Brayden's Nature Blog

It can be debated that the very being of our ethics are developed around what we experience through nature. Nature is evident within our lives and is involved in our daily activity in some way or another. To further evaluate the role that nature has on our lives, consider the extensive interpretation work conducted by the author Richard Louv. Louv believes in connecting to the nature around us and every small detail it has to offer us, we in return are saving it at the same time. A quote from Louv (2019) regarding the importance of nature that has resonated with me within this chapter is this; 

“Will help everyone break away from their fixed gaze at the screens that dominate our lives and remember instead that we are animals in a world of animals.” 

I believe this quote stuck with me as the dominance of online forums takes over most of our lives. Although this new era of technology careers and schooling is not exactly the ideal situation, it has provided me with the opportunity to become the best nature interpreter I can be. When the pandemic became relevant, I moved back to my hometown in Northern Ontario. Growing up, I used to hate living so far away from any big cities and could not wait to get away from all the rural communities. My beliefs, perspective, and responsibilities towards the environment have been forever altered as I now am back in the North and would not want to be anywhere else. I have included a list of realizations I have now regarding nature; 

It is our duty as the next up and coming generation to highlight the importance of nature and environmental conservation as it becomes the predominant threat to society.

There is life outside the cities and this is even more relevant now that remote work is an option.

We should be interpreting nature everyday as it is all around us and is constantly changing, just like we should be doing. 

We all have responsibilities regarding nature. It is our personal duty to identify what they are and ensure we are actively participating in them.

These are just a few, but everyone has different emotions and perspectives regarding nature and our role in it. Personally, I try hard to be active in respecting nature and educating those around me in doing the same. I believe that nature and the environment should be respected the same way some groups view religion or spiritual beliefs. 

To expand on that idea, I believe that environmental education should be taught within the Canadian school system from the first day. Our young people need to be aware of the deterioration of the environment so they can become an active part of prevention rather than affecting it more without knowing. 

So how do you feel? Do you think teaching young people about their responsibilities as nature interpreters from a young age will inspire a generation of nature conservationists? 

Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin books.

Nature offers a vast amount of peace and belonging within our world. It surrounds us and is part of our everyday lives in one way or another. It can be difficult to embrace what our world naturally provides us, especially nowadays when technology and the corporate world is predominantly the focus of most people. I have always appreciated the outdoors and was thankful for how it made me feel, however, I recently met someone this summer who changed my perspective on nature and caused me to love it even more.

While working at one of the golf clubs close to my home, I met a woman named Marly. Marly lived in Toronto and had an intense executive job for a company that dealt with a majority of things. This job consisted of travelling, late nights, continuous oncall, and created a fairly stressful life for Marly. Her and her partner made a huge life change and decided to move to a literal cabin in the middle of nowhere and live off of what nature provided them. This consisted of growing their own crops, raising livestock, maintaining a camp-like home, and enduring whatever nature threw their way. 75% of what they ate was grown from their own farm. Marly expressed to us that this way of life was hard work, however, the appreciation and gratitude that comes with it makes it worth the long days.

The reason this amazed me so much was because Marly took her love of nature and made it her whole life. The most amazing part about nature is its diversity and inclusion. Though we live busy lives and many times forget that we have these resources, nature is always around us and will never tell us we cannot be a part of it. Nature allows us to manipulate it into what we need or want, it provides us with endless opportunities and creates peace in our hearts.

Where is music in nature? Where is nature in music?

Music is a lot like nature. It can be interpreted through those experiencing, it can spark feelings within us, and it can create a sense of belonging. Music is felt through nature by the whistling through the trees, the crackling of branches, the sounds of animals and so many other ways. Music is all around us, just like nature. The only difference between the two is that I believe the silence that nature provides is its best music. When we go outside in locations that are far from our busy lives, we experience something that we do not get to appreciate throughout our work days, silence. This silence provides peace and calmness, an escape from the loudness of our lives. 

“There is nothing in nature that arouses our attention, or impresses our feelings more quickly, than a sound” - William Gadnier

I live just minutes away from an Indigenous reserve. The culture and appreciation of the Indigenous culture has been incorporated within my education throughout grade school. We attended powwows to demonstrate and celebrate our respect towards Indigenous culture. Within this, our diverse community would engage in the music that consisted of drums and singing that honoured the spirits of the past. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDpJRa3UX-I

The video above is from one of the powwows held at the high school I attended. It incorporates the music, clothing, dancing and more that we celebrate annually.

What can you take away from this video?

Furthermore, I best interpret nature through songs that incorporate small details of the outdoors. One of my favourite bands (similar to many I am sure) is the Beatles as many of their songs honour what nature provides us. The song “Blackbird” tells the story of a bird travelling to find themself. My interpretation of the song is that even through trauma and hard times, it is important that we rise up and carry ourselves to new adventures and opportunities. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Man4Xw8Xypo

As cheesy as it may sound; when I am in nature and cannot hear a thing except for the crackling of the trees and movement of animals, I feel the same way I do when I hear the tune of this song.   

“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     

There is a broad spectrum of feelings and thoughts that come from reading this quote. I believe the main theme behind this passage is to remind us that the past follows us and is part of our present and our futures. To best analyze this quote, I evaluated each part separately and considered the key terms within the text. 

To start, the word that is consistently used throughout the passage is integrity. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and possessing strong morals towards principles and uprightness. The inclusion of integrity within the quote is to accentuate the importance of honouring our past as well as all the knowledge and lessons that come from it. The merit of ancient things, places, or values is lived on through historical interpretation and advanced on through our lives. I believe this is what Edward Hyams was expressing within this area of the quote. 

Furthermore, Hyam was trying to convey through this quote that history can be overlooked and forgotten, losing its integrity. Our society maintains its integrity through the collection of data such as seen in journals, books, records and more. We carry out understanding of nature and science through the years and encourage young minds to interpret and create their own history. The knowledge we gain does not simply exist for as long as we do, it is carried on through generations and advanced upon. Interpreting history helps us keep the most valuable moments of our past alive and is especially important in preserving nature. It is the life lessons that nature teaches us during our time that will eventually help or even save those to come.  

The comparison of time to a railway station is a metaphor that explains the foolishness of assuming time stops when we do. Our past is what makes us who we are and follows us throughout our lives. Though this analogy can be related to all sorts of situations, it specifically makes me think of our environment and its state of degradation. As humans, we have the option to continue living as if we have not done decades of damage to our ecosystem or we can accept our mistakes and try to make a difference. 

The quote can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The use of the train comparison truly embarks on the importance of our past and how we should always be interpreting our history in some way. 

COVID-19 and the Importance of Nature (Free Write)

With thanksgiving coming to an end, I believe it is important to consistently be grateful for our privileges and what nature has to offer us. This year, I was most grateful to be at a family gathering that did not consist of only my internal family and I. Well I was surrounded by relatives for the first time in almost a year and a half, it made me think about what positive factors happened during the pandemic. The ongoing quarantine and isolations was some of the most stressful times of our lives. Nature has become the saving grace for so many people. Here are some that I identified a long with some articles that I find interesting-

1. Curbed carbon emissions during 2020

The government enforced quarantine made people isolate in order to help reduce COVID-19 cases. With the lack of travel, emissions were reduced greatly and for this first time in a long time, the ozone layer began to heal. Although the reduction was minuscule, I believe this sparked hope in many environmentalist.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-020-0535-z

2. A greater appreciation for the outdoors

The University of Vermont conducted a study that asked respondents if they had increased participation in outdoor activities. With this information they concluded that wildlife watching was up %64, photography and art was up 54% and relaxing outdoors was up 58%. This time gave people the opportunity to truly appreciate nature and realize how they interpret it.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-has-the-pandemic-influenced-our-relationship-with-nature

3. Less scepticism towards science

The intense research, endless trials, and speed of the vaccine advancements has exposed the possibilities of science. Beyond this, exploring and discovering what the environment provides us with has made people more open minded. Science is something I have always been passionate about and the recognition that it has gained is inspiring.  

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2020/trust-in-science-and-covid-19

These are just a few of what the pandemic has done to our environment. Although as we enter the 'fourth wave', many of these statistics have changed. I continue to be grateful for the advancements that we have made. 

Beyond the scientific aspects of what the pandemic has caused, I am also grateful for my own experience with nature over this period. I have appreciated wildlife, hiking trails, and even my own backyard more than I ever have. My ability to interpret nature and share it with those around me has gone from a coping mechanism to a lifestyle.

Nature is the gift that keeps giving. Every little detail that we experience while interpreting nature can be perceived through creative eyes and expressed artistically. Some of the greatest pieces of art are based on scenic nature scenes or animal encounters. Photography, music, painting and so many other artistic talents embrace what nature provides us and shapes it into our own visions. Art gives individuals the ability to interpret what they see, feel, and appreciate from nature and put these aspects into one arrangement. 

The greatest form of nature interpretation through art for me is photography. Photography is an art that allows us to capture moments of distress and/or peace. The most horrid storms or the best sunsets can be captured in a million different ways through a lens and allows us as observers to interpret. I live in a place that sees the odd thunderstorm or snowstorm, however, through photography I am able to interpret other environments such as how dangerous tornadoes are or how hot the desert is, all from photos. 

“Interpretation should instil in people the ability, and the desire, to sense beauty in their surroundings- to provide spiritual uplift and to encourage resource preservation” (Beck et. al, 2018)

The “gift of beauty” is embraced by all who appreciate the artistic aspects of nature. I have seen this quote a few times this week, between readings and blog posts. I think it sets a certain tone for how we use art to interpret nature. It is important for us to appreciate the beauty that nature surrounds us with and to feel privileged to have it. However, it is also essential to preserve and respect our environment. I interpret the “gift of beauty” as a sense of gratefulness for nature's artistry and its ability to ‘spiritually uplift’.

I attached some of my favourite photos that I believe interpret nature. For me, these photos each create a different feeling and tell so much without saying a word. I hope you have the same experience!     

These photos were both taken in Northern Ontario. The summer photo is of Lake Timiskaming.. The same lake as the tragic disaster that took place in 1978 as we learned this week… 

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

Privilege can be an unidentified or unappreciated advantage that exists within our lives. These advantages can be difficult to identify or come to terms with, but we experience them everyday. Everyone is exposed to a range of privileges in our daily lives with each person’s being different. Nature offers an array of privileges such as physical and mental benefits, diversity, inclusion, and a variety of others that can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Although nature seems like an entitlement to everyone, this is not always true. Geographical, costs and psychological issues can prevent individuals from benefiting from all nature has to offer.

Location is key when it comes to easy access to nature, those living in crowded cities lack the ability to do simple tasks such as hiking. The cost can also become an issue to those who are located in populated areas. Accessing tails and nature preserves is often a pricey outing as flat rates usually apply as well as the cost to travel to these locations. It can also be difficult to find the motivation or be in a proper mental state to fully appreciate what the world has to offer us.       

Beyond the privileges that are easily noted like clean drinking water, fresh air and a roof over our heads, there are a variety of advantages that I unknowingly experience in my life. I have been able to attend university and move hours away from home with my own vehicle and rent paid for. I live in a double income home and am constantly exposed to opportunities and experiences. I have been able to do horse shows my whole life as well as every other extra curricular activity you could think of. To further look into privilege, I am also a white English speaking female with a dual citizenship for Canada and the United States. These factors are just the tip of the iceberg…  

Although these aspects of my life are greatly appreciated, these are privileges and I would not be where I am today without them. Possibly my most valued privilege has been growing up in Northern Ontario. Until I moved away for university, I could not imagine a place that did not have easily accessed natural resources such as hiking trails and publicly accessible lakes. Growing up, all I ever wanted was to move to Southern Ontario and experience the fast pace lifestyle. My narrative has changed as I have realized my privilege of being exposed to nature everyday is something that makes me grateful for life. Beyond the materialistic aspects of our world, nature has so much to offer and teach us. 

I believe it takes a certain skill set to teach. In order to show others your thought process, you must possess a level of patience and passion towards the subject being taught and educating others. The environment is something that should be important to everyone, however, this is not always the case. My ideal role as an environmental interpreter would be to show close minded souls how to appreciate what we were given. This would entail finding their specific interest and learning styles followed by making connections to the environment. 

To achieve this, I would embrace my favourite outdoor activity, horseback riding. This is something I have done since I was a child and never fully appreciated until I was older (and started footing the bills). Besides the responsibility and focus that horse riding entails, it also taught me to value the space around me and to explore new places. I consider this a form of active learning as it is done through exploration, discovering, and trying it out.

My ideal environmental interpreter career would be to take people trail riding through all different locations and show them the endless places to go. I would want to help them realize that nature is all around us and even the horses we ride have a level of appreciation for it too. By doing so on horseback, an environment is created that is free of judgement and insecurities. This environment feels safe and encourages people to learn. 

Hey guys and welcome to my first blog post for the course ENVS 3000. I have already seen so many amazing posts from my peers who love nature and find an abundance of ways to embrace it. I hope to do the same as well! 

I have lived in Northern Ontario my whole life. Living off the map within a community of nearly 10,000 people does not offer a huge amount of things to do outside of nature. My community takes pride in their agriculture sector, camping, fishing, hunting opportunities, and so many other forms of activities that embrace nature. I participate in many activities that depend on nature such as horseback riding, hiking and paddle boarding. I also have two dogs that force me to hike on the daily, whether it be 30 degrees or -30 degrees… 

My relationship with nature has improved over the years as I have developed my love for the lake and hiking trails. Paddle boarding has given me the chance to disconnect from my work and school life and take a moment to realize what a beautiful world we live in. Doing this every week during the summer has taught me to be more grateful and patient in our forever changing society. Before COVID-19, I struggled to adjust to Southern Ontario and the lack of nature resources that I always had at home. This was when I realized my love for my small town and Northern Ontario in general. Today, I can never imagine living anywhere other than in a remote area with lakes and trails every which way. 

Although I could credit my small hometown for being who offered me a sense of place within nature, the one who truly deserves credit is my golden labradoodle Vinny. Being responsible for an animal's exercise and experiences is the perfect opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and see what your surroundings have to offer. This has given me the chance to meet people who enjoy the same places as Vinny and I, as well as expand our destinations we love the most!