Interpreting Nature

As I write this final blog post I look back on everything I have learned. I have thoroughly enjoyed this unique, creative and expressive way to communicate myself and my development with my classmates. Without this platform, I would not have had the opportunity to get to know my classmates and their interpretations of nature throughout this semester – they would have remained strangers as many of my classmates from other classes have. I feel like I made new friends along the road to nature interpretation as I have met individuals who share similar interests and passions as me. I am especially grateful to have made these friends during a time where meeting new people is pretty much impossible!

I am sad to be leaving behind this amazing community as the semester ends, however perhaps I’d be fortunate enough to continue to discuss the vast wonders of nature with other nature-lovers through the platform of this blog. I hope that as I develop as a nature interpreter, I can meet new people who can introduce me to new skills so that I may share the gift of nature with as many people as possible. I would say that my journey through this course has really helped me develop as a nature interpreter. I would say I am rather different than the nature interpreters I had in my life growing up such as my mother, my father even my aunt and grandparents all played important roles and taught me about nature in my youth. Not to mention other more famous nature interpreters that I learned of as I grew up such as Steve Irwin, Sir David Attenborough and Jane Goodall who are all huge role models for me as I begin my journey as a conservationist, zookeeper and nature interpreter.

I’ve had many opportunities in my life to express to the people in my life how amazing nature is. Growing up I was the child that obsessed over it and craved to learn more and more everyday – I couldn’t get enough. I often thought to myself “Nature so is so cool! How come not everyone knows about this”. And at a young age I took it upon myself to tell my younger siblings stories about wild animals and ecosystems. Eventually – and rather quickly I might add – I soon knew more weird facts about animals than even my parents! I distinctly remember visiting a zoo with my family and my mother and I were looking down into a pit where a capybara was resting. For those of you that don’t know what a capybara is, it is the world’s largest rodent! As my mother stood there wondering what that animal could be, 11 year old me turned to her and said “that’s a capybara” she looked at me doubtful and asked how I knew that, and I told her it was because I had seen pictures of them before and quickly told her that capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. Still doubtful that what I was saying was true, she walked over to the sing outside the enclosure and sure enough it stated exactly what I had told her. Needless to say, she was rather impressed!

When it comes to nature interpretation, I believe that everyone has the right to know about the natural world around them. I believe that the more people understand the vast complexities of nature, the more they will be appreciating, and the more people will want to protect it from further damage. As we all know the ecosystems of are planet are being destroyed due to human activity and consumption and it is my life goal to try to mitigate these effects. I believe that if more people became aware of the problems, we as a species are causing, the more people are to change their habits in order to help. This class has however taught me the importance of invisible backpacks when it comes to nature interpretation which is something I had never considered before. It goes without saying that life is not fair, and some individuals are born with advantages others do not. The differences in these advantages and disadvantages across humanity are a big reason behind why some do not know much about nature. As I continue with my journey to becoming a nature interpreter as well as a conservationist, it is extremely important to me that I consider the invisible backpacks of my audience members. It is my objective to be able to reach as many people as possible and to do so accommodations need to be made so that we may all appreciate nature to the fullest before it is too late.

The approaches I like to take to share nature is definitely through art. I’ve always been more artistic and creative than scientific, and I think that quality will help me reach out to a wider variety of individuals. Although I am expressive in various art forms, I think my favorite for expressing nature is by far through art. If you guys have been following my previous posts, you will have noticed I have discussed this under our weekly topic of Nature Through Art in which I shared a few of my favorite painting. I remember ever when I was kid, I used to strictly only paint and draw images of raw nature, meaning there were never traces of humans in them. That goes for houses, powerlines and people themselves. I used to think like this because I didn’t think human belonged in such beautiful landscapes since we often ruin them. Although that same sentiment is present in my art today it has since evolved in the sense that there is still hope humans and nature can coexist. This is seen in a few of my paintings such as the one with the woman with her feet in the water of the simple boat out on the water during sunset. These small inclusions of humanity in mainly natural settings is my way of expressing how beautiful nature is if we take care of it and that synergy is possible.

I hope you all appreciated this class as much as I did and learned so things that can help you al develop as nature interpreters!

Great post, I enjoyed reading and connecting to it. You made many great points about how impactful this semester has been! I thoroughly enjoyed blogging for similar reasons as you. It allowed me to interact and engage with classmates from a distance amidst this pandemic. “they would have remained strangers as many of my classmates from other classes have.” This is a very true statement I also feel like I made some new virtual friends along the road of learning about nature interpretation. It's always wonderful to meet individuals who share similar interests and passions. 

Photo by Elisa on Unsplash

Your story about coming across the capybara in the zoo is super interesting and shows your power as an interpreter! That's awesome that you applied your knowledge of the animal and identified it quickly. This kind of goes to show the ability and beauty of interpretation at heart! 

Unpacking an invisible backpack was a powerful idea to consider. It allows for a perspective grasp of what is going around you. As you point out the differences in advantages and disadvantages across humanity are a large reason why some do not know much about nature's value or what it offers. I think it's important to carry an open mind, good morals & values to move forward to the challenges of tomorrow while respecting the issues of today. 

“It is my objective to be able to reach as many people as possible and to do so accommodations need to be made so that we may all appreciate nature to the fullest before it is too late.” 

I very much agree with this statement and it sums up how I feel as well. The harsh reality is it up to every one of us as people to act in a manner that promotes sustainable practices for both people and the environment. The quality of the future depends on what we all do individually, mutually, and collectively in the coming years.  

The River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, 1770 by Paul Sandby

Photo by  Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

I’ve enjoyed seeing your artwork and it's powerful in many ways. I appreciate you sharing it. I enjoy many forms of art and I can relate to your perception of raw nature and desire to capture nature in its natural form. I find this very interesting because I’ve done similar things through sketching or various styles in the past. I think this was very important for me to spend time and consider because it holds tremendous value knowing the impact of human interaction and intervention with nature. We truly have to have hope in humanity. It's important to consider how humans interact with their surroundings and crucial to openly discussing solutions to issues and potential ones.

Considering nature interpreting through this course has been a great experience and It helped me in many ways develop my skills and ideas about interpreting anything. Expressing nature through art is a truly wonderful way of capturing the beauty nature or a natural site holds. 

Photo by  Lahiru Supunchandra on Unsplash

Great semester!

Cheers,

On a Sunday afternoon when I was around eight years old, I was trying to find a good movie to watch. I stumbled upon “Envy” by Ben Stiller and Jack Black that’s about a man who quickly became rich selling a product that when sprayed on dog feces it would make it disappear. Only later on people started to wonder where the feces went and from what I remember, due to toxic chemicals in the product it had to be recalled and the man lost all of his wealth. While this may not seem like it has any connection to nature interpretation, looking back I believe this is the day in which I really started to care about the environment. Looking back, although it wasn’t the best great film in my opinion, it got me to start questioning what really happens to all of the disposable products that we use. Obviously, I was still quite young while watching this movie, and I didn’t have that major realization all at once, but it had definitely inspired me to try to educate my family and friends about living a more sustainable lifestyle.

“…Being an environmental educator in today’s world feels like you are asked to stop a rushing river armed only with a teaspoon” (Hooykaas, 2021). This analogy by environmental educator Jacob Rodenburg shows that trying to educate people today about nature is pretty much impossible. The reason I believe this is the case is because people only care and act on something if it directly affects them and depending on how much energy it takes to do it. This leads to my personal beliefs and responsibilities as a nature interpreter. I personally feel responsible to share my knowledge of pressing topics with those around me. I find that using media as a tool within nature interpretation along with traditional forms of interpretation is the best approach at creating an engaging and fun experience with my audience. I have done this in the past with family and friends by simply recommending an episode of a Netflix show known as “Broken”, but specifically the episode known as ‘Recycling sham”. The show goes into detail on the current recycling situation around the world and how it is broken, and by showing my family and friends the episode demonstrates ways that they can make changes in their lives to be more sustainable. The reason I find this very effective as a nature interpreter is because it is the role of a nature interpreter to find your interpretation relevant and be able to connect on a personal level (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).It has been said that “Professionals don’t merely take a picture; they make a picture” which allows the series of messages from the creator to be portrayed to you without you needing to be there (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).In my situation I would be using the work of the interpreters that created the film as a tool to get my audience engaged and understand the relevance of the situation to their lives, then giving them the tools to be able to apply their newly learnt knowledge. In a nature interpretation setting, I feel that it is my responsibility to create a memorable experience to my audience so that they can leave with a deeper understanding of the subject at hand ((Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).The best way to do this would be to follow the TORE acronym: T (thematic with a focus on the main message conveyed), O (organized to provide structure and meaning), R (relevant to the audience), E (enjoyable for the audience) (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).More specifically, it would be important to speak confidently and with enthusiasm and passion along with a great sense of humour (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).

My personal ethic in terms of my development as a nature interpreter can simply be described as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Within interpretation this has two primary applications:

1. My audience

2. The nature being interpreted

Firstly, as I have mentioned before, I feel a strong responsibility for making sure the audience had an enjoyable and memorable experience, but unfortunately there is always the chance it could be memorable for the wrong reasons. Back in 2013, I was on a weeklong history and nature interpretation trip in Israel and found myself having a very unpleasant experience with the tour guide. For starters he did not make it enjoyable or engaging and was overall very rude and he ruined my experience. I once thought it would go without saying an interpreter should treat its guests as they would want to be treated but having gone through that experience, I would make sure to never repeat his mistakes. Secondly, I believe that it is incredibly important to have respect for the area that is being interpreted. Whether it be a historical site or just somewhere out in nature, it is important to promote the preservation of the area and protect it against pollution or general damages by yourself and the guests.

A belief that I would bring as a nature interpreter is that it is absolutely necessary to have a full understanding and connection to the subject that is being interpreted. This was actually apart of my response during my second blog post, as I felt that my ideal environment for nature interpretation would be at the Earl Bales park near my home as I feel that I have an understanding and connection environment. The same can be said about a more general topic such as sustainability. I believe that it would be very important for someone interpretating nature and pollution to be sustainable and ecofriendly themselves. As stated in Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world by Beck, Cable & Knudson “Interpreters seek to add the essential elements of heightened appreciated, deeper understanding, and new ways of seeing the world.” It would be very hypocritical and morally wrong to teach something that you don’t believe in yourself as interpreters “…need to practice their craft with integrity and a high regard for the truth” (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).

Overall, enrolling in this course gave me the opportunity to dive deep into learning how to share my knowledge and experiences with those around me creating great learning and memorable moments while also learning how to articulate these thoughts into writing through the blog posts. I hope you have all enjoyed following me through my nature interpretation journey, and I really hope you were all able to take something away from reading my blogs.

-Howard

References

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

Great post, I enjoyed reading your ideas and particularly enjoy your thoughts regarding sharing pressing topics with those around you. You raise many great points about the value of interpreting and how this course has shaped the ability to share knowledge and experiences with others. It’s very important to consider the audience in any setting and how engaging them is done effectively. I think we all have ample opportunities every day to help explain how we can make changes to support a more sustainable future. We must continue to help those around us enjoy and respect the environment. It's definitely up to people to take action that leads to cumulative contributions towards benefiting the environment.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

We need to work collaboratively with schools, parents, community groups, faith groups, governments, and non-governmental agencies to help future generations love, learn about, care for, protect, and enhance the environment. Indeed the future of the planet depends upon it (Jacob Rodenburg, 2019).

This week's reading reminds us that there is hope but it's up to everyone to act for the future. As an interpreter making a memorable experience is important. You raise a great point in how someone could leave a negatively influenced memory during an interpretation. Sometimes observing the mistakes of others is a powerful example of what not to do. As the golden rule states people should treat others the way they want to be treated. We must not repeat mistakes. We are constantly learning and that is valuable to who we are to continue to move forward. Having respect for other forms of life or the area being interpreted is critical to a good experience for all.  

Photo by Matthew Smith on Unsplash

“As stated in Interpreting cultural and natural heritage for a better world by Beck, Cable & Knudson “Interpreters seek to add the essential elements of heightened appreciated, deeper understanding, and new ways of seeing the world.” It would be very hypocritical and morally wrong to teach something that you don’t believe in yourself as interpreters “…need to practice their craft with integrity and a high regard for the truth” (Beck, Cable & Knudson, 2018).”

As you state it sums it up very accurately that it is incredibly important to be ethical and believe in yourself and what you are preaching during an interpretation of any kind. The craft needs to be practiced with integrity and high regard to the truth because it makes it genuinely fulfilling for all and provides moral justification only if these regards are held. 

Have a great day,

Great semester!

Justin

Refrences

Close your eyes and try to imagine the most beautiful natural phenomena you can. When I close my eyes, I begin to see brilliant colours of vibrant greens and pinks dancing against a dark sky. I can visualize myself standing near the Arctic Circle experiencing the magnificent wonders of the Aurora Borealis. 

Ever since I can remember I have always had a huge fascination for the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights, also referred to “Aurora Borealis”, is a natural optical phenomenon that occurs in the northern hemisphere, typically in the Arctic region. In the southern hemisphere it is referred to as “Aurora Australis”. This phenomenon is caused when charged particles leave the sun’s surface and enter the Earth’s atmosphere near the northern and southern magnetic poles, colliding with the gaseous particles of the atmosphere, and causing the spectacular lighting of the sky (NASA, 2021).

This diagram shows the collision of the sun’s particles with Earth’s atmosphere. Retrieved from NASA, 2021.

The colours of auroras vary between greens, yellows, pinks and reds. Just as the neon particles in a neon light get excited by electricity flowing through and release a coloured light, these charged solar particles excite gases in the outer atmosphere to create the stunning hues of the aurora (NASA, 2021). Fully red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, but are quite rare, while blue or purplish-red auroras are created by nitrogen gas (Northern Lights Centre). 

This is a photo taken by my friend Hannah who lives in Webequie, Ontario which is approx. 540km north of Thunder Bay. Photo taken by H. Currie (2021). 

As discussed in Beck et al. (2018), the use of art has been very effective in natural interpretation and attracting the attention of individuals. This is evident for the interpretation of the Northern Lights as the aurora has captured the attention and imaginations of humans for centuries. They rendered their interpretation of the phenomena as art in cave illustrations as far back as 30,000 years (Space.com, 2017). Many poets, authors, musicians and painters have all interpreted the Northern Lights through their own lens. By sharing their interpretation with others, the phenomena have stirred a sense of awe, wonder and appreciation in those who have not yet experienced the aurora in person.

The Northern Lights can be seen in many locations along the “Aurora Zone”, including areas in Canada, USA, Iceland, Greenland, Norway and Sweden (Northern Lights Centre). Since the best areas to view the Northern Lights in Canada and these other countries are in remote northern locations, the average person cannot readily experience them in person. Now I know what you might be thinking, what if I want to experience the Northern Lights but cannot get to these locations? There are actually organizations that have set up live cameras to record and broadcast footage of the Northern Lights for people to view from the comfort of their own homes! 

This link takes you to a live cam that is broadcasting from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada!

Although I have never been fortunate enough to experience this phenomena in person, I have always been drawn to the beautiful colours depicted through photos and hope to experience them someday!

Have any of you had the opportunity to experience the Northern Lights in person?? I would LOVE to hear about your experience!!

Thanks for reading along, 

Janieka :)

References

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

NASA. (2021, March 12). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/telecons/archive/PR_E-PO/Aurora_flyer/aurora-flyer_p2.doc.pdf

“Northern Lights Centre.” Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis Explained, www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html  

Northern lights live cam - watch the aurora borealis. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://explore.org/livecams/zen-den/northern-lights-cam

Great post, I enjoyed reading about your ideas on the topic. I have often wondered and dreamed about seeing the Northern Lights. It is definitely an interesting phenomenon that provokes interest and based on photos I've seen is an amazing sight in nature! The aurora borealis is a wickedly cool phenomenon that definitely drives interest for me to go experience it! I think the best part would be watching it move and dance around in the sky!

Photo by Nelly Volkovich on Unsplash

I can just imagine the sky being lit up by the beautiful colours thinking about it. I think something that would be vividly impressionable would be who you are with during the experience and what you're surrounded by. Both of these things will change heavily how one may experience the phenomenon and how they feel about it.  

Photo by Benjamin Suter on Unsplash

The ideal situation for many I assume would be surrounded by friends and potentially an interpreter who is discussing what is being displayed by the phenomenon. Enjoying the experience around a campfire would be one to remember! Experiencing the night sky on a clear night in a place with relatively low light pollution can be amazing in itself. When you add the clear and vivid skylines of the north it can be very magical in how we share this experience with others. Interpreting it would be hard to discuss such a phenomenon with someone with disabilities such as a vision problem. How do you think you could help someone in that situation truly experience the sight of the northern lights? Articulating the wonderful colours and lights?

Photo by Vincent Guth on Unsplash

The fascination for this phenomenon is something that many people can bond over! This experience in nature is powerful and interpretation of it could be heavily influenced by how it is talked about by the people around you. I think to remain a strong nature interpreter it would be important to remind everyone to experience the sight for what they can see and share ideas about what they think supported by knowledge around the topic. 

Great post, 

Have a great day!

Image retrieved from: http://oceanpax.blogspot.com/2009_11_08_archive.html

When I began to brainstorm for my blog this week, this quote from the movie August Rush (2007) popped into my head. Although I hadn’t thought of this movie in a long time, there are some very important messages in it relating to music. I think there is a lot of truth behind this quote because the rhythmic tones of music are everywhere around us in nature. This concept was supported in the paper “The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music” by Gray et al. 2001. From the sounds of a babbling brook to the croaking of frogs on a damp evening to the singsong of birds in the morning - music will forever be embedded into the nature around us.

This is a video I recorded April 1st, 2020. It captures the sound of the frogs talking to each other on that evening. Video taken by J. Droog.

Growing up in a very musical family, I was introduced to music at a young age. I learnt the importance of storytelling through music. Whether it is accompanied by lyrics, or simply instrumental, music always has a story to tell. Through my life experiences, I have had the opportunity to form a strong relationship with both nature and music separately, as well as together. For me, going outdoors and exercising by myself, whether I am running, walking or rollerblading is when I feel most at ease. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that when I am out by myself, I am truly absorbing all the harmonious sounds around me. Being able to connect with the sounds and music of nature is what truly makes my heart sing!

However, a lot of the time when I am going out for a walk, I find myself leaning more towards listening to music off my device. This is not because I want to drown out the noise around me, but because I find myself wanting to listen to music while I’m enjoying the nature around me. I find that there is an interchangeability between the energy I get from being in nature and simultaneously listening to music that lifts me up.

In the Ares reading for Unit 7 this week, Gray et al. (2001) stated that “The ambient sound of an environment mimics a modern-day orchestra: the voice of each creature has its own frequency, amplitude, timbre, and duration, and occupies a unique niche among the other musicians”. This direct quote relates to both nature in music and music in nature as it shows the reciprocating relationship between the occurrence and the production of the music.

One song that will always take me back to a natural landscape is John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. This song holds a special meaning to me as it has become a family favourite over the years. Whether we are on a long road-trip or sitting around a fire in the backyard, this song always seems to weasel its way onto our playlist. One memory in particular that I recall of my family singing this song in nature was back in 2014 when our friends from the Netherlands visited us in Canada. We sang and laughed for hours in our backyard and enjoyed the music and nature around us.

This is a photo of my sister and I, singing along to John Denver with our friend Manny in our backyard. Photo taken by my dad in 2014.

Thank you for reading along with my blog this week! I can’t wait to hear about how you all interpret music in nature!

Janieka :)

References:

Gray, P. M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C., and Baptista, L. (2001). The music of nature and the nature of music. Science. 291(5501).

Great post I enjoyed reading about your connection to nature and music! 

You make some very interesting points and I particularly enjoy your idea regarding how the energy can be impacted or shifted by the music and sounds of nature. The ambient sound of an area has a role in how we feel and what we perceive at that moment. The energy of a song has a great potential when mixed alongside the natural sounds of a given landscape it can be powerful to how we interact and use the space. As you mentioned using your phone speaker to create a soft background noise alongside natural sounds has great benifit. Creating areas that promote our experience is important to how we see the world and this can be altered through various noises and kinds of music. 

Photo by  Luca Franzoi on Unsplash

How I interpret nature is heavily dependent on the sounds and music that are influencing me at the given time. This can be very powerful if used correctly. Think about natural sound effects like reveling a hidden waterfall as you turn a corner on a rigorous hike. Music has the ability to help motivate people through its wonderful effects and holds the power to help people continue on a journey. The power of music is tremendous and in many ways unique to people's different styles and tastes. The mind is very powerful and music can help attain goals, dreams, or passions.

Photo by v2osk on Unsplash

John Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is an iconic song of family and returning from an adventure! This song is very relatable and helps so many of us to connect and bond with friends and family through this song. I cherish this song for similar reasons of family connection and enjoy the thoughts associated with it when it comes on. 

Cheers, 

“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) 

Merit is “the quality of being worthy or deserving of praise”. In this context, I interpret merit to be a title that can be given to something – similar to value or worth. Looking back to a sense of place from Beck at al., (2017), often what makes a place special (valued) is not because all its individual parts have merit, rather its combined beauty, history, or cultural significance give it merit. So, the same things that maintain integrity (memory, history, etc.) are also what give something merit and significance. Aristotle once said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You can have all the parts to build a house but having the parts together in the same place does not make it a home. For example, ancestral indigenous groups had lands, traditions, houses, language and practices, and so do all the modern indigenous groups. But this does not mean the reserves they were forced on are their home, and it does not mean their cultural and spiritual ties to their ancestral lands have been permanently severed. Because the “parts” of Indigenous culture and history are spread through time, the only way to maintain the integrity of Indigenous culture is to remember their past and acknowledge it’s the reason for their current situation. And so, the past is not done with, and if anything; the integrity of time is the reason why everything is the way it is today. A large part of the reason we have the cities we do, the houses we do, and the opportunities we do, is because the past continues to exist through the extended repercussions of the actions of the people from the past.

Quote from Micheal Crichton, producer-writer-director of Jurassic Park.

As we continue to explore nature interpretation through history let’s continue with the example of First Nations history. When we are taught about indigenous history there are a few questions we have to ask ourselves. First, who’s story is being shared? Telling the story from the perspective of the settlers versus the perspectives of the Indigenous peoples can portray very different views on the events that occurred. The person explaining the history and series of events ultimately decides what is included – and this can be limited by the writer; either by them purposefully choosing to leave out key details, or they are unaware of important details, thoughts, or emotions because they did not experience an event firsthand. Many written accounts of Canada’s history share the perspectives of white settlers, because First Nation’s groups predominantly pass on teachings through stories and spoken word. I urge you to try and find an account of Canadian history told or written by an individual from any First Nations group on Google– it’s rare to find without searching extensively for it. This ignores (either intentionally or unintentionally) the thoughts/feelings/stories of indigenous groups. For centuries, Canada has ignored its dark past and many historical accounts imply that land ownership was rightfully given to the settlers. However, what these stories don’t imply or specify, is that language and cultural barries/differences led to quite different interpretations on what treaties meant. Many Indigenous groups did not believe in land ownership, but instead they believed the land owned them and certain lineages had rights to use certain parts of it. First Nations believed they were merely giving the new settlers the right to use some of their lands. They never thought they were giving up all title to their land, nor did they even comprehended the concept of giving away their land forever.

Like people recognizing their privilege, many interpreters are beginning to recognize their duty to acknowledge an area’s history. As nature interpreter’s, we have a solemn duty to remember. To remember not only the good parts of the history of a place, but also the bad. And when we include history in our interpretations, you will find that more people are able to find a sense of place. These places of memory are places with deep rooted historical significance due to the events that occurred there. The non-material components of such sites are what give them merit and make people care about them, and these memories are often far more important than the place itself and the things that currently exist in the area.

Quote from Micheal Crichton, producer-writer-director of Jurassic Park.

How is your personally identity tied to the history of your where you live/grew up or your culture? 

Is the history of your family/culture/religion/etc. the reason you lack or have certain privileges?

Sources:

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

Canada’s First Peoples. (2007). The Treaties: Two Different Views. Canada’s First Peoples. firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_treaties/fp_treaties_two_views.html.

Hooykaas, A. (2021). Unit 6: Nature Interpretation Through History. In Lecture Notes. University of Guelph. https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/666945/Home

Great post I enjoyed reading it! 

How we value things and situations are very unique in many ways which come down to what we value and considering things like merit and significance.

Photo by  Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

A great quote I enjoyed your connection and articulation of having all the pieces together in a place does not make a house. This is very accurate and seems to depict the situation very accurately. Without all the pieces put together in the right order, it could lead to a failed construction project. This is the same as history because without all the pieces being weighed or considered for the opinions in things like history books or actions it allows for a better consideration of the topic. It is important to acknowledge the past and what has occurred while creating amendments to move forward.

Writing history is a task that people with passion must take on because it's important to consider the emotion of the event and also the big picture of what's going on.

Photo by  Natalia Y on Unsplash

While interpreting nature it's important to consider how you use the fine details and emotions to provide the foundation for people to make connections. as you point out like people recognizing their privilege, many interpreters are beginning to recognize their duty to acknowledge an area’s history. As nature interpreters, we have a solemn duty to remember. To remember not only the good parts of the history of a place but also the bad. The non-material components and the intrinsic values of a historical event can be easily misconceived or miscommunicated if careful preparation isn't taken. 

Great post! Cheers,

Since we can free write for this week’s blog post, I would like to remind us all about the 3 simple things we can do to protect our nature. I thought of this because of the significance of Earth day celebrated every year on April 22nd coming up in a couple of months. Earth day is celebrated to raise awareness and act towards the protection of the environment and conservation of our natural resources.

Every year on April 22, communities all around the world gather together and put all their efforts to collect garbage, plant saplings, encourage people to go for recycling, sign petitions, and discuss issues to save this planet from depleting resources. As a result of these significant events, various policy agreements and acts are approved such as Clear Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and many others.

Originally posted by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Here are a few of the things you can do:

Follow the three “R’s”- Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

By minimizing the amount of waste, we throw away, we are conserving natural resources, landfill space, and energy. To reduce waste, the best way is to minimize the amount of waste you produce. To cut down on the number of things you throw away, consider avoiding disposable goods and buy more durable things that would last long and save landfill space. As a student, I like my notes printed. By printing my notes double-sided, or signing up for electronic mail, I’m one step closer to protecting our mother nature. When reusing products, one of the easiest ways to do this is by reusing grocery bags or bringing your own bags to the store. The final R is for recycling. It is important to consider buying products made from recycled materials. Look for the recycling symbol when buying products as it would mean the product is made of recycled material, or it can be recycled. According to the environmental protection agency, recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Originally posted by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

Plant a Tree

Trees help save energy, clean the air, and fight climate change. Trees are very beneficial to us as they remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen into the atmosphere, provide shade, and attract birds and wildlife. When I was in elementary school, on earth day, each student is given a sapling and a journal. We were required to observe the sapling and jot down what we did every day. This way, we were all taught to take a positive step toward keeping our planet healthy.

 Originally posted by Karl Bewick on Unsplash

Bike More and Drive Less

On Earth Day 2012, more than 100,000 people rode bikes in China to reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel. By driving less or encouraging people to carpool or use public transit helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recent researches have concluded that the lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in global air pollution. The research suggests that the main reason for this change is the reduction in transportation.

If each one of us is able to make a change in our lives, we would be able to make our mother nature a better place to live in for our next generation.

Can you guys think of a time when you did something simple to protect our environment? Feel free to comment any ideas you have towards the protection of the environment and conservation of our natural resources. Thanks for reading!

References

3Rs—Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. (n.d.). SustainableSA.Com. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.sustainablesanantonio.com/practices-technology/reduce-reuse-recycle/

Venter, Z. S., Aunan, K., Chowdhury, S., & Lelieveld, J. (2020). COVID-19 lockdowns cause global air pollution declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(32), 18984–18990. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006853117

Great post I really enjoyed reading it! You make many great points and I really like the ideas you brought to the post! Earth day is incredibly important and I’m glad you mentioned it. One of the biggest things earth day does is brings awareness to the topic. I think amid the pandemic and the points you bring up regarding pollution this year is a special year! This is because we have the opportunity to consider just how much we can all help the planet. Reduce re-use and recycle has always been a very important saying to me and those around me because it helps remind me of just how to help in our busy lives. 

Photo by  Sigmund on Unsplash

Planting trees and especially saplings are so fulfilling!! Taking positive steps such as these towards keeping our planet happy also helps keep us healthy and happy!!

Photo by  George Bakos on Unsplash

Riding a bike has many benefits! Fewer emissions are just one of the many that come along with physical exercise! I found the research you presented regarding air pollution very accurate and in line with what I’ve been thinking lately. I think recently people have become more aware of the opportunity to omit fewer carbon emissions by traveling less and it has the potential to reshape the way they think about travel.

Do you think people will work from home more often now that company's know they can still operate this way?

Do you think people will travel less in the coming years considering this study? 

People don't often consider the carbon impact of flying to a destination which can be rather large when you consider a cross country or even international flight. Do you think people might consider this more in the future? 

Can you think of a time when you did something simple to protect our environment?

I often pick up litter within nature when I see the opportunity because I worry about its effect on wildlife as well as its aesthetic impact. I also participate in invasive species removal and educational opportunities to share my knowledge with members of the community! 

Great post! Enjoy your reading week!

Cheers, 

I think interpreting nature through art is exceptionally important. It is also something we have all done throughout our lives and still continue to do to this day. Chapter 5 of the textbook explains it really well when it discusses using tangible evidence of a place in order to advance intangible meanings. When you see a photo with bright sunshine and rolling green hills how does that make you feel? I would assume feelings of calm and/or happiness. Nature has always and will continue to have a deep influence on humans and how they feel. These deep feelings of emotions towards nature are many times, depicted in art.

Photo By ADAM STEVENSON

This photo displays the horror of the forest fires that occurred in Australia in 2020. When viewing the image, it invokes feelings of dread, pain, and horror. Artistic mediums, most notably photography, are crucial when it comes to depicting environmental changes. For historical purposes and preservation purposes, photographers have been documenting the drastic changes happening to our world for years now. More and more people are making changes to their lives in order to help save our planet and I feel like art is one of the main reasons why. It is difficult for the average layperson to interpret numbers and statistics without having a visual to tell them what is being shown. Much like it is difficult to see the extent of the damage being done to the polar ice caps without seeing before and after images. Moreover, art can play a major role in addressing environmental issues and influencing people to make a change.

Photo By:  Paul Nicklen 

Great post I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the topic!

I agree with you regarding your assertion in chapter five of the textbook it does an effective job explaining. The tangible evidence of a place needs to be used to advance intangible meanings.

Photo by Abukar Sky on Unsplash

You are very accurate in saying that people are more likely to react and care about an issue if it is artistically portrayed to them. It is difficult for people to interpret numbers and statistics without having a visual aid to demonstrate what's going on. People are also very heavily consumed by their realm and when something that requires them to connect with the environmental issue such as a photograph, it is more likely to have an impact. This makes it crucial when it comes to depicting environmental changes and creating change and understanding. Art plays a huge role in most peoples live's because of the emotional triggers and ideas that it creates as a result of the intention. As humans, our adapted brains possess very complex emotions that we can't always explain. Art helps convey messages that words cannot do justice for. Depicting environmental issues is one of these topics that only so many words can be said to explain what's going on. In most of these cases, the saying a picture is worth a thousand words is the absolute best way of describing the power these images can hold when conveyed to people. If we physically see the impact of things such as plastics in the ocean we are more likely to create change in our daily lives or create actions to promote the issue.

Using the beauty of nature as a backdrop can be very impactful and in my opinion, it leads to the opportunity for a wider range of connections throughout various people.

Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash

Cheers,

I don’t know if this ever happened to anyone else but whenever I was sick I always thought “man I took for granted that my lungs were healthy and that my nose wasn’t stuffy and that I could drink or eat things that weren’t just liquid.” I always said to myself that when I got better I would be so much more grateful that I was healthy. But then when I got healthy again, I never thought about how I took something as simple as breathing easy for granted, until the next time I was sick. 

Privilege to me, is kinda like that, except more. Because at least eventually, I know I’ll  get healthy again. Privilege is a bias that is unconsciously granted to someone because of a certain trait or ability they possess that allows them to be advantageous in life without them actively enacting on this benefit. Life isn’t fair and those who don’t possess certain privileges have the odds stacked against them for reasons that are sometimes societally or culturally implemented. Even me knowing that I’ll get better again is a privilege, because this isn’t true for everyone. I, consciously, don’t have a lot of say in whether I’ll get better. But, if I take the right medicine or get enough sleep then I’m helping this process along. How did I get this medicine? Do I have someone in my life that provides for me? Am I able to afford taking the $10 away from my bill payments to get medicine? Can I afford a day off work to rest? Something as simple as this is an example of privilege. 

Have you ever heard of the expression “ignorance is bliss”?  I used to think how could someone want to live in their own bubble of understanding and not want to expand their perspective. Sadly that’s true for a lot of people. But again, that means they have the privilege to be ignorant. Have you ever heard of the expression “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?” That’s the same idea. I rarely thank my legs when I go on a walk for getting me where I need to go because, to me, that’s their job. I am blissfully ignorant in fact that all roads are accessible to me, all trails, all inclines, before all challenges my body can overcome. I am so thankful for the fact that it does that, but I need to actively think about it before I realize how privileged I am in that ‘right’. 

Personal Photo: My dog Koda and I enjoying a trail hike at Rockwood Conservation Park in June 2020. Taken by my boyfriend. 

My invisible backpack holds a lot of things  but what I’m more concerned with is how to best use these subconscious privileges to my advantage in order to better a system that oppresses people who have very little in their own backpack.  Just because something seems common to me, doesn’t mean it is to someone else. Just because this trail seems accessible to me, doesn’t mean that it is to someone else. It is easy to get frustrated, it is easy to lose control of your emotions; that’s part of being human. But our humanity is also our outlet for compassion. I hope that I can extend my knowledge and my privilege to someone else. I want to be more aware of my actions and how they might harm someone else just because their backpack doesn’t have something I have. 

Great post, I enjoyed reading your ideas and thoughts on the topic. I think one thing that resonated with me after reading your blog post is the phrase “ignorance is bliss”. Considering this phrase to me it means the less you know the less your concerned with, which I think is a sad reality of how many people see the world. People need to expand their horizons through tough discussions, considerations, and commitment to being a better human on this earth. If someone is put in this opportunity un term of privilege this does likely mean they have the privilege to be ignorant and often perspective is not considered. 

Photo  by KAL VISUALS on Unsplash

I enjoyed your accessibility thoughts as I have struggled with many injuries throughout my athletic career and am aware of what its like to immobile. To have to maneuver a space with something like crutches and face such large barriers is much harder than in which it is perceived to a person who walks freely. These issues can feel very overwhelming and cause adverse thoughts. It is important to consider how privilege’s such as the ability to walk freely are tremendously impactful to how you operate as a human in this world.

Photo by  Yomex Owo on Unsplash

I am in a very similar situation because my backpack is filled with many of the same tools and I would like to do my part in promoting all humans for being unique and special in many ways.

You make a great point regarding continuing to develop our tools that we may or may not possess in order to build a world that is better than the way it was found. 

Cheers,