Nature Interpretation

Hello all!

This final blog post was such an amazing way of reflecting on how this course has change the way I view nature interpretation, and how I approach the communication of information in general. I am definitely someone who learns best by doing, I like to touch things, or see them in action! I learned this during one of our first units, when discussing how to teach to the different learning types and the difference between tangible and intangible elements (Beck et al., 2018). The reason I am bringing this up again is one component of the prompt we were given: Describe your personal ethic as you develop as a nature interpreter. The answer to this is deeply entwined with the rest of the prompt, but I’ll return to that later. The biggest ethic I believe in when it comes to nature interpretation is that everyone deserves the opportunity to understand the nature that they are surrounded by. This does not mean that that we should all have access to the same free online resources, though it does help, but instead that we are all given the chance to learn in a way that aligns with our needs.

 *Photo taken by me of my two friends crossing a frozen lake in Garibaldi Park, BC*

I started a program at UoG in 2014, graduated with a general Science, and went to Fleming college for Arboriculture, before returning to UoG to upgrade my degree. I learned that all of the book-reading in the world won’t help me retain knowledge the way that listening to a respected instructor, or physically applying my knowledge does. If I had been taught this at a younger age, I might have approached my education differently. This is why I deeply believe that we need to expand public resources surrounding environmental education so that it is not only given to those who can afford a college education, or courses from a private institution. Physical learners need to be given attention just as their counterparts are: starting in early childhood and throughout their developmental years. We need to break down the stigma that those who don’t retain well from intangible learning aren’t smart.  

 *Photo taken by me during a mushroom hunt and information share with my coworker in Coquitlam, BC*

So many of the people that I know who are in outdoor or environmentally central trades/professions stumbled into it later in life, usually due to the many physical faucets that this field has. They are some of the most well-educated people I have ever met, without spending much time at all in a classroom! My beliefs within nature interpretation are that by focusing on diversifying teaching methods we are able to connect more people to our cause. Opening up learning to everyone, despite their location, background, financial position, abilities, or personal beliefs would create a wonderfully inclusive culture around one thing that every human being shares: a reliance on the environment.

*Photo taken by me of a coworker pruning trees in White Rock, BC*

Our responsibilities as nature interpreters are to make this inclusivity possible, to be open to conversing with people, showing them what we know, whether or not they hold the same views as us. We should not argue with anyone, or try to change their minds, because everyone comes to love this earth in their own way, from their own place, as discussed between David Suzuki and Richard Louv in the video we were provided (Suzuki and Louv, 2012). All we have to do is open the door, and hope that they walk through on their own.  

 *Photo taken by me of a coworker pruning a tree in Langley, BC*

I am an arborist by trade, which means that I climb trees in order to identify diseases or hazards within them, prune for aesthetics and/or safety, and am often involved in tree removal. I entered this trade from a place of environmental consciousness, believing I was going to become a “tree doctor”, who identified issues and fixed them, only removing living trees if it was absolutely necessary. This is not the reality of my profession. I have seen many more trees cut down for urban development or due to unwise planting decisions than I had anticipated when I first began my career. I realized early on that people don’t see the benefit in their trees, such as reduced energy bills due to shading their houses on hot days, the way that they act as a sound barrier for roadways, the decreased likelihood of lawn flooding due to their roots up-taking water, and so much more. All they see are extra leaves to rake off their lawns. My coworkers often don’t see trees, especially big ones, as living beings, but instead as a fun challenge to kill that you can brag about later.

*Photo taken by me of a coworker removing a tree in Surrey, BC* 

Through this course I’ve learned that we are all interpreters for each other, we’ve all seen and learned things that others haven’t. Sometimes by listening to other people’s experiences we learn about things we’ve never encountered, and sometimes our own piece of knowledge can help other’s connect the dots on how something works. At my job most of the people I work with don’t understand tree biology but have many more years of practical experience than I do. So when they remark on how a growth on a tree, that I probably never would have noticed, is “weird” or “cool”, I get the opportunity to explain the probably cause of it, and why the tree responds to certain stimuli the way it does. I hope that eventually this mutual enlightenment leads to a deeper appreciation for trees in both of us.

 *photo taken my me, of a cool tree graft found in Victoria, BC*

In conclusion, this course hasn’t changed the way I see nature, instead it has shown me different ways to communicate my own view with others, and the value of listening to their response. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to learning or interpreting, and, since we are all both interpreters and students, we need to have patience with each other, and try to see through the eyes of others. Only through connection to each other can we communicate our passions.

*Photo of my dog and I frolicking in Tofino, BC*

My questions for you are: have you realized through this course that someone in your life was a nature interpreter for you, and you never noticed? How have you been an interpreter for others before this course, and will your methods change now that it’s over?

Thank you to all of my classmates and our instructors, you’ve all taught me so much this semester!

Katie the Treehugger

*Photo of my dog and I looking forward to our next adventure!*

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

I really appreciate the approach you took with this post. We approached our final posts in different ways, but it just goes to show how nature interpretation can’t be put into one box!

This brings me to my next point, how there’s no “one size fits all” for nature interpretation - you put it wonderfully! Because there are so many different people in the world (some interested in nature and others not), there’s a variety of ways us as nature interpreters can approach engaging an audience. Do you have a favourite audience? In other words, one that you maybe find easy to engage or enjoy engaging the most? For myself, it would have to be children. They are always incredibly curious and I find it easy to relate to them!

Ou, I love your questions! Come to think of it, my mother has been a huge nature interpreter for me throughout my life. For as long as I can remember, we’ve gardened flowers and vegetables together. These were some of my first encounters with nature in my own backyard. I felt very connected to the earth growing and harvesting my own food, and my mother is who made that possible for me. She provided me a space where my imagination could run free, all while being grounded to the nature around me. I’ve been an interpreter for my friends - without even realizing it! Whenever we go for walks, I’m always pointing out edible weeds or flowers...and maybe I’ve taught them a thing or two, haha!

Thanks for an awesome read, enjoy the rest of your semester!

video: video compilation of underground footage of seeds growing. Video posted by Goodful on Youtube. 

Plant Growth Magic

The most mesmerizing thing to me about nature is plant growth. 

How can a little seed sitting underground turn into a flower or even a tree with just a little time, sunlight and water??? Or even not with soil, just in water as is the case with sprouts and hydroponics. They know which way is up and they know how to find the sun. It is so beautiful and crazy to me.  

Have you ever sat and thought about seeds before? A hard shell is packed with so much inside. There is a baby plant inside each seed and the seed stores food for the plant in there as well. It all stays packed inside until the outer shell is soaked through and cracks. These seeds can feel spring coming just like we do. You know the feeling of spring? Take a moment to think about what spring feels like to you. To seeds, spring feels like dark, damp yet warm soil. The first act of the new baby plant is to grow a root down. As soon as this is done, the plant works on getting its leaves towards the sunlight because that store of food from inside the seed is running out and they need sunlight to have good enough food to grow (Exploratorium, n.d.). Kind of like when you’re running low on the ramen stock in the back of the cupboard and you know you need to get to the grocery store, where the real food is. Once it makes it out of the soil, it’s home free and the plant just keeps being magical by turning sunlight into bigger leaves through photosynthesis.  

And can we talk about the most precious soft, warm colour of fresh plant growth? Where does this subtle translucent green come from?  

image: three stages of leaf growth in a sprouting plant. Photo taken from https://www.clearwaycommunitysolar.com/blog/science-center-home-experiments-for-kids/measuring-plant-growth-with-sunlight/ 

To start off, the reason why we see them as green is because plants reflect some of the photons of light that are green in the light spectrum (Ortega, 2020). This is new information. Scientists have only just recently discovered the real reason why plants reflect green light even though it is the most common part of the spectrum radiated by the sun’s rays. It because they value stability over efficiency. Plants are looking for stability in the energy coming in so that they can maintain cell health, this is possible with wavelengths of red and blue light but not with green. Green light can be blocked by shade or other factors and it makes the energy input waver instead of being consistent (Ortega, 2020). Plants choose stability. Does this have anything to do with why houseplants are so popular these days? We’re all just looking for a little stability?

Have you ever grown your own plants from a seed?

I love growing my own sprouts because they are so magical and so healthy.  

Grow your own sprouts 

MATERIALS:

- Jar with straining lid OR jar with cheesecloth OR cup and use your hand as a strainer.

- Green lentils (cheapest) OR advertised sprouting seeds

STEPS:

- Put desired amount of lentils (or other seeds) in your jar/cup and cover with 1 inch of water.

- Let soak overnight or for a few hours.

- After this, rinse the sprouts in the cup/jar at least twice a day for 2-5 days, making sure that all of the water is drained in between rinses.

Voila, sprouts!

They are best when there is a little bit of green just starting but you don’t want them to grow too large or they will get old. If I made too many to eat in one day I will rinse, dry and store them in the fridge so that they last a few days longer.

image: what your sprouted lentils should look like when they’re ready. Photo from thestingyvegan.com and has a more thorough list of steps and some ideas on how to include your sprouts into meals https://thestingyvegan.com/how-to-sprout-lentils/ 

Enjoy :)

- Jasmine

References

Ortega, R. P. (2020). Why are plants green? To reduce the noise in photosynthesis. Quantamagazine.org. Retrieved from: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-are-plants-green-to-reduce-the-noise-in-photosynthesis-20200730/  

Before I get into the contents of your post, I just want to say that your writing is beautiful! I especially enjoyed how you related the reader’s feelings to that of the seed/plant. The way you engaged the reader was amazing and it’s obvious that you’ve taken into consideration what we’ve learned in the course while writing your post, so bravo 😊

I could not agree with you more about the magic of plant growth. How such big and gorgeous plants can come from such a small seed is always mind-boggling to me! It’s absolutely incredible what one little seed can do. I find seeds and their growth are also a great parallel to real life scenarios. When you plant seeds in a garden, you must tend to them and provide them with love and care. You obviously won’t see results right away because nature takes time. But, when your seeds do finally sprout, and weeks later produce a harvest for you, all your work will pay off in the form of a delicious fruit or veggie, or a beautiful decoration (flowers). It reinforces that beautiful things in life take time and effort, just as tending to a seed/seedling. You may not see the results of hard work in life right away, but the end result is often worth it.

Photo retrieved from: https://powerpoppy.com/collections/digital-stamps/products/seeds-of-today

This is just one of the many ways that we relate to nature and plants. It reinforces the idea that our patterns are like those of nature and helps us learn the wisdom nature has to offer.

Thanks for an awesome read!

Thinking back to last week’s blog prompt about interpreting nature through art, I thought about the kinds of images I like to surround myself with and came across a theme: trains. I love trains, from restored heritage steam locomotives to model railway layouts to GO trains, they are awesome! In most images of trains, the train is traversing some wild and dramatic landscape, which I think appeals to the innate sense of adventure that all humans have.

A photo of my HO gauge model train with one of it’s carriages running around the Christmas tree - photo taken by me. 

To me, nature, adventure, and trains are all connected. The railways through Canada connected the East and West, and to this day bring people to landscapes they would never otherwise see. Scenic rail tours like the Rocky Mountaineer provide nature interpretation to guests on their journeys through the Rockies, and have been continuing to provide nature interpretation in their blog posts. Their post “10 Interesting Facts about Western Canada’s Wildlife” is an example of the traditional type of nature interpretation we are used to. An example of historic/cultural interpretation is their blog video “Engineering Marvels of Canada’s Railroad”:

My love of trains emerged before my love of nature. As a little kid, I loved watching “Thomas the Tank Engine” and playing with my wooden train set, and as I got older I began to enjoy reading books like “The Railway Children” and watching documentaries about trains. Every year, my grandpa and I both get calendars with train images. My calendar last year featured paintings of trains, which reminded me of last week’s topic and got me thinking about the connection between trains and nature.

These two photos are images from my current train calendar. The top photo was taken by Chris Harris, and the bottom photo was taken by Ron Niebrugge. 

I have noticed that a lot of the narrative around trains and railways is about how humans “conquered nature” or “overcame the elements” to build the railways. The video from the Rocky Mountaineer’s blog alluded to the steep passes and gradients that gave way to feats of engineering like the spiral tunnels, and documentary series like “Impossible Railways” describe similar tough landscapes and how people built railways through seemingly unforgiving terrain. 

However, I believe that railways and nature can work together. Rail travel emits less green house gas than truck travel, and engineers are working on making trains even more ecofriendly. The image below from Canadian Pacific Railway shows how trains are more environmentally friendly than trucks: 

This link (https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-48698044) to a BBC News article describes how hydrogen-powered trains may be the future of rail travel. These hydrogen-powered trains use hydrogen to create electricity and emit water, making them much more environmentally friendly than the diesel locomotives they would be replacing. The video in the link describes the science behind these trains really well!

Trains also evoke warm memories of “the good old days”. In many people’s versions of “the good old days”, life was more laid-back, children played outside and more people lived in smaller, more rural communities.  A lot of train buffs I know, such as my grandpa and most of his friends, have done and continue to do lots of conservation work or donate money to preserve heritage railways and keep the love of trains alive. So, by connecting nature conservation and biodiversity to trains, the number of people with “proenvironmental attitudes” and “proenvironmental behaviour” will likely increase (Merenlender et al, 2016). 

References: 

Rocky Mountaineer Blog. (2020, September 24). 10 Interesting Facts about Western Canada’s Wildlife. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.rockymountaineer.com/blog/10-interesting-facts-about-western-canadas-wildlife.

Rocky Mountaineer Blog. (2020, July 23). Engineering Marvels of Canada’s Railroad. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.rockymountaineer.com/blog/engineering-marvels-canadas-railroad.

CP. (n.d.). Rail environmental facts. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.cpr.ca/en/community/rail-environmental-facts.

BBC News Business. (2019, June 19). Hydrogen trains: Are these the eco-friendly trains of the future? Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-48698044.

Your post caught my eye! It’s not too often I meet someone around my age who’s interested in trains – it’s something that personally rarely crosses my mind. I do have someone close to me who’s interested in trains however, it’s my grandfather! Since I was younger I remember him collecting model trains and building his train set. When you wrote, “in most images of trains, the train is traversing some wild and dramatic landscape…” I realized it’s totally true!

When my grandpa was creating his train set, one of the aspects he wanted to portray was the entrance in St John’s Harbour (Newfoundland) where Signal Hill is located. He’s always been very talented at painting, so he wanted to bring this landscape to life with his artistic abilities. Needless to say, it looks pretty awesome, and it captures this idea that you explained about trains traversing beautiful landscapes. My grandfather saw this landscape while visiting Newfoundland, and it clearly touched him personally to the point where he went on to combine it with one of his hobbies – train sets.

It’s such a good point you bring up about trains allowing us to witness landscapes we otherwise wouldn’t be able to see. The times I’ve been on trains, I find it quite relaxing given this aspect. I realize that the train I’m on is venturing through parts of Ontario that you can’t necessarily see by car or foot – what a cool experience when you think about it!

Thank you for sharing this perspective on trains, it has definitely elevated my perception of them 😊

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold had been on my list to read for little while so was looking forward to reading it when it was assigned in a recent course. It was rather unexpected how much it changed my view on nature, conservation and art.

One of the passages that struck me as a particularly beautiful bit of interpretation through art was in the February essay. Leopold describes sawing an old oak that was struck by lightning. They “mourn the old oak” before the begin to saw it. As they begin to saw it, Leopold says:

“Fragrant little chips of history spewed from the saw cut and accumulated on the snow before each kneeling sawyer. We sensed that these two piles of sawdust were something more than wood; that they were the integrated transect of a century; that our saw was biting its way, stroke by stroke, by decade by decade, inti the chronology of a lifetime, written in the concentric rings of good oak.” (Leopold, 1949)

He then proceeds to take us on a journey through time, decade by decade, tree ring by tree ring. It gives perspective on the age of the tree, how interconnected nature and human decisions are.  Leopold vividly describes droughts, floods, storms, and human follies by the decade. It creates a beautiful and powerful image that just stating that these things are connected couldn’t accomplish. As Beck et al. (2018) interpretation gives “flesh and blood to cold facts”.

My copy of Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac, a book that has changed the way I think about nature.

Another contemporary and more widely know example are nature documentaries. David Attenborough has spent a career making nature documentary programs. The most recognizable the Planet Earth series and other films produced by BBC Earth. Beautiful scenes of the power, beauty and complexity of nature has enthralled many viewers from many walks of lives and backgrounds.

However, some of these programs and David Attenborough himself have drawn criticism for some of these films and series because some felt they did not draw enough attention to the issues that face our planet, biodiversity loss, and climate change chief among those.

The recent series Our Planet, doesn’t shy away from dealing with these issues, and is a central focus in many of the episodes. Moving and devastating scenes of animals and nature in crisis may be powerful tools in which to communicate these issues and motivate people take action. Something

Art need not be inaccessible or abstract. Documentaries, books, essays are all forms of art that are easily accessible to people. By virtue of their simplicity and beauty, they can be powerful interpretive tools to illicit understanding, appreciation and hopefully, conservation action.

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

Jones, J.P.G, Thomas-Walters, L., Rust, N.A., Verissimo, D., (2019) People and Nature 1:420-425 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10052

I really appreciate this post. The Leopold quote you shared is not only moving but portrays trees from a completely different perspective than how most of us are used to perceiving them. We conventionally understand trees to be sources of oxygen that provide cool shade on a hot summer day, but depending on how you view them, they can be so much more. I like to believe that trees have endless stories to tell; They must witness so much all the time between the people that stroll past and the lively nature that grows with and around them.

In terms of nature documentaries such as Planet Earth and Blue Planet, I myself have experienced their impact. On a day that I consumed medicinal mushrooms a few years ago, I viewed a couple nature documentaries similar to these. When watching, I suddenly got this overwhelming feeling of how beautiful and interconnected nature is. I know it may sound silly, but I recall crying at how amazing these creatures were! I felt very intensely that I had a responsibility and a role to play in preserving this wondrous wildlife. This experience produced a huge shift in terms of how I live my life from an environmental perspective because I viewed nature to be more significant than ever before. I think this story is a little ironic, because although the experience resulted through exposing myself to a form of interpretive art, it was ultimately guided by nature as well – the mushrooms!

Thank you for this perspective, I will definitely remember it!

     I was a vegan for 3 years – until I stopped because I decided it was not the most sustainable diet option. And I know this may sound controversial to most of you. Many people who make the life choice to change their diet and eat vegan do it because it is supposed to be healthier and more sustainable than a diet which includes meat and animal products. My entire perception of the food industry has changed, and I switched to an entirely local diet. And there are so many reasons why I believe that eating local is the best and most sustainable diet option. This entails simply buying and eating the fruits and vegetables that are native to your country or are grown locally, and either hunting for game or buying from local butcher’s. And there is a certain group of people who have led to this shift in my perception about food and the food industry, and they represent an underrated group of nature interpreters – farmers. But I’m not just talking about any farmers, because there is a very small portion of the world where farming is practiced sustainably. If you are unaware of daunting reality about the current state of most industrial farming operations – I urge you to watch Kiss The Ground, Living Soil, or From The Ground Up. 

Visual from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegreendirectory.net%2Fblog%2Fregenerative-agriculture&psig=AOvVaw2n8X8nGv5yNtF2lmcaDsQN&ust=1611623121219000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCLDCm5Hyte4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

     We currently live in a world where we must grow more food than we ever have before, with less viable soil and harsher climate conditions. But there are people out there who have successfully built small-scale holistic farming operations. These farms don’t just grow one thing – they grow hundreds of things with dozens of animal species, all of which live symbiotically. These farmers actively design their farm to be based around synergistic connections from free roam chickens and ducks who eat insects and work as a form of natural pest control, or forest farms which combine canopy crops with shade tolerant ground crops to help maintain a moist and healthy soil environment. My dream would be to buy a piece of land and create a sustainable farm of my own. This farm would be both a place of work and learning. My hope would be to have visitors and locals come to the farm to buy organic foods and free-range meats, but also learn something about regenerative and sustainable farming practices while they were there. I live in Nova Scotia, but the farm itself could be located anywhere in North America. Creating such a farm requires an intensive amount of physical labour and strategic planning, in addition to a vast knowledge base about soil dynamics, botany, ecology, and a wide range of other natural processes in order to create a strong foundation for the farm. 

Visual from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenewfoodcollective.com%2Fregenerativeagriculture&psig=AOvVaw2n8X8nGv5yNtF2lmcaDsQN&ust=1611623121219000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCLDCm5Hyte4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD  

   I would like to teach people to be more conscious about the food they eat and where/who they are buying from. Not only do organic and local crops contain far less harmful chemicals and preservatives, they also help combat many global environmental issues. Regenerative agriculture practices increase soil biodiversity and organic matter, leading to more resilient soils that can better withstand climate change impacts like flooding and drought. Healthier soils in-turn lead to stronger yields and more nutrient-rich crops. Healthy soils also diminish erosion and runoff, leading to improved water quality on and off the farm. Not only do regenerative agriculture practices help make farms more resilient and adaptive to current climate change, it allows them to be part of a larger solution to the crisis, through carbon sequestration. 

Visual from: https://www.beefresearch.ca/research-topic.cfm/cover-crops-91

     Through a regenerative farm I would be able to share my passion and knowledge for sustainable food through tours, posters, and hopefully even blogs and vlogs for those who cannot visit. There are so many ways the teachings of the farm could be spread to any who is interested to engage and learn something. The amazing thing about regenerative farms is that more and more people everyday decide to shift their diet to include healthier and local foods. So, even if they do not know about the larger and more global issues surrounding food an agriculture – the farm serves as an accessible environment for people of all backgrounds to learn something about the state of our natural environment – despite their level of education or personal interests. Because at the end of the day, food is something we all have in common and even those who are completely uninterested in the outdoors can relate to nature through food.

     Anyways, I hope you learned something today! If you would like to learn more about regenerative farming, I’ll attach some of my favourite documentaries, videos, and blogs so you can continue to understand why I am so passionate about it. Thanks for reading!

The Climate Reality Project – What is Regenerative Agriculture?: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/what-regenerative-agriculture

Netflix: Kiss The Ground: https://kisstheground.com/

YouTube - Can Regenerative Agriculture Reverse Climate Change?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuRpEA1sFow

I really enjoy the ideas you put forth about regenerative farming. Regenerative farming reminds me very much of integrated pest management, another approach to growing food with less pesticides. I would definitely be interested in participating in an interpreting event hosted by yourself – you seem very knowledgeable in the realms of sustainable farming!

I look forward to reading your posts in the future!