Throughout this course, we have touched on many things such as privilege, accessibility, learning types and more. All these things have helped me grow as a nature interpreter in so many ways. As a daughter of immigrants, I grew up in a household where my parents worked their very best to provide me with a better life than they had. I am very fortunate to have grown up in a country where I could go on hikes, learn about nature in school and watch birds and animals in my backyard. I had the opportunity to turn on a television, watch the Discovery Channel, and see and learn about amazing animals and wonderful ecosystems all around the world. I was able to go to places like the ROM and other museums that showcased dinosaur bones or paintings of wild landscapes that had me immersed. I distinctly remember a school trip in which we went to a high school known for its performing arts and watched a dramatic play about Shakespeare, a midsummer night's dream and many scenes took place in a forest. 

Art in this way shaped my understanding of nature interpretation at a very young age. Now, after taking this course, I learned that art can help others connect to nature too, as it can help them relive memories of them in the wild through dance or song, or learn about nature through visual and performing arts (Chapter 10: Arts in Interpretation, pg. 229). My tour guides during my summers in Madagascar would use storytelling as a way to explain the things we saw and in a way, that is how I first learned to appreciate nature beyond just observation. Storytelling made the environment come alive, it gave animals' personalities, landscapes their own histories, and ecosystems a sense of interconnectedness. They would often share their own experience and interactions that they had and it would leave me feeling excited to go back out into the forest every single day, no matter how tired I was. One story in particular struck a chord with me. The story tells of a king who drowned himself in a lake to avoid capture by his enemies. This act made the lake sacred, and as a result, hunting crocodiles there became strictly forbidden. Today, the once-endangered Nile crocodile population has rebounded, along with native turtles and fish, all thriving under the lake's protected status. 

Picture taken of a baby Nile Crocodile in Lake Ravolobe as my tour guide told me the story of why this lake is Sacred.

Experiences such as these have shaped my ethics as a nature interpreter. I believe that nature interpretation is not just about facts and figures but about fostering an emotional and personal connection to the natural world. My experiences as a child have shaped my perception and love for nature and now as I have learned ways to help others too connect to nature, my ethics and beliefs revolve strongly around accessibility and privilege. Somehow we have turned nature into a commodity, and many people around the world cannot access it. Whether through scientific communication that bars people due to education or through the assimilation of various Indigenous cultures, we have forced the disconnection of nature onto many, many people. As a nature interpreter, I believe it is my responsibility to break down these barriers and create opportunities for people to reconnect with the natural world. Nature is not something to be owned, bought, or restricted to those with the means to experience it. It is a shared resource, a fundamental part of human existence, and something that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with, regardless of their background, education, or socioeconomic status.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the way nature has been framed within academic and institutional spaces. Scientific language, while valuable, can often alienate those without formal education in the field (Unit 5: Nature Interpretation Through Science. By simplifying concepts, using storytelling, and incorporating diverse cultural perspectives, we can make nature interpretation more inclusive and engaging. Creative writing has always been a passion of mine and since coming to the University of Guelph, I have found it to be a powerful tool to connect science and academics to the public. I am currently immersed in op-ed writers such as Naomi Klime or authors such as Dr. Kerrian McGoogan who are using their skills in writing to interpret to a much, much broader audience than academia could ever reach.

Dr. Kerriann McGoogan's book, Chasing Lemurs is one of my favourite creative non fiction books and is a very important one due to the biodiversity crisis Madagascar is currently facing.

Through their writing, they make pressing issues relatable, accessible, and urgent, ensuring that knowledge is not reserved for the few but shared with the many. This approach is most suitable for me as I find reading about others' experiences with nature often helps me connect to them as well. Writing the script for my podcast also helped me realize my love for writing can be a powerful tool and a bridge between people and the natural world. Through storytelling, I can make complex environmental issues more accessible, weaving together personal experiences, scientific insights, and cultural narratives to create a deeper sense of connection. Moving forward, I plan to integrate writing into my work as a nature interpreter, using it as a tool to reach those who might not otherwise engage with environmental topics. Whether through personal essays, advocacy pieces, or podcast storytelling, I want my words to not only inform but also evoke emotion, spark curiosity, and inspire change.

Prompt: Describe your ethics as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?  

Introduction

As this is mine and our class's final blog post week, I would like to start by saying I've learned so much through not only the course but all of my peers! Reading the weekly blogs was so fun and presented a different way of learning new things, especially with the freedom of the prompts it was always so fascinating to see what directions people took it in. That being said let’s get into this week's prompt!

My Ethics

When starting this course, I was not sure what kind of interpreter I wanted to be or what that truly meant. However, now I can confidently say I'm starting to find my way in this new skill of environmental interpretation, learning as I go, of course! I find ethics such a complex and interesting topic as comes from a philosophy minor it is something often discussed. What I believe is important and what I bring to interpretation is trying to open our eyes past what we are currently seeing in the media and focus on our planet! The current political state of North America is very messy, and with a potential upcoming spring federal election for Canada approaching it is now time to speak up about our climate goals. The Green Party in Canada only holds two seats, one in BC and one here in Ontario. Smaller parties are often overshadowed and with everything currently happening… who is surprised? That is why I think we as interpreters need to ensure to represent the overshadowed topics and unrepresented parties who stand with the environment because it often feels like these topics are left in the rearview mirror.

*Feel free to read up about what the Green Party supports!

                Plans – Green Party Of Canada

In Chapter 5 of the textbook, there is a section called “promoting perception”. In this section, they discuss how in the end interpreters are helping people perceive the world that surrounds them more realistically and truthfully (Beck, Cable and Knudson, 2018). This relates to my ethics well because I believe so strongly we are often taking nature for granted due to the lack of discussion surrounding important environmental topics.

TED Talk

Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change | TED Talk

                This TED Talk is titled “Global Priorities Bigger than Climate Change”, the video is about 17 minutes but it is just a good way to show, and help understand how complicated decision-making is and just shows how complex ethics is because we all may have different ‘priorities’. The overall point of the talk is to show how much goes into decision-making and outweighs the pros and cons. People do not know this, and it allows for a false understanding of how the world truly runs. If you have time, I suggest watching it because it presents a transparent and honest message of some of the hard realities.

                *Also an interesting note on the video is it was made in 2005, but even 20 years later now in 2025 the same ideas still apply and we still see this in our everyday world.

My approaches

Chousing just a certain number of approaches can be so difficult because as we have seen all semester throughout the course the multiple different ways we can interpret nature! However, I find education a great way to share my interpretations of nature with others. Education feels most effective to me as it can be modified to best suit different age levels, understanding levels and so much more. Another important factor of education that must not be forgotten is the accessibility of this education; therefore education should not be limited to school settings, bringing it into public settings such as library programs, summer camps, television segments, and books/ cartoons… the possibilities are endless. My approaches need to be something that can be shared, I want to ensure messages stick and people keep talking about what I must say/show/interpret/promote… which leads us into responsibilities.

My responsibilities

As an interpreter what makes me feel good or makes me feel like I did my part is when I feel I have truly spread a message. I feel as a nature interpreter it is one point to ensure they understand the message you are sharing but it is another thing to see they are promoting/sharing your message! I want to see that the topic stuck around in their minds, I want to see them share with friends and family. Most importantly I want to open as many eyes as I can to a bigger picture. I feel it is the responsibility of nature interpreters to help people take a step back and allow the world to care about nature as we do! We also have a responsibility to guide upcoming generations, to ensure that nature interpretation never ends. Assuring we remember to accommodate towards the different abilities and comforts of the groups we are guiding, it is important to remember you are responsible for how the message comes across, I know I need to make sure things sound as they should!

Conclusion

Overall, there is still a lot for me to learn as an interpreter, but I believe we all bring something different to the table and that is important and necessary. Sharing our ethics and skills we bring can bring like-minded people together and help further connections and friendships. I hope we all continue our interpretation skills in the future! I hope to see real change for our planet!

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018) Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing, Sagamore Venture.

Lomborg, B. (2005). Global priorities are bigger than climate change. Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/bjorn_lomborg_global_priorities_bigger_than_climate_change?referrer=playlist-the_big_picture&autoplay=true  

Our plan. Green Party Of Canada. (n.d.). https://www.greenparty.ca/en/our-plan

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my third blog post!

This week's blog post will explore the role of privilege in nature interpretation. To begin, Privilege is defined as "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group." There are two distinct categories of privilege.

The first refers to aspects of a person’s identity or circumstances that they are born into and cannot control. Examples of these include race, gender, socioeconomic status, and physical abilities. These factors often affect an individual's access to opportunities and experiences from the very beginning.

On the other hand, earned privileges are advantages that come from a person’s actions or achievements. This category includes education, skills, and professional accomplishments.

Unpacking My Invisible Backpack

My parents immigrated to Canada from Albania over 25 years ago in their late twenties, starting with almost nothing and speaking little English.

My dad, who graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tirana, began his journey in Canada, delivering pizzas and working overnight shifts at a factory to support our family. They managed to save enough for a down payment on a house just four years after arriving. Eventually, my dad secured a job as a service engineer with CN Railway in Toronto, and my mom started working as hairstylist.

As highlighted in this week's readings, many individuals born into more privileged circumstances "are not taught to recognize their privileges" (Gallavan, 2005). This concept deeply resonates with my experience as the daughter of immigrant parents.

Growing up, I was aware of the sacrifices my parents made in order to provide me with a life full of opportunitiy they never had. I often observed that many of my peers unknowingly took their privileges for granted. For instance, stable financial support and access to higher education were the norm for some of my peers and their families. But for my family, these achievements required significant effort and dedication.

My parents first day in Canada, 1998

Privilege and Nature Interpretation

When it comes to nature interpretation, privilege plays a significant role. As stated in the textbook, "To effectively serve a related audience, you must know them" (Beck et al.,  2018). Understanding the audience allows interpreters to tailor messages and experiences more effectively (Beck et al.,  2018). This requires interpreters to appreciate the unique backgrounds and lived experiences of their audience.

The textbook outlines several barriers that have discouraged park attendance among minority populations (Beck et al.,  2018).

Economic Barriers- Lack of personal vehicle or public transportation. Entrance fees, lodging, food etc. 

Cultural barriers- Participation is based on cultural preferences related to history, values, etc.

Communication Barriers- Language barriers may prevent interpreters from serving diverse audiences.

Lack of Knowledge- Lack of awareness on where to go, what to do.

Fear- Fear of wildlife, getting lost, safety conerns.

By addressing these barriers, interpreters can create welcoming environments, allowing diverse individuals to develop a deeper appreciation for nature and what it has to offer.

Thanks for reading!

Biona🍀🌷🐬

References: Knudson, L.B.T.T.C.D. M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage: For a Better World. Sagamore Publishing LLC. https://sagamore.vitalsource.com/books/9781571678669

Hello, ENVS*3000 friends! I'm Maia, and I am in my third year of Biological Sciences. Welcome to my first blog :)

I would describe my current connection with nature as a profound yet carefree essence. I come from the city, more precisely, North Toronto; I found myself yearning for nature's embrace from a young age, perhaps triggered by its scarcity in my urban surroundings. Recognizing my affinity, my dad, a nature enthusiast, actively fueled my passion through camping adventures, hiking escapades, and shared moments immersed in captivating David Attenborough documentaries. In the midst of a large Italian family, where the majority remained indifferent to the natural world, I stood out as the quiet one, the nature lover, aspiring Dr.-to-be. Amidst this, my dad became my reliable support, sharing the same passion for the great outdoors. His passion for wildlife and landscape photography became a shared pursuit, complete with my very own camera.

Photo of a male wood duck shot by Dino Melissa

Despite a bustling upbringing as a competitive dancer for 17 years—which is not exactly an outdoor sport—I surrounded myself with nature books, my dad's photographs, and nature documentaries. Unfortunately, while balancing a hectic city life, the opportunities for my dad and I’s outdoor adventures diminished over the years. However, as I am maturing and expanding my knowledge, I continuously discovered new ways to appreciate nature and its interconnected web of life - not mosquitoes though…

In my quest to inspire others to view nature through a similar lens as I do, I spent the past summer at a wildlife hospital, manning the front desk. Handling cases ranging from fallen hawks to orphaned baby raccoons to pigeons with string around their feet, I strived to educate callers about wildlife while debunking misconceptions. Some common ones are that pigeons are dirty and will give us diseases, and snakes are evil - spoiler alert, both are very wrong! While not everyone appreciated or grasped the educational aspect—some mistaking us for pest removal—many left with a newfound understanding of Ontario's wildlife. Small changes, after all, contribute to a broader impact of protecting our native species. This job expanded my knowledge - which I still try to share with anyone who will listen - and played a pivotal role in further evolving my relationship with nature.

Picture of an American Kestrel

One place that has bestowed upon me a profound sense of place is my cottage—a haven of tranquillity like no other. Nestled on about an acre of land, backing onto a forest, it teems with diverse wildlife such as deer, coyotes, foxes, turkeys, grouse, and a plethora of native plants. Whether quietly observing the tree line or engaging in summer activities like kayaking and hiking, the ambient sounds of water, wind, and nature's symphony create a genuine sense of place; whenever I am there I feel as if I belong there. It's here that I yearn to escape city living permanently, trading it for the allure of a rural plot of land to live off of sustainably. 

Picture of the backyard during the winter

Privilege is a complicated term and honestly, a tricky one to give a proper definition to. In my opinion, it is that complicated but invisible side of life that shapes our experiences and the opportunities we get in ways that sometimes, we might not even notice. My journey in Guelph in the past few years has given me a clearer understanding of what privilege truly means to me. I am an international student from India who moved to Canada 3.5 years ago.

When I first moved here as an international student, life felt very different. Afterall, I had to make my own home away from home and like many international students, I lived in a shared house, worked a part time job, tried to balance part time with schoolwork and constantly missed my family. However, everything changed when coincidentally, my family moved here a year later. Now, I live in my own house here in Guelph, drive my own car and enjoy my mom’s home-cooked meals everyday. I do sometimes forget to appreciate these privileges that I have but there are moments when I realize how blessed I am as compared to other international students around me who are still dealing with daily struggles of their lives while missing their families who are miles away from them.  And now when I think about all this, I believe that I have started to understand the true meaning of privilege better. Being ‘privileged’ is not about having everything you want, it is about the support your family gives you, the opportunities you create for yourself and last but not the least, the peace that comes along with all that.   

Like I mentioned in my first blog, I grew up in Delhi. A megacity where being surrounded by nature or experiencing fresh air in the middle of the day was a ‘privilege’ I was devoid of. Still, my parents always tried their best to take us on trips where we could experience the stillness of a river, beauty of a sunset, and peace and quiet of the mountains. Even though these moments were short lived, but they were more than what others living in Delhi could experience. Those moments created a special place in my memory without me even realizing it. And this made me understand the fact the sometimes, the way we connect with and interpret nature depends on our circumstances. People who live in small towns or areas with more outdoor activities will always have a different way of interpreting nature as compared to people living in cities like Delhi because they have a consistent access to natural spaces. Also, privilege like the way my parents gave me helped me to somewhere build my connection with nature, but at the same time, I also understand that others from urban, immigrant, or low-income backgrounds may lack that.

This is why I believe that that the focus of nature interpretation should also shift towards inclusion and set a goal of making nature more accessible for everyone no matter what background they come from. And it can all start with taking steps as small as making nature a part of our daily conversations, reducing the costs of transportation or sharing a ride to public parks.

Growing up immersed in competitive sports, my connection with nature was minimal. Between gymnastics practices and school, my time outdoors was limited to recess or walking from the car to the gym and back. My parents didn’t push my brother and me to go to the park or run around outside, given our already active lifestyles. Instead, alongside gymnastics, my interests gravitated towards drawing, crafts and fashion design. 

Even during childhood, while my peers explored bugs or played soccer at recess, I was crafting jewelry from blades of grass to accessorize my uniform. The outdoors seemed irrelevant, and my appreciation for nature was limited to photographing rain clouds, an interest that set me apart from my friends at the time. At 12, I realized that appreciation for nature is subjective to the individual. What others found captivating in sunsets, I found in rain clouds. Though unconventional for most my age, my connection to nature was genuine. 

In 2021, my perspective shifted when I started a job in turf maintenance at a local golf course. Spending 8 hours outside 11 days in a row transformed my relationship with nature. Watching the sunrise every day from different parts of the course and encounters with the wildlife that inhabited the course's trees, pond and creek sparked a newfound curiosity. After three summers of lots of grass, rain, and mud (and sweat), I’m no longer that girl obsessed with fashion design. I jump into the creek or pond at every opportunity to clean it out after a big storm because I know I will find things I have probably never seen before. My job has opened my eyes to a world I previously overlooked!

Although this job allowed me to appreciate nature in new ways, the person who offered me a ‘sense of place’ was my friend Andrea. While snorkeling, we witnessed a dancing seagrass bed beneath us when the waves of a passing ferry had rippled beneath the surface. When we reached the surface, I told Andrea how cool I thought that was. He gave me a weird look and went on to explain his appreciation for the moment and how it made him feel. Although a short conversation, my perception of nature shifted, and I realized nature extended beyond a mere backdrop. Inspired by Andrea, I aspire to regard a location or event as more than it is; instead, I like to reflect on how it makes me feel and how I can connect with it. I have since learned to experience and be part of nature rather than exist alongside it. 

Today, my friends would describe me as plant-obsessed, surrounded by nature-themed pictures in my room - void of human presence. The version of nature I have grown to love excludes people, focusing on the natural world. Green ground, blue or gray skies and sometimes even those painted by sunsets!

I was never necessarily interested in going to art galleries as a kid, but man, did I beg to go to the museum. A building with a collection of natures finest treasures and cryptic oddities sounded like a fun place the second I learned what it was, but I guess the beautiful art of paintings and sculptures didn’t quite do it for me. Even now, I much prefer museums to galleries (incoming likely an extremely controversial take🚨🚨🚨), with my personal trips to the Toronto ROMs natural history exhibit and my experience of seeing the Mona Lisa and other works in Paris’ Louvre being almost equally as exciting. (I will accept any science nerd comments with dignity, I know my truth.)

Thinking about who I am to interpret both nature through art and the gift of beauty, I’ve learned to notice that my perspective in nature interpretation sits on the intersection of science and art. In my opinion, it’s crucial to recognize that when interpreting, you don’t have to pick one or the other since they often compliment each other tremendously. In this week’s readings, I thought the quote “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty,” is a perfect summary of how I feel I was initially drawn to nature; but I suspect my strong personal preference to the living art comes from the many why’s and how’s to be asked of it. While the answer “because the artist thought so” is perfectly acceptable to me in most cases when inquiring about a painting or something, the questions begging to be asked by nature- like where it comes from or why it does something- inspire me to take part on a much deeper level. Furthermore, with an ongoing education in zoology, concepts like evolutionary theory sort of promote the “everything has happened for a reason” ideology in a sense , since the evolution of a trait had to have been advantageous to persist, making everything so much more incredible. To be so in love with nature is of course to understand not everyone is on the same page, as I could spend my whole life trying to convince others that the gift of beauty is in everything outdoors, but I’ll stick to just you guys for now 😊

To me, the gift of beauty that’s to be found in nature is so much more than aesthetic appreciation, and I’ll try my best to explain using the lens of ecological interconnectedness. If you immerse ourselves in the natural world to truly appreciate its beauty, you begin to grasp the intricate web of life that surrounds you and unveil the many interdependencies between species, ecosystems, and the environment as a whole. The beauty within a vibrant rainforest or a flourishing coral reef isn’t just about the “ooooooh so pretty” but is a reflection of an immeasurable amount of ecological relationships at play. For example, the relationship between pollinators and flowers where the bright colours and variety of shapes have evolved to attract specific bees, butterflies, bats, or birds. The beauty in this relationship is not solely for our visual pleasure, but a testament to the natural worlds dedication to live!

I really do think there's beauty in everything in nature, from the mundane to the exotic, whether common or rare almost simply for existing and so I wonder if there's a word in a language somewhere for this specific appreciation that I'm talking about?

Hello and welcome back to my nature blog! This week I have done some thinking on history and how things of the past can be interpreted. When we think of history, we think of the great stories and background behind artifacts that are left over. However, without interpretation, these artifacts that unpack tales of the past would simply be items or really old landscapes. In nature, history allows the information about land, the species it holds, and the people that use it to be conveyed and be used in many ways. History in nature allows local communities to share their past, gives cultural richness, and helps scientific research study the land for important preservation or monitoring rising issues like climate change.

"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)

In this quote shared as this week's prompt, it seems Edward Hyams dives into the meaning of interpretation in the context of preserving history. He starts by introducing the merit of artifacts, in which he describes what I had mentioned: without a story and someone to debunk the history and an honest background, historical artifacts have little to no worth. The mention of ancient things acknowledges the importance of remembering the history of a place or artifact and how they contribute to the present. This is extremely applicable when talking about nature's history as historical landscapes and ecosystems are all formed by their long evolution over time. These evolutionary processes are important to be understood through interpretation to debunk how species, the climate, and the earth came to be. The last part of the quote uses a train station analogy to describe the importance of memory. This analogy describes that the past isn't simply something to be discarded or ignored. Just because an event is past, doesn't mean that it wasn't significant to the present or future. I think Hyams quote also can describe how disregarding historical events that “only existed for as long as our train was in it”, creates struggle in using natural history for conservation. The historical aspects of nature continue to influence the future and we can't forget about the past as there may be great clues to drivers of change currently in ecosystems. For example, cycles of lower temperatures like the ice ages and warmer interglacial periods are all elements of environmental history that have allowed scientists to study the earth's climate and predict the natural waves of temperature versus human impact. Interpretation also keeps historical culture alive and teaches younger generations about having a relationship with nature. An example of this is how Indigenous communities keep their ancestors' history alive for cultural reasons and use stories to convey the importance of certain natural features or landscapes for spirituality (Beck et al., 2018, p.341).

It is extremely important to remember history. This makes interpreters especially important as their role is to keep the integrity of history alive and not forgotten (Beck et al., 2018, p.326). With this, preserving history can be a driver of change for the future having a huge impact on scientific research and cultural practice. Without acknowledging and remembering the past, these "trains" of history will be lost.

Resources