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[anenvs3000-20]

Hey Taylor,

Excellent post. I was really fascinated by your thoughts and ideas you had about ethics when it comes to nature. I couldn’t agree more about how humans for so many years used nature for their own benefits and greed instead of appreciating the beauty and wonder of it. I feel that appreciating the natural world is what brings us happiness. As you had mentioned about empathy, i feel it is important to show empathy to the living species around us like how are human activities we do will affect them such as like as you had mentioned about dandelions which are beneficial for honey bees, yet not many see it that way and try to kill dandelions from their lawn and yard. Privilege is essential because the way things are set up as right now in the current climate of things not many people have access to the natural world given how industrialized the world had become. So like you are privileged for example that you have a cottage. It is also essential to educate others about the natural world and how to treat nature with respect as it seems most schools don’t focus on that subject really in which they should. 

Amaar Nazarani 

Ethics in Nature Interpretation

Ethics is a very diverse term that is unique to everyone in different ways (Beck et al. 2018). Personal ethics are moral guidelines that you give yourself that help in situations and making decisions in your personal life (Beck et al. 2018). Often ethical values are shared between people but, the level of importance within your ethics will vary. Some personal ethics I poses in my day to day life includes integrity, respect, empathy, selflessness and honesty (Indeed, 2020). Other types of ethics involve the moral decisions of right and wrong. I myself make decisions based on my ethical and moral views which are developed as I grow as a human being, experiencing different places, cultures and education. In terms of nature interpretation, the type of ethics I developed throughout this course is the moral relationship of human beings to the environment. I value all of natures living and non-living components because they hold true beauty and importance to my life as well as others around me.

I believe every living thing shares an equal intrinsic value despite how powerful one can be over another. What I mean by this is that I morally feel it is wrong for example to destroy ecosystems for urban development or hunt tigers for their fur and/or welcome new products into our lives that had to be tested on multiple animals first. Who is it to say that humans have the rights to make the decisions regarding another living things life? It reminds me of an environmental perspective I have learned about and that is the social construction of nature (Robbins, 2014). Humans for hundreds of years have used natures natural wonders as a way to express social status rather than appreciate nature for all it is (Robbins, 2014). For example, people with weeds all over there lawns were seen as not successful or socially acceptable people because weeds were deemed as “ugly” (Robbins, 2014). Dandelions are a type of weed that humans feel pressured to expel from their lawns but in return we are just damaging the honey bee population (CBC, 2016). Honey bees rely on dandelions because they are the first source of nectar for bees in the early spring (CBC, 2016). Who is to say that humans have the rights to subtract a major food source from an ecological important species just for a socially acceptable status? I believe the answer is that humans don’t have this right and we abuse the privileges nature provides us with.

The type of weeds usually removed from lawns so the lawn looks “prettier”.   https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/solutions/weed-control-turfgrass/

I also believe expressing nature through different art forms is one of the greatest and most ethical ways of doing so. A special place to me where I grew up is my cottage located in Dorset, Ontario. Throughout the town of Dorset, sculptures of beavers, loons and wolves are displayed to express appreciation for these species and acknowledge that they are important in nature. Whenever I walk past these sculptures it makes me think about my encounters with beavers, loons and wolves throughout my life. For example, when I think of beavers, I can tell a story of why beavers were given the status of an emblem of Canada. When I think of wolves, I remember back to when a pair of wolves made shelter under my cottage and I was able to see them come out from underneath and walk back across the frozen lake into the forest. When I think of loons, I think about all the years practicing and mastering a loon call and the cool feeling I got when it triggered a response from them. There is nothing more beautiful then relaxing by the fire on the beach as the sun is setting and the loons are howling back and forth.

Common loon found in freshwater ecosystems.     https://abcbirds.org/bird/common-loon/ 

I also believe privilege plays a role in nature interpretation (Beck et al. 2018).  Being able to grow up and experience the things I listed above is truly a privilege I am forever thankful for. It is to my understanding that some people don’t have the privilege of going outside or having the freedom of seeing a beautiful landscape (Beck et al. 2018). In my most recent adventures, I had the opportunity to travel to Vancouver and go hiking. The accessibility to fly across Canada to another province is a privilege as well that some people may not be able to experience. Hiking and exploring the different ecosystems they have really opened my eyes to how much nature can change even just between a few provinces. Nature flourishes wherever life can grow and be sustained which I think is beautiful.

The ethical responsibilities I have in my day to day life is educating others on why we need to treat nature and the environment as equals to us. Our beautiful environment will not be sustained if we keep negatively impacting it (Wals et al., 2014). That is why environmental education is so important, people can learn about the evolving issues of species loss, ecosystem destruction and climate change in hopes of creating efficient solutions for the future (Wals et al., 2014). If we treat nature and wildlife as an equal to us then maybe we can start to preserve our natural world before it is too late (Wals et al., 2014).

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Urbana, IL: Sagamore – Venture Publishing LLC

CBC News. (2016). Lawn full of dandelions is a good thing, says bee expert. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dandelions-lawn-bees-1.3526394#:~:text=Julia%20Common%2C%20chief%20beekeeper%20for%20Hives%20for%20Humanity%2C%20a%20group,at%20this%20time%20of%20year.&text=It’s%20pollen%20and%20nectar%2C%22%20Common,Coast%20guest%20host%20Gloria%20Macarenko.

Robbins P., Hintz J., and Moore S. (2014). Environment and Society. Wiley Blackwell, United Kingdom.

 Wals, A.E., Brody, M., Dillon, J., and Stevenson, R. (2014). Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, 344: 583-584

[anenvs3000-20]

Hey,

Great job with your post. I really enjoyed reading through it, as you have shared so many interesting concepts that I have been fascinated by. 

I couldn’t agree more on how you mentioned about education being an important tool for nature interpretation. Because without education I don’t think many people will have the knowledge or understanding. Yet it is very important in my opinion for the younger generation, mainly because their minds are still fresh and also because yet most young people are being hooked onto technology where whenever you come across them, majority of times they tend to be on their phones or hand held video game systems. I feel with this technology addiction, they’re losing track of the natural world and also become more unaware about their surroundings and their behavior that can have affect on the environment. With not any education they wouldn’t be aware on what actions they must choose to do. Thats why environmental education must be essential in school.

From you mentioning about your trips to both Costa Rica and Ecuador, I was drawn inspiration about the objective of your trip. Like exploring its wildlife studying different species etc. This is something I want to keep on finding different opportunities to engage in. Instead of going to like Disneyland which is something most people care to do. I really want to go on trips to explore the natural world from different areas and see what I can make out of it and find happiness. I feel the natural world and all the living creatures is what bring happiness over the material world which is currently a big thing. This is whats unfortunate. 

Great Post Again!!

My Personal Ethics, Beliefs, and Approaches Concerning Nature Interpretation.

Each and every person has their own ethics, beliefs, and approach to life, and these are just a few of mine when I think about nature interpretation.

My current personal ethic as a nature interpreter is that I believe the individual is just as important as the whole. By this I mean that even the smallest organisms in nature are as important and have equal intrinsic value as the largest organism. In my mind, if I stick with this outlook while leading interpretive tours people will find a new sense of importance in nature.

Based on my personal ethics explained in the previous paragraph I’m sure it comes to no surprise that my biggest belief when it comes to nature interpretation is that it should be more than just providing information to a group of people about their current environment (Beck et al., 2018). I believe that the point of nature interpretation is to provide your guests with an experience and leave them with the desire to learn more and provoke deeper thinking causing them to question nature around them for the rest of their life (Beck et al., 2018). By doing so, this may cause people to change certain habits, challenge social norms, and even support the fight for the environment (Beck et al., 2018). I think If you are able to evoke change in just one person through just one nature interpretation program, you have successfully fulfilled your purpose as a nature interpreter.

As nature interpreters we have many responsibilities. The first that comes to mind is education. We are responsible for teaching individuals both young and old about the environment around them while trying to instil (in a limited amount of time) that nature is much more than just forests, mountains, and animals. When it comes to education, I think the most important type of people we are responsible for is the educating of children. I am a strong believer that teaching young people the value and importance of nature early in life will truly benefit them in the long run. For one, nature provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, problem-solving, stimulating deeper thinking, improving cognitive development, as well as contributing to improved physical and mental health (Beck et al., 2018; Poppell & Monroe, 2018). Most importantly, the young children we teach today are the future and hopefully, these teachings will translate down to future generations and create change in the world.

A photo of a young children learning about nature…in nature. 

Outward Bound.  (2020). [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.outwardbound.org/blog/pursuing-career-outdoor-education-instructor/

I have found with my own personal experiences in the role of nature interpreter, that the approach that is most suitable for me is storytelling (Beck et al., 2018). While working in Costa Rica I taught people primarily about the local insects (mainly butterflies) and I found that on these tours I loved telling my own personal stories for a couple of reasons. I felt it made me appear like more of a friend rather than a teacher. This made my guests feel more comfortable with asking me questions which created a personal relationship between me and them. While writing this, the story that comes to mind that I used to tell was about the tarantula hawk wasp.

During our tours most interpreters would quickly speak about the tarantula hawk wasp being the second most painful insect sting in the world, and then move on to our golden orb weavers that had their webs above the heads of the guests. However, I usually spent a little extra time after explaining the lifecycle of the wasp to tell my guests about my first encounter with a tarantula hawk wasp. My story went a little like this;

“Earlier this year I was in the rainforest of Ecuador, 6 hours from the nearest city. It was my first morning at Yanayaku Biological Station, 2100 masl. I woke up early with the excitement of venturing deep into the rainforest that day to find some cool bugs. Trying not to disturb my sleeping roommate on the bunk beside me, I took my headlamp and began to dig through my backpack for a change of clothes when I saw something literally running toward me along the floorboard. I shined my headlamp at it and saw it was an iridescent insect with orange wings. Thinking it was just a simple wasp I left it alone, changed my clothes and went down the dining area. This is where I found my professor sitting on a chair in front of a dirt mound. Curious, I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was observing a tarantula hawk wasp burying its recently paralyzed tarantula. I then told him I had just seen one in my room. He then tells me that its sting is second to the bullet ant and that I needed to go find it quick! I ran up to my room to find my roommate awake and I told her what I saw and that we have to find this bug immediately! After searching for an hour, we gave up. We could not find the wasp and we just hoped it found its way out through a crack in the wall. I soon forgot about the hawk wasp but on the day we were packing up to leave, I picked up my backpack from off the floor and the hawk wasp fell out of my backpack strap!”

Me with the female tarantula hawk wasp I caught in Costa Rica.

The reason why I think this approach suits me is that I am very loud, excitable, and expressive (in person) and because my stories are not ones you hear every day. 

If you would like to learn more about the tarantula hawk wasp… here is a good link…https://www.aboutanimals.com/insect/tarantula-hawk/

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage For a Better World. Urbana, IL: Sagamore – Venture Publishing LLC.

Poppell, K. & Monroe, M. C. (2018).  Why is exposure to nature interpretation important in early childhood? University of florida. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr394

[anenvs3000-20]

Hey Luke

Thanks so much for your response, I’m glad you enjoyed it. The innovative farming you mentioned happening in the Netherlands is pretty fascinating, I think more countries should adopt this practice. It is very important to me to coexist with nature instead of ruling over nature. I feel you had a good eye opening experience when visiting Algonquin Park, where you can go without your phone for five days. I’ve done similar things where a couple sleep way camps I went to, i declared my phone until the end of camping sessions. 

Industrial World vs Natural World

 FAfter taking time to reflect and to look at things from perspective, I wonder what I can apply from what I had learned from these classes to my day to day life and also relate it to past experiences I’ve had. Also what I can educate others on what I had learned from taking this course as a nature interpreter. 

This would all start back from loving animals as a young kid. There were certain animals I had found pretty fascinating growing up which includes elephants, whales, dolphins, and reptiles. So after seeing them at zoos so many times I had started to think of things from a deeper perspective such as their surroundings, behavior, ecology, interactions with other species their social life etc. So from that point on its important to know nature from a much wider perspective. So my passion for wildlife made me want to take this class as an elective for my major which is Wildlife Biology and Conservation. 

To be a nature interpreter I would apply what i learned in class which would be using different methods for different audiences as when it comes to children and adults. Talk to them about that how I realized to make a true animal lover its important to know about the natural world that way ones can help and conserve the animals that they love. Yet I feel not everyone yet has that sort of mindset yet because of how the world had become a civil society where basically known as industrialized. Industrialized in a sense where technology is becoming the main source, also lot of buildings, bridges, roads, transportation etc. This had taken people away from the natural world in a sense that this new world is what they rely on the most. Also yet its a shame that the younger generation isn’t getting enough education on the natural world because, now a days whenever seeing a group of young people, they’re always on their tablets like on their phones, playing portable video games etc. That is something that takes their mind off the natural world. They only seem to care about the material stuff. Awareness of environmental affects on the natural affects is now lacking because of how industrialized the world has become. 

As a nature interpreter i would take inspiration from learning about the cultures of the indigenous people and also some of these tribal people in Africa. Just a couple days ago I was watching this movie called “The Gods must be Crazy”. Its a movie that shows the lifestyle of one of these tribal people in Africa where they live within nature, they don’t pick up materialist culture, they rely strongly on their natural surroundings for survival and respect nature. Yet 600 miles south is a civilized society which is something they’re ignorant about. They don’t know anything about civilizations. So their lifestyle is something that i would take inspiration from as a nature interpreter to my audience. 

Also another important source of inspiration for the natural world is the indigenous community of Canada. A deep and genuine relationship with the earth has been a central tenet of First Nations worldview (First Nations Pedagogy, 2013). So to compare and contrast the indigenous community to the non-indigenous community, is that the indigenous community views that man co exists harmoniously with earth, as many non-indigenous people believe man rules over earth. The indigenous people always had worked together to understand the natural world and become more aware of it in all sorts of disciplines which includes, ecology, conservation, plant growth, and soil protection etc. So they don’t act as the dominant species as most western/colonials do. They hunt only for survival and not for human greed. They don’t let food go to waste. They don’t believe in polluting the lakes or rivers. So basically I feel non-indigenous people don’t see it form this perspective as yet to them corporate businesses are more important and also any form of technology without consideration of polluting the air and releasing carbon emissions. And also without the awareness it destroys natural habitats through deforestations. 

An example of how INDIGENOUS people see the world differently. 

So from reading about these topics and also putting an amount of effort in this class, I’ve seen this as an eye opening for myself where I realized I myself have been a bit too distracted with technology where even though I care so much about the natural world, I keep forgetting to take advantage to appreciate instead of spending too much time on my phone. So I believe as a nature interpreter I can share my personal experience on how I’ve been too distracted on my phone and not paying attention too the real world and then share about my change and what it is I’ve discovered. Like I would speak in metaphors to get the audience to kind of interpret on what it is I mean on what I’m saying about the natural world. 

As for the industrial world, I didn’t say completely end it, I just mean it needs to be reduced and also come up with some form of alternatives such as renewable energy, to reduce carbon emissions and also to not make corporations so important for human needs as they are right now. Visit Indigenous Communities and practice what they do. Learn how they try and help the environment. 

Sources:

https://firstnationspedagogy.com/earth.html

[anenvs3000-20]

Hey Man,

First of all I would like to say that from reading your post, you had done an excellent job on inspiring others about your knowledge about nature to share with others. There were like so many things that you had shared that I didn’t think of before which i wish i thought’ve. This includes other methods of making science accessible other than just journal articles. 

Anyway you raised a lot of great points that I agree on, its really important to help increase awareness to the public, as yet they’re lacking knowledge about certain species that are almost extinct. Like there was a time i didn’t know bald eagles almost extinct. So that is something that should be essential to education when working as a nature interpreter. Yet I think all schools should hire a nature interpreter to help work for them to educate their students about the natural world as the natural world. As right now the only people who seem to understand the real meaning of nature and the natural world are people who work in a field that has to do with nature or people who are pursuing a degree that is relevant. It’s kind of a shame in my opinion that it is like that. 

So basically I think corporate greed and these oil and gas industries are a major factor. Like most of the people who work in oil and gas businesses are in denial they’re harming the natural world, and yet most of the people who depend on these industries for the economy are unaware that what they’re supporting is harming the natural world, this is why education is important in that scenario. As you know I’m currently in TX this knowledge is lacking big time compared to Canada where as over here we’re strongly dependent on oil and gas. 

So basically I would say that the industrial world had overpowered the natural world which should be reversed. 

Nature Interpretation and Me

As this semester comes to an end, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on everything I’ve learned both academically, and personally.  I doubt I’m alone when I say that has easily been one of my most interesting semesters to date.  Interestingly enough, it has been one of my favourites.

Throughout this course, I feel as though I’ve come to understand what my definition of nature interpretation is, and where I see myself fitting into the field once I graduate.  By using the knowledge I’ve attained from completing my degree in zoology, and the communication skills I’ve gained in respect to nature interpretation, I hope to be able to aid in the conservation of our earths species in any way I can.  

Even as a child, my parents instilled in me that one of the best things for conservation, is education.  They taught me that if people are unaware that there is a problem at hand, there is very little they can do to rectify the situation.  Unfortunately, there are countless species which are on the brink of extinction and the sad truth is, if a majority of them disappeared, many wouldn’t even notice this disappearance.  In my opinion, a major issue is that the media tends to focus on the species which are the most charismatic.  Pretty much everyone knows that polar bears and rhinos are facing extinction, yet I’m sure only a very limited few know that the blue-throated macaw is on the brink of extinction.  With a population estimated at less than 200, they are the most endangered parrot in the wild.  This is a great shame as blue-throats are such personable birds and in my opinion, they should be getting as much attention as for example, polar bears.   

Pictured above is Olivia, one of the blue-throated macaws I’ve had the pleasure of working with.  Although she wasn’t the biggest fan of me, her mate Neuton grew fairly attached to me as I was one of the few people who didn’t scare him haha.                        

Due to this lack of knowledge, my goal as a nature interpreter is to educate the public and raise awareness that many known and unknown species are facing extinction and that we should be taking the initiative to save them. I say this because most of the species are going extinct due to our actions.  All species are important in some and we should be attempting to save as many as we can and not just the ones that we think are cute.       

One belief that I feel I bring to the table is that much of science is extremely unaccessible to those who do not have a background in science.  What I mean by this, is that almost every scientific paper I’ve had to read has required at the very least, 3 read throughs in order to fully digest it.  I believe that this is largely due to the at times, excessive use of scientific jargon.  In my opinion, scientific articles are seen as the be all end all when it comes to communicating research.  I feel that this is very outdated as there are plenty of methods of communicating information that could appeal to a much broader audience.  The methods I speak of include but are not limited to; infographics, videos, podcasts or even comics!  By using more accessible types of media, is able to be understood by more people which in my eyes, makes them much more valid methods for scientific communication.         

Another course I was in this semester which I felt did an excellent job of instilling this message was ZOO*4910 or, integrative vertebrate biology.  For our final project, we were tasked with presenting one of the scientific papers we studied in class in an untraditional format, which I thought was an incredibly cool assignment.  For my project I decided to present Stoddard et al.’s study, “Wild hummingbirds discriminate nonspectral colors” as a video sketch, which I had a lot of fun making!  I chose to do a video as I felt that using things like, music, pop culture references and comedy would make the material much more interesting and engaging.  To ensure that the information presented was easy to understand, I sent the video to a few of my friends who don’t study one of the sciences.  Thankfully the consensus was that the concepts presented we extremely clear and easily understandable which told me that I had done job well.  If I’m being honest, this was probably the most fun I’ve doing a project in university and it is hand down the one I am most proud of.    

A screenshot from the video capturing the eye sore that was my hummingbird costume.  For anyone interested, the video itself is available at this link!    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adcbJtaqw_M   

Having played live music for a decent amount of time, performing is something that I not only enjoy doing, but I also think I am somewhat good at (could be delusion though).  Because of this, I feel that this sort of performance based education is something I would like to get better at as I feel as though it is the method of interpreting nature that works for me.    

As a zoology major, I feel as though it is my responsibility to use the knowledge I have gained to aid in the conservation of the species that we share our planet with.  This extends to ensuring that the next generation will be able to see and experience the same biological diversity that I had the pleasure of experiencing.  It may be one thing to view nature through the glass of an exhibit at a zoo or on a screen, but it is a completely different thing seeing it first hand in the wild.  For me, I will never forget seeing killer whales in the wild, it honestly felt like I was seeing some sort of mythical creature that was thought not to exist.    

A picture I took of the pod of killer whales I was lucky enough to see out in B.C.

Nature truly is a remarkable thing and it would be such a shame if we lost one of the most incredible things this planet has to offer.

[anenvs3000-20]

Industrial World vs Natural World

 FAfter taking time to reflect and to look at things from perspective, I wonder what I can apply from what I had learned from these classes to my day to day life and also relate it to past experiences I’ve had. Also what I can educate others on what I had learned from taking this course as a nature interpreter. 

This would all start back from loving animals as a young kid. There were certain animals I had found pretty fascinating growing up which includes elephants, whales, dolphins, and reptiles. So after seeing them at zoos so many times I had started to think of things from a deeper perspective such as their surroundings, behavior, ecology, interactions with other species their social life etc. So from that point on its important to know nature from a much wider perspective. So my passion for wildlife made me want to take this class as an elective for my major which is Wildlife Biology and Conservation. 

To be a nature interpreter I would apply what i learned in class which would be using different methods for different audiences as when it comes to children and adults. Talk to them about that how I realized to make a true animal lover its important to know about the natural world that way ones can help and conserve the animals that they love. Yet I feel not everyone yet has that sort of mindset yet because of how the world had become a civil society where basically known as industrialized. Industrialized in a sense where technology is becoming the main source, also lot of buildings, bridges, roads, transportation etc. This had taken people away from the natural world in a sense that this new world is what they rely on the most. Also yet its a shame that the younger generation isn’t getting enough education on the natural world because, now a days whenever seeing a group of young people, they’re always on their tablets like on their phones, playing portable video games etc. That is something that takes their mind off the natural world. They only seem to care about the material stuff. Awareness of environmental affects on the natural affects is now lacking because of how industrialized the world has become. 

As a nature interpreter i would take inspiration from learning about the cultures of the indigenous people and also some of these tribal people in Africa. Just a couple days ago I was watching this movie called “The Gods must be Crazy”. Its a movie that shows the lifestyle of one of these tribal people in Africa where they live within nature, they don’t pick up materialist culture, they rely strongly on their natural surroundings for survival and respect nature. Yet 600 miles south is a civilized society which is something they’re ignorant about. They don’t know anything about civilizations. So their lifestyle is something that i would take inspiration from as a nature interpreter to my audience. 

Also another important source of inspiration for the natural world is the indigenous community of Canada. A deep and genuine relationship with the earth has been a central tenet of First Nations worldview (First Nations Pedagogy, 2013). So to compare and contrast the indigenous community to the non-indigenous community, is that the indigenous community views that man co exists harmoniously with earth, as many non-indigenous people believe man rules over earth. The indigenous people always had worked together to understand the natural world and become more aware of it in all sorts of disciplines which includes, ecology, conservation, plant growth, and soil protection etc. So they don’t act as the dominant species as most western/colonials do. They hunt only for survival and not for human greed. They don’t let food go to waste. They don’t believe in polluting the lakes or rivers. So basically I feel non-indigenous people don’t see it form this perspective as yet to them corporate businesses are more important and also any form of technology without consideration of polluting the air and releasing carbon emissions. And also without the awareness it destroys natural habitats through deforestations. 

An example of how INDIGENOUS people see the world differently. 

So from reading about these topics and also putting an amount of effort in this class, I’ve seen this as an eye opening for myself where I realized I myself have been a bit too distracted with technology where even though I care so much about the natural world, I keep forgetting to take advantage to appreciate instead of spending too much time on my phone. So I believe as a nature interpreter I can share my personal experience on how I’ve been too distracted on my phone and not paying attention too the real world and then share about my change and what it is I’ve discovered. Like I would speak in metaphors to get the audience to kind of interpret on what it is I mean on what I’m saying about the natural world. 

As for the industrial world, I didn’t say completely end it, I just mean it needs to be reduced and also come up with some form of alternatives such as renewable energy, to reduce carbon emissions and also to not make corporations so important for human needs as they are right now. Visit Indigenous Communities and practice what they do. Learn how they try and help the environment. 

Sources:

https://firstnationspedagogy.com/earth.html

[anenvs3000-20]

Hey Luke,

I just read your post, you had done a really great job on being concise about your argument for you post. I like how you address the purpose of it, not only for the bees, but also the educational role it’ll play in educating guests. 

I myself had always found apiculture to be a fascinating activity. I remember back in middle school, one of my teachers had set up bee hives at our school in the open fields. With that, he had took a group of students up close to the hives and help us feed the bees, although i don’t really remember how we did it, but it was something that was interesting and that I was eager to do. It inspires me to start doing this in my own backyard one day. Anyways yes I think it is important to take the initiative to help get more funds for the business of educating the public about bees that way they can become more aware about the declining population of bees, where bees are now put on the endangered species list. So I think getting the education will probably make others reconsider some of their own actions they make that’s causing bees to go extinct. Also just learning about the science in general is important, as you have mentioned in your post about pollination, which is a key factor of honey bees natural behavior which is something other can start educating what they’ve learned about from the program. Environmental Education is essential at every angle. 

Great Post Again!!

A Plea to Save the Apis Apicultural Centre

Dear board of directors,

I am writing on behalf of the Apis Apicultural Centre in regards to the closure of our establishment due to insufficient funding.  I feel as though our centre is not only essential in maintaining the pristine and surreal natural beauty of Cambridge Ontario, but it also plays a vital role in the conservation of local honey bee populations.  

Since its establishment in 1973, the Apis Apicultural Centre has been providing the community with a place to learn about the practice of apiculture, as well as one of Earth’s most important pollinators.  Guests have loved the experience of dawning a bee suit and joining one of our apiarists/nature interpreters. This offers a more immersive way of learning about how bee colonies function, how they convert pollen and nectar into honey and the role bees play in maintaining good environmental health.     

As stated by Wals et al. in 2014, environmental education is extremely important as it aids in the restoration of many ecosystems.  This is one of the reasons why the Apicultural centre is so important.  The main goal of our centre is to educate the public on the important environmental role which bees play, this being pollination.  Pollination is essential for the survival of many native wildflowers as well as numerous crops which we humans depend on.  If bee populations continue to decline, our production of food would be greatly limited and we may risk losing some incredible species of flowers!  By teaching people about the extrinsic value which bees have, the public gains a much deeper appreciation and understanding of how important these little guys are, as well as a better grasp of the issues at hand (Beck et al. 2019).  Many of our guests (myself included) have even started their own bee gardens!  These are gardens that are filled with flowers which bees love, which aides immensely in the conservation.

A bumblebee visiting one of our many bee gardens!

Furthermore, our facility ensures that everyone who visits is included and welcome.  By this I mean that any child or adult who wants to learn a thing or two about bees has the option of doing so.  This is of great importance to us we’ve found in the past that younger individuals are not considered when it comes to educating the public on the environment and other environmental issues (Gallavan, 2005).  

All in all, we feel as though our centre is an important part of the community which also doubles as a beacon for conservation.  

We sincerely hope that this letter changes your mind,

The Apis Apicultural Centre 

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A Request to save Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy

Dear Board of Directors,

This is Amaar Nazarani on behalf of Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy. I’m sending out this letter because of low fundings we’re receiving which is driving us to closure. I would like to politely ask you to think of reconsidering on allowing us more funds to allow us to continue, because I believe our mission plays an important role in conservation for nature’s biodiversity in helping endangered species and helping educate others in staying connected with nature. 

Toronto Zoo has participated in some of the most significant conservation efforts in the zoological industry since 1974. Their main goal is to educated others about species that are at risk and what others can do to help preserve them. Talking about anthropogenic activities that are causing disruption to animals habitats and also raise awareness for climate change. Toronto zoo has energy operations and management to talk about a green new deal. Educate others about living sustainability, which is something that school groups can come learn about whenever coming for a field trip to the zoo. So the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Zoo Wildlife Conservancy was established in 2019 to secure financial resources to help with the zoos conservation efforts being done by the Toronto Zoo. Help with reintroduction into the wild etc. 

Environmental Education is crucial for everyone to learn about, because it plays a vital role in environmental stewardship (Wals et al. 2014). It’ll be an eye opening experience because, the purpose of EE is to help provide insight to learners to help understand the natural world and see how they can help connect dots with human activities that they might initially be unaware of that is causing destruction to earth’s biodiversity and the environment in general (Wals et al. 2014). As you know, most people today are living in a world where they fully depend on technology which makes everyone lose track of the natural world which is one of the reason why so many people are unaware of their impacts on the environment and earth’s biodiversity, because people are influenced by the media to think of a lot material products where some of those products themselves are a threat to the environment. Yet with environmental education gets an increase in citizen science with more IT support, it might be a trick to getting everyone thats hooked onto technology a glimpse of the natural world and help make global changes (Wals et al. 2014). Cause right now it really matters on how privileged it is to view the natural world (Gallavan, 2015). 

Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy Green Project. 

So as our program plays an important role in environmental education, it is important for us to have enough funds to help us continue to make good progress helping the zoo with their conservation progress and bring that attention to the general public so they can get an appreciation for the natural world and try to help make change for species that are at risk and come up with ways to fight climate change and see what they can do too change their behaviors from what they’re currently doing that’s harming the natural world. So if we end up having to close down, we probably won’t be able to continue to do a good job at helping endangered species, which will also have an impact on schools and the general public where they won’t be as aware as they would be with our conservancy program. Then the Toronto Zoo will become just a zoo just for the sake of seeing animals like in the olden days. So I would politely ask for you guys to give us more funding.

Amaar Nazarani

References: 

Merenlender, A. M., Crall, A. W., Drill, S., Prysby, M., & Ballard, H. (2016). Evaluating environmental education, citizen science, and stewardship through naturalist programs. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 30(6), 1255–1265. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12737

Wals, Arjen E. J., et al. (2014). Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science,  science.sciencemag.org/content/344/6184/583/tab-pdf.

Helping teachers unpack their "invisible knapsacks"Nancy P. GallavanMulticultural Education.13.1 (Fall 2005)

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Hi I had just read through you post. I really think you had made so many valid points and perspectives. It was really thought provoking in many ways. I can relate to so many things that you have said about when it comes to interpreting nature like what you’re certain about, as I had said that there is both an artistic perspective and a scientific perspective when it comes to interpreting nature. That its very broad. It can be applied in so many different subjects as you’ve mentioned in your post. 

One thing I really felt intrigued by that you had written is “happiness”. I really liked how you had acknowledged that its more of a complex thing than just being used as a simple term which many see it as. It never really occurred to me to look at it from a complex perspective really. Like how you explained on how it did to modern day life where many others don’t know what context to apply it in, as money is whats important right now as not many people seem to realize that money doesn’t buy happiness. Happiness can definitley be found in nature when appreciating its beauty from a natural perspective. 

Unpacking Nature Interpretation

Prior to this course, I had a general understanding of what it meant to be a nature interpreter. I believed it was to act as a vessel to create a literal interpretation of nature, something so malleable it can be extended to all ages as a newer method of teaching. The topic of debriefing and the certain questions of certainty, wonder, inspiration and ignition are so interesting to think about because they force one to go back to the beginning and reflect.

This I know for certain…

What I currently know for certain is that there are so many ways to interpret nature such as art (theatre, music, visual), writing and the spoken word (Beck et al., 2019). It is so often that we do not realize that we are having nature interpreted to us or are interpreting nature! By being able to describe nature in so many forms, we are able to reach a much broader audience and cater to multiple preferences.

This is what I still wonder…

One of the most interesting things I’ve learned in this course is the interrelationship between “making sense” and happiness. This quote particularly resonates with me, “We learn more about well-being by studying our strengths and what makes us happy. The hope is that by better understanding human strengths, we may even learn to become happier” (Hooykaas, 2020). This idea is so interesting because happiness was once such a simple concept, but due to the ongoing stressors of modern-day life, it has become much more complex. What I wonder about this is: is happiness as simple as these three points of pleasure, engagement and meaning?

This is where I find inspiration…

Where I find inspiration is usually when I am able to be in an open space with little distraction, a place where I can be free to think in peace. This could be near water, in an open field, or even on a late-night drive. I also find inspiration from people, and how they relate to myself and the environment. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and I think the correct setting is important. Sometimes this comes from the sun or happy and bright times, and other times inspiration comes from a much darker, greyer place.

This is how I can ignite…

The way I “ignite,” in regard to nature, is by being able to share experiences, moments or my knowledge about nature. I think there is something so pure about appreciating nature for what it is and being able to share that with another makes it even more exceptional. When one are able to share their outlook on life through nature, it creates new perspectives and broadens one’s global view.

The Dairy Bush during autumn is one of my favourite places as the colours are unlike anything I've ever seen. This was after most of the leaves had fallen, but it allowed the sunset to be seen through the trees.

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a better world. Urbana: Sagamore Publishing.

Hooykaas, A. (2020). ENVS*3000 Nature Interpretation course notes. University of Guelph.

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Opening up on Nature’s Interpretation

 Pretty much every theme about this class had been pretty fascinating to learn and read about. It was quite an eye opening adventure going through this course of learning so many different things on what it means to interpret nature. 

What I know that is certain, is that Nature Interpretation is useful in a sense where it can be used to help others interpret nature in different with different methods and understand it from a philosophical perspective. What I mean from a philosophical perspective is understanding nature from a deeper perspective other that what you see with just your eyes. Like see it as a gift, why do we see it, why is it there, what else can we appreciate about it. Like these things can be looked at in a way from both a scientific and artistic perspective. It can be looked at from a scientific perspective from learning about wildlife such as the species that are present. Then it can be looked at from an artistic perspective by the beauty of the nature where its something to take pictures of or even draw beautiful pictures of it and also the natural music that comes out of it. 

I’d still wonder these days on how you can be able to help connect others who don’t have much access to nearby wildlife reserves or hiking trails, to understand the privilege of Nature’s Interpretation. Then I wonder from that angle if technology is a useful tool to help them by presenting different pictures of outdoor fields and forests and able to see if it has the same impact as it would on someone visiting in person. Or also getting the opportunity to make trips could be one way. Also with technology if they can read up on many cool outdoor places and get a visual sense about it in their own head. 

I find inspiration from Nature’s Interpretation in the context of certain species interaction. Like observing natural behaviors of animals in their natural habitats and seeing what I can learn from it. One thing I really love is seeing a herd of elephants. As from reading and studying about elephants for over 12 years there are many things that I had found unique that I had never knew about before. The elephant herd is usually known as a family unit that is a group of related females consisting of a mother and her young daughters and their grown daughters with their offspring (Kruger National Park). Its led by a dominant female called the matriarch. I also find it inspiring on how it is that they communicate, like one example is when encountering another individual, the elephant greets by placing a tip of its trunk in the animals mouth (Kruger National Park). Yet as I really do feel inspired by this, I had never been to an actual national par to see this behavior but when I was working at African Lion Safari I was able to get a glimpse of it when working in the elephant barn, despite being a captive environment the staff had done a good job on making equivalent to living in the wild. 

Some of the elephants from African Lion Safari where they’re swimming in a pond which is something elephants love to do. 

I’d ignite by education. I aspire to become a professor in this field one day which is an opportunity I can use to teach others about Nature and to interpret it. Why its important, why is it unique, what can we do to help it. Like I really want to help others in a way where they can open up their eyes to engage with the natural world as right now so many people are hooked onto the technical world. I want to teach a group of students about conservation, and what are ways to help preserve wildlife that is getting destroyed by human activities. Talk about how science keeps evolving and all. 

Sources:

https://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/elephants/about/behaviour.php#:~:text=Elephants%20are%20usually%20peaceful%20animals,challenges%20in%20three%20different%20ways.

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Hey very good job at debriefing this podcast story. I listened to it as well and I had found it to be extremely fascinating in many different ways, as I always had been fascinated by honey bees. I really like how you evaluated their production on how it is they had put it together. 

They really had done a good job at making it suitable for children. Like how they talk as they’re in a classroom of young audience, and talking about giving a quiz at the end. Also great music background that’s age appropriate for children. I like how it is that they had talked more in an educational manner. Something that I had slightly overlooked in my podcast assignment. 

Content was pretty thorough because they did a good job at explaining the behavior and nature of these fascinating creatures on how they collect pollen to make honey and where they store their honey etc. The person they had picked sounded like a true expert in this field as I heard of him before where he’s the current professor for the honey bee bio course. He seemed to have a lot of knowledge. 

So overall I’d say from listening to this podcast I can see a vision in my head of this perspective where a group of kids you see are boarding the bus and on their way to the location with the bees, and then over there they are with their teachers and the bee expert they meet to go up close in person to learn about the bees. 

Sitting back and debriefing

The podcast I chose to debrief was called Honeybee. I loved the podcast overall. The first thirty seconds showed me a friendly atmosphere that made clear that the target audience were kids. It started with friendly music and introduction that welcomed the kids to a classroom setting. The bell sounds in the background really made me feel like I am sitting in a classroom.

Listening to the podcast inspired me to do a little research about honeybees and I was able to get this photo of a bee pollinating. Photo retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/honeybee-sting-kill-bee

Right away the ‘teacher’ says that we are going to learn all about honeybees, so the podcast really sets the tone from the start on what we are going to be learning and listing to for the remaining 20 minutes. Some of the lessons that I learned listening to the podcast are that pollination is the most important role of honeybees and that pollination is responsible for one third of the food we eat, almost all fruits and vegetables. I also learned that honeybees are declining in numbers because of pesticides and parasites. They can be devastating to the population of bees. The ‘teacher’ asked three questions at the end of the podcast to highlight these three things. Using questions at the end is very effective because it makes it clear what the driving point of the podcast is. The podcast has a lot of information especially to kids and ending it with these questions summarizes what they want the kids to take home and makes it simple at the end. They also mention at the start of the podcast that there will be a mini quiz at the end, so they engage the kids listening and make them pay attention to the information presented throughout the podcast.

The one technique that I would consider using in my second podcast would be asking the questions at the end. I really like the idea of highlighting what is the most important information and the take home message. A 20-minute podcast could be filled with information and the listener might lose track of they need to keep in mind for the future. Having these questions emphasises the take home message.

As I debrief this podcast, I realized how important debriefing is. It really allows us to sit back and analyze the work without the pressure of evaluation. When listening to this podcast, I was looking for what they did well and what they can improve on and was thinking about my own podcast and what I can improve on. I will definitely sit down and listen to my own podcast and try to debrief with my group. We will reflect on it and summarize what we learned to incorporate it in our second podcast.

Finally, I think I will use debriefing in my work as well, I deal with many human interactions during my work and I feel like if I reflect on a good interaction or a bad one will really improve my skills and make me better as a person in the future. I will think about how conversations went and see where they went well and where they went not so well.

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Buzz Buzz

The podcast that I had chose to debrief about is the honey bee podcast. What made me choose to debrief about this podcast is because when I had saw someone did a podcast on it, I was immediately interested, where it reminds me of the time back in middle school where the school I had attended, had apiaries. There were times I had went with my outdoor education teacher to help with feeding the bees, don’t exactly remember how it was done but it made me really interested in doing it myself by having my own apiaries. 

So after listening to this podcast assignment, I felt there were plenty of new things that I had learned about that I didn’t know before, such as how they talked about dandelions and the benefits of them for honey bees. From learning about that I had decided to keep dandelions for wherever I see them. Also how they collect pollen to make honey, how they survive and what they feed on, and whats driving them to extinction are all the important key components that are covered. Honey bees are social creatures that live in colonies with a queen bee (Orkin, Honey Bee Workers). 

Wax comb where bees store honey in their hives. 

Yet what really got my attention the most is that the whole set up of the whole project. As this podcast was to be aimed for a children’s audience, this group had done a great job at making it suitable for children, as I feel that I had kind of overlooked that component to a certain extent when I had done my podcast, so this was an eye opener. So specifically what they had done to make it suitable for kids, is that they had did a nice opening theme, also greeted kids on how you’re suppose to be done, kind of reminds me of any kid show I had watched when I was little, also putting nursery rhymes in it, the sound of the bus honking that its time to go on a field trip, and the sounds of bees buzzing which is something that’ll keep kids enjoyed. This kind of reminds me of one of the Magic School Bus episodes, where they always go on a field trip in a bus to explore different places and learn about new things, there was also one episode I remember being on bees. 

Honey Bee Magic School bus. 

So overall I think very well done. Really made me learn on how to approach a certain audience for a certain age group as I’ve been a bit too naive about that when doing my podcast. Overall I think honey bees are fascinating creatures, it’s sad they’re being driven away due to human activity, but hopefully we can stop that from happening. I’m hoping to one day take ENVS 2210 Honey Bee Bio. I heard many good reviews for that class. Great job again. 

Sources:

https://www.orkin.com/stinging-pests/bees/honey-bee-behavior#:~:text=Honey%20bees%20behave%20similarly%20in,able%20to%20sting%20only%20once.

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Hi,

I had just read through your post and really had enjoyed reading through it. You really did share a lot of interesting perspectives about wildlife and biodiversity. It’s something I had always been passionate about growing up. Its always a privilege when anyone gets the opportunity to go out and explore the world where they can see all the types of biodiversity that exists on this planet and learn to appreciate what they’re surrounded by. 

It’s such a shame now that many biodiversity is being destroyed by human impacts, which is increasing the rate of extinction of many living things. Also it seems that part of the reason is that many people are losing track of the natural world where the world is becoming more of a tech world these days as to some people nature doesn’t really seem like a common term. So that also makes others unaware about the impacts on the natural world.  I really hope others wake up and get to realize. I feel reminded of the Lorax when talking about this. 

Wild about Wildlife

My favourite thing about nature is the incredible diversity and abundance of wildlife. Each and every species, whether great or small, is completely unique. This uniqueness and the adaptations that each species has which allow them to live and thrive in the habitat they live in is what makes the study of wildlife and their conservation so interesting. 

The total number of species on the planet is pretty much an unobtainable number. Estimates as of 2019 range from 5.3 million to 1 trillion completely separate species (Latty & Lee, 2019). That is a huge range of numbers and we can assume that we really have no idea how many individual species we have the opportunity to enjoy and study on this planet. We are discovering new species every single day. Approximately 18,000 new species are identified each year (Latty & Lee, 2019).

Although we have much more to discover in this world, we have studied some incredibly diverse, beautiful and unique species. There are so many of these interesting species of wildlife that if I tried to discuss them all, my blog would never end, so I am just going to have to tell you about my favourites.

Probably my favourite species of all time is the platypus. The platypus is extremely unique. Their body is a seeming jumble of common animals, with the bill and webbed feet of the duck, the tail of a beaver and the fur and body like an otter (Platypus, 2018). On top of this weird combination, the males are venomous with toxic stingers on the heels of their back feet (Platypus, 2018). They are also unique in reproduction. There are only 2 mammals in the world that lay eggs and this platypus is one of them (Platypus, 2018). The platypus is unlike any other species and is so crazy that the first scientist to see a specimen of this creature did not believe that it actually existed (Platypus, 2018). 

The duck-billed platypus in all its glory (Gimsey, n.d.)

Video on the strange life of the platypus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNoQvjlmGdk

Another animal I find really interesting is the leaf cutter ants. When a group of us came across a long line of leaf cutter ants in the amazon of Ecuador, they just fascinated me. Leaf cutter ants chew off pieces of leaves, often many times larger than themselves. They form lines of hundreds to thousands of ants up to 30 metres long across the forest as they transport their prizes to the nest (Rogers, n.d.). In the nest they put the leaves in fungal gardens to grow the food they require for life (Rogers, n.d.). 

The crazy amount of vegetation that leaf cutter ants can obtain is seen in this photo (Linder, n.d.)

This topic isn’t just interesting but also incredibly important since many of the special species that allow the earth and ourselves to continue living are disappearing. Our current rate of loss of biodiversity, through mass extinction, means that we are losing species faster than we can discover them (Latty & Lee, 2019). This is a troubling thought and one of the reasons why I believe that these topics are important to present to others through interpretation and to inspire all generations to help change our present and future situations. 

References 

Gimsey, D. (n.d.). Taking the pulse of the “near threatened” platypus is a tricky task. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/science/taking-the-pulse-of-the-near-threatened-platypus-is-a-tricky-task.html

Latty, T., & Lee, T. (2019, April 29). How many species on Earth? A simple question that’s hard to answer. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2019-04-species-earth-simple-hard.html

Linder, C. (n.d.). Leafcutter ant. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/animal/leafcutter-ant

Platypus. (2018, September 21). Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/p/platypus/

Rogers, K. (n.d.). Leafcutter ant. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/animal/leafcutter-ant

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Nature’s Biodiversity

So for this weeks prompt one thing that I’d like to talk about on what I appreciate about nature is biodiversity. 

As we might all know, biodiversity is all the different kinds of life of living things you’d find in a particular area. Like the diversity of species in the rainforest, diversity of the species in the Arctic, diversity of the species in the Savanah etc. 

So when getting the chance and opportunity to explore these habitats of a region its an opportunity to see and look at all the different species of plants and animals of that habitat and learn to appreciate it. This would be more of a visual form of interpretation where you see it with your own eyes and appreciate the beauty of it. Able to interpret on how the species interact with each other. 

Yet there are many unfortunate events going on where biodiversity is impacted by human activities which has caused extinction in some counterparts. Which is why it is important to understand the beauty of it. As I myself think its important to give presentations about biodiversity to others who don’t have the privilege to go out and travel so that way they can get a good understanding of Nature’s biodiversity and what’s unique about it, like all the different species. Like I myself like to continue making trips to different places to view biodiversity and wildlife there and take many pictures and post it on my social media accounts that way many of my friends will learn to appreciate it from me. 

Two zebras I had seen on a road trip when in Africa. 

So passing by any sort of wildlife from your car is pretty fascinating where you get to see something so majestic which helps create memories of experiences etc. 

So in conclusion I would like to say, that biodiversity is the most precious thing about nature. It’s sad that parts of it is getting destroyed by human impacts, where certain species of plants and animals are already at the risk of extinction or have been extinct already. I hope more solutions will come into place to help with protecting wildlife. Yet one unique thing about biodiversity is resilience (WWF). 

Sources: 

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/what-is-biodiversity#:~:text=Biodiversity%20is%20all%20the%20different,maintain%20balance%20and%20support%20life.

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Hi,

I was really touched by one of the things you had mentioned in your post which is talking about todays generation when it comes to nature. To me, it definitely is a shame that how technology had become so powerful where so many young people focus too much on. Its no secret that you’d come across young adolescents just sitting on their tablets or any sort of electronic. This is basically the normal you’d come across. 

Like I remember back in high school when it had come to talking to a couple of my peers, they’d always just talk about new phones coming out, new ipads, or other types of tablets. Talking about wildlife didn’t seem like a relevant topic to so many people. Which is a shame. I feel the world had become so materialistic. Yet not so many people are aware of the natural world and what there is to appreciate about it where I know there’s so much to appreciate and I know that its something you can feel more happy about. 

The natural world is a gift that not many see. Technology had really made others lose track of it. Yet also some end up forgetting about it which is pretty sad. 

The Art of Nature and its Modern Approach

The world is full of different perspectives and impressions. These different perspectives are specifically noticeable in the various interpretations of nature and individual artist’s attempts to incorporate their experiences with it through art. People from all over the world have presented their interpretations in order to create shared experiences of nature and elicit emotional responses from the viewer. This can be important for promoting connections between people and the land and therefore encourage a sense of environmental stewardship (Beck et al., 2018).

In the past, it was largely professionals in the art industry who took on this feat of enticing people to care about nature. For example, some famous artists that were well known for this was the Group of Seven. The Group of Seven made a career of painting northern Ontario wild landscapes and showing these sketches to the public in art showings. This group was exceptional in their field and played a large role in shaping the Canadian perspective by provoking feelings of pride for the country and the vast beauty of nature within it (TVO Docs, 2019). Like mentioned above, since professional were mostly given the opportunity to publicly share art interpretations and receive recognition in art shows and museums, the dissemination of art was not widespread. However, in modern times, I find that there is more opportunity for people who aren’t professionals but are interested in art to share their own interpretations through the means of technology.

The textbook suggests that nowadays, younger generations have less interest in nature compared to previous generations, as a result of a disconnect from the natural world (Beck et al., 2018). This makes sense seeing as newer generations have grown up in a more technological and urban world, so the prominence of nature has faded into the background. Personally, this has not been my experience growing up, as I have always enjoyed outdoor experiences and have in some ways been able to use technology to my advantage when sharing my interpretations. Although I am not particularly artistically inclined, one way I find I interpret nature through art is photography, and social media has a role in inspiring this hobby. I enjoy following photography accounts on Instagram and sometimes even sharing my own snaps of landscapes, which allows me to see nature through many different individuals lens’.

A few photos I’ve snapped of nature and shared to my socials over the years.

I think this is one way in which modern day technology can actually be a benefit to younger generations due to the fact that it can be a powerful tool for inspiring art by sharing experiences and understandings of nature with one another from all over the world. Beyond that, viewing art interpretations on social media can inspire people to travel and experience the beauty of nature for themselves. Personally, when I post photos of my own adventures, I hope to encourage others to experience nature for itself, in the hopes of people building connections with it through these experiences and learning how to respect its pristine beauty.

Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage For a Better World. Urbana, IL: Sagamore – Venture Publishing LLC.

TVO Docs. (2019). Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL6jzhsUvXA

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Music and Nature Interpretation

NAs whenever it comes to the interpretation of nature, art tends to be a useful tool to help the audience interpret nature in many different forms, as there are different forms of art that appeal to different types of audience members. Yet music is a form of art so there’s no doubt that it can be used as a tool for interpreting nature. 

So in the context of music being a tool for nature interpretation, its been common to use lyrical themes about the environment to raise awareness. Also the indigenous doing their own camp fire songs and music to represent their land. Also using music in the background when giving nature presentations to make it connect with the picture slides and the music background. But one thing that I believe is the most important is the natural sounds that nature plays itself. 

So what i mean by this is sounds you hear when you’re outside like you might be by the river and hear the sounds of the waves and start focusing on it like a way of meditating and learning to appreciate the beautiful sounds of it. This can also apply to the sounds of trees from the wind and also other animals speaking in their own language. So what can be ideal is that going to some like forest or nature trail and finding a spot by the waterfalls and sitting down on a rock nearby and meditating by listening to the sounds of the waves of the waterfalls and feeling connected to it and feeling the beauty, this is music. 

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Ideal location for meditation to appreciate the natre of music. 

So with this type of practice and exercise, this can help others appreciate the beauty and and gift and interpret the meaning of it. That way ones can grow up to respect nature and interpret why we need it. 

Good way to get others to get a head start on it is by playing recordings of this music in powerpoint presentation to an audience before going out to a location so one knows what they want to discover. 

So in conclusion, I’d say that music and nature coexist in harmony. The whole world is made up of sounds and vibrations (Natural Musicians, 2020). 

References:

Interpreting-Cultural-and-Natural-Heritage-For-a-Better-World-PROTECTED.pdf

https://www.naturalmusicians.co.uk/why-make-music-and-connect-with-nature/

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Hi 

Thanks so much for your post. Yes i can totally understand that these don’t make good pets. But given the fact as their natural habitats are already destroyed, we need to maintain them in proper facility, like if it were zoos like Toronto for example that would be a whole another story, because over there people who work there are wildlife experts because they study the animals they work with in their natural habitat. Yet many of these private owners just do it for the sake of an ego. Like they’re very egocentric. 

The Private Ownership of Big Cats

So during the time of this pandemic, one of the greatest hits on Netflix was the Tiger King Series: Murder, Mayhem, Mystery and Madness. It talked about Joe Exotic and his roadside zoo and ownership with big cats on how it all started and the trade of it, where big cats were being sold across USA and kept as household pets by some individuals. So this has created a big debate about the ethics of owning a big cat as a private owner. 

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, there’s an estimate of about 32,000 to 35,000 remaining in the wild and an estimate of 5,000 in captivity. Yet statistics show only a small percentage of the captive population live in zoos that are accredited by AZA in North America, as the rest are usually found in either non accreddited zoos that could be licensed or non-licensed, but also just private owners like in apartments or houses, trailers etc. 

Joe Exotic known as the Infamous Tiger King. 

Joe Exotic who is now to be the most famous of big cat owners has gained a big controversy. So from watching the series and learning more about it from other sources, it shows that many of these private owners from roadside zoos or other forms of private ownership, have inadequate care and proper facility, where they’re just kept in concrete cages, or inside peoples homes without anything that makes their facility look natural to their wild counterpart which is something that is essential in most zoos that are accredited. Like its not easy work as owning a household cat or a dog. So large exotic animals in the hands of non experts isn’t good for the welfare, yet some of these private owners are licensed so there must be something they’re following which could be in some ways but also hard to apply them in all situations. Like even though Joe Exotic’s zoo might’ve been regulated he still continued supplying them to unlicensed private owners and other private roadside zoos that had faced numerous USDA violations. 

Mike Tyson was once a big cat owner and had to give his tigers away cause he couldn’t afford all the resources to take care of them. 

So these non experts, allow breeding to happen unregulated where they breed too many cats and breed them with other cats they’re related to which is something that can be harmful for the offspring and is a violation against the endangered species act. Yet accredited zoos regulate their breeding of their big cats. Yet even Joe Exotic allowed incest breeding and would separate tiger cubs at birth too use them for his spotlight where it then shows that sometimes these private owners just own these animals just for the ego other than being compassionate about their animals. 

So in conclusion theres a huge debate, if the private ownership of big cats should be illegal or allowed to continue. So from looking at both sides, there is too much to discuss. What it is to discuss is that as mentioning above that when it comes to private ownership, some may not be as regulated as they should like any individual owner without any knowledge or experience will be allowed to have a big cat and not know what to do to make it have a quality of life. Like its a lot more work than having a regular household cat or a dog. Also it becomes dangerous too because of how ferocious these animals are. Also many of these non-accredited roadside zoos hire inexperienced staff to look after these animals where as big zoos that are accredited higher people who tend to be wildlife experts in fields like this. But also then going to the other end of banning private ownership of big cats might also stir up controversy where others would argue that they’re licensed to look after them and keep them and that they’re experts. Like can’t look at it from a biased perspective. But it definitely isn’t easy. So it’ll continue to remain controversial. 

References: 

Hannaford, Alex. “The Tiger next Door: America’s Backyard Big Cats.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/global/2019/nov/10/the-tiger-next-door-americas-backyard-big-cats.

“America’s Tigers Spend Their Lives in Cages, Bred for Profit with Little Oversight.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 July 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/captive-tigers-america/.

[anenvs3000-20]

Hey Man,

Thanks for your response. Yeah I completely agree for what you say about the ownership of large cats like going through some sort of screening. And be licensed. Yet I don’t know how someone can help stop the illegal trade. Yet the ones who do own them legally should allow USDA inspections to come to their own home to see how the animals are treated and look at the welfare. Yet it seems even though when they do get violations, they still don’t seem to make change to their conditions. Like everyone in Tiger King seemed some sort of thug when it came to owning big cats. Carole Baskin is know different. 

The Private Ownership of Big Cats

So during the time of this pandemic, one of the greatest hits on Netflix was the Tiger King Series: Murder, Mayhem, Mystery and Madness. It talked about Joe Exotic and his roadside zoo and ownership with big cats on how it all started and the trade of it, where big cats were being sold across USA and kept as household pets by some individuals. So this has created a big debate about the ethics of owning a big cat as a private owner. 

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, there’s an estimate of about 32,000 to 35,000 remaining in the wild and an estimate of 5,000 in captivity. Yet statistics show only a small percentage of the captive population live in zoos that are accredited by AZA in North America, as the rest are usually found in either non accreddited zoos that could be licensed or non-licensed, but also just private owners like in apartments or houses, trailers etc. 

Joe Exotic known as the Infamous Tiger King. 

Joe Exotic who is now to be the most famous of big cat owners has gained a big controversy. So from watching the series and learning more about it from other sources, it shows that many of these private owners from roadside zoos or other forms of private ownership, have inadequate care and proper facility, where they’re just kept in concrete cages, or inside peoples homes without anything that makes their facility look natural to their wild counterpart which is something that is essential in most zoos that are accredited. Like its not easy work as owning a household cat or a dog. So large exotic animals in the hands of non experts isn’t good for the welfare, yet some of these private owners are licensed so there must be something they’re following which could be in some ways but also hard to apply them in all situations. Like even though Joe Exotic’s zoo might’ve been regulated he still continued supplying them to unlicensed private owners and other private roadside zoos that had faced numerous USDA violations. 

Mike Tyson was once a big cat owner and had to give his tigers away cause he couldn’t afford all the resources to take care of them. 

So these non experts, allow breeding to happen unregulated where they breed too many cats and breed them with other cats they’re related to which is something that can be harmful for the offspring and is a violation against the endangered species act. Yet accredited zoos regulate their breeding of their big cats. Yet even Joe Exotic allowed incest breeding and would separate tiger cubs at birth too use them for his spotlight where it then shows that sometimes these private owners just own these animals just for the ego other than being compassionate about their animals. 

So in conclusion theres a huge debate, if the private ownership of big cats should be illegal or allowed to continue. So from looking at both sides, there is too much to discuss. What it is to discuss is that as mentioning above that when it comes to private ownership, some may not be as regulated as they should like any individual owner without any knowledge or experience will be allowed to have a big cat and not know what to do to make it have a quality of life. Like its a lot more work than having a regular household cat or a dog. Also it becomes dangerous too because of how ferocious these animals are. Also many of these non-accredited roadside zoos hire inexperienced staff to look after these animals where as big zoos that are accredited higher people who tend to be wildlife experts in fields like this. But also then going to the other end of banning private ownership of big cats might also stir up controversy where others would argue that they’re licensed to look after them and keep them and that they’re experts. Like can’t look at it from a biased perspective. But it definitely isn’t easy. So it’ll continue to remain controversial. 

References: 

Hannaford, Alex. “The Tiger next Door: America’s Backyard Big Cats.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/global/2019/nov/10/the-tiger-next-door-americas-backyard-big-cats.

“America’s Tigers Spend Their Lives in Cages, Bred for Profit with Little Oversight.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 July 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/captive-tigers-america/.