nature through my eyes

Wow! It is crazy to believe this is my final blog post. Before I respond to this week’s prompt, I want to take a moment to thank all of my peers for their contributions to our Tumblr threads and discussions. I was constantly impressed by the experience of my classmates and the unique insights they provided to every blog prompt. ENVS*3000 blogs were always filled with diverse opinions, and seeing others sharing openly led to meaningful conversations. Thank you to everyone who contributed to my learning this semester.  

At the end of this year, I will be graduating from the Lang School of Business with a degree in Marketing Management. As a commerce student, my education has centered primarily around economic theory and best business practices. While some courses would mention the importance of protecting the environment, they mainly showed the environment as a resource. Many of my business classes failed to explore the deeper connections between the natural world and its impact on human development. I decided to enroll in ENVS*3000 during the Fall semester of 2021 to expand my understanding of environmental conservation and nature interpretation. Throughout the semester, I have seen that interpretation can bring greater vitality to society. Interpretation promotes a more harmonious relationship between the individual and the environment both physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (Beck et al., 2018, p.475). To support my learning, I have also been working to articulate my personal beliefs and values. I have always seen myself as someone with a robust belief system, but I have rarely taken the time to articulate it on paper. This course has encouraged me to reflect on my role as an environmental interpreter and challenge my previous understandings. Through class readings and blog posts,  I have been able to form a comprehensive sense of my relationship and responsibility with the environment. The following blog post will highlight two of the core values that I have reaffirmed during my studies, and how I plan to uphold them in my future endeavors.

Sustainability

As someone passionate about the environment and maintaining an outdoor lifestyle, I want to ensure that my career path emphasizes sustainability. We have learned this semester that the benefits of sustainability extend beyond just environmental conservation. Research has shown that maintaining access to spaces like parks and cultural landscapes contributes to positive health conditions (Beck et al., 2018, p. 49). As a commerce and environmental science student, I recognize that businesses are responsible to society and broader stakeholders for protecting the environment. With that said, I firmly believe that the private sector can be one of the most significant agents for change. Companies enable consumption, and they have the power to change how we purchase and use products and services. To be a sustainable business leader, I must consider the broader stakeholders and recognize that my decisions can have lasting impacts. As I enter the workforce, I want my career to prioritize working with companies that share a similar value structure. In one of my other classes this semester, I learned about business consulting and the various consulting disciplines and specialties. I was particularly intrigued by the environmental or sustainability consultants since this industry can combine my desire to protect the environment with my ambition to provide corporate value. I hope to use my nature interpretation skills, love for the environment, and business knowledge to ensure companies make sustainable choices.

Leadership

Another value that I have reaffirmed thanks to the lessons learned in ENVS*3000 is the importance of being an effective and inspiring leader. I have always enjoyed working with others and collaborating to reach a common goal. I believe that a good nature interpreter should have strong leadership qualities and help persuade others, and lead by example. This semester we learned about some of the various learning styles and that people learn in different ways (Beck et al., 2018, p. 110). To effectively communicate with others, we must acknowledge how they learn best and tailor our delivery to suit it. When it comes to academic and professional experiences, I often make an effort to take on a leadership role whenever possible. Leadership skills are something that I have developed over time and actively work towards improving whenever given the opportunity. This semester’s podcast group project provided an excellent opportunity to leverage my leadership skills in the context of environmental interpretation. As a group, we needed to work collaboratively to choose our topic, build a script, and record and edit our podcast. I helped our group establish a work back schedule and divide the relevant responsibilities by taking a leadership role. We completed our podcasts ahead of schedule in part because I used my leadership skills to develop a clear plan and expectations. When looking at examples of successful environmental leaders, I attribute portions of their influence to their passion and knowledge. Many of the most notable leaders for sustainability, such as David Suzuki, can be so influential because they are passionate and well informed. As I look to become a leader for the environment, I hope to continue learning more about our planet’s interconnectedness. As we have discovered this semester, acquiring knowledge is an enjoyable and enriching experience (Beck et al., 2018, p. 42). I know from my personal background that I am motivated by passionate leaders because their energy is infectious. As I look towards the future as a nature interpreter, I want to use my knowledge, passion, and leadership skills to inspire others.

Conclusion

As I move forwards in my academic and professional career, I will always look to create harmony in the complex relationship we have with the environment. I want to use my values of sustainability and leadership to be an influential environmental interpreter. To be an effective conservationist, it is essential to accurately document the environment and understand the cultural impacts and significance. We must acknowledge that diversity is critical to success (Beck et al., 2018, p. 461). As I join the workforce, I plan to leverage my knowledge in this course to think critically whenever I am in a natural setting. I want to be an agent of environmental change, and because of the foundation I gained this semester, I feel more confident in my ability to do so. References:

I appreciated your final post and it is always interesting to see what degrees our classmates in this course are in. I’m glad that you are able to bring your love of the environment into your business goals, I think there is a huge market for not only sustainable companies, but for people who have the knowledge to make informed decisions on sustainability. I’m glad you brought this up as one of your main values and I know that there are many of us who are waiting for these new innovations in sustainability to come around. Being a nature interpreter does require a lot of confidence and trust in your own knowledge and ability to effectively share this knowledge with others.

You also bring up a very important value of leadership. I believe that if you continue to be a leader for others and use your knowledge to better the community, you will be a greatly successful nature interpreter (even if that isn’t your official job title). So many of us are looking to others for guidance in this crazy time of climate change, but if you can be that leader for others, it can be the push that some might need to work even harder to find solutions to the pressing issues our environment faces today.

With leadership comes responsibility, to others and to the environment. You mention diversity being an important factor to the success of any project and I definitely agree. We learned in this course that including individuals from all races, ages, demographics, and walks of life is essential to the success of interpretation and if we have the privilege to lead others, we must always strive for inclusion of all peoples. I wish you the best of luck in your final semester of your undergrad, keep on being the leader that others are looking for!

My brother’s boats

What I’ve Learned (Final Blog post)

My personal ethic is that human beings need nature and that it is our separation from nature that is the source of many of this world’s problems from pollution and climate change, to food security, wellness issues, and even lack of purpose. When we are able to access nature in meaningful ways we are not only healthier and more mindful of the world around us but we develop a relationship with nature and learn to care about it. As interpreters it is our role to help people make, or expand, that connection with nature.

As an Indigenous Person I am aware of the bounty that nature has provided my family and my ancestors in order for us to thrive for generations. Nature has not only provided us with food and resources but it has also given us traditions and skills to share through the generations that allow us to support each other. In many ways our relationships with nature provide us with a sense of meaning and purpose. It also comes with a responsibility to protect and defend nature.

Often when I consider my responsibilities to the future, I think of the Haudenosaunee philosophy of the Seven Generations. Onondaga Elder and Faithkeeper Oren Lyons explains the philosophy as such, “make your decisions on behalf of the Seven Generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have today” (Lyons as cited by the United Nations Development Programme, 2020). For me this is twofold, first we must develop a relationship with the natural world so that we understand its importance to care for it and protect it so that future generations may also benefit from its richness. And secondly, we must teach those around us, especially the younger generations, to develop their own relationship with nature so that they too will care about it and protect it when they are of age.

Growing up in Labrador I had no shortage of access to nature. I grew up in what Jacob Rodenberg aspires to create:  “nature-rich communities where kids feel a deep and abiding love for the living systems that we all are immersed in” (Roddenberg, 2019).  My family home is located on the edge of a community of 450 people on the banks of a lake. In winter I can cross-country ski from my front step for hours, and in the summer I am minutes away from kayaking. Five years ago I moved to Montreal but I was able to go home several times a year with work, but since the beginning of the pandemic I have not been able to return as often as I would like. While reading our text book I was struck by the passage where Beck et al. describes the soothing and healing nature of nature and nature interpretation during times of crisis (Beck et al., 2018). These past two years have become the most city-bound I have ever been and it has made me realize a few things.

When I began reading Gallavan’s Helping Teachers Unpack their “Invisible Knapsacks”, I really thought at first that as an Indigenous Person I would not approach settler audiences from a place of privilege in nature interpretation. Although as I read Peggy McIntosh’s concept of the Invisible Knapsack that “the construct of privilege entails a set of beliefs and practices that are assumed or taken for granted by everyone throughout society” (Gallavan, 2005), I realized that I do come from a place of privilege when it comes to nature. I have a life long relationship with nature that has been passed down and shared in my family for countless generations, to the point that I don’t remember anyone introducing me to nature, it was just always there in my life. Not only that but every place we went to in nature had a story about a relative, ancestor, or friend who was once there. These past few years in the pandemic have made me realize that it can be very difficult to access nature for many people, and as such they don’t have these relationships or connections with nature that I was fortunate enough to have had. 

I am also very privileged to have what Larry Smith would call, “a great career” (Smith, 2011). This great career is as a journalist covering Indigenous news. I started with APTN and have been freelancing for the last five years. I come from a long line of storytellers, and writing has always been something that comes easily to me. While I love walking in nature and interpreting for everyone around, it’s really the written word where I shine, where I can reach the most people. I see many parallels between interpretive writing and journalistic writing, especially when the subject at hand is science or nature. As a journalist there’s a lot I can learn from the field of interpretation. As someone who practices science and environmental journalism, this passage from our textbook describing Alan Leftridge’s take on interpretive writing as a style and genre really stood out for me. Beck et al. (2018) writes, “Leftridge (2006) explains that interpretive writing is a genre, a definable style of writing. It is “intended to make intellectual and emotional connections between the reader and the resource, and it is goal-directed, with the intent of eliciting a pro-social response from readers” (chapter 14). For me this is also the essence of good science journalism, but I have never seen it put so succinctly. Science and nature journalism are fields that need more journalists who understand research. There is an epidemic of sensationalized and inaccurate science reporting as people try to get the most clicks possible. What good journalism and good interpretation have in common is that they spark curiosity. If we want to get people to care more about nature, then nature journalists need to heed the words of Larry Beck, “ interpretation offers more than instruction through facts. It uses facts to pass on the meaning of something and to develop deep understanding” (Beck et al., 2018, chapter 1).

This has been a very interesting course and I feel that I have learned so much from it to make myself both a better journalist and a better interpreter. I am looking forward to reading everyone else’s posts!

Thanks!

-Ossie

References 

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

Gallavan, N. (2005). Helping teachers unpack their ‘invisible knapsacks’. Multicultural Education, 13(1), 36-39. http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A137921591/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9fe2f151 

Rodenberg, J. (2019, June 17). Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope. Clearing Magazine. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300 

Smith, L. (2011, November). Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career [video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career?language=en 

I have greatly appreciated your posts every week and you put such thought and eloquence in them. I think it is really interesting that you bring up the privilege of access to nature and it is an interesting one to think about. I too feel strongly about the importance of connection to nature and it has been disheartening to watch urbanization push a wedge between many people and the land they live on. I liked the Haudenosaunee philosophy of the Seven Generations and I think you made great points about its meaning. I agree that it is incredibly important to protect our environment so that future generations can enjoy it and with climate change reaching a critical point, it is more urgent than ever to work together to save our planet.

I have also enjoyed hearing your perspective as a journalist covering Indigenous news and you definitely have a gift for writing. It is something not many people have, and that is sometimes why I struggle to gain information from traditional textbooks, but appreciate more creative written word. I learn a lot from hands on activities and listening to people explaining things, but I struggle to engage with scientific writing. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that science and nature journalism need to spark curiosity and get people to care about nature and I think these creative pathways will become incredibly important in the next few years. If we are to reach as many people as we can to get them informed about climate change and how they can help heal the planet, then we must continue to look for new and exciting ways to share our knowledge. Thank you for your great posts this semester, I wish you the best of luck in all future endeavours!

I began this course ignorant of what being a nature interpreter consisted of. My early assumption was that the role of a nature interpreter was to just explain and guide people to their environment. In a sense yes this is what they do, but there is a whole different level of complexity and skill needed to be considered a proper nature interpreter that I never thought of.

Throughout this course, I have learnt a lot about myself and who I want to be. I have taken something from each unit and created my own code of ethics (Steven’s Code of Ethics as a Nature Interpreter):

1. Be knowledgeable. Understand who you really are as an interpreter, understand your audience, and constantly think of ways to make your audience’s experiences more meaningful. Learning about nature is important and all but remember that meaningful connections last longer than random facts.

2. Be flexible. Realize that everyone is different and learns differently. Utilize different skills to help people learn more efficiently.

3. Treat everyone with equity. It is important to include everyone, but it is also important to realize that people come from different privileges. Making a program to ensure that everyone can have the same experience should be the goal.

4. Be open to new ideas. Constantly explore with different lens as there are many perspectives when viewing a topic. Welcome other ideas and go along with it. See where it takes you.

5. Honesty and Integrity. Be reliable and responsible for your actions. Keep your word and be respectful of the people and nature around you.

These are just some code of ethics that I thought were important. Was there anything that I was missing from your list that you think I should incorporate?

From creating Steven’s Code of Ethics, I realize that these traits are transferable to the profession that I currently am in. I work as a physiotherapist assistant and constantly must work on my knowledge of the field. Although in my field being knowledgeable about the topic is considered more important, there is still a huge emphasis on understanding the patient. I find that being able to connect to the person and fully understanding them, optimizes the entire healing process. 

Being flexible is important for building strength and stability, allowing for greater range of motion. Oh, sorry for the wrong context of flexibility (a bad health joke, although it is important to remember to stretch your body), what I meant to say is that every patient is different and will need different programs and techniques to treat. 

As I live in Toronto, Ontario, I have met people from different races, varying in age and gender and have treated them all to the best of my ability. Regardless of what it might be, I always ensure to work to the best of my best abilities. 

As for the fourth code of ethics, I am constantly learning from other professionals that I work with, such as the chiropractor, the head physiotherapist, the athletic trainers, the message therapists, and even the patients themselves. It is important to remember that as human beings, we are not able to know everything. We must constantly communicate with each other and be open with the different perspectives that the other professions might look at the situation. 

And for the last code of ethics, it is important to constantly build trust with the patients as well as your peers. Knowing your limits and asking for help may seem scary, but the main goal is to always improve the condition of the patient. By not being truthful, the patient may not see any results or even worse, their injury might worsen.  

Although my field is not related to nature, I have always had a love for nature. This course has further my appreciation for nature and made me realize the importance of being able to interpret nature for others. Especially for those who have been less fortunate and unable to grasp the beauty of nature. Whether that be due to being non-privileged such as the story of the Boys & Girls Club of Mar Vista gardens with the low-income housing projects (Beck et al., 2018, p. 127), or the barriers that come with being a minority (Beck et al., 2018, p. 135-147), I want to be able to open their eyes to the beauty that nature has to offer.

Artist: Angus Maguire

However, I understand that this is easier said than done. Beck et al. (2018) states that due to economic, cultural, communication, lock of knowledge, and fear are possibilities to why minorities are discouraged to participate in interpretative programs. Hopefully by seeing more minorities get closer to nature, other minorities will see that exploring nature isn’t all that scary or hard, breaking down some of the barriers that Beck et al. (2018) has previously mentioned.

I am aware that this is a hard task, as most older generation minorities are stuck in their ways, but we are lucky to be living in a time where technology is thriving. The first step to getting people to explore and interpret nature is first by getting their interest. Before my grandparent’s past, they loved staying home and watching the Price Is Right. They didn’t like going outside as they were scared that they would not be able to communicate with others and be judged by the people around them. But if I had the knowledge and internet content back when I was younger, I could have shown them the beauty of nature through nature walks on YouTube.

I would have been able to let them listen to the sounds of what hiking through a forest would sound like. I could have got them intrigued with nature and possibly got them to explore it with me.

This course has been amazing and eye opening. I will use everything that I have learnt from this course to help encourage more people who have not been able to experience and appreciate nature the way that I have been able to! I look forward to reading all your blogs and for those who I won’t be able to reply to, have a great winter break!

-Steven

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

I thought your post was really thoughtful and original and I really liked how you came up with your own code of ethics that you bring to any job you are in. It was also very interesting to hear from someone who isn’t necessarily in an environmental sciences job and I think you demonstrated that these values can be applicable in all different situations, which is why I found this course helpful as well. Opening up opportunities to many different demographics is incredibly important, whether that is access to health care or access to green spaces. You connected your last point about being honest and having integrity to your job and making sure you let the patient know when you are not sure about something so that you can get them the best help possible. The same applies to trips in nature as we learned in some of our earlier lessons about the risks involved in exploring the outdoors through the tragedy on the Timiskaming (Unit 3). If everyone is honest about safety, their knowledge of the situation, and their limits, we can avoid dangerous and potentially deadly situations.

I agree that it is so important to encourage others to seek out experiences in nature, as you mentioned when you were talking about what you wished you could have shown your own grandparents. When we encourage these experiences, we can also inform them of risks and address any concerns that could be holding them back from going outside as fear can play a big part in limiting one’s engagement with the outdoors. I really liked your idea of easing someone into the idea of going on a hike by playing nature sounds and I think that is an interesting and gentle way to grab someone’s attention and a creative way to interpret the outdoors, bring nature to the people.

I hope you have a great winter break and keep on enjoying all that our planet has to offer!

Hey everyone,

Its been a while since I have been on this blog, I have missed reading everyone’s post! This week we were tasked with sharing some cool science. The Yukon is filled with AMAZING PLANTS, and the specific area I visited in the Yukon this summer was a hotspot for rare alpine plants.  One (well all but I am going to talk about one) of these plants is probably the coolest.

Saxafraga oppositifolia or purple mountain saxifrage is a beautiful, purple-flowered plant that lives in some of the coldest places on earth.  Before I left for the Yukon I was reading about some of the cool arctic and alpine plants that I might find and when I read about this one it instantly went to the top of my bucket list.

I took this photo in the Yukon using a magnifying glass. See the beautiful purple petals growing amount the rocks.  

Purple mountain saxifrage grows in small cushions on the ground, so it forms clumps and it grows on rocks or on tundra soil, sometimes they can even grow on top of moss.  Like its name suggests it grows at the tops of mountains. If you stop and think about it, it is insane that plants can live at such high elevations because the tops of mountains are cold, windy and buried under snow for sometimes >9 months in a year.  When you think about where plants grow what do you think of? Do you think of a tropical rainforest? Maybe a greenhouse? All of these places would be far too hot for purple mountain saxifrage to survive.  The plant has a number of cool adaptations that allow it to survive. Since it is so windy on the mountains, they grow very close to the ground so they don’t blow away.  Since its time to grow is so short the flowers can open underneath the snow which is my favourite part about it.  Most plants wait until the snow melts and the weather is nice so they can flower, this plant is used to the cold so it will flower when it is still too cold for most other plants.  

See this plant flower while under the snow. Photo by Nergui (2021). 

This plant wins the record for the highest elevation angiosperm in Europe (Korner 2011).  That means of all the flowering plants on the mountains in Europe this one plant can survive higher than all others. It also at the highest latitude site in the world, meaning it can grow further north than most other plants and it grows only 7° away from the North Pole!

The plant is hardy, lives in the cold and knows how to survive in extreme temperatures similar to the people of Nunavut, which is why it is the territorial flower (Nunavut Legislative Assembly).  It is also an important medicinal plant to the people of Nunavut as it can help relieve stomach problems.  It also symbolizes spring as it flowers before everything else and flowers at a time young caribou are born. The flower brings with it good weather and beauty to the land.  

Claire

Körner, C. (2011). Coldest places on earth with angiosperm plant life. Alpine Botany, 121(1), 11-22.

Nergui, Juugee. “Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga Oppositifolia).” INaturalist, INaturalist, 7 Nov. 2021, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100499486.

I was so excited reading your post and I’m glad there are others out there who like to geek out with plants! :) I haven’t heard of purple mountain saxifrage before but this is so incredibly cool! I am so glad you were able to learn about this plant and then find it in the wild, it is so interesting that these flowers are able to open up under the snow. Was this trip to the Yukon for a summer job? The Yukon is definitely on my bucket list for places to visit and to be able to work there and observe all sorts of plants would be so cool. 

Your post made me think about two things. One: do you know how they reproduce? Is there a pollinating beetle that helps these flowers out? And two: it reminded me of a plant called skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) that lives here in Ontario and is actually able to melt through snow in the spring by producing heat with an increased metabolism process. The skunk cabbage gives off a fairly strong odour that attracts the first pollinators of the season since it is still generally quite cold and snow still covers the ground. It looks much different from the purple mountain saxifrage as it has a spathe and spadix structure like a lily. 

Thanks so much for sharing this with us this week, I feel like I need to travel up north just to see this flower, too!

Out of each of the lens we have focussed on throughout our nature interpretation journey, I feel that music, is one of the most consistent one’s. From the sounds of the buzzing bees or the crickets rubbing their legs together, to the sound of me typing this paragraph right now, music is everywhere. Although you may not agree, music does not have to be a traditional song with a verse and a chorus. Simple sounds such as water dripping from a tap could be taken as a form of music. In nature, there are so many different possible sounds that we hear daily that we take for granted because we are don’t interpret these sounds as anything other than a simple noise. For example, we have all heard the sound that a cicada makes. A very unusual sound but very I think it is misunderstood. We might think that this sound is just a useless annoyance, but in reality, what if that sound is the cicada trying to communicate  to other cicadas? Maybe, this insect is trying to attract prey? The reality is, this is an example of one of the misunderstood, yet, still beautiful sounds of music that mother nature has provided us with. Another example of music is in nature could be, mimicry. Some animals will use mimicry sounds to attract prey. As mentioned in the article The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music, “Ambient sound is a central component of natural habitats” (Gray et. al., 2001).  The musical sound may vary from a calm stream of water running, to a tree falling down in the quiet forest, but no matter the melody, each of this examples can be interpreted and appreciated differently as different forms of music. 

Where is nature in music? An excellent example of this is this use of white noise sounds. As a person who requires a white noise or complete silence to do work, I often find myself listening to recordings of elegant nature sounds such as peaceful waterfalls running, or a midnight thunderstorm in the forest, to stay focussed on the task that I am completing. 

I could go on and on about different songs that remind me of amazing experiences I have had in my lifetime, but the song I would have to pick is Summer Vibe by Walk Off The Earth. Every time I play this song, it takes me back to my family vacation to Jamaica. Sitting on the beach in the sun, listening to the calm waves wash up on the beach. The sound of the birds chirping and tall grasses rustling in the wind. All while this song was playing in the background. This song reminds me of a better time when we all weren’t living in a pandemic. What is the song that makes you reminisce in the past?

I appreciate your post this week and you make some great points! I agree that the sounds of abiotic forces such as water and wind can also make sounds akin to music and I think that the beauty of our world is that everything on it adds to the whole song that is nature. I am glad you brought up cicadas! My mom and I always get excited when we hear the cicadas start to call because it is just such a distinct buzz and it brings back fond summer memories on my grandparents’ farm. I think the cicada buzz is so beautiful because some cicadas might actually live underground for many years and only emerge at the end of their life cycle. It is beautiful and sad at the same time because we get to enjoy the last songs they create before they die each year and I think that is a very powerful thing, even though they are “just insects”. You brought up mimicry as well and my all time favourite bird that utilizes mimicry is the mockingbird. They can have hundreds of unique calls in their repertoire and I had the pleasure of listening to one a few years ago when it built a nest near my house in the summer. So cool and such an amazing singer!

I like that you mention “elegant” nature sounds that you like to listen to while studying and I think elegant is such an interesting point of view too! I completely agree that there is something special, haunting, “elegant”, about the sounds created by such powerful forces as waterfalls and thunderstorms. I love the rain and often take time to just listen to thunderstorms when they roll through, it is a comforting yet melancholic sound and I have definitely used rain sound recordings to help me fall asleep. Walk off the Earth is a great band and I can see how this song could take you back to happier times. I connect a lot of music by the Arkells to campfires with family and friends and they just came out with an acoustic album called Campfire Chords which was just perfect!

Great post!

Have you ever heard about the buzz? Whether it’s the distant sound of traffic, the sound of your fridge running or just the hum of the furnace. Hundreds of different things in the man-made world work together to create an incessant buzz. If you listen for it, you’ll always hear it, and when you notice it it’s impossible to unhear. The only place I’ve found where the buzz finally stops is in nature. In nature there’s a unique sort of silence. A pure quiet, untouched by electrical wires or machines or cellphone towers. When you’re in a quiet like this it’s so much easier to be observant of the world around you.

Nature is a place where the senses take over, I find that when I’m in nature I get beautifully overwhelmed by all of the…

visuals; dense trees, wild animals, and rock faces

scents; flowers blooming, or the smell of a mossy forest.

feelings; the first jump into a lake, or the sand beneath my feet.

or even TASTES in nature! Like than stumbling upon a bush of wild berries!

Today’s post focuses on the final sense, sound.

I always find myself very aware of the sounds in nature. Everything in nature works together to create sounds which can be heard as music. Like the howl of a wolf, or the rush of a waterfall or in the knocking of a woodpecker.

One quote that stuck out in this weeks course material was this, “Some birds pitch their songs to the same scale as Western music, one possible reason for human attraction to these sounds.” (Gray et al., 2001)

Upon reading this, the first thing I thought was “why does the bird call match a human-made music scale?” Who said it’s not the other way around? Humans have been making music for almost our entire phylogenic history yes, but the western scale system was developed far after many bird species evolved. I think it’s safe to say that the natural world inspired our music system much more than birds took inspiration from us. In that way, music is built from nature and can be found all throughout it.

The definition of music is: Patterns of sound varying in pitch and time produced for emotional, social, cultural and cognitive purposes

So many things in nature are music, by definition! The mating calls of birds are a social signal that they’re a good mate, wolf howls are exclamations of celebration and excitement when they’ve made a kill.

Music is such a powerful form of communication and this week’s reflection has showed me that this is not only the case for humans, but for many other living things!

In closing, a song that takes me back to nature is Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Growing up at summer camp this song was practically our anthem, it was played on repeat in the cabin, we’d shout it at the top of our lungs from canoes on trip, and cry to it while we packed our things on the last day of camp. This song always fills me with a painful sort of nostalgia, when I hear it all I can see is the golden hue of summertime. It brings me back to so many afternoons laying in the sun with my friends, weekends by the lake or so many summer road trips. Something about this song just makes me want to lay in the grass, jump in a lake and climb a mountain all at the same time!

References

I absolutely loved your post this week and it touched on so many points that I also found interesting about this week’s topic. I completely agree with your point about the article by Gray et al. (2001) talking about nature like everything revolves around human beings. I also found it a little pretentious of them to describe bird songs as being inspired by human scales because you are absolutely right, humans came after many of these species and our musical themes most likely evolved from those that inspired us in nature. I find a lot of the time we think that humans are the superior beings, but I think there is plenty of evidence to show that there are so many incredible species out there with their own social structures and songs and intelligence. Thank you for mentioning wolf howls as well! I really think they are one of the most beautiful and haunting calls in nature and it is so interesting to think about the emotions behind these calls. I was so excited when you mentioned Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros! I also have fond memories of this song, usually from road trips with family, and I have cried while listening to it many times (haha). The style of the song, that spoken verse in the middle of it, just add to that nostalgia and I can certainly see how this song resonates with you so strongly! Finally, I have also noticed the buzz of electricity and man-made machines and I think you beautifully explained how nature gives us a reprieve from the constant noise we create. As noise pollution increases with growing urban populations, we will need to work hard to preserve the natural world and keep our unending noise from destroying what little peace we have left on earth. Great post!

“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

After reading and interpreting the quote by Hyams, it made me think how history has allowed us to learn and grow from mistakes and successes. However, artifacts alone do not provide all the information associated with history. Without interpretation, historic buildings and items would have no meaning to the way we live today. 

Maintaining the integrity of knowledge and memories associated with the past is a difficult task. There are always two sides to a story, and I believe it is the same for historical facts as well. As the textbook mentions, authenticity is an important part of interpreting history. Having proof and knowledge that the facts presented are true adds value to interpretation. This idea makes me think about indigenous artifacts and knowledge that is shown in museums; it makes me wonder if the information associated with those pieces is accurate. Many of these artifacts have been taken from the people who originally settled in this land and had colonizers try and remove their culture and languages. It does not feel right to learn about indigenous culture in a small section of a museum with colonial history. My friend shared a perspective of land acknowledgements that I have not thought of before: acknowledging that we stole indigenous land every day is like stealing someone’s car and driving past them every day, just to remind them. Restoring the history and culture of Canada should preserve the indigenous culture by gaining authentic knowledge from the current communities. I think this idea is important when it comes to nature interpretation because many of the parks and spaces we spend in nature are significant indigenous areas.

The second part of the quote explains that trying to maintain integrity for the pieces of history we know is key. Creating a whole picture of history is difficult because to this day we are still finding more information and learning details from the past. The first example that came to my mind of a way to show history as a whole was a visit I took to the Canadian Canoe Museum. The Canoe Museum was structured in a way that told a story and displayed information as a whole. We had an instructor who lead us through the museum and told us all the information as we went through. At the end of our visit to the museum, we were able to stay over in a room that replicated many different common shelters indigenous communities would be inhabited. That final element of the trip was a good way to immerse the visitors and make the history provide a whole idea. 

Hi Katelyn!

You made a great post this week with a lot of strong and thoughtful points. I agree that there is no point to keeping artifacts just because they are “old” if we have no intention of using them to teach and interpret history to others. I agree that we should start changing interpretation of Indigenous history and include member of those communities as interpreters and contributors to programs to make sure that we are sharing accurate and appropriate information. 

Your friend’s analogy about land acknowledgements is an interesting perspective and I feel like it does make sense. I think that acknowledging the land is a small step that individuals can make to initiate their learning and allow them to begin to practice holistic thinking. I’m not sure if it’s better than not acknowledging the land at all, but I don’t think we should get rid of it. If the land acknowledgements are the extent of our systemic change to colonialism then that is very wrong and shallow, but if we push our government to start making reparations with Indigenous communities and strive for better treatment and inclusion, we can start forming a brand new Canada. Sadly, it is going to take a lot of work and a lot of pushing for our government (and whatever party is in charge at the time) to make these changes but this is the only way we can dismantle the colonial system. Maybe some of that change will start with interpreters working together with Indigenous communities. 

That sounds like a really interesting museum you visited! Did you mean that you actually slept over at the museum? If so, what did your room look like? I looked up the building and it looks beautiful, I had never heard of it before but now I’m interested in seeing it! I used to work as a costumed third person interpreter at the Fanshawe Pioneer Village in London, ON and it was a great experience. I have some pictures from that summer in my feed! 

Great post again, thanks for sharing!

-Emma:)

Blog Prompt: 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)

Without knowing where we have been, how can we know where we are going, or even where we want to go? As our textbook states, “History forms values to guide living in the present” (Beck, 2018). History is a series of successes, failures, and in-betweens that we can learn from, and once we know better we can do better. Without our history guiding us we will be forced to repeat the same mistakes again and again. When we know our histories we are richer for it, we have a deeper knowledge of who we are and why things are the way they are. In times of need we can look back at the past as an example of how to tackle the problems we see today, or sometimes past mistakes are a dire warning of what can happen if we mess up.

We need “ancient things” as they can help us tell the story of who we are. As we have learned there are many types of learners out there, for people who are visual learners or more hands-on learners using physical artefacts and places as a guide the better image a time or place gone by can help connect visitors to the past. If someone is more of a verbal learner and requires to hear about a place or time a physical object, whether a real artifact or a prop, can be used as a narrative device to make a story feel more real.

Our textbook talked about interpreting Indigenous Peoples, and as an Indigenous Person who wants to work in interpretation, who has Indigenous friends who work in national parks I felt a little insulted. The textbook framed it like Indigenous communities and Indigenous people are somehow external to interpretation. Like the little girl in the Old El Paso ads famously said, “'Porque no los dos?” (why not both?). Why can’t someone be both Indigenous AND an interpreter? Why can’t Indigenous People interpret themselves? Don’t just engage with local Indigenous communities, hire Indigenous People and put them on staff! If your workplace actively interprets Indigenous knowledge and places and no Indigenous People want to work there, then change the workplace so they want to be involved!

This past September 30th was this country’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The holiday was created as a day for Canadians to remember the horrors of residential schools and learn of their long term impacts on the lives of Indigenous People. While Indigenous People knew what had happened in residential schools the majority of the Canadian population never learned about it. While I have a lot of complicated feelings about the national holiday (I could write several blog posts about this, but that is for another day), what I am glad for is that it remains as a teaching tool for the younger generations. We have this day as a yearly reminder, to teach and learn about residential schools, colonialism, and repairing the relationship between Canadians and Indigenous People - and that most importantly we will never forget what had happened at residential schools so that we can make sure it never happens again.

Hi Ossie!

I really appreciate your post this week and I think you have made some very strong points about the involvement of Indigenous interpreters in parks and historic sites. I completely agree that it needs to be an inclusive effort to share Indigenous history and I think we have reached the point where it no longer seems right or relevant to only have non-Indigenous interpreters on staff. You made a great point about changing the work environment so that Indigenous interpreters want to work at these places as well. I agree that if you are sharing history about a certain community you should make sure that it creates a welcoming environment for members of that community. If it doesn’t then you need to look at whether the programming is actually accurate and appropriate because visitors not from that community might not know any better. 

I appreciate you view on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and I agree that it is one step in helping educate younger generations. I’m glad you brought it up and I really hope this day actually is accompanied by large scale, systemic change in Canada and much more reparation from the government than is currently being done. You mention “without our history guiding us we will be forced to repeat the same mistakes again and again” and I think this sums it up nicely. We have the history and are educated on it now, so we need to make sure that it does not continue and we never make those same mistakes again. Canada will need to make some big moves to start trying to repair the damages of colonization. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

-Emma:)

I wanted to use this opportunity of no prompt for this week’s post to talk a little about how important it is for me to have time to disconnect. I’m a very anxious person, and I have tried almost everything there is to deal with it. Nothing has ever helped me as much as going out and explore nature. I feel like we live such a busy life, we are so distracted by the day-to-day affairs, which can be a lot to deal with sometimes. During the pandemic lockdowns, it was very clear to me how much I was missing that ability to disconnect. And I mean truly disconnect, go out into nature and be present to experience it. Doing this gives me peace, gives me perspective, allows me to have the time to think, time to reflect. I don’t know what it is about being in a remote place that is so much more powerful than anything else. No amount of exercise or meditation can achieve the level of serenity and reflection that connecting with nature has. Going out to explore nature also gives such a rush. Those feelings are completely unmatched by any other activity.

I was thinking a lot about this during this week. In my last post, I shared some pictures of me and my mom canyoning during the break. I didn’t know how much I needed to disconnect and go out and have fun in nature until we were there. When we got to the waterfall and got under it a feeling of joy rushed through my body. I was smiling up a storm. I couldn’t believe how good the water was. It wasn’t too cold, and it wasn’t too hot, it was just the right temperature. I just started floating and took it all in. Being back home in the DR and not being able to be in Guelph to start taking in-person classes has been quite stressful (even though the university has made a good job in ensuring the experience is as seamless as possible). With exams right around the corner, this was just the break I needed to re-center and refocus for the rest of the semester. Let me know what your favorite place and/or activity to relieve stress is!

Hi Yamil!

I appreciate your post this week and I commend you for opening up about your anxiety and how you have learned to deal with it. I am also a very anxious person and I completely understand the calming ability of nature. Doing school online can be really hard because everything you do happens in one space, there is no separation from life, work, school, and relaxation. I hope that your semester goes well and that you have time here and there to get out some more. 

That is really interesting that you were able to go canyoning, I can see how thrilling it must be! I have been to a few waterfalls over the years, but I have never gone that deep into canyons before! I love going for walks at dusk when everyone else is inside eating dinner. I have the trails to myself and I like how the light makes everything look blue and golden at the same time. I also lived near Lake Erie growing up and I loved to go and walk down the beach looking at rocks and wading in the water. If I can’t get outside, I will open a window on a nice day to let some of the outside air in. Feeling a warm breeze and hearing the rustle of leaves does wonders for the soul. We are very lucky to be able to experience these calming effects of nature and I appreciate that you acknowledged that this can be a privilege. As global temperatures continue to rise, we might find that nature will become a bit more unpredictable and storms might become a bit more severe. I hope that we all can come together and help save the beauty of nature for the generations that come after us. Great post!

-Emma:)

When I was younger, my dad always used to tell me to slow down and enjoy the view. This was his most annoying saying. I couldn’t understand why on road trips he wanted to pull over to the scenic lookouts and stand there staring at a bunch of trees, whereas I just wanted to keep driving to our destination. I didn’t understand what the huge deal was, and I didn’t appreciate what I was looking at. 

Now, I can appreciate the natural beauty of the world, and I regret not taking the extra five minutes to appreciate and take in what my dad was trying to show me. The natural world around us is so complex and stunning, it’s hard to interpret it through one medium. 

For myself, I now use photography as a means to interpret the world, taking hundreds of photos of trees and small wildlife I see in my daily life. I can also appreciate paintings, like the ones drawn/painted by the Group of Seven, when visiting art galleries. 

When I look at the photos I have taken, it takes awhile to see the whole picture. As there are so many aspects, it takes a second to digest every part, as the colours and shapes all tell different stories. The vibrant colours of the forests show how alive the ecosystem is, and the size of the trees can show how old an area is compared to the small new life growing in the area. 

Before, I could never appreciate what I was seeing and was oblivious to what I was witnessing. Now, I can’t stop looking at all the little things and wanting to witness every aspect of wildlife. I also want to understand everything I am seeing, which I think is the environmentalist in me showing, as I want to be able to connect what I am seeing to what I know. 

Whenever I see a photo of a forest, I can’t help but analyze every aspect of it to learn the story of the area, by looking at the colours and the sizes of the trees. As they say, “a picture tells a hundred words”, and one photo of a forest can tell hundreds of years worth of growth and change. It just takes a second for someone to look at the photo to understand what the forest is trying to show us. 

My favourite part of interpreting nature through photography is capturing the different colours. In the fall especially, there are so many vibrant colours that tell a story about an area. To me, it shows how complex nature is and its ability to change and survive different conditions. 

Hi Hannah!

I really liked your post this week and how you have grown to appreciate the little things in nature. I am easily distracted by random details and so when I would go on walks with my family I was usually like your dad, slowing the trip down to take in the views. I love capturing these fleeting moments on film or recounting them in stories. Slowing down takes a lot of practice and it has a meditative element that I think allows nature to have a healing effect on many people. I find that I appreciated visual art and photographs of nature before I learned more about different plant and animal species just because of their colours, symmetry, and composition. Now that I am taking more post-secondary courses in botany and environmental sciences, I have also started to notice different aspects of the environment and the species within it which I hadn’t given much thought to before. This September, I feel like I finally noticed the colours of yellow Goldenrod and purple Asters because I was working with them in field courses. I completely understand your feeling of wanting to connect what you are seeing with what you know. I feel that knowledge is important, but not always essential in appreciating the beauty of our natural world. You could know very little about how an ecosystem works, but if you see a great photo or painting of it, the art bridges the gap and allows you to appreciate the beauty of the unknown. Great post!

-Emma:)