoods** for several seasons (almost 10 months over the course of two years). My role there was a nature interpreter of sorts. My job allowed me to give kids an appreciation for nature in a very unique way, form the angle of 60 feet in the air through high rope, climbing, and ziplining in the Muskoka forests.  

**I don’t speak for the brand or the company

Taken by me, the MuskokaWoods High Ropes Course & Zipline

My favourite moments though we when we would get a group that had a kid(s) with a disability (mental or physical). Thanks to a special rigging system we were able to hoist kids up that couldn’t climb. Getting to help kids experience the world from this perspective always brings me so much joy but helping the kids with specials needs experience it is on a whole new level. On one such occasion, a boy with downs syndrome was getting ready to go up the zipline but was also very concerned that “Is it safe? people can’t fly.”. My answer was, “Well, how about you pretend to be something that does fly?” to which he said very seriously, “A green unicorn.” which is what his classmates chanted for him as he made to the top. 

In reflection, I am uncomfortably aware of my own privilege, being able-bodied and neurotypical. This is good though. When we recognize this discomfort we can shift our mindset to see other perspectives and to help drive us, as individuals and as a society, to be more inclusive. Nature interpretations is about giving people an experience beyond what they could have by themselves, something that everyone should have access to. I am incredibly grateful for the learn opportunity I’ve had through working at MuskokaWoods that has taught me to think creatively about where we fail to make things accessible and how we can change that.  

Think about a situation where an interpreters job may not be accessible to someone; a guided tour through woods may not allow for wheelchair access, an interpreter may be not annunciate clearly or block their mouth restricting lip reading for deaf/hard of hearing people, we are not always educated on the way our words or action may come across to minority groups. An important part of an interpreters work is creating a bond with the audience and we will never do this perfectly (we are all human) so long as we use our mistakes to push us forward rather than letting them hold us back.      

From an evolutionary perspective, there may be a very good reason we find clowns terrifying. The bright colors, the eccentric behavior, the psychotic look in their eye that says they see more what is on this mortal plane. Our fish brain is reminded of our evolutionary past hiding from the Pennywise of the Ocean, the mantis shrimp. 

Photo by Dorothea OLDANI from Unsplash

In their (relatively) short lives, 3-6 years, these aquatic Jeffery Dahmer's grow between 10-20 cm long and have a diverse diet of fish, crabs, worms, and shrimp. They come in a vibrant array of rainbow colors, however they are able to instantly kill their prey by punching them with club like appendages that move at the speed of a .22 caliber bullet. This punch is so rapid, it creates cavitation bubbles, which push water out of the way to create a vacuum and for a moment generates temperatures of over 4000*C (close to the temperature of the sun). As if that wasn’t enough, these oceanic Ted Bundy’s are believed to have the most advanced eyes in the animal kingdom, with 12-16 different color photoreceptors, which is three times more than humans (which feels very unfair if you ask me). 

Tell me about;

Your stories about why you also hate clowns

Your favourite weird animals

How you also know that birds aren’t real

How I can reach my audience (YOU) better! 

Stay weird platypuses (and stay away from Mantis Shrimp!)    

In May of the year that shall not be named (2020), I discovered my ultimate dream job. As I said in other posts, I love animals and teaching about them, and I knew I would love to be a public educator on marine conservation, helping engage my audience with amazing marine wildlife. The job I discovered however, allowed me to transform into said marine wildlife. I could be a professional mermaid. 

Photo taken of me by my mum

Not even joking, this is a real job. It is extremely common for professional mermaids to include advocacy for marine conservation and provide marine education (Check out Lila Jones, the real life mermaid(1)). When I discovered this was a 'thing' I immediately bought the cheapest (while still safe) tail I could find. I spent the next three and a half months swimming at local pond, teaching myself tricks, performing for the people that swam, and even helping out with a kids party! It was magical, getting to be this ethereal, mythical being come to life. I have too many stories to share in one post about funny things kids would ask me or the too kind words of parents telling me how I inspired their kids to get better at swimming. I'm grateful that in the stressful time of the pandemic, I was able to bring some joy to the people in my community. 

Photo taken by my mum of me entertaining as a birthday surprise for family friends 

As I prepare to graduate, I've begun to look more and more earnestly into what being a professional mermaid & marine educator entails (no pun intended). Aside from learning how to act underwater (breath holding, learning tricks, swimming technique, etc.) as a educator an important skill is being articulate and good at public speaking. Surprisingly, this is not a niche profession. There are mermaid schools all over the world opening the possibility of where I could work (2).     

Being more of a tactile learner myself, I would really love to included some kind of interactive experience where people can get up close and personal with wildlife (Like a touch tank at an aquarium). These can be super useful tools for education because it creates the experience of being in the ocean without being in the ocean. Interpreters oversee these interactions to protect the animals (and the audience) and teach specifically about what interests the audience. It also incorporates several learning styles (tactile, auditory, visual). It also plays into the stages of flow learn proposed by Cornell, 1998. Starting with awakening enthusiasm, touching and being up close with the animals engages playfulness and alertness. Stage 2 is focus attention which promoted receptivity to the rest of the program, this may include the interpreter directing group to focus on an animals behavior, specific texture, or physical feature. Following this is direct experience, which may look like allowing the audience to call out their own questions or observations about the animals. Finally sharing inspiration helps debrief the group and allowing them to reflect on and share their experience.  

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

1. Farnham, M. (2018) Lila Jones, The Real Life Mermaid. Women in Ocean Science. Available at: https://www.womeninoceanscience.com/blog/2018/11/6/lila-jones-the-real-life-mermaid. Last accessed 22 January 2021. 

**I would like to thank Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh for creating arguably the best character ever, Perry the Platypus (from Phineas & Ferb).

Photo taken by Meg Jerrard from Unsplash

This animal is one of the weirdest animals in Australia (which is saying a lot). As we all know birds aren’t real (I will elaborate in later posts for those unaware of whom they work for), however the platypus legitimately shouldn’t be real. It’s a mammal in the way a coconut is a mammal, by arbitrary taxonomic definition. It has fur and it produces milk (the two criteria for a mammal), it also lays eggs (what the heck), it has a bill, beaver-like tail, webbed feet, and to top it off it has venomous feet glands and is carnivorous (which is terrifying). Additionally it’s skeleton is very similar to a reptile.

While it resides in the category ‘least concern’ on the ICUN endangered red list, it is most concerning in my book. But like the platypus, I too am very strange sometimes. Be like the platypus and be everything you want to be. It’s okay to not fit into societies arbitrary categories of taxonomy. 

Have a wonderfully weird day, my fellow platy-people :) 

Your are on a small boat. A midday sun, not a cloud in sight, the tropical heat isn't unbearable with the ocean breeze. The water is so clear you can see twenty meters down; coral reefs, schools of fish, a whole world below you. Someone hands you your scuba gear; a mask, a tank, a wet suit, flippers. As you sit on the edge of the boat, you listen to your guide count down; 3...2...1... And you slip backwards into the cool blue, bubbles filling your vision. Orienting yourself, you swim down, following your guide. Passing stunning coral, unique wildlife, you are meet suddenly with the void. The end of the reef. The drop off. Nothing in sight ahead but the gradient of blue that fades into a seemingly bottomless ocean.

**Photo by Farhan Sharief on Unsplash

This is were I stand now, on the cusp of graduation. I have had an incredible four year journey, learning about a passion I've had since eighth grade, animals. But with the end in sight, I stare at the void that represents my future and wonder what am I going to do with my education? Like the end of the reef, there is so much life and possibility beyond my university experience for me to explore. However, as anyone who has experienced it can tell you, swimming on this edge is both terrifying and exciting as you lose the comfort and familiarity of the reef. I feel all of theses emotions as I prepare to graduate and pursue my professional career.  

Until taking this course, I had never heard of "nature interpretations" or a "nature interpreter" but since I was 12 I knew I wanted to make a career out of public education about science, conservation, nature, and practically animals. I love animal shows where handlers help other give first hand experience with wildlife in a safe, fun, and educational way. This is a version of the job of a nature interpreter. They help an audience turn an experience into an adventure. They encourage insightfulness, understanding, and appreciation about an activity, place, or thing. In a brand new location, they give their audience a sense of familiarity, connection, belonging, a 'sense of place'. 

I experienced this when I was in 11th grade, attending an international school. My biology teacher spent a semester teaching us about marine biology, having us learn over 100 different species of fish, and for the end of the year trip we went on a 3 day snorkeling trip to Karimunjawa, Indonesia. We helped identify and count fish for a conservation survey, learned about sea turtles, and help with local projects to rebuild coral reefs. The combination of education, engagement, and responsibility I felt on this trip pushed me towards choosing my university major and continues to inspire me to pursue my dream career.

Join me as I prepare to dive head first into the void. 

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.

If random rants about animals and cool animal facts (with a bit of introspection about interpreting nature thrown in there) is not your cup of coffee, this blog may not be for you. Side effects may include; boredom, not wanting to read 500 word posts, headaches, mid annoyance. The University of Guelph is also not responsible for these symptoms. Should these symptoms persist, I’m not sure why you are still following my blog (unless your in my course).