Nature Interpretation

Unfortunately, we have reached the last blog post of the semester. Fortunately, we have all developed a great amount of knowledge and different outlooks via these blogs that we have deliberately created. I believe these blogs have allowed us all to not only share our personal experiences with nature but also alter and transform the way we interact and interpret nature as individuals.

When I first began this course, I felt insignificant in regard to my relationship with nature and in comparison, to you, my peers. I recall writing my first blog post with feelings of being incompetent as I read how involved others were with nature. Some of you were avid travelers and campers, others were in environmental studies and research or workplaces. In comparison, I was just a mundane student who travelled a handful of times and sometimes connected with nature in my backyard or local trail. However, as the semester progressed, I developed a deeper understanding of how my relationship with nature was beyond the extravagant or foreign places I witnessed. My relationship with nature was more about how I connected with it rather than where I connected with it. As Richard Louv says in the AGO interview, the definition of nature is up to the poet. For Louv, nature is any place where other species besides humans exist and that could simply be his backyard. I resonate with this definition of nature because this course and all of you lovely individuals have taught me that nature is in the eye of the beholder and thus, it can be interpreted anywhere, regardless of how big or small or ordinary the given areas is. I believe this approach of thinking about nature and interpreting it is not only suitable for me as an individual but also the rest of the population and especially for those who believe their relationship with nature is restricted due to location or experience!

My personal ethic as I develop as a nature interpreter incorporates spirituality and sustainability. As a spiritual being, I find that connecting to nature brings out the best parts of my character and draws me to understand mother nature on a more personal level. When I am in nature, I feel that I am more present and in tune with my emotions and thoughts. Interpretation of nature allows me to incorporate the knowledge I have learnt in past courses or throughout life with the present moments I have in nature as I begin to link my emotions to acquired knowledge/science. Alternatively, I am often more inclined to research and discover new information regarding the environment due to my feelings/thoughts in nature. For instance, in the last blog post that prompted us to discuss the most interesting thing we know about nature, I chose to write about grounding or earthing. This practice is something we often do when we go on picnics and play barefoot or when we are on the beach with our feet in the sand. When doing so, many people feel freer and joyful and usually are well rested the next day. After feeling this way for years and practicing meditation barefoot in nature over the summer, I became curious as to why this happens. Upon talking to a friend and researching this practice, I found that grounding practices result in the transfer of free electrons from the Earth’s surface into our bodily systems and help with function, stress levels, rest, etc. As a result of this information, I felt more inclined to practice grounding to build my spiritual/mental strength and physical body. I believe regardless of whether one believes in spirituality, there is no denying that nature allows for a harmonious relationship between oneself and the environment and thus creates a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual impact as discussed in our textbook (Beck et al., 2018 p. 475). Therefore, I firmly believe in my personal ethic to guide people towards spirituality through nature interpretation – even for those who are skeptical of spirituality.  

My other personal ethic as I develop as a nature interpreter is to lead through moral consciousness that encourages sustainability. Moral consciousness is developed through spirituality which is why my previous personal ethic is so significant in regard to my ethics of sustainability. When society understands the outstanding ways that nature encompasses spiritual values, people are more likely and willing to protect and sustain nature at all costs. Although technology and globalization continue to take over the world, I believe there are people like you and I who value the environment greatly. This is evident in the blog posts I have read where many of you talk about your personal relationships with nature and nature interpreters who have impacted you significantly. However, those who hold less value are often those who are not embracing nature to its full potential and are not guided by interpreters. Therefore, it is our duty as current/future nature interpreters to expand our knowledge and broaden the horizons of our communities so that we are able to work together to sustain the place we call home (Beck et al., 2018 p. 475). Given these proactive actions and wisdom, others will be challenged to think about their impact on the earth, their historical context, and resolutions towards living harmoniously with each other and other species (Beck et al., 2018 p. 475).  

I would like to thank you all for reading and replying to my blog posts this semester. More importantly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to write insightful and informative blogs of your own throughout the semester. Lastly, I would like to thank the teaching staff for allowing my peers and I the chance to share our thoughts and knowledge in this creative manner and providing a very informative and creative course. It has been a pleasure learning about nature interpretation with all of you and I look forward to seeing you accomplish your goals as nature interpreters!

Last summer, I was going through a very hard time. My personal life was in shambles for many reasons, and I began to feel like I was not progressing as an individual in any manner. Overall, I felt imbalanced in my lifestyle which drew me to a new way of living that involved more spiritual practices. Alongside meditation, I began the practice of grounding. Grounding or earthing is an incredible phenomenon where humans have direct physical contact to the ground through their bare feet. Now you're probably wondering, OK so what? How is that so amazing? Grounding practices actually enable electrons to pass through the earth and into your body which heals a ton of negative impacts on human health! When I first found this out from a friend, I was astonished but ironically, not surprised because my religion has a vast understanding of the benefits of being barefoot. Nonetheless, I was compelled to investigate the science behind grounding, and I found many research articles covering the topic. 

As humans, we wear shoes a lot. Although we think this is beneficial to our feet, it actually causes major physiological disfunctions. Shoes, like many other aspects of modern-day life, have separated humans from the continuous free supply of electrons that pass through the surface of our planet. However, historically, humans would walk barefoot or use animal skin footwear, sleep on the ground, or sleep on animal skin (Chevalier et al., 2012). Such practices positively impacted their health as the abundance of free electrons from earth could pass directly into humans or through moistened animal skin (Chevalier et al., 2012). As humans, we are electrically conductive and thus, these electrons would stabilize the internal electrical environment within us and our bodily systems ranging from organs, tissues, and cells (Chevalier et al., 2012). Due to our modern lifestyle, chronic illnesses and immune disorders have increased significantly, and ironically, the environment, specifically grounding, can help reduce these illnesses despite other environmental factors that cause them.  

Due to Earth’s negative potential equalizing the body’s internal electrical potential, the electrons may also be significant in setting biological clocks that regulate diurnal body rhythms including cortisol secretion (Chevalier et al., 2012). Therefore, free electrons allow human bodies to wake up, produce energy throughout the day, and rest at night. Another huge beneficial factor of grounding includes the neutralization of reactive oxygen species (Chevalier et al., 2012). These free radicals or ROS that cause chronic health problems and inflammatory diseases can be neutralized through absorption of electrons from the earth (Chevalier et al., 2012). Tell me that is not amazing!  

Although there are many studies that investigate the Earth’s electrical potential and human bodies in relation to stress levels, sleep, pain responses, cortisol secretion, glucose regulation and more, there is still limited discussion about this phenomenon. As a result, not many people have heard of grounding practices!  

Since you now know this information, I urge you to experiment with grounding. Sit in your backyard or favorite park barefoot, with your feet and hands planted into the grass for 10 minutes. Do this for a few days or ideally a week! Each day, monitor your energy and your sleep or sleeping habits. Let me know if you felt any differences in your energy, sleep, or overall health in the comments below!  

References:

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)

Upon reading Hyams’ quote, I found it quite confusing regardless of how many times I re-read it. I felt that my tone when I read it would change and thus change its meaning, so I decided to split up the quote by sentences to gain a better understanding of it. From my interpretation, I believe this quote confronts the use of the past and its significance for what happens today. I think the first long sentence conveys that historical objects/events/places have little value when they are seen as divisive, partial, random, or not belonging to a whole. However, when these ancient things are united with a historical story, memory, or knowledge, and are representative of such, these things become of greater importance or value. For instance, if I am to wear a dull necklace, this necklace may lack value to others as it is not lustrous and beautiful to the naked eye. However, if I were to explain how this necklace was passed down by my grandmother who was gifted it when she was deemed a mature woman, the necklace is suddenly more valuable and significant due to the historical context behind it. In the same manner, historical objects have gained significance through their historical context. For example, the Rosetta Stone is an infamous artifact that transcribes the decree of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes of 196 B.C. in three different languages (Alex, 2020). Although the stone may be read as a boring script, it holds great significance in history as it not only allowed others to understand the decree of a King in Ancient Egypt but also helped decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs at a much later time in the late 1700’s to 1800’s (Alex, 2020). This great discovery of a mundane stone became significant over time through its historical context in multiple ways. Thus, Hyams’ quote remains true in the sense that parts of ancient things, scattered through time have little value on their own but immense value when integrated with knowledge, memories, and historical context.

The second sentence of Hyams’ quote can be translated with a tone of sarcasm or ideological thinking. I believe Hyams is conveying that those who believe that history is only significant in the time that it is found would be ignorant. That is because history is constantly being linked to past, present and future events to better understand what has, is, and could occur. In regard to nature, this aspect of his quote is highly accurate as scientists are constantly using past events to decipher current day issues as well as future events. A prime example of this would be the increase of global warming as climate scientists are continuously looking at the climate evidence from the past to understand the issue we have today and how damaging the issue could be in the future generations to come. Overall, I believe Hyams’ quote can be interpreted in many relevant ways, but the main takeaway would be to preserve history as it can assist us when trying to understand the past, present, and future, especially in an environmental context.  

Artwork by one of my favorite young Sikh artists: Ravina Toor. This piece is called “Pupose II” and it represents her purpose to create art; The image shows a realistic image of herself at the present moment as she sits and admires the beauty of the outdoors in Punjab. She is a significant piece in the artwork she is painting because she is a part of the beauty of nature as much as it is a part of her.

I choose to use my values as a Sikh when being an environmental interpreter in correlation to the art that is nature because it provides me spiritual uplift. When I see the creations of God, I am able to view nature as art and it gives me the feeling of God being near me rather far up in the sky. In this sense, I am also able to view everything as God, including myself, as I work through God to create a harmonious lifestyle with the environment. I protect and preserve nature not only because it is God’s creation but it is God itself and thus, I am spiritually joyous and positive about nature when I am interpreting it to others. This is the “Gift of Beauty” as I am instilling the "the ability and the desire to sense the beauty in their surroundings" as well as providing "spiritual uplift and encouraging resource preservation" Beck et al. (2018). After all, I may be just a human experiencing the human life form, but in the bigger picture, I and nature are an art piece created by God, and if I am to spread that message, I feel a lot less mundane than what I described in the first paragraph of my blog post.  

As an ideal environmental interpreter, I would aim to spark curiosity and connect others to nature. Although I don’t find myself seeking a job with a focus on the environment, I would like to be an occupational therapist which would involve the environment at various points in time. Ideally, I would like to work in a school setting, where I could help children interact with nature in order to encourage play and curiosity within their daily lives. This role would enable me to use multiple learning styles to ensure that I am allowing each child the opportunity to learn about the environment in a manner that is helpful to them. I envision myself using a similar technique to the learning style quiz in Unit 2 to understand the child’s learning approach and then using the gained information to design activities that meet the child’s needs. For instance, if I find that a child with a lack of appropriate social skills is an auditory learner, I may design activities that encourage social skills through recognizing the sounds of nature. Moving forward, I would continue to develop similar activities for the child to progress their learning through targeted learning styles and stimulate their curiosity towards the environment and its various processes. Additionally, all children need physical activity and emotional regulation and many children who require an OT need assistance with these two areas of focus. Thus, I believe promoting outdoor learning should be a significant factor of being an occupational therapist in a school environment.

During my senior year of high school, I did Co-op at my old elementary school with my previous music teacher. I assisted the music teacher with his lessons for children ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. During this experience, I learned a lot about how each child processes information differently, and thus I played a huge role in changing the outcome of their learning. I worked with the children outdoors in the summer to develop their musical skills among nature and the beaming sun as it aided their learning in many ways. I found that the children, regardless of age, were more engaged, recollective, and joyful during their lesson. I decided to delve deeper into this phenomenon of outdoor lessons, and I found that learning outdoors increases engagement among students due to nature’s restorative powers (Suttie, 2018). Similarly, to adults, children also feel decreased stress levels, restored attention and increased immune function when spending time in the environment (Suttie, 2018). Hence, learning outdoors aids children to be calmer, healthier, and more attentive which consequently increases their learning skills such as memory and collaboration (Suttie, 2018). After investigating the benefits of learning outdoors through research and personal experiences, I am considerably more interested in my role as an environmental interpreter within my future career path of occupational therapy.

References:

Nature has always intrigued me in some way or another, however, I believe my relationship with nature has evolved immensely over my adult life. As a child who grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, I felt that nature was far from me because I was often confined to the business of the city. I travelled twice during my childhood, once to Vancouver, BC and once to Punjab, India. Although I do not recall much about my visit to Vancouver, Punjab was a completely foreign and incredibly enriching experience. I was only five years old when my uncle and cousins took me to their farm in Punjab and introduced me to all the animals and farmland they maintained. I watched the vegetation and wheat grow on our farm each day as I helped my uncle with the minor tasks I was able to do as a little girl. I saw first-hand the deeply rooted love and attachment they had for their motherland and how they bonded with it through nature. At my father’s village, I would cater to the pigeons kept on the rooftop of their home and would watch them fly and return to their home safely each night. I was mesmerized by these experiences in Punjab as I felt more in tune with nature than ever before, but unfortunately these experiences were very short lived.  

Sunset on the farmland in Punjab.

Although people from the GTA travel to see the numerous waterfalls and trails that Hamilton beholds, I was not aware of this because my family was not too keen on the outdoors. Like most children, I loved playing outdoors, going to the park, riding my bicycle, and playing outdoor sports but I was also not the kind of child who collected bugs and rocks. Thus, I would say my relationship with nature was very minimal during my childhood. I believe my relationship with nature changed after my first camping trip in the summer of 2018. My sister and I planned to go to the infamous Algonquin park with our dog for about 3 days but ended up staying longer after falling in love with the concept of living outdoors. Camping was a huge learning experience for me as it put my survival techniques to the test, but it also grew my love for nature immensely. I finally understood how captivating and serene nature is as I canoed across the lake, went on long trails with my dog, and listened to the buzzing of the animals and critters as I fell asleep each night.  

Algonquin Park (2018).

I believe my sister offered me a 'sense of place' as her growing love for nature developed my unique relationship with it as well. After our camping experience, my sister has constantly encouraged me to explore nature with her whether that means going on more trails or travelling to see beautiful sites within Ontario. She has taught me an abundance of information regarding plants and animals and has encouraged me to be more involved with the outdoors in my own time. Recently, I travelled back to Vancouver to enjoy the beauty of British Columbia once again as I did not remember it the first time. My experience in Vancouver left me in awe of nature and has inspired me to make travelling an annual goal going forward. Additionally, I routinely meditate and practice grounding in nature, I care for many different house plants, and I try my best to maintain a sustainable lifestyle for the betterment of our planet. I know my relationship with nature will continuously evolve and become stronger the more I engage with it thus, I am working towards creating more opportunities for travel and adventure within nature this upcoming spring/summer!