Trees and Things

I’ve chosen to discuss the ethnobotany walk that was presented by Group 2 in the Arboretum. I found this walk was particularly well-done and was presented in an effective manner. I also thought that the topic was a great choice given the course material and reflected a lot on how nature can be useful for humans. The three gifts that I noticed within the walk were the gifts of beauty, story, and targeted programs.

The grasslands of Brooks, Alberta (2018). I’ve often found myself fully-immersed in the beauty of this landscape and the organisms it harbours.

Gift of beauty

I thought that including the idea of shinrin-yoku in this program was a great idea, and this was my favourite part of the walk! I have participated in many forms of nature bathing, but I’ve never had it explained through a cultural sense, mainly just as a spiritual experience, which was a great switch-up for me! I think the mini nature bath that Katharine lead was a great way to bring everything we learned together. I think this activity highlighted the true beauty of nature, especially in terms of the whole-bodied experience of it.

Gift of story

The gift of story was exceptionally emphasized in Justine’s presentation about maple trees and syrup. She reflected on her personal experience making maple syrup with her family, suggesting that this is a simple method through which we can all participate in and appreciate nature. She also walked us through the process of tapping a tree and turning the sap into syrup, and she explained this in a way that was easy to understand. It was as if her entire presentation as all one big story, from her recounting her experience and identifying the process that makes maple syrup, everything was well-connected and relevant to her topic.

The flower of the plains prickly pear cactus (Opuntia polyacantha) in Brooks, Alberta (2018). A common plant I would encounter during the summer. 

Gift of targeted programs

The presentation on wild carrot reflected the gift of targeted programs well. This presentation allowed the audience to participate in choosing between two plants that appear very similar, one being poisonous (water hemlock) and one being edible (wild carrot). This allowed the audience to put their skills to the test and then learn about some identification tips and more information about wild carrot. This presentation served as a great introduction to identifying wild plants and using them for sustenance. 

Since this walk was well-executed, there are very few suggestions I can offer for improvement. I think the gift of targeted programs could have been a bit better developed by using a mounted specimen from the herbarium to show the plants rather than a picture on a laptop. I only suggest this because it can be difficult to interpret size or scale from an image, and an actual specimen would have solved this issue. This would make it easier to distinguish between wild carrot and water hemlock, since water hemlock is taller and has a larger inflorescence than wild carrot. Also, presenting an actual specimen rather than an image would have been more immersive for the activity. Perhaps even introducing other common plants and how to identify them would have been appropriate here as well. 

I wanted to let you know, or anyone else who decided to read this, that there are so many easily accessible ways to get into maple tapping. Of course I am very privileged to have a backyard to do it in there are many other ways to get involved in doing this activity with family and friends.

If you wanted to learn more about ethnobotany I would STRONGLY suggest taking BOT*2000 or HORT*3270!! They are both available next semester and they are SUPER interesting.

For this week’s blog post, I’m writing about something I actually just learned about. I was talking to my boyfriend about animals in the rain forest because we’re both really interested in animals, and he started throwing around the name “Aye Aye”. I had to stop our conversation and ask him what he was talking about and he introduced me to one of the most scary looking (but awesome) animals I have ever seen.

Here is a cartoon of the Aye Aye to ease you into my blog post, I don’t want to scare away anyone too soon by showing off this creature’s creepy feature.

(https://www.colourbox.com/vector/aye-aye-from-madagascar-in-cartoon-style-vector-32319481)

Currently, the Aye Aye is an endangered species primarily found in Madagascar. It is an endangered species partly because of the folk lore about it. As you can see from the cartoon Aye Aye, they have one very long and thin digit in the middle of their paws. This digit is essential to their survival because they tap on trees very quickly and rapidly to determine the location of insects in the trees. They then bite through the bark and eat the insects beneath the bark after they pull the insects out with their digit. Their teeth grow perpetually like most rodents, so gnawing on the bark is a way for the Aye Aye to maintain the size of their teeth. Aye Aye’s are lemurs, but to the natives of Madagascar, they were believed to be bringers of evil and were killed upon sight. The belief was that if they pointed at you, you’d be marked for death. Obviously, this is not the case. The Aye Aye, even though it is not very pretty to look at, is just a very specialized lemur with no ties to the grim reaper. Aye Aye’s are also endangered from the destruction of their home – the Madagascar rainforest. The Madagascar rainforest is being destroyed by humans (usually by slash and burn methods) to clear land for farming.  

You can really see how destructive the human race is just by looking at one endangered animal case. Some other examples of scary looking animals that are endangered based on their appearances are the Yangtze finless porpoise, the pig nosed turtle, and the large tooth sawfish.

The Madagascar forest is a high priority area for protection because it is not just composed of rain forest. It is also composed of tropical dry forests spiny forests, thorn forests, deserts, and shrub-lands. Its biodiversity is extraordinary. There are 50 species of small primates that are only found in Madagascar that need their home to be protected or else they will be lost.

Regarding conservation science, there is a greater understanding now that all animals are important and contribute to essential ecosystems, but that wasn’t always the case. Even though there is a greater understanding now, it is mostly in the scientific community and needs to be communicated to ‘lay people’. I suppose that is where nature interpreters come in. They share amazing and true facts about less cute animals like the Aye Aye, making the public understand that they are important too and need to be protected.

Here’s a picture of the real Aye Aye! It’s not as scary looking as I built it up to be. :) 

To add to your post I have to add in another very unusual animal, the Potoo bird. This bird falls under the unusual grouping of frogmouth birds. This very unique bird is native to south America and likes to perch in the top foliage of trees. Once the bird finds a nice branch to perch on it will frequently go back to the same spot. The Potoo bird is well known for their ability to camouflage almost perfectly as a tree branch when in times of danger. Their looks are not only the creepy thing about them, the video below if a clipping of the Potoo birds call. A very chilling old man vibe to it.

Photo from: https://twitter.com/worldbirds32/status/1013440052117082113

I have to say that the porpoise being endangered based on its look is so sad. To me it is actually the cutest porpoise I have ever seen. On that note it is very interesting to discuss how the opposite applies to your point as well. Lots of species that are being protected and being cared about are the cute animals. Usually if two species of animals are being weighted on what conservation efforts need to be placed on what, more money will go to the ‘cute’ animal because it is what the media can display to people for more conservation efforts.

Thanks for your post!

This week, we were prompted to write about thing that we find most amazing about nature. When I initially read this, I had a lot of problems figuring out what to write about. I thought about how nature is constantly changing, yet always seems to stay the same. I thought about the mystery of the deep ocean, and how life can persist in a place where it was never thought to be able to. I thought about caves, and how the species in them have adapted to live in an area without sunlight or vegetation. But when I was thinking about all of these broad topics, it dawned on me that the most amazing thing I know about nature isn’t broad at all – its incredibly specific. And given the time of year, it seems appropriate to write about:

The shrike.

Colloquially known as the Butcher Bird, the shrike is a tiny bird of prey. Weighing in between 35 and 50 grams, the shrike is about the size of a robin. Unlike the robin, however, the shrike doesn’t prey primarily on worms and insects. While smaller prey do compose a portion of its diet, the shrike is also a hunter of much larger prey – like frogs, snakes, turtles, and even other birds. Because of this, the shrike faces a big challenge; its talons are much too small to hold its prey in place while it consumes them. To account for this, the shrike has evolved a macabre behavioural technique.

After making a kill, the shrike will take its prey to a plant with thorns, a particularly sharp twig, or even a barbed-wire fence, and impale its meal on the spike. With its prey immobilized, it is free to feast, or leave it there as a store for later.

This paints a very morbid, yet interesting picture in my mind. Imagine being a small mammal of some kind and wandering into a new area. All of a sudden you start to see skewered carcasses of other, similar creatures high up in trees, some partially eaten, others left drying up in the sun. Scared, you look around, but thankfully the giant beast that committed this atrocity isn’t anywhere in sight. In fact, the only other creature you see is a small bird, eyeing you from a branch. You aren’t sure if it knows the danger its in, so you try to warn it! You watch as it leaves its perch and flies in your direction, tiny talons out…

Now, this idea is both made up and perhaps a little fantasized, but the points still stands: for a small mammal in shrike territory, life can change into a horror story very quickly. The scariest part of this? Its not a concept that is alien to the human experience. Yes, the hunting techniques of the shrike  bear a striking resemblance to those of Vlad the Impaler, a killer who was famous for impaling his victims and using their corpses to decorate his property.

I did a search after reading your blog post, and found some other interesting animals/insects that have very interesting hunting techniques. I will attach a link to BBC earth that discuss some cool critters. One that I found very interesting was learning about the glow worm trapping technique which I never really thought about, with the glowing goo that is in caves using as a way to attract and stick insects to. As well as the bolas spider, which lassos its prey in a web very impressively.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151201-seven-animals-with-astonishing-hunting-techniques

If you look for music in nature, you will not have to search for long. If you have spent any time outdoors in silence you know what I am talking about. When out there, you are the closest thing there is to silence. I liked to play a game with myself at work over the summer when I was on a piece of land I considered remote. I would stop and listen to see if I could hear any trace of “people noise” around me. This could be hikers, planes, roads, anything that you would expect to hear in the background most places in southern Ontario. Normally there was some hum of a roadway or a plane overhead, but every once in a while I found what I was looking for. The only thing I could use as comparison is an orchestra. At first it appears as one harmonious yet at times chaotic and cluttered noise, but after a moment you can hear the instruments making the melody. The birds singing, the animals running through the trees and along the ground, frogs chirping beside a pond, water rolling over stones in the river, and my favouite, the wind in the leaves overhead.

The comparison to music is imperfect though. Whereas music differs by genre and preference, I personally haven’t met anyone who has gone out into nature and come back with complaints of the serenity or the songs around them. Maybe that’s one of the reasons people seek out solitude in the outdoors to heal themselves. As a personal anecdote for this, I remember one night when I was in high school on a weekend camping trip with a group of people, I was having a tough time dealing with something. I remember laying down in a hammock and just looking up above me. It was a windy night, and being by the water reinforced that. I remember the leaves above me rattling and sighing in the wind and I just lay there listening to it and watching them dance away. I still can’t put a finger on why but I felt at peace, and realized my problems weren’t so important. I still feel this way every time I watch the wind stir a tree, but when thinking about music in nature it was the first thing that sprang to mind.

(A personal favourite spot for watching the wind. University of Guelph Arboretum, October 2017)

Sometimes people try to capture this feeling in music as well, though there can be challenges. As I said before, we are limited because music has no universal genre like nature does. It can be just as beautiful though. What I have found the closest comparison is how some music can make you feel or think the ways that nature can. Again, art is subjective so I am speaking from personal experience only. A song that reinforces this idea to me, and I know it may be cliché, is Rocky Mountain High by John Denver. Not necessarily the music itself, although the continuous and soft nature of the guitar throughout the song can be reminiscent of wind and water, but one particular set of lyrics. In the second verse Denver sings,

“Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forests and the streams, Seeking grace in evert step he takes, His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand, The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.”

I also feel that you made a great point in that I have also never met anyone who has complained about the music of nature. It is a peaceful sound. I do find it interesting though when I talk with people about this and their answer depends on the individuals relationship with music. I agree that what you have said about art and music being very subjective so I also only speak through my own experiences.

I have many friends that listen to music constantly through headphones and earbuds and when I talk to them about music in nature they do not quite understand what I mean. They too feel a calmness but they do not relate it to music in a way. People who spend more of their time in nature are very vocal about how the natural sounds in a forest are their music. Those who have a deep connection with music, such as playing instruments, can hear music more figuratively than someone like I can and are able to hear individual sounds like notes. Those people that I have met like this are very very good at articulating the relationship of music with nature. It is really cool to me that each individual can form such unique relationships with many things.

I think everyone that wants to pursue a role as an interpreter (nature or historical) has a duty to explore their environment around them through different mediums, and one of these is art. As someone who views art I think you have the right to interpret it however you want. You don’t have to spend hours analyzing it, but you should at least reflect on it and think of what it make you think of and how it makes you feel. To take this a step further you should think of how others might view this art piece and take that into account of your assessment of the art.

Using these skills of having a conversation about art is very useful when discussing the interpretation about nature through art. You are able to think of how your audience will view art and nature while discussing it and take into account what aspects of it to discuss and what aspects not to discuss. You don’t need to have formal training in how to interpret art, you just need to able to critically think about how you feel about it and what it means to other people.

For example, I’ve mentioned I’ve reblogged a bunch of Van Gogh’s art because he is one of my favourite artists. I’ve also mentioned in past blog posts that in his “Starry Night” I see a flowing stream through the night sky. This reminds me that the world is so much bigger than ourselves and that there is a constant flow and ebb stitched into the world.

To me, “Sunflowers” reminds me that something that is to be perceived as beautiful and happy by the world can also look dark, twisted and not perfect in appearance. Even though the sunflowers have this darker appearance, they are still able to appreciated by some people.

What I am describing is the personal nature of beauty in a person’s eyes. I find certain things beautiful because of the values and beliefs I hold up, whereas another person may not find something as beautiful. This tie’s into the reading of “The Gift of Beauty”. The author states that beauty is too subjective and cannot be understood universally because, simply put, it’s different to everyone.

When attending the Art Gallery of Guelph in our lab, it was very interesting to see that the Sculpture Park didn’t have any metal information plaques on the sculpture. This shows that the artists really wanted everyone to experience the beauty of the art for themselves and keep people’s personal opinions completely unbiased.

For example, the way you describes the Starry Night painting by Van Gough. You described it as a flowing body of water with a current of sorts. That is what I see as well in the painting. Your view point on what you feel when you see that painting is similar to mine. But, our comparisons of the sunflower is also very different. You have said that the sunflower represents happiness but also has a dark appearance and therefore the sunflower is kind of like a light and happiness in some things that may be dark. My interpretation of a sunflower is also happiness but also a motherly depiction. My mom’s favourite flower is sunflowers so when I see them I interpret them as my mom being happy. I also associate them with autumn weather and sunshine, which also connects them with happiness for me personally.

It is very interesting and intriguing to interpret nature or art in this way because it allows for conversation. It very much so reminds me of two sayings;

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

And

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”

I love that interpretation can be so eye opening on how unique everyone is.

So, this week we have the freedom of what we want to talk about and I found that it was more challenging to do so. But what I really want to talk about is mental health. This week on October 10th was mental health awareness but I want to talk about is changing the stigma of only talking about it on the day. Every year on October 10th everyone talks about it, about checking on our loved ones, but what happens after the day is over?  It is crazy to see that on the day of social media is blowing up on advocacy towards mental health but as soon as the day ends there is nothing. I am not saying this is true for everyone. I am talking solely on what I have seen and  I would like nothing more to here on the contrary.

Photo from (https://teentalk.ca/2017/10/08/world-mental-health-day-2017/) 

I know personally this week has been overwhelming with the overload of midterms and assignments that need to be finished, but its these times that we have to be so careful to watch out for not only ourselves but our friends. It is hard to sometimes remind ourselves that we also need a break. A great form of distressing is going for walks. It is not always that easy and even getting out bed can be hard for someone. But providing this information it can bring awareness to it and perhaps someone sees it and what to try it.

Fall is absolutely the best time of the year as I find all the colours make it feel like I’m surrounded by a moving painting. I am so happy that our university has such a beautiful campus because every time I come to school it is so refreshing. Nature might not bring everyone peace as it does for me but perhaps its something else? A happy memory? What it may be it is each their own which is something that I love about nature! There is no judgement, everyone feels something different and with that we create endless stories 

 photo taken by me!

I was curious whether there are any walks designed solely for mental health? I am not sure but if there is I would love to find our where I can learn more about it.  What I mean by this is maybe groups designed specifically for people who are struggling with mental health and this walk can provide specific tools about what they can do to help them cope but at the same time provide them with the freedom to see where nature brings them. 

Recently I have realized how much coming to school has impacted my mental health and the comparison of my stress levels throughout high school and University is very alarming. Personally, in high school I did not stress at all, I knew I was there to learn the basics and to help me move forward in life with schooling ideas. My first year of university I did not realize how stressful it is to go through schooling and I was terribly unprepared. I ended up getting very sick because I was constantly worried about my grades and i did not want to fail or disappoint anyone. Now in fourth year I have realized (finally) that everyone in school is very hard on themselves and it is not just me. It is sad to see everyone always in a panic and stressing out so much for schooling because we are supposed to be here to learn more about the things we love. I think we should try our very hardest too alleviate our stress on grades and try to push our minds on the thought that as long as we are taking one thing away from our classes that that is what we are here to do. Learn and enjoy. I definitely struggle with this and know that i need to work on it.

My way of helping myself deal with stress is very similar to yours, just like probably most people in this class. I love the outdoors, so when I go for walks, especially in the fall, it definitely helps me feel better about my stress. I also talk to my friends constantly in times of stress and panic because I have surrounded myself with people who love and care about me and they are a big reason why I am okay. Another thing I do when I get stressed out is I go find an animal I can look at or play with for a bit. Animals are such an amazing stress reliever for those animal lovers because animals such as dogs, know when to give you some extra loving.

I also completely agree with you and how mental health is never talked about really unless it is around the time of mental health week. I really think this needs to change because it actually does help to talk about things like this to get better understanding on how to help yourself or others in times of need.

An innate connection to nature seems to permeate all individuals of every species, except for the continually self-baffling Homo sapiens. It seems whether it be a plant, animal, fungus or even a single celled organism, these living entities are completely in tune with, and connected to their surroundings. I feel as though humans lost this ability long ago, but when was it? When did the pilot light that fueled a mastery of the natural world burn out? Perhaps it was the dawn of agriculture, when we figured the plants and animals provided by mother nature alone were not enough; or maybe it was when society began governing our priorities instead of survival; maybe its just genetics. This light has been out for a very, very long time, but with enough understanding, and effort to rekindle that relationship, I believe the right spark could reignite a newfound emotional investment of the human race with the planet on which we reside.

(Really tiny toad I found in the summer of 2015)

As for the spark that influenced my personal love for anything outdoors, I honestly couldn’t tell you, and most of you probably couldn’t tell anyone else either. Its usually unnoticeable, especially if it hits you at a very young age. I’ve been watching nature programs on TV long as I can remember, and a couple plastic animals could entertain me for hours once I decided who eats who. I’m nothing special, mind you (the video game addiction has been strong with this one), I just made friends in the grass easier than on the playground. I grew up in Aurora, a town of about forty-thousand residents, 40 minutes north of Toronto. Its not a secluded mountain getaway, however there are still enough forests and streams to see foxes, coyotes, turtles, swans, skunks, snakes, rabbits and other fancy critters roaming around. This made me a very happy kid. Catching frogs and fish was my way of passing time after school, and still would be if I had time to pass (but I guess that’s why I’m in this class). Snapping turtles are a common sight just 100m from my front door, and I’ve even seen a couple of beavers and muskrats exploring the bush around that same pond. I guess what I’m trying to say is I believe this flammable material that needs a spark, was always ignited, and I have always appreciated the world for what it is.