Nature Interpretation with Cassie

To me, this course and it’s timing has been pretty significant. It has been a sort of coming home to me to get back into the outdoor world and teaching after being on the backburner while I have thought of pursuing different careers. The two main moments in this course that struck a chord are the differentiation between a job and work, and what climate activism can look like.

image: a photo of a quote written inside the canoe hut at Camp Edgewood. “Look for the little miracles”. Photo taken by me.

I’m not sure that everyone has experienced what “work” feels like compared to a “job”, but I was lucky enough that one of my first jobs was working as a camp counsellor, among other things, at Camp Edgewood in Eden Mills. I worked there for two summers before, devastatingly, the camp had to shut down because of a lack of funding to replace our sewage system. Can you believe it? Working there meant giving up you whole summer, besides Saturdays to work 24 hours around the clock, anyone who works at camp knows this, but to me it never felt like a job and I remember saying this at the time. This place was so special, no matter someone’s background, it gave them a chance to connect with others and the nature around them. When you’re disconnected from the rest of the world, the news, and social media, social norms kind of go out the wind and you’re allowed to be as goofy and weird as you want because people are accepting. I remember a camper saying to me that the one week a year that they got to spend at camp weas the only time that they felt like they belonged and that they weren’t the outsider or the “weird one”. This setting and this community’s commitment to fostering these relationships is something that I seek for my work in the future. Lately, I’ve kind of thrown away the idea of “career” and I am committed to focusing on “work”. So, what makes it work for me? Making a difference.    

image: graphics of a melting earth with blue rings around it. Image taken from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/strategy/impact-and-opportunities-of-climate-change-on-business.html. 

This year I have really struggled with learning about climate change. It is so essential, yet draining, and leaves me without hope. In chapter 5 of Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage, a huge wave of relief washed over me when they explain how fostering relationships with nature is a way to help with climate change. This idea made me realize what my approach to solving climate change must be, to educate and excite people about the world that we live in. I know that as someone who knows about climate change, I need to lead a life that makes a difference, but the idea of having to think about and face this complex challenge every day in a job has been weighing on me and I hadn’t even started this mystery job! During this semester I have decided to apply to the Queen’s Outdoor and Experiential Education Teaching Program after I graduate from my Undergrad. This is the outlet that I can use to encourage stewardship for other people and do my part to help tackle the climate change challenge. Here is a link to an interview with one of my high school teachers talking about the OEE program: Queen’s University Outdoor & Experiential Education Program.

Throughout my BA in Geography I have been learning about the complex relationships between people and places and the details about those people and those places. What I have learned in taking this course is that part of my work needs to be on the frontlines of those relationships between people and spaces, particularly in the outdoors. I would like to teach in some sort of an outdoor setting. I hope that in doing this I can include different aspects of interpretation from science, art, history, education, and sustainability. Personally, I have always been a generalist, meaning that there are a lot of things that I am okay at, but there’s no one thing that I am an expert at. In this field, I can use this to my advantage because it required a lot of skills to interpret/teach.  

image: a photo of me at my cottage in Temagami, crouching under the old growth forest, picking blueberries. Photo taken by my sister

A direct application to what I have learned in this course will be the job that I landed this summer. I put myself out there and sent an email to the rental cottages around the area of my cottage asking if I could teach swimming lessons at their sites. I was answered right away and will be teaching swimming lessons, fishing skills, canoeing skills, and leading hikes just a short canoe ride from my cottage. I am so excited to learn more about the area so that I can teach it. Mostly, I am excited that I can be outside all day and help other people enjoy the outdoors. This type of job is something that I have been dreaming of since working at camp, but had deemed it as not a “career” job and had assumed that I would not make enough money at a job like this. I was wrong, no both fronts. Like I said before, I’m not worried about a job that looks good on a resume because it matches my degree, a so called “adult job”. I sought out the job that I know will make me happy and that at the end of the day I will be able to say that I did a good day’s “work”.  

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading along with my realizations, hopes, and dreams. What do you want to be when you grow up (not your adult job, your real job)?  

Goodbye for now.

Jasmine

Eventually, I want to pursue a career that contributes to climate change research. The things that I have learned throughout my undergrad in marine and freshwater biology have inspired me to study how anthropogenic impacts can alter freshwater systems. I took a fourth-year research course in the fall semester, and my study focussed on the impact of dams on zooplankton diversity. This topic was interesting because it demonstrated the consequences that human habitat alterations have on the organisms living in these ecosystems. So to answer your question, when I grow up I want to be a researcher and gain a better understanding of how anthropogenic activities can disrupt aquatic ecosystem stability.  

Congrats on your job this summer, teaching fishing skills sounds like a dream job to me! Working outside in the summer is the best, I was lucky enough to work at Algonquin Park for a few summers and it was an amazing experience. 

Good luck with the rest of your semester and exams!

Beginning this course, my outlook on nature interpretation was purely scientific, because that’s largely what interested me… or so I thought.  One tends to perform/do as they are taught.  Growing up watching countless nature documentaries, I thought what spoke to me was the science behind it all; Attenborough explaining how toads survived in the Australian outback and why caribou migrated every year.  While that was certainly a large part of it, I failed to see the other aspects of nature interpretation that were going on. The narratives created for each animal, the excellent and artistic cinematography, even the accompanying music, all played a role in nature interpretation, teaching me, and eventually how I would teach others.  Throughout this course, I’ve learnt the importance of all these aspects of nature interpretation, but I’ve also identified what responsibilities I have as an interpreter, and what beliefs I hold regarding it.

I don’t think my ethics as a nature interpreter have changed from what they were prior to the course but I have had the opportunity to elaborate upon them.  We maintain a moral obligation to safeguard the natural world.  Sir David Attenborough once said “It seems to me that an understanding of the natural world is crucial for all of us – after all we depend upon it for our food, for the air we breathe and, some would say, for our very sanity” (Attenborough 2009). We must protect the environment out of necessity for its instrumental value to us, as stated by Attenborough, but also for its intrinsic value.  For me, there is a spiritual/religious aspect to nature’s intrinsic value.  We have been tied to Creation, the environment, the physical universe since our genesis.  

Faith and nature interpretation could be a post of its own, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I’ve received some criticism in the past for incorporating my faith into these posts and my work.  I don’t think I need to reason why I am talking on this subject matter when the point of these posts is to express our own views, opinions, and experiences in the courses.  As a person of faith with natural intelligence, my faith and experiences in this course, and nature in general, will be inevitably interact.  The same is true for my ethic.  In Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, he stated that  “The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, His boundless affection for us.  Soil, water, mountains – everything as it were a caress from God” (Pope Francis 2016). Creation is a gift.  Not only is Creation a gift and demonstration of God’s affection, it is humanity’s common inheritance.  As a common inheritance it belongs to all and is meant for all; our duty is to ensure this by preserving it.  This dogma forms a large part of what motivates my ethic.  

(If you are interested in nature interpretation through a Christian lens I recommend you look into Laudato si; Image source)

How to execute this?  Sir David Attenborough explains how “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced” (Attenborough 2009). Attenborough is alluding to the transformative value of nature and touches upon a key threat to it.  Experiencing nature can lead to a lifelong compassion for it, however, “If people lose knowledge, sympathy and understanding of the natural world, they’re going to mistreat it and will not ask their politicians to care for it” (Attenborough 2009).  It’s clear that education is crucial to securing the future of nature.  As I’ve developed during the course of this class I’ve added to this ethic, realizing the importance of diverse accessibility to information and incorporation of indigenous knowledge.

Knowing the different facets of nature interpretation are useful when trying to make your interpretation accessible to different audiences and learners.  I am a visual learner and so it makes sense that I’ve been drawn to nature documentaries, while an experiential learner might rather be fully immersed on a nature walk.  Beyond different learning styles, it’s also important to keep in mind how accessible the service you’re providing is to different groups.  If our goal is to spread awareness of environmental issues and increase society’s appreciation for nature as it is, we should strive to spread this to as many people as possible. Asking questions like if a trail/tour is accessible to those with mobility disabilities or affordable to average families is key in spreading our message and fulfilling our goal.  As I highlighted in my discussion post about privilege, environmental racism runs rampant across urban ethnic communities within Canada and the US.  But this issue isn’t restricted to a national scale; even globally, the minority “developed” countries extract resources from the majority “developing” countries without regard for human or environmental well-being, while they profit form it without experiencing nor witnessing any of the detrimental outcomes. As a part of my personal ethic, I want to reach as many people as possible. Someone who can’t afford to attend an interpretive program at a park might be able to watch a YouTube video on the same topic, receiving nature education this way. Chapter eight of the textbook discussed how to interpret to the masses and reach a wider audience via radio, social media and other outlets online (Beck et al. 2018).  All this to say, it’s important to keep in mind how you are interpreting and how to share it best according to your strengths and how to get it to your target audience (through music, art, literature, social media).  

(A TedTalk on the connectedness of indigenous Amazonians with nature and spirituality; source)

As I mentioned above, Western dominance over other countries has led to the exacerbation of environmental racism.  Alongside this has been the suppression and marginalization of indigenous forms of interpretation.  As a part of my ethic, while I might not always be able to perform traditional interpretation, I want to educate others on these indigenous forms of interpretation because each has value in it’s own right, for their traditional practitioners  but also for foreign audiences who might experience some sort of transformative value. If anyone is interested, in a previous post titled Week 7: A Yoik in Nature, I delve deeper into the musical tradition of the Joik for the Sami people.  Incorporating traditional knowledge presents us with a new was of knowing and relating to the land (Hooykaas 2021).

(Filming of a nature doc; source)

Moving forward, I intend to continue this mission of preserving the planet by trying to connect as many people as I can to it.  Continuing on my nature interpretation journey, I’ve been accepted to start the Environmental Visual Communication program at the ROM.  I’m grateful for the solid base in nature interpretation that this course has given me and I look forward to continue sharing my passion for nature with others and helping others make their own connections.

Questions:

*     How does your ethic affect your nature interpretation? Have you added to it during the course?

*     How do you think you’ll continue to interpret beyond this course?

Best,

- Diego

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Chapter 8: Interpreting to the masses. Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world. (pp.165-182). Sagamore Venture.

Catholic Church., & McDonagh, S. (2016). On care for our common home: The encyclical of Pope Francis on the environment, Laudato Si’.

Hooykaas, A. (2021). Unit 7: Nature Interpretation through Music [Course Website]. University of Guelph Courselink. https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/666945/viewContent/ 2590559/View.

Congratulations on your acceptance into the Environmental Visual Communication program at the ROM, that sounds like it’s going to be an amazing experience.

Good luck with the rest of your semester and exams!

        Over one thousand meters below the surface, where light cannot be found, and strange creatures lurk, lives an organism that does not eat, grows up to two metres in length, and has red blood flowing through its body…

Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

        The year was 1977, and near the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, scientists had set out into the deep sea to find hydrothermal vents (Young, 2018). These vents form on the ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges, also known as spreading-ridges (National Geographic, 2013). Mid-ocean ridges form when tectonic plates spread apart, allowing magma to rise and cool as it touches the cold ocean water. Near these ridges, water may travel through cracks in the ocean floor. It is then super-heated by the magma below the earth’s surface, eventually reemerging from the surface as a vent (National Geographic, 2013). These vents release water that is over 320°C, hot enough to melt lead. As the ultra-hot hydrothermal fluid escapes from the vent, it interacts with the cold, oxygenated ocean water. This results in minerals from the hydrothermal fluid, such as sulfur, coming out of solution, and solidifying to produce metal-rich chimneys. These vents may take on different forms based on the minerals, temperatures, and flow rate of the fluid (National Geographic, 2013).

A deeper look at how hydrothermal vents are formed - Video by WORLD BOOK on YouTube

        The scientists found what they were looking for; they discovered the hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean that had never been seen. However, they found something else too. They discovered the wealth of life that existed in this hostile environment, and among it, colonies of Giant Tubeworms (Young, 2018). These tubeworms are only found near hydrothermal vents, in fact, they need them to survive (Fulton-Bennett & Dalit, 2017). When a hydrothermal vent stops flowing, as it sometimes does due to changes below the seafloor, an entire colony of giant tubeworms may die out. But not to worry, the larvae can colonize new hydrothermal vents that emerge hundreds of miles away (Fulton-Bennett & Dalit, 2017).

        So what are these strange creatures? Giant tubeworms, Riftia pachyptila, are marine invertebrates found on the Pacific Ocean floor (Young, 2018). They belong to the Siboglinidae family. These invertebrates grow up to two metres in length and are characterized by a white tube anchored to rocks, and a red plume-like structure at the top (Fulton-Bennett & Dalit, 2017). The red colour of the plume-like structure comes from the blood flowing through the worm that is transporting oxygen and minerals through the body (Young, 2018). However, what really makes this creature so strange is that it doesn’t eat. It has no mouth, or a gut, or a way to excrete its waste (Young, 2018).

A look at these strange creatures, Giant Tubeworms - Video by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) on YouTube

        So how does the giant tubeworm live if it has no way of obtaining nutrients through food? Well, it gets its nutrients in a different way. By a process known as chemiosmosis which, unlike photosynthesis that converts sunlight into energy, converts chemicals into energy (Young, 2018). But the tubeworms themselves do not do this. Instead, they have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that live in a part of their body known as the trophosome. The bacteria within the trophosome use hydrogen sulphide as an energy source. This hydrogen sulphide comes from the thermal vents, and passes through the red plume-like structure that acts as a lung to breathe it into the trophosome (Young, 2018). From there, the bacteria feed on the hydrogen sulphide, excreting sulfur and organic compounds that the giant tubeworm can use as energy. To protect its red plume-like structure, the tubeworm can quickly retract it when it senses a nearby creature (check out the video above to see this!) (Young, 2018).

Image by Natlaya Zahn on I Contain Multitudes

        Of course, this is only one of the many strange creatures that live among the ocean floor; others such as the Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) or Wobbegongs (Orectolobidae) exist. Have you heard of any of these amazing creatures?

References Fulton-Bennett, K., & Dalit, M. (2017). Giant tubeworm. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. https://www.mbari.org/products/creature-feature/giant-tubeworms-landing-page/.

National Geographic. (2013). Deep sea hydrothermal vents. National Geographic Education. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/deep-sea-hydrothermal-vents/.

An image of tube worms with an extroflexed branchial plume. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riftia_pachyptila 

Thank you for your post!

     Music and nature are both forms of art. They create heartwarming emotions, which can help build and strengthen relationships within yourself, and with others. Music can be heard and found in nature endlessly. Such as the sound of birds chirping in the morning as the weather starts to warm or the sound of crickets outside late at night. Music can be heard within the leaves rustling through a windy autumn day or even through the echo of a pebble skipping across a pond. Music is whatever heals your soul and makes you feel at peace. There are so many examples and forms of those sounds of harmony within nature; it is almost impossible to write it all out in one post. 

     According to Beck et al. (2018), “Music is a form of art and the arts move our minds from the ordered and sequential logic into the deeper, more cyclical world of imagery, values, metaphor, and symbolism.”  When I think of music and nature, I think of the serenity that I can find when I can feel both. For example, merely watching a sunset while listening to the ocean waves or listening to the sound of a bonfire crackling on a warm summer night - is enough to create peace within my soul. Don’t get me wrong; I love listening to actual music! I am one of those people who have different playlists for different moods. I love music so much; it has helped me overcome many hurdles in my life, mostly when I have felt alone. However, in my opinion, relating (back) to the quote, there is nothing more calming than associating those beautiful sounds of nature with those beautiful images, such as sunsets, sunrises, mountain tops, seasonal changes, ocean views, and so on. On that note, I feel I should mention that is also why I am that person who lives for outside music festivals! I have been to multiple outdoor concerts in Wasaga Beach, Toronto, Guelph, Kitchener and I attend Boots and Hearts music festivals every summer! I love being able to dance, sing, and enjoy myself outside in the sun! 

(PERSONAL PHOTO: LOCATION: Boots & Hearts Music Festival, Oro-Medonte, Ontario. DATED: August 11th, 2017, 2:38 pm). 

(PERSONAL PHOTO: LOCATION: Boots & Hearts Music Festival, Oro-Medonte, Ontario. DATED: August 12th, 2018, 7:47 pm). 

(PERSONAL PHOTO: LOCATION: Bingemans, Kitchener, Ontario. DATED: September 8th, 2017, 7:56 pm). 

     Now moving onto nature in music, where is nature found in music? I believe nature is found in music naturally. It is located within talent, lyrics, music videos, and so on. I do not mean that nature is found in everything related to music; I just mean that there are deeper meanings behind the art of both music and nature. 

     One of my favourite songs to listen to within adventures outside is Sleep On The Floor by The Lumineers! This song reminds me of the saying, “seize the day.” The lyrics express how people move on to bigger and brighter things in life to fulfill their dreams. This song moves me in a certain way because I also feel that once I complete my degree, I will have to pack up my things and start my life outside Canada; an exhilarating but nerve-wracking experience! Also, if you have never heard of this song before, I will place a youtube link below in case you guys wanted to have a listen! :)

SONG LINK →  https://youtu.be/v4pi1LxuDHc (The Lumineers, 2016). 

QUESTION FOR YOU GUYS:

Have you ever thought to yourself why some of us sleep better through a thunderstorm or rainstorm? Or why some of us find calmness in nighttime playlists like rainforest sounds and ocean waves? Or why smells like lavender help some of us feel relaxed? There are just some things that are stronger together, and music and art are one of them. 

QUESTION → Do any of you use any of the examples I provided above to help you with anything? Whether that be for sleep or relaxation purposes. Let me know! I would love to see if I have some relatable followers :) 

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage (First Edition). Sagamore-Venture Publishing LLC. 

To answer your question, I use a few of the things you mentioned to help me sleep and relax. When I have a really stressful day, I usually put lavender essential oil in my diffuser and listen to rain noises to fall asleep. I find that these things have a calming effect on me and allow me to get a good sleep regardless of the challenges I faced that day. 

Thank you for your post! :)

(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

This took me so long to fully understand what Edward had meant and from what I understood  was historical events that have happened in the past should not be forgotten. As long as there were people to experience such events then we should never forget them. But because some ancient things are passed down through time we can loss some detailed information but as long as we have a hold on to the important information.   

Edward Hyams had mentioned “ 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” 

The way I interpreted this was Hyams was emphasizing the importance of maintaining history throughout the years. Simply just having an artifact isn’t enough but we need to understand it to know its value. The past can not detach itself from the present. Ancient objects can not be given any meaning unless a person gives it integrity. 

Photo of statues at the Museum of Cairo in Egypt, Cairo, 2013. Photo taken by my dad. 

Nature interpretation and history are related in many ways. Interpretation is what allows us to pass down information from the past to the future. Modern day’s technology is what allows us to discover the Earth’s past, for example  findings buried, extinct species and events that occurred. Learning nature’s past and truly understanding it like Hyams implied allows us to learn and prepare for the future. For example, knowing the past climates, we are able to indicate if climate change is happening or if there are any usual changes. 

I believe that Hyams used the train as a metaphor, explaining that certain events should still be remembered even once they have passed or in his words left the “railway station”.  History does not only exist in the moment or when the train is only on the railway but persists in a memory or a physical form even if there are not any people around to remember the event. 

Overview of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, 2013. Photo taken by my dad.

It took my family and I about 4 hours to go through all the art and facts in this Museum and we still didn’t learn everything! It is our job as interpreters to pass on historical knowledge and continue to tell stories of the people who lived before us so that the future knows of it too. In our textbook, it mentions that integrity is a major role in nature interpretation because certain concepts and meanings can differ between different people and their personal opinions. 

Quoted by Beck and Cable (2011)  “the beauty of human integrity commemorated in events of the past and the beauty of the intricacies of nature give rise to hope”.  

I found this quote explaining that past events need to be told to hope for a better future. Learning from the past allows us to prevent any repetitive mistakes that were done and improve the future.  

How did you interpret Hyams’ quote? How important is it to know historical events in your opinion? I hope my post inspire some of you to know more about historical events! 

Dana 

Reference:

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

(via ddenvs3000)

Hi Dana, 

I enjoyed reading your post this week, it was interesting to hear your interpretation of the quote. I think that you unpacked this quote beautifully, and I agree with your take on it. As you mentioned, it is important to understand the history behind ancient objects. In your post you voiced that simply having an artifact isn’t enough, and we must understand the artifact. Doing this ensures that history is maintained throughout the years, and the significance of the artifact is understood. When considering this, it makes me wonder how many artifacts have been overlooked because their history was not understood. As you explained in your post, ancient artifacts do not have meaning unless someone gives them integrity. This is where interpretation can play a major role in communicating the story behind artifacts to an audience. 

To answer your question, my interpretation of Edward Hyams quote was that ancient things (such as artifacts and other objects of historical value) are important; however, knowledge and understanding of the historical context that this ancient object represents is of greater value. In my opinion it is important to know historical events, particularly the events behind an artifact you are viewing or a place you are visiting. Knowing the history allows you to put things into context, which enhances your experience and gives you a greater appreciation for what you are observing.

Visiting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo must have been an amazing experience. Thank you for including the photos taken by your dad! The only museum that I have been to is the ROM in Toronto, but I would love to visit more museums in the future when we can finally travel again. 

An exhibit at the ROM. Photo taken by me.

Thank you for your post! 

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work at a local organic vegetable farm called Edible Acres Homestead. This job was unlike any “outdoor” experience I have previously encountered, however, I was eager to learn!

Although my family has been growing their own organic vegetables for years, this was the first time I was involved in every stage of the growing process. Growing a vegetable garden is something everyone should try at least once in their lives as you learn a great deal from nature, plants, and how everything interacts. The most rewarding accomplishment is witnessing your hard work of planting endless rows of vegetables come to fruition.

Here are some photos taken of one of the back fields at Edible Acres showing the heads of lettuce growing. These rows stretch 50ft long and use irrigation tubes to water the plants. Photo taken by my boss, L. Ahrens, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.edibleacres.net/

Working at Edible Acres has shown me the importance of supporting your local farmers. So much time, money, and energy goes into maintaining a farm, especially an organic farm. When you omit the use of pesticides and herbicides, you have to manage pests and weeds in a natural way. This may entail days on end where all you do is weed. From spending 8+ hours a day sweating in the direct sun weeding to tediously preparing logs for shiitake mushrooms on rainy days, the grind never stops.

This is a photo taken by my boss in their back bush of the growing process of the shiitake mushroom logs. We took old logs and drilled holes into them and filled the holes with a mushroom mixture and covered it with a wax coating. The logs remain in the bush for a year before new growth forms. Photo taken by C. Ahrens, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.edibleacres.net/

As consumers, we rarely factor in everything that goes on behind the scenes. How often do we go to our local grocery store or farmer’s market and simply purchase a fresh bundle of carrots without stopping to consider the time and effort that went into planting, growing, weeding, picking, washing and packaging those carrots?

Here is a photo of a customer's order. It shows the wide variety of produce that we grow on the farm from eggplants and leeks to pumpkins and jalapeño peppers! Photo taken by my boss, L. Ahrens, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.edibleacres.net/

Caring for the gardens at Edible Acres has shown me how we have to be the caretakers and stewards of this earth. The earth is not ours to exploit, pillage, and strip of its finite resources for our own benefit. As we are collectively confronted with a catastrophic climate crisis, we must radically care for the Earth and act with urgency through more sustainable habits and ethical consumption.

During my research I found many great resources to inform us on how to be better caretakers of the earth. Here are some easy ways we all can work harder to help save the earth (Aleteia.org, 2020).

Reduce meat consumption.

Practice energy-saving techniques such as turning lights off when leaving a room.

Cut down on car transmissions by biking or using public transport.

Strive to go more zero-waste and using reusable materials

Here is another great resource illustrating 3 actionable steps to save the planet backed by science.

As I conclude my blog, I would like to pose some questions.

What are some lessons that nature has taught you?

What are some actionable ways that you contribute to tackling the current climate crisis?

Thank you for reading my blog and listening to my experience as an organic vegetable farmer!

Janieka :)

Works Cited

https://www.edibleacres.net/

https://aleteia.org/2020/01/06/10-simple-ways-to-be-a-steward-of-the-earth-in-2020/

I really enjoyed reading your post, it offered great insight on the experiences you had working at an organic vegetable farm. Similar to you, my family has always had a vegetable garden. I love being able to get fresh produce from your backyard, it is one of my favourite things about the summer. I agree, everyone should try growing a vegetable garden once in their lives. It gives you a greater appreciation for the process that goes into farming, even though a backyard garden is a much smaller operation than a large scale farm. As you mentioned, an organic farm is particularly costly. The points you brought up about how maintaining an organic farm can be more expensive demonstrated the importance of supporting local farmers. My family and I have always tried to purchase local / organic produce, so reading about your experiences working at an organic farm was very interesting. You also brought up some great initiatives that we can incorporate into our daily routine to help reduce our footprint. Personally, I try to tackle the current climate crisis by shopping locally and sustainably. There are many great stores in Toronto that allow me to do so. One store is called the Big Carrot, it is a natural food market that is committed to providing its customers with local, organic and sustainable food. They have been open since 1983, and sell produce, grocery items, beauty products, and they have a take out counter. 

Thank you for your post and sharing your experiences! 

“As all art depends on vision, so the different kinds of art depend on the different ways in which minds look at things”. – George Henry Lewes (https://allauthor.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/)

This is a quote that has been hanging on the wall of my childhood bedroom since I was 3 years old. The beauty of art has been instilled in me since I was a young girl watching my mother’s eyes light up as she talked about her love for writing poetry and painting. I always admired the passion she held for these artistic mediums and wanted to experience something similar but in my own way.

This is a picture of myself at 5 years old during a dance competition. Photo courtesy of my mother.

The forms of art that have touched my life the most (and are still a part of my life) are dance, music and photography. From a young age, my parents placed me in dance classes and music classes to give me the freedom to decide which one was right for me. I wasn’t much of an athletic child; therefore, it was amazing for me to find something that allowed me to develop a “sense of place” like my peers did with sports.

A photo taken by my dad of my three high school bestfriends and I during the Christmas Santa Clause Parade in Toronto, Ontario. I played the flute.

I interpret the “gift of beauty” through passion for my chosen art forms. As mentioned in our textbook, “passion is the essential ingredient for powerful and effective interpretation”. Personally, “The gift of beauty” is a term meaning that despite all of the negative things in this world, beauty is still present, and it is truly a gift that should be appreciated. There are many amazing things in this world, and it is our job to find the “beauty” in the madness.

Who am I to interpret nature through art? I believe that art and nature provide people with the same feeling. They both allow people to express their true emotions, escape from the reality of their lives and provides them with a sense of peace, comfort and healing. They hold great power when used together and are more connected than many of us realize. One of my artistic mediums that I think would capture the true essence of nature is photography. I believe that photography is one of the only artforms that can truly capture the complexity of nature and all that it has to offer. Photography allows you to capture a certain feeling or emotion in one single image; however, the beauty of photography is that everyone will have a different interpretation of the same image. One aspect of art that always intrigued me is the fact that all art is perceived differently by everyone and there is no correct way to interpret art. As we previously learned in this course, the role of an interpreter is to take their prior knowledge and passionately deliver a story to their audience that will allow them to make their own unique interpretation. Therefore, everyone on this earth deserves to interpret nature through any of the artforms because as E. A. Bucchianeri stated, “art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation” (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1276019)

Some questions for you are:

1. Which art form(s) play a role or have played a role in your life and who introduced it to you? It doesn’t matter how big or small of a role they played.

2. How does your participation in these art forms make you feel and how has it changed your life?

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References:

E. A. bucchianeri quote. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1276019

George Henry LEWES QUOTES. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://allauthor.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/

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Thank you for reading!

I enjoyed reading your post! It provided great insight on the connection between nature and art. The quotation that you included at the beginning was beautiful. It is very relevant to this week's prompt and I think it is a good representation of the “gift of beauty”. I think it is great that this quote has been hanging on your wall for the majority of your life, and it has inspired you to see the beauty in art. 

I also began dance lessons at a very young age. As you mentioned, it allows you to develop a “sense of place”. I am very grateful that dance was a major part of my life because it allowed me to build my confidence and develop my passion for the arts.

I love how you made the comparison between nature and art. I agree, they provide people with the same feeling and allow one to escape reality. I'm sure you would agree that dance is a great outlet for escape. Dance has always allowed me to take my mind off things and destress, much like the feeling you get after a long hike through the woods.

As you mentioned, photography is a form of art that captures the beauty in nature. I admire how photography can transport you to another location and show you different perspectives. Photography also allows the audience to perceive it in different ways and take away different messages. Due to this, I think that photography can be a powerful tool in nature interpretation.

Thank you! 

Privilege are special advantages or entitlements that benefit you, or group you belong to, or disadvantages others.  These advantages can be based on variables such as social class, race, religion, sex, nationality, etc.… Summed up to, how do power structures in society aid the socially privileged groups (Kimmel & Ferber 2017).  Often, as mentioned in the textbook, these power structures separate different social groups based on the aforementioned variables and label some as being underserving of whatever particular advantage.  Separation of social groups based on privilege leads to ignorance, entitlement, and apathy amongst the more privileged groups, usually to the detriment of less privileged groups (Kimmel & Ferber 2017).  

Before delving into to how privilege might affect nature interpretation and some scenarios it has forced people into, I’d like to overview my own privileges and biases.  I am a white cis male.  I speak English (as well as two more languages fluently), grew up in a middle-class family, have two supporting university educated parents.  I had pets growing up.  I have always had access to clean running water, electricity, heating, and a home. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a very diverse neighbourhood in Ottawa and learnt very quickly of my home privilege.  While we didn’t have enough money to go on exotic yearly vacations, there has been a cottage in the family for a few generations now that I got to spend my summers at and where I really got to connect with nature.

(Retrieved from IWDA)

Getting back to the influence that the separation of social groups has on nature interpretation; I grew up belonging to a white-colonial social class that allowed me the experience of connecting with nature through a relatively isolated cottage.  These same separations enforce environmental racism.  This is the way in which minority groups are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards, often sources of environmental pollution (Godsil 1991).  This is practiced through the passing of legislation that allows pollutant sources such as coal plants and toxic waste facilities to be built disproportionately in and around low-income and POC neighbourhoods. According to a report by the NAACP, 39% of coal plants are within a 3 mile radius of POC communities in America (Scientific American 2012). Other examples include the shipment of waste, especially e-waste to developing countries to be put in their landfills or burned, and pollution of water sources, which are often sacred to indigenous communities (Godsil 1991).  In my own experience, visiting my family in Chile, I noticed that the poorer neighbourhoods were all in the centre of the city, far from the nicer parks.  I am certain that each one of these scenarios impacts how residence of these areas connect with and interpret nature.  Would someone from these communities be as interested in going on a nature walk if all the nature they know is a dirty stream and a park with a couple trees?

This barely scratches the surface of the issue, and I encourage you to do more research.  Below I’ve linked an insightful PBS interview with Robert Bullard, the “father of environmental justice”.

(Source: https://envhumanities.sites.gettysburg.edu/es225a-spring19/environmental-racism/environmental-racism-2/) 

Canada is no exception, this map outlines the proximity of toxic industries to POC communities (Source: http://sandboxproject.ca/news/2020/9/8/the-ycrh-blog-environmental-injustice-in-canada)

However, I think that different forms of nature interpretation can also be used to connect with these communities.  TV shows, documentaries, YouTube videos, TikToks, etc… are great ways for interpreters to reach this audience.  As interpreters, we must understand the unique background that people arrive at a hike, or zoo, or whatever it might be, with, while also understanding how the privilege we grew up with and continue to experience, mold how we interpret and connect with nature.  

PBS interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU-D3YkOe-w&ab_channel=AmanpourandCompany 

Questions for you:

-  Has recognizing your privilege changed your life in some way?

-  Can you think of other scenarios that social privilege might put other groups in?

References:

Godsil, R.D. Remedying Environmental Racism. Michigan Law Review, vol. 90, no. 2, 1991, pp. 394–427.

Israel, B. (2012, November 16). Coal Plants Smother Communities of Color. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-plants-smother-communities-of-color/

Reference:

          I’ll be honest, I never thought about being a nature interpreter nor do I ever plan on becoming one, however life is full of twists and turns and perhaps this class will end up changing my mind. Since starting my undergrad at the University of Guelph I have always pictured myself working at a zoo as an animal handler and not interacting with the public that much. With that being said, zoos are an excellent environment to educate the public about real world issues that are threatening the very species they may see at the zoo. Fortunately, many zoos have qualified guides whose sole jobs revolve around passing on this important information to the general public and that would be my ideal role if I had to be an environmental interpreter. I think that this is actually a very important role since the goal for many zoos is to educate the public about the animals they care for and love so that the guests may leave with a new appreciation for wildlife. In fact, part of my job was to answer guest questions visiting African lion safari (in particular questions about the elephants) and I remember how much I loved telling them all about the elephants, from their personalities to their herd dynamics and even occasionally about the problems they face in the wild.

A select few of the African lion safari Asian elephant herd (https://lionsafari.com/breeding-programmes-asian-elephant/).

           In order to be a successful zoo guide, I think it’s important to captivate the attention of the public so that they understand what you are trying to teach them. This is often done with visual aids or props. Using props is a common technique and that is because they work! They are excellent tools to help the visitors better understand what you are verbally teaching to them, but they are also able to see and interact with the items themselves. Younger audience members in particular respond very well to this type of engagement but it is also a great technique when teaching adult visitors as well. It’s so much more engaging for the guests when, for example, they can feel how pointy a tooth is or how soft/detailed a pelt is. If I were to become a nature interpreter and zoo guide I would for sure make sure to include such items in my presentations. In my case, when I would talk about the elephants with our guests I would do so outside of their exhibits so I could point out their key features and identify the elephants.

Pictured here is a zoo guide educating young visitors about tigers with visual aids including a tiger pelt and skull replica. (https://www.stlzoo.org/visit/thingstoseeanddo/safari-tours)

           Other important qualities I have found that go a long way with guest is enthusiasm, eye contact and proper enunciation. There is nothing worse than having someone try to explain something to you and you cannot understand a word they are saying. Which brings me to my next point, language barriers. It is so beneficial to be able to speak more than one language as to better communicate to all guests. This I think can be especially common in Canada given we have two national languages. Fortunately, I can speak both French and English however there are so many other languages and the more that you know the better.