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I really enjoyed reading your blog and I found that you and I shared a lot of the same ethics and beliefs surrounding nature interpretation and life in general. To answer your question, I truly believe that all the values and beliefs that make a good interpreter can be applied to other aspects of our lives. 

One of the most fundamental values a nature interpreter should have is respect. Respect can be applied to all aspects of our lives and is extremely important socially, mentally, environmentally, and in various other ways. To maintain healthy and successful relationships with family and friends, respect is the most important aspect. Without respect, there is no platform to form a healthy relationship. Additionally, it is important to respect yourself because if you do not respect yourself, no one else will. Lastly, in order to maintain a healthy earth, we must respect the environment by minimizing our impact. 

Another important value makes a good interpreter is a strong sense of passion. While passion is the underlying spark that creates a good interpreter, it can also create a large impact on other aspects of our lives. Passion is what fuels our drive to succeed and helps choose our path in life. I can truly say that if I was not passionate about the environment, I would definitely not be taking wildlife biology and conservation in university. 

I believe that all of the values that make a good interpreter can also make a person successful in other aspects in their life. If we all continue to respect one another and follow our passions I believe we will all be successful. 

Growing with nature

Hi everyone! Wow, a whole semester of blogging! It was quite a mental workout but I definitely think I learned a lot about writing, and of course, myself.

For my last nature picture of the week, I thought I’d leave you with a sunset.

For me, sunsets are a constant reminder of how amazing even the simplest things in our world are. Its crazy to think that something as basic as light traveling though the atmosphere can produce something as pretty as this. It’s the simple, little things in nature that make it so unbelievably wonderful!

Prompt: Describe your personal ethic 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?

Taking this class has allowed me to think about how I would be as a nature interpreter in the real world. What would I bring to the job? How would I insure that my program is the best it can be?

Personal Ethics

One main value I try to keep in my life is respect.

As an interpreter, I can incorporate respect into my lessons by teaching respect for our surroundings. Helping others to see the beauty that nature has, but also to know how to treat it will help people become environmental stewards, and to share how they respect nature with others.

As well, I acknowledge that I have the responsibility to be respectful to the people that I am teaching. Being aware that everyone comes from a different background and upbringing and that we all have different things in our invisible backpacks will help me to create an inclusive atmosphere in my programs, and to insure a safe learning atmosphere that people can thrive in.

Beliefs

For me, I truly think that knowledge is power. It doesn’t matter if someone is an expert at something the moment they learn about it, or if they excel at a skill that they have been practicing. As long as people are learning, that’s what counts! And as an interpreter, I believe my job should be to educate people as much as I can, but also accept that everyone learns differently and at different paces. If I am not able to get the point across that I originally intended, that’s okay! Learning to go with the flow and assess the audience is an important aspect of interpretation as well.

Responsibilities

As an interpreter, I think that I would have many responsibilities. One very important one would be insuring that everyone in my program stays safe. Throughout the semester, we have discussed different forms of risk and how to prepare for them. Being aware of the surroundings and any dangers that could appear is always something to be thinking about.

Another important responsibility I would have is to make sure everyone is enjoying the program. One way to do this would be trying to achieve a balance between my audience’s skill set, and amount of challenge in order to achieve flow with what we are doing.

The Game Plan

In the end, I think that as long as people have a positive experience in nature, an interpreter has done a good job. Everyone takes away something different from interpreters. Whether it is facts, stories or just that they were able to see something cool.

If I can help my audience to leave thinking “wow, nature is great!” then I think I’ve done my job. The experiences people take away from a nature program will shape what they do with nature in their lives in the future. If people enjoy what I have to share, that will have a longer lasting impact than if all they take away are facts and information.

I think that nature interpretation is about teaching, but more importantly, creating joy and inspiration with the content you share.

To conclude, I’ll leave you with a question: Do you think the values that make a good interpreter could be applied to other aspects of our lives?

Thanks for Reading!

Posted: Nov 25 12:50 pm

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The Unknown Future

This course truly exposed me to a new side of nature that is often lost in university courses. As a 4th year student, majority of my “nature” courses have involved me drilling scientific knowledge into my brain for hours on end to soon become forgotten once the course ends. However, this course was different… it allowed me to expand my knowledge of nature outside that scientific realm. It sparked my inner child, artist, and explorer and I was able to connect with nature in a new light and learn a lot about myself along the way.

Through the blogs, assignments, readings, and lectures I was able to do a lot of reflection on the beliefs that I bring to the table as a nature interpreter. The required readings from The Gifts of Interpretation particularly redefined my beliefs of nature and life. Some of the things that I learned about my beliefs through this course included:

1. Importance of the integration of passion in interpretation.

Throughout my life, I have always been defined as a passionate person. However, this course allowed me to connect my passion with nature to a bigger meaning. I know understand that I can use this strong passion for the environment to inspire others to do their part as well.

“We have the opportunity to reveal our quality of life as a result of staying close to and continuing to learn from the landscape and our heritage. The relationship with our world, marked by learning that turns to wisdom, and the sense of awe, appreciation and joy it brings – this relationship is something that visitors will notice. And perhaps they will ask themselves what they might learn from an interpreter’s connection to his or her place and consequent passion for life.” (Becke & Cable, 2011)

Ultimately, if you are passionate about something, you are more likely to inspire other people to be passionate as well. Passion and excitement for something truly is contagious. When I think about passion that has been shown in the course, I automatically think of Chris Earley’s lab at the beginning of the semester. I found that his energy wore off on me and emphasized the idea of sharing your passion with others.

2.  Importance of the incorporation of playfulness in interpretation.

This course allowed me to let my guard down and expose my inner child. Dr. Hooykaas exposed us to many activities that required us to go outside our comfort zone and use our creativity to inspire others about nature. We were required to use our playful creativity in the lab in the arboretum where we were split up into groups to teach our peers about a certain topic pertaining to nature, however we had to incorporate play. During this lab, I learned more about the importance of play in teaching and inspiring others about nature. In the future I will definitely incorporate play into my career if I choose to enter the field of interpretation. I believe the following quote truly emphasized the importance of keeping part of your inner child with you to increase your curiosity and interest in the world.

“I wonder whether the process ordinarily referred to as growing up is not actually a process of growing down; whether experience, so much touted among adults as the things children lack, is not actually a progressive dilution of the essentials by trivialities of living.” (Leopold, 1949)

3. Importance of respect for those who you are teaching.

I think the idea of respect is always the most important thing when inspiring other people about nature. If you respect their background, they will respect you as well.

“An interpreter acts out of authority and humility, confidence and compassion, integrity and respect for others, stability and enthusiasm, and joy. An interpreter respects the moral worth of visitors and their potential for growth.” (Becke & Cable, 2011).

4. Importance of respect for the environment to inspire others to deepen their connection with nature.

I believe that having a strong connection and respect for the environment is of the utmost importance when interpreting nature to a group of individuals. As the interpreter, if you are passionate about protecting the environment, that passion will be transferred to the audience to inspire them to improve their connection and respect with nature. As interpreters, we have the responsibility to show people what a healthy respect for nature looks like and emphasize the importance of the environment to raise awareness.

These four points were the major beliefs that I truly concreted throughout this course in relation to my connection with interpretation and nature. While considering all these beliefs, I also began to think about what kind of responsibilities I would have as a nature interpreter. A few that popped into my mind included:

1. The responsibility of being the voice of nature.

2. The responsibility of being an ambassador for the environment.

3. The responsibility of being respectful to all human beings from all walks of life.

4. The responsibility of inspiring others to deepen their connection to nature.

5. The responsibility to provide accurate environmental information to people.

Considering the beliefs and responsibilities I bring to the table as a potential nature interpreter, I started to also think about what roles I am most suited for. Looking back throughout the semester, I believe that I am better suited to a smaller audience when interpreting so I can make the program more personable. During my previous summer, I worked as a horse guide in Jasper, Alberta and found myself always enjoying the smaller groups that I would take out because I could make a connection with my guests and really define my guiding techniques to suit their interests. Additionally, I would currently say that my presentation style is more suited to adults because I still need to harness skills of moulding programs to suit the needs of children. I do not have much experience working with children in the past; however, I would love to gain more experience in this area to adapt my teaching style to inspire children about nature.

Looking back on this course, I can truly say that I am really glad that I decided to take this course because it gave me an opportunity to deepen my connection with nature far beyond what normal science courses have given me. I hope all of you guys the best in the future with your careers and cannot wait to see what you all accomplish!

Posted November 28th, 2017

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When I came across your title of “Mountains” I was initially captivated and interested of course! I spent my summer our in Jasper and in that time I had the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and climbed 5 peaks in Jasper National Park. The first couple that I did involved another person hiking with me to give me a sense of protection. However, I decided to do two of them by myself to get a sense of being 100% alone in nature. While I was obviously scared completely, I loved the feeling of being completely vulnerable to the mountains. That being said, it is really important to be able to understand the mountain and to not overstep your boundaries. The mountains have an immense power behind them that can put humans in their place. 

While mountains have that element of danger and uncertainty to them, I think everyone should have the experience of climbing to the top of a mountain and spending time at a summit. There is truly no other experience in the world that is the same as sitting on top of a mountain and looking our at the world around you. It is the most humbling and powerful feeling that I have ever experienced. I would definitely encourage you to go out and explore the Canadian Rocky Mountain Landscape! There are many mountains out in that area that are great introductions into mountain climbing that have limited risk involved. I would recommend finding a partner that you trust to hike with so that you have that opportunity to experience the mountains in an outstanding way. I truly believe that if you respect the mountains and the risks that they have to offer, the mountain will ultimately respect you. 

I have attached some pictures of some of the peaks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains for you to see :)

Mount Cairngorm (Jasper, Alberta)

Utopia Mountain (Jasper, Alberta)

Dolomite Peak (Banff, Alberta)

Hawk Mountain (Jasper, Alberta) - sometimes you are high enough to be in the clouds!

Proposal Peak (Jasper, Alberta) - best moments of reflection are on top of mountains!

Roche Bonhomme (Jasper, Alberta) - and the best part.... feeling so small and insignificant compared to your landscape. 

If you ever need a hiking partner to go to the summit of any mountains, you can always talk to me! I would never pass up an opportunity to spend more time out in the mountains. 

Mountains

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the Mountains. This is mainly because my book that I read for our book report/presentation assignments was a biography of a famous Mountaineer from the Rockies, in Western Canada. He was influential in developing rescue and safety programs for mountain climbing in Western Canada and participated in over 700 documented rescues. 

He emphasizes safety in his book and highlights that many rescues take place because a climber is inexperienced/unfamiliar with the terrain or neglects to follow safety guidelines. It really surprised me to learn that so many people enter such treacherous terrain without any knowledge of the area or the potential hazards. It just seems like common sense. But people tend to be over confident or misjudge their abilities which can land you into some troubling situations. He goes into detail of the potential dangers, many of which are unforeseeable including bad weather like blizzard conditions, freezing rain, or freezing temperatures that can arise suddenly. All of which make ascending a mountain VERY challenging even for experienced climbers. Crevasses are also a huge risk when climbing these mountains. Climbers can find themselves wedged between ice fields tens of metres below where they were once standing in a matter of seconds.This is why taking precautions, using the proper equipment and correctly and knowing how to act in rescue situations, given that something goes awry, is essential. 

Although, the greatest danger, he wrote, is the avalanche.

Avalanches can occur for a number of reasons. But it doesn’t matter why, what matters is that you are aware of areas of increased avalanche risk and being careful about where and how you climb through these areas. Because, at the end of the day, if you are in an avalanches path, it will gobble you up and take you down the mountain without skipping a beat. He talks about the “too many” tragedies he has witnessed because people were not being careful, or even if they were, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even some of the most skilled climbers/mountaineers have found themselves a victim to these beasts. Yet many are not so lucky to live to tell the tale. 

I’ve never been out West to see these mountains first hand, yet I have always wanted to! From pictures and videos that I have seen they seem absolutely beautiful! I always thought I’d one day climb one or more of them BUT… now that I have read this book and hearing the numerous stories of all these terrifying situations I am not so sure. I still want to go see them and experience their beauty. But I am not totally confident I could climb one. I think I am too scared now which is a little sad. I am just a paranoid person and knowing all of this risk I don’t know if I could do it. 

Have any of you guys climbed any of the mountains in the Rockies? Are they as scary as they seem or am I just overthinking it now? Let me know about your experience because I am genuinely curious!

November 19th, 2017

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I really enjoyed your post and how you connected the idea of play with every day life. Just like you, I believe that playing is anything that makes you happy. When you asked about some other ways that adults can play, I started brainstorming about what I do for amusement and the first thing that came to mind was rock climbing. I find that rock climbing brings me back to my childhood and allows me to let loose and be 100% immersed in happiness. I can remember climbing on the monkey bars when I was younger for hours and hours, not even noticing the time going by. It gives me a sense of moving meditation where nothing else in my life matters at that moment. I think that kind of mediation is what play is about. Play should be something that allows you to free your brain of any stress in order to be completely in the moment. I believe that is why play is so significant when thinking about nature interpretation. It allows our minds to let go of the past and be completely in the present in order to experience the world around us in a wholesome way. 

Keep on Playin’

Who says that adults can’t or shouldn’t play? How did we even come up with the idea that only kids can play and have fun? At a very young age we learn how to play with others, and at some point in our life we just stop playing… just like that. When I say the word “play” what immediately comes to mind? For me it’s childhood. Kids have wild imaginations that allow them to create their own fun with whoever is willing to play with them. 

As we get older, we tend to lose our sense of playfulness. Especially in university, with the loads of homework, volunteering, or jobs, it is hard to think about taking the time to play. However, to me play does not necessarily have to be physical. I believe that play is defined anything that is done for one’s own happiness and amusement. 

Within the past couple of years, I have really gained appreciation for board games. I think games, especially with adults, allows one to come out of their shell and just act silly without the pressure of trying to be cool. For my 21st birthday, instead of going out to the bar and celebrating, I had a big group of friends come over and we played games all night. I can honestly say it was one of my favourite birthdays :) I had a huge list of games planned but we ended up playing charades and laughing for hours and hours. I also find whenever I am at a family get together, we always spend at least one night playing board games. My family loves to play Taboo, Balderdash, Heads up, and Telestrations (if you haven’t played this game I highly recommend it). Playing in this example allows us to remove and age barriers and create hilarious memories with each other.  

An amazing invention for adults of today’s society are escape rooms. They provide an excellent balance between challenge and teamwork. Regardless of each person’s educational background, escape rooms are a fun, hands on way for adults to interact. 

My friends and I after an escape room in Guelph (we didn’t get out in time!)

Play in interpretation is important even with adults as it can create a sense of unity within the audience. Although everyone is equipped with their own invisible backpacks, play breaks down those barriers and challenges people to work together. Play is also important as it can act as a great educational tool. Our textbook reads “[When people experience flow] they are not worried about the past or concerned about the future” (The Gifts of Interpretation Chapter 14, page 148). This means that if executed properly, games can enable the audience to fully immerse themselves in the present. With nothing else on their mind, they are able to focus and retain information better. 

How are some other ways that adults can play? What are your favourite board games? Have you ever done an escape room? Tell me about your experience!

Posted November 10, 2017

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I really enjoyed reading your post and how you dissected each sentence of the quote that we were given to analyze. Also, I appreciate how you stated that “it’s up to the people today to continue and tell the correct facts, the right lines, and ensure that what had happened in the past is not forgotten”. I find that this is something that has been lost in our culture. I find that our society is so wrapped up in our current affairs that are going on in the world that we often forget to stop and look back on all the events that have set up our foundation. Ultimately, the storytelling of the past is like a very very long game of broken telephone. Facts can be bounced back and forth between people and between generations and it is at the utmost importance to keep those facts integral and real in order to tell history in a truthful state. I think this can be related back to how important the our guide’s job at the Woodlawn Memorial Park is for the city of Guelph because he was a medium for providing proper factual information to us about the graves that we were exposed to. Our guide provided a framework of understanding to us about how the city of Guelph became how we know it today. Ultimately, all the graves that we were exposed to had some influence, whether large or small, in how the city exists today. Your statement that “we need to keep the past alive so that those in the future will know of it too” reminded me of a quote from our readings that stated that “every place has a history. Interpreters can bring the past alive to make the present more enjoyable and the future more meaningful”. I believe that quote speaks for itself about the importance of interpreters telling the past in a meaningful way to get everyone engaged with their roots that can help people have a more meaningful future.

Did it ever happen?

“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). 

(If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound?)

If there is no one left to remember it, did it ever exist?

When I read these words by Edward Hyams, the first thought that came to mind was exactly that. Memories only extend as far back as the birth of the oldest person in this world, and even that is no more than a hundred years or so. The events that happened in days long past can’t truly be real if there’s no one around to remember it, but yet, they can be. Stories are passed down, artifacts unearthed, discoveries are made; all to remind us that they were once, and still are, HERE. They may not tell the whole story, and they may be scattered with some pieces yet to be found, but they are HERE.

At this point, we can start to peel these words apart.

“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… 

Old things without an explanation, a partner, have no meaning until one is given or explained (it gives it integrity). But, at the same time, you cannot maintain the integrity of the thing, without the pieces. Just as a house will lose its’ integrity and collapse without a foundation, so too will ancient things.

… and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. 

Especially with ancient things, information is not likely to be found all in one place. They are found all over. Some child in Ontario might have a story, a culture passed down from their predecessors in another country, and that story may have passed through hundreds of minds before theirs. Perhaps someone along the line added a part, or another was taken away. To maintain the integrity of that story, someone would have to remember at least a part of the original.

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.” 

The past cannot be detached from the present. Things do not exist only in the moment, but rather they persist in a memory, or a physical form, or maybe it was lost. It’s ultimately unrealistic to assume that just because no one was around to remember it, doesn’t mean that it never existed at all. Those stories are passed down, and it’s up to the people today to continue and tell the correct facts, the right lines, and ensure that what had happened in the past is not forgotten. Just like how the staff at the Woodlawn Memorial Park continue to tell the stories of all those who lived before us, as interpreters, we need to keep the past alive so that those in the future will know of it too.

Friday, Nov 3, 17:50

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Everything in your life has lead to this moment in time

“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)

 I find this quote very encompassing of how society is functioning currently. As a relatively high functioning society, we often forget to look back at our past to obtain a mental picture of how communities were formed or to appreciate how historically monumental events have shaped our current lives. As one of my friend likes to say, “everything that has happened in the past has lead up to this moment now”. I think this is an extremely important thing to remember because it is easy to forget how the past has shaped our lives today when we get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. This is why I believe it is important to visit places like the Woodlawn Memorial Park, as we did on Tuesday, to remember all of the historical figures and honour their contributions to Guelph. It is important for a city like Guelph to have publically-accessible areas like Woodlawn Memorial Park that add integrity to the city and act as an archive for the past by holding memories from historical figures of society in one place. By walking around the park, I was reminded of how much history a small town like Guelph can have and how every person that was buried there had a story. I found that I could walk around there for hours and just look at the gravestones to try to understand the story the stone was trying to tell. Ultimately, every person that was buried there had a different story and a different contribution to the future. Furthermore, every person buried there had an impact on our lives in one way or another. It is important to understand that every action that we take in our life is going to impact the future in some way, whether it is directly or indirectly.

 During the week I came across a quote in the readings that stated that, “ultimately, the role of history is to provide the opportunity to examine ourselves and how we have become what we are today” (John Golda). I think there is a very important contrast between the life that people lived a hundred years ago and the life that we live now. It is interesting to see how past events have opened the doors for us in the 21st century. This can relate to “the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things” because it is of the utmost importance to keep history intact in order to tell a story of the past. Without an accurate understanding of our past, it is extremely hard to interpret the future. Ultimately, like Edward Hyams stated; “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”.  This really chimes in to the true importance behind an understanding of the past, because, ultimately you must understand the past in order to build a future.

November 5th 9:05pm

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Great post! I really liked you how dove deep into explaining the emotional aspect of the artwork that we were exposed to yesterday. I think the way that Alex explained the hardship that some of these indigenous artists faced in their lifetime really made me connect with their artwork on a deeper level. By learning about the person compared to just primarily the artwork, I personally was able to understand the entire piece of art in a deeper way. Additionally, I think that understanding their artwork and the emotion behind it, made me understand the hardships that many indigenous people are going through and have more compassion their struggle. It made me more aware of struggles that many people are going through in this country that are often brushed under the rug. 

Not sure about you, but I can personally say that many of the meaning behind many of the artworks were not as obvious as others. Before Alex interpreted some of the artworks, I would not have understood the meaning. But I think that is the beauty of education and knowledge from someone like Alex who has the ability to share her experience with us. This reminds me of a quote from the reading on “The Gift of Beauty” that states “interpreters help people possess beauty by getting them to slow down, by directing their attention to the details, and then by helping them understand the significance and meaning of the place or object”. Alex truly got us to stop, think, and understand each piece of artwork that we were exposed to. Especially with artwork, there are many hidden messages present that can be understood differently by different people. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how you interpreted the art! 

Posted October 25th 11:30am

The Risk of Art

As we were walking through the Art Gallery in lab this week I was really struck by the way many artists in the 150 Acts: Art, Activism, Impact gallery were using nature in their art to express meaningful emotions or issues. The artwork that represented the salmon run was both beautiful and impactful as a cry for help in the midst of food shortages. While I was observing this, and other works, I thought about the kind of invisible struggles and experiences that these artists have faced previously and have carried with them through life. I also pondered how these struggles are now being expressed within the artists’ artwork.

Within a population of Indigenous people, that are now struggling to find enough food in the wild, their connection to nature is one of great importance and survival. However, I imagine that this kind of relationship forces them to view nature as a dying being that once provided them with enough but no longer does. I found that expressing this need and struggle through artwork was a very powerful way to get that message of struggle across.

I also realized that there must be great risks involved with being activists for nature and your community through art. Expressing local issues in nature through artwork can be a controversial issue and this can end up being costly to the artist if no gallery decides to display it due to the controversies. There is also the risk of not having people interpret the artwork correctly. With art, the interpretations can become individually based upon who is looking at it and the background knowledge that they may have. However, this can be combated through a guided tour of art, as we experienced, where the meaningful interpretations of the art can be expressed as the artist intended. Overall, multiple interpretations of art can make understanding why specific images are shown or the importance of the art difficult to get across to all groups that take it in.

I found that many of the pieces in the gallery also displayed nature as a way of connecting the artists to their home. Nature was displayed through mostly plants and wildlife and in the descriptions of the art it was clear that these representations were either to show life or to represent a direct link to issues within the artist’s home land. This allows for viewers to interpret nature through art as something of importance to survival or even connect to the artist themselves by viewing a piece of their home.

I personally enjoyed the use of nature to represent life. I found that many of these paintings used bright colours and flowers in bloom which immediately connected my mind to new life and springtime. Using parts of nature, which already represent new life, to show a life cycle within artwork is a very effective tool. I also found that the paintings displaying the interactions between nature and humanity to be very interesting. I found myself interpreting these paintings as a representation of the continuous cycle of interactions that humanity and nature go through. Again, with how many of the artists rely on nature to provide food and the necessities of life, the interactions between humans and nature were clearly incredibly important to respect and understand through their art.

How did you interpret the artwork in the gallery?

Did you understand the meanings behind the art before they were explained to us?

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The Interpretation of Beauty in Art and Nature

“Interpreters help people see beauty in the ordinary, miracles in the mundane” – Larry Beck

 This quote was included in the textbook reading and it spoke to me as it encompassed this week’s theme about interpretation through writing and art. Art and written language have such a unique ability to grab someone’s attention to enhance learning and interest about a particular issue, particularly when it comes to the environment. During a part of the readings on the gift of beauty, the author mentioned that it is easy to attract interest to the large and flashier parts of nature, such as a grizzly bear or a in-your-face mountain, however, it is hard to get people to care about swamp ecosystems or insects that are equally as important but often over-looked. However, as interpreters, it is important to reflect the importance of the less-flashy parts of nature in order to have a group of people care for those things, because if we care about something, ultimately we will care for it. This idea can be related to the evolution of how I interpret beauty. In the past, I have definitely looked at the flashier landscapes and animals as being more superior in beauty to those that are less immaculate. 

Mountain peaks are what catch my eye and can be defined as “beauty”. (Jasper, Alberta)

However, as I learn more about the environment through previous courses and personal readings, I can appreciate the beauty in all aspects of nature now. There is something beautiful in the scurrying of various insects or the flat landscapes of the prairies that I am able to appreciate more now. While they are not as visually pleasing as the Rocky Mountains, every aspect of nature is equally as important and should be appreciated in its entirety. Something that can grab the beauty of nature is art.

Just as much beauty in the complexity of a forest. (Guelph, Ontario)

           Art allows a medium for reflection on important issues to raise awareness. I found the field trip this week to be a great learning opportunity to gather how powerful a piece of artwork can be when the meaning is interpreted in order to be understood by the general public. Artwork has the utmost ability to speak to everyone in a different way through its various tones and hidden meanings. Alex shared her knowledge of the pieces with us to provide a glimpse of understanding into the meaning behind the artwork. This interpretation that Alex provided can be tied in with the quote from our readings about how “interpreters can help people see the beauty in something that is not readily apparent”. When we first gathered at the art gallery, we were introduced to a large structure that represented a megaphone. Alex mentioned that it was meant to symbolize our relationship with nature as we are able to speak out to mother nature and also are able to listen to what she has to say if we pay attention to our earth. I thought this was really important because, as humans, we have to listen to the world around us to see the harm that we are causing to the planet. There are many signs within nature that can act as a cry for help that are often overlooked.

But who am I to interpret art? 

           While I am not an art-minded person by any means, I still found that I had the ability to interpret art in some sense while we were at the gallery. We were introduced to a painting, in which we were supposed to interpret the meaning of with a group of our peers. I found that after listening to Alex speak, I gathered many ideas about how artists portray the purpose of their art in different ways. My group was introduced to a piece of artwork that portrayed various plants in vibrant colours. 

I interpreted this as representing the biodiversity on earth and how every living thing in the environment is interconnected. I found it very interesting that when I was introduced to the mindset of interpreting artwork, my ideas started to flow. While I am definitely not qualified to lead a group around a gallery and interpret pieces of art, I am able to interpret what it means to me and share that with some of my peers to gather more insight into what they think. I think that everyone has their own way of interpreting art and find it very interesting how art can speak differently to everyone. This can be related to nature as well. Everyone has a different aspect of nature that they find beautiful and that they can understand more than others. This is something that has to be concretely understood as a potential future interpreter because what is beautiful for one person may not be as beautiful to another person. However, as interpreters, we have the capacity to inspire people to see the beauty in something that is not readily apparent. Truly, everything in nature has beauty if we just look hard enough. 

What do you guys think about how beauty is present in nature? Do you think that everything in nature is of equal beauty or do certain things stand out as more beautiful in your mind?

Posted October 25th 11:00am

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Great post! First off, I absolutely love rocks as well! As a rock climber, I appreciate the opportunities various rock cliffs around Ontario have provided me. However, the more that I climb, the more that I am amazed by the formation of these amazing features in our landscape. I do lots of climbing on the Niagara Escarpment in Milton, Ontario and have had the immense privilege of witnessing some amazing fossils within the limestone. It is amazing how this large piece of stone can tell a story that dates back far into history.  Based on your love of rocks, I assume you have been able to witness some of the amazing fossils found in rock formations. Are there any in particular that you can remember?

It is also interesting to think about how rocks can provide amazing homes for various species of animals and insects. There are often times while I am climbing where various organisms that find rock cliffs their home have spooked me. Regularly, I will come across a bird’s nest while climbing that exists in some of the most profound places. That truly shows you how resilient nature is and how many animals can adapt to live in harsh places. It is always a reminder that even though we can use these amazing rock features for human recreation, we have to remember that these rock faces are home to various species of animals that are significantly important to respect and preserve for the future of the earth.

 I attached a video of a famous rock climber talking about some of the creature he has found along his climbing adventures (skip to 3:15). 

I found it interesting about how you discussed James Hutton’s theory behind continuous and gradual changes that earth experiences that shapes our environment. However, do you think that with climate change and global warming that these changes will occur in a different fashion?

Rocks

Prompt: What is the most amazing thing you know about nature – get us excited.

Remember last week when I made you guys love math? Well, this week I’m going to make you love the second most boring thing ever.

You’re probably thinking, “what’s as boring as math, Steph?”. Well, the answer… is ROCKS.

Those annoying things you trip on, step over, and throw at polluters. I mean… what?

Okay, let’s get serious.

The environment is pretty incredible. Everything from forest ecosystems to tsunamis has some interesting explanation and natural power that should be respected.

Today, I’m going to talk about how cool I think geological time is, or more accurately- HOW MUCH IT ROCKS.

The cool thing, is how much we can learn about environmental history by studying rock layers and characteristics of individual rocks themselves. It’s important to remember that nature interpretation goes beyond science and numbers (although, I do love math). To better understand and appreciate nature, we must go beyond statistical information.

Our story starts when James Hutton developed the idea that Earth undergoes continuous and gradual changes. This means the Earth is dynamic, as it is always eroding formations and building different ones back up. This idea allowed geologists to establish relative and absolute time, determining a timeline of the earth’s land formations and more exact times certain events occurred.

This theory accompanied with what we know about rock characteristics paints a historical picture.

Geologists study characteristics of rocks, such as texture, cooling rates, gran sizes and maturity to understand more about the conditions, and environment, under which they were formed. Furthermore, rocks, or more specifically, fossils, can tell us about past lifeforms and even indications of how or why certain species have gone extinct.

So, the next time you guys see some rocks, think about what story they might be telling!

Thanks for reading, you guys rock!

(Okay, I’m done with the rock puns now.)

Posted Oct 22 10:16pm

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True Resilience of Nature

How does one pick nature’s most amazing phenomenon? The contemplation of “the most amazing thing about nature” was really hard to think about because there are so many different ideas come to mind. However, one thing that my mind kept circling back to was the amazing survivability of various animals in the face of nature’s harshest conditions.

 Take penguins for example; they live in some of the harshest conditions on earth. They are one of the only warm-blooded species on earth that can withstand temperatures extremely cold Antarctic temperatures with winds of over 200 km/h.However, they have adapted helpful behaviours over thousands of years in order to survive. They team together to create a huddle of thousands of penguins in order to create a densely packed shelter from the bitterly cold winds that they experience. I think that it is truly amazing how this species has adapted to work together to increase the survival of the entire penguin population. I think humans can learn a lot from penguins based on their will to withstand harsh times and their teamwork. I think if we adopted that idea of teamwork into our everyday lives, life would be a bit better for everyone. Currently, humans live in a very competitive world where it is often easy to forget about how our actions affect other people. However, if like penguins, we focus on how we can all help each other, we will end up all being more successful in the end.

  Another amazing example that came to my mind when thinking about survivability in the face of nature’s harshest conditions is how a Alaskan wood frog adapts to winter temperatures. Alaskan wood frogs are able to physically hibernate and freeze their bodies in order to survive the winter. The species has adapted their physiological mechanisms over time in order to allow them to physically shut their body down over the winter. This allows them to survive the harsh environmental conditions that would otherwise kill them. I find is absolutely fascinating how resilient nature can be. It is inspiring to hear about how small organisms, such as frogs, are able to adapt to those harsh weather conditions that humans also face.  

  By learning about nature and all the various survival mechanisms that occur in nature, I think we are all able to understand more about how resilient some species are to harsh conditions. This is something that is extremely important to learn in life as human beings. By looking at how various animal species can withstand harsh conditions, it made me realize that resiliency is super important to success. Both the penguins and Alaskan wood frogs face conditions that put their survival against all odds. However, they have shown that they are able to adapt successfully to survive and thrive. That is something that can be taken from nature and applied to life in general. The more adversity we can face, the stronger we will get to survive through life. Life can throw significant curveballs that many different species in the world, however there are various species that have adapted best in order to survive. 

Posted October 22nd, 10:30pm

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“A picture is worth a thousand words”

I loved reading your post about photography because like you, I also share a passion with taking photos, especially of nature. One of my favourite things is to look back on photos that I have taken in the past to reconnect with some of my favourite memories or experiences. Looking back at previous photographs, allows me to remember all of the beauty in the world that I have been fortunate enough to experience. There is truly an amazing power that goes along with photographs that can inspire many people. They can allow us to experience many different emotions, whether it is a sense of peace, sadness, or happiness. Also, I find that photos can tell a story that resonates with many people to increase their understanding of a certain topic. I know for myself, I often understand a topic more if there is a photograph that goes along with it that I can refer to. To expand this topic further, I think that as future nature interpreters or advocates, we can use photographs to inspire people to care about nature and to have the desire to learn more about it. The more that people can understand or “picture” a process in nature, the more that they will care about it. Overall, you had a great post and I loved seeing all of your photographs. They truly emulate the passion you have for nature and photography! 

I thought I would add some of my favourite photos that I have taken in nature:

Fall Colours in Haliburton, Ontario

Ascending Mount Henry in Jasper, Alberta

Interesting tree in Guelph

Mountains in Yosemite National Park, California

October 15th, 2017 8:30pm

More Than Just a Photo

Posted October 14, 2017

“Should I take my camera?” This is the question that I repeatedly ask myself as I am getting ready to go outside. Most of the time I will take my camera because I have learned the consequences of leaving it behind- something extraordinary will happen and I won’t have my camera to capture it. 

Anyways, my true love for photography began when I was in high school. My dad has always had a passion for photography, and before I had a camera of my own, I would often borrow his. I started off using an older Canon camera and since then have received my own Canon T4i for Christmas. 

I think the reason I love photography so much is that it allows me to interact with nature. Although it is near impossible to capture the true beauty of nature, it gives me a challenge to portray it to the best of my ability. I also love photography because aside from capturing a photo, you are also capturing a memory. There have been many photos that I have taken that bring me back to that exact time and place. Each photo I take is a representation of myself in one way or another. For example, everyone who knows me knows that I love sunsets (I even wrote about it in my first blog post). If you look at any of my social media (mainly my Instagram) you will see lots of sunset photos. I have even had people tell me that they have seen sunsets and have thought about me because they know that I love them so much. 

Sunset in California 2012

I love the challenge of getting the perfect photo. I find that taking photos of landscapes is challenging but to capture certain animals is nearly impossible. The past summer it was my goal to take the perfect picture of a Blue Jay. Although Blue Jays are everywhere, it is very hard to get a good photo of them because they are often scared of humans. When I was home in the summer I often went to the Royal Botanical Gardens for animal photography. One day my girlfriend and I were feeding chipmunks and chickadees when a Blue Jay landed right on her hand! 

One of my only photos that I have taken of a Blue Jay

Although I originally took photos of nature, I have started to take photos of people. In my opinion humans are harder to take pictures of because what I may consider beautiful about them, they may not be what they consider beautiful about themselves. As I said earlier, the whole thrill of photography is the challenge and capturing the perfect picture. That being said I am still continuing to try to perfect the art of portraits. 

I also enjoy capturing humans in nature. My friends and I will often go on nature walks and I usually try to capture some candid shots of my friends in nature. I usually like to take photos where their face is not showing as it allows for anonymity and does not take away from the natural scenery. 

My beautiful best friend watching the sunset

If anyone is interested, I have a Flickr account that I occasionally update with my favourite photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/through-canons-eyes/ or if you have a Flickr account let me know and I will check it out !

What is your passion in life? How does it make you feel? Have you ever tried nature photography? If so, please share some of your favourite photos that you have taken :) 

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Healthy Earth = Healthy Life

It took me a while to think about where I wanted my blog to go this week. However, one thing that is always in the back of my head is my future and where I am going to be. 

Sometimes I feel like this girl ^

Being a university student, I am always toying with the idea of my future. Many thoughts enter my head on the daily, including “what am I going to do with my life?”. Being the free-spirited nature-lover in my family, I often get a lot of worry from my parents and the older generation of my family about where my career is going to go. There is a consensus among those who are not involved in the environmental field that I am going to become a “tree-hugger”. However, to me, that does not sound like such a bad gig.  

Old-growth Forest on Vancouver Island 2015

 I have grown up loving the outdoors and anytime I was outside, I was my happiest. My parents always laugh about how if they could not find me, I was probably sitting outside in the mud, getting dirty. Throughout my childhood, I often turned to nature as a form of entertainment when I was bored, because back then, we did not have access to technology like we do now. However, the fact that we have so much technology present in the world, I worry that children that are growing up now will not turn to nature to entertain them. I believe that growing up playing in the outdoors was the concrete foundation towards my passion for helping the environment. That being said, I am inspired to help motivate children to go outside, because they are ultimately the future of this earth.

 Being a 21 year old, wildlife biology student at this time is a very exciting but intimidating and scary feat. Due to all the environmental change that the world is currently going through, it is time for people to try to change our habits in order to help the environment. However, I often get so frustrated when people do not have the same care about the environment that many of the other people in the world do, including myself. Whenever I see litter, I just want to find that person and yell at them and say “WHY? Why are you do lazy that you cannot clean up after yourselves?”. However, instead of finding the negative in situations like that, I have to remind myself that those people may not have been privileged to spend a lot of their childhood outside and lack that relationship with nature. Therefore, I find that it is part of my duty as a nature-lover to do my service to protect nature by trying to inspire people to find their relationship with nature.

Seeing wildlife in their natural state allows me to feel a deep connection with nature.

I think every single person on earth has the ability to connect with nature in a positive way. In my mind, people have evolutionarily connected through nature throughout time in positive ways. However, some people may not have found that connection with nature early on in life and are missing out on their relationship with the earth. Therefore, to connect with my original post about “what am I going to do with my life”… I can answer that by saying I just want to be an advocate for nature, whether is through research, education, or some other job. I want to be able to stand in the gap between nature and human activity to try to connect the two to occur in harmony because ultimately there would be no life without a healthy earth.

October 15th, 2017 2:30pm

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I really enjoyed reading your blog and resonated with a lot of the ideas that you discussed. First off, I liked how you related our activity outside on Johnston Green with other aspects of your experiences outside. It seems like you feel rejuvenated when spending time in nature away from all the hustle and bustle of every day life (and I completely agree!). I find if I do not have the chance to spend sometime outdoors by myself, my mood is completely different. Secondly, I completely agree that there are natural sounds that can be heard if we just listen closely enough and ignore the sounds of human disturbances. If you really think about it, it is amazing how our minds can focus on the more intricate sounds surrounding us if we try hard enough. However, as we were sitting on Johnston Green I found it hard to listen to our natural surroundings when we had the rush of cars around us. I can only imagine how the species inhabiting earth must feel now when their natural surroundings are constantly changing around them.

 Furthermore, like you, I turn to music for comfort when nature is not accessible. I have a playlist of songs that remind me of being outside, known as my “Nature Playlist”. These are a collection of songs that connect me with the outdoors, including music from Lord Huron, Mighty Oaks, and Bon Iver (definitely check them out if you have not heard their music before!). It is comforting to know that when nature is not there to provide and outlet for relaxation, music is always a click away on our phones or laptops. Also, when music may not be available when technology is not an option, more often than not we can listen to our surroundings and find the rhythm of nature.

October 8th, 2017 10:00am

♫ All you hear are the rusty breezes ♪

I remember the first week of class when we had to choose a quote from Amanda’s collection. The one that stood out to me was from David Strong (Crazy Mountains): “Wilderness time is dawn time. The air, the fragrances, the sounds all rise into being and are not yet messed up, so to speak, by the day”. Loud noises can put me in a bad mood. Noises like we wrote about in our song this week, “yelling, whirring, droning…” drive me crazy. I need a break from these sounds or I get cranky. That’s when, if I’m at home, I walk far enough into the bush to sit and listen. Like this week’s lab when we sat in Johnston Green, but instead of cars and construction, I only hear wind in the leaves, water in creeks, bees, birds, squirrels… music to my ears. This is where I find music in nature. 

I think that music is more than prepared lyrics and guitar riffs- it’s about hearing beauty in the sounds around you. Music can be found in nature if we listen for these sounds. Our textbook puts it nicely when it quotes interpretive guide Enos Mills: “He who feels the spell of the wild, the rhythmic melody of falling water, the echoes among the crags, the bird songs, the winds in the pines, and the endless beat of waves upon the shore, is in tune with the universe.” The text goes on to explain that those who are in tune with nature and share this secret with others are nature interpreters. 

Nature can also be found in music. We saw that this week when we worked with James Gordon. Music is a different platform to share our passion for nature. As The Gifts of Interpretation puts it: “Each interpreter should strive to communicate a sense of place or a sense of historic meaning in a personal, individualized manner”. If that personalized way is music, we might be able to use it to reach a new group of people. Music is a powerful tool- I think we can all agree that there is something about the way it sounds and feels that affects people differently than other platforms of communication.

I know that when I can’t go out into nature, I can often find the same relaxation from listening to music. I have a cd I made specifically for rainy or busy days when I can’t get out into nature but I still need a break from the noise. I pop it into my cd player and sit on my bed or I put it on in the car and go for a drive. They are all songs that remind me of sitting by a campfire, being at the lake with my friends or camping in the middle of nowhere with my coworkers on a fire line. For me, the combination of music and nature has an effect of relaxation. For others who might not hear nature the same way, they may be one walk away from hearing a new world of music- and it could be a nature interpreter that helps them listen. 

The cover from my “rainy day” cd playlist from this summer

The birds singing and the wind blowing through the trees in the woods behind my house

From when I worked at Rushing River Provincial Park, I took this around 6am the morning after we had a staff campout 

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The Sounds of Life

“The earth has music to those who listen” - Shakespeare

Music and nature go hand-in-hand to make the acoustics of life. For as long as I can remember, both nature and music have been very influential to me in various aspects of my life. Both of them add a sense of peace and relaxation that I have looked for during the highs and lows of life. The combination of both of them is truly amazing as there is nothing better than going for a nice nature walk listening to my favourite band. The relationship between the two enables us to connect deeper within ourselves to make connections in our lives that may seem impossible. There is something to say about the rhythm of music and the dynamic sounds of nature that can bring us back down to earth.  

Where is music in nature?

There are many sounds that occur naturally outside that can emulate the rhythms and beats that we hear in music. If we allow ourselves to listen to the outdoors, we can observe how similar the sounds of nature are to a song. The sound of the wind and the lap of waves on the shoreline can mimic whistling and background singing in music. The singing of the birds and other animals can sound like words and lyrics to our ears and the rush of a raging waterfall can sound like an intense orchestra. It is truly amazing how if we stop and listen to nature, we can hear the songs of the earth. There are many times that I have been on a nature walk blaring music through my earphones when it dawns on my that there are so many inspirational sounds that I can hear without my phone or ipod. Most of my favourite songs occur without technology in the great outdoors. There is nothing more satisfying than finding a spot to sit and listen to the nature around you. It is amazing to be able to witness how many sounds the natural world produces when no humans are interfering.

 Where is nature in music?

Since nature is a very big inspiration for life in general, many artists have turned to nature to write their songs. Often being in a natural setting allows songwriters to obtain a clear mind and allow the lyrics to flow. I was able to witness this when our class worked with James Gordon last week. We were able to sit outside on Johnston Green and listen to the world around us to grab inspiration in order to write a song about how we all feel about nature. That experience was the starting point to allow our brains to overflow with ideas about where the song should go. Most of my favourite bands also follow this path of using nature as an inspiration to write their songs. Bands like Lord Huron, Bon Iver, and Mighty Oaks all incorporate a sense of nature into their songs. Songs by artists such as the ones mentioned allow me to connect to nature in a deeper sense through their lyrics.

 “I wanna live in a land of lakes

Where the great waves break

And the night runs right into the day;

Wanna visit the windswept shores

Of a time before

When the moon and the stars were aligned”

- Lord Huron “I Will Be Back One Day”

October 7, 2017 8:00pm

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You did a really great job explaining how our past experiences and opportunities truly shape our interpretation of nature. It is easy for people that live in big cities or away from natural lands to forget that nature exists. However, it is important to immerse people in nature who have not had the opportunity to experience nature or people who are not surrounded by it on a daily basis. The more people are surrounded by nature, the more likely they are to be advocates of the protection of natural lands. It sounds like a lot of us in this course were privileged as children and young adults to have the amazing opportunities to spend time outside. However, like you said, a lot of people are not that fortunate. I believe it is up to all of us in this course to be advocates for nature and speak up when it is not being respected. After all, a lot of people do not have that privilege to spend time outside and therefore do not see that value in natural lands. Whereas, it sounds like you and I both had the opportunity to learn from nature from a young age and experience the beauty of it. I think there should be opportunities presented to children from a young age to spend time in nature, even if their parents are not very outdoor-driven people. Overall, you did a great job at explaining how experience and upbringing influences how we interpret and respect nature.

Posted October 1st, 2017 8:20pm

The Privilege of Nature

           You’re relationship with nature has a lot to do with where you were born and raised, how you were raised by your caregivers and personal experiences that you had while growing up. If you have an early introduction to nature and the natural environment around you then you simply have a better opportunity to appreciate it and be able to interpret it. Some people have more nature privilege when compared to other people of this world. People in cities don’t really get an opportunity to get into nature and to really understand all that it has to offer. While people who live and grew up in less densely populated areas have an easier access to get out into nature and get to be able to interpret and experience all aspects of it.

            There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to wherever someone is living. So while people who live in more of the country has more access to wildlife and the more natural environment. On the other side of the fence people in the cities have more access to shopping, events and job opportunities near them. In that case the people who could be deemed as having the privilege to be able to interpret nature could be seen as being deprived of the things that people from the cities might have the privilege of having.  Someone who grew up with nature will definitely see it in a different light than someone who would not be used to it.

            Another privilege that would influence the nature interpretation of someone would be how he or she was raised. If one had parents or guardians who really encouraged going into nature and spending time outside then that would definitely leave an impact on the individual. This should push them towards learning more about nature and really appreciating it for what it is.  Being introduced to it at a young age really ingrains on someone. If I hadn’t had the opportunities when I was young to explore nature and get involved in animals I honestly don’t know if I would have the same amount of passion for it as I do now. The privileges that I had early on in my life were able to shape my future for the rest of my life.

            So privilege plays a big part in everyone’s lives and everyone has different privileges that would affect their lives in different ways.  So privilege definitely does play a part in someone nature interpretation and their lives.

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I really liked how you discussed the differences between people’s experiences and how it shapes what we are interested and willing to do. It is interesting to get a comparison to how people react when thrown into situations like canoeing or rock climbing. It is often easy to forget that if you are not exposed to something all throughout your life, it can be a big step to try a new adventure or activity. Exposure to life outdoors and various activities is truly a privilege to have. Just like you, from a young age I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of my childhood outside. My parents provided me with many opportunities to try new things that have become integral parts of my life now. However, as potential nature interpreters in the future, like you said, it is important to understand the background of your group. The more we as interpreters are able to mould our teaching styles to numerous people with different backgrounds, the more we will bring like-minded people together as a community, even if they do have different “invisible backpacks”. It is truly amazing that even if we all come from different areas and backgrounds, many people can still agree that nature is a privilege. The beautiful thing about nature is that is able to be experienced from anybody, regardless of background. That is something that I will keep in mind for the future that will help me connect with many different people as I move forward.

Posted on October 1st, 2017 8:10pm

Lucky Ducky

According to this week’s reading, “[we] are not taught to recognize [our] own privileges” and after unpacking my invisible knapsack this week in class, I was reminded of the advantages that I have every day, but often forget (Gallavan 2005). I would define privilege as unearned advantages that someone has that others may not. My privilege was given to me through luck. As I considered my privilege, I realized how lucky I really am: I have an education, parents who care about me, access to healthcare… the list, I am grateful, goes on. 

On a hike with my mom and older sisters, nature was always accessible to me from a young age.

When it comes to nature interpretation, we need to focus on the part about interpretation. Interpretation refers to individual experience and from how we see the world, which is directly and drastically affected by our privilege. This privilege needs to be considered when working with students or guiding groups in nature interpretation. How I see the world, as someone who grew up with certain privileges, will often be different than the people I am working with. In order to help understand how others interpret nature, I’m required to unpack my privilege and try to see the world from someone else’s point of view. 

As a child, I went to a summer camp that brought in a lot of inner-city kids. Their home lives were unfamiliar to me and we had very different experiences as far as exposure to nature went. The hiking guides, rock climbing teachers, and the cabin counsellors (I think we could consider them nature interpreters) had a group of kids with varying experiences and privileges. 

I remember being confused by the girls who didn’t want to go canoeing. I also remember getting the “special wristband” indicating that I’d passed the deep-end swim test, while others had to stay where their feet could touch. I just thought they didn’t like nature and were bad at swimming when the reality was that I was just luckier than they were. My parents put me in swimming lessons before kindergarten, I wasn’t afraid of the water or nature- I was showed how to love it. The camp “nature interpreters” were trying to instill this love of nature in kids who had different experiences than I had. In order to help these kids relate to nature, they had to relate to the kids. They had to recognize- and unpack- their privileges (the ones that 7-year-old me wasn’t recognizing). 

My friends and I literally loading the canoe to capacity, something we’ve been lucky enough to do since we were little. 

When working with different groups, I need to know that not everyone has the same advantages. Participants may have visible or invisible disabilities, they may be unfamiliar with nature, they may not speak the same language I do… these are all important to consider. When sharing the love of nature we need to know that we are all unique and see the world differently from one another. This isn’t a bad thing. Leaving behind our lenses of privilege can be beautiful if it helps us to see nature in a new way, together.     

‘The Gifts of Interpretation’ wraps my thoughts up nicely by saying: “The knowledge and experiences we gain constitute who we are. Interpreters must relate to the people to whom they interpret if they wish to lead them to the“thresholds” of their minds.” 

Enjoying Half Moon Bay with my cousins in the summer of 2015

Beck, L and Cable, T.T. The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. 3rd edition. Sagamore Publishing, 2011.  Gallavan, N.P. Helping Teachers Unpack their “Invisible Knapsacks”. Multicultural Ed. 13.1. 2005. 

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Nature is a Privilege

Privilege can be applied to many different aspects of our lives and is dependent on the eye of the beholder. In my mind, privilege is about having the ability to experience the beauty in life. For me, privilege can mean something completely different compared to someone living in a third-world country. Living in a country with such open and beautiful landscapes, it is often easy to forget how privileged we are. We are privileged to have the ability to step outside and be able to be immersed in nature everyday. We are privileged to have the ability to take the time to lose ourselves in nature and forget about the “stresses” of everyday life. Furthermore, we are privileged to have access to have the education to think about nature in a bigger sense than just observation. However, many of these privileges I mentioned are not accessible around the world for everyone. A large percentage of the population does not have the ability to move away from their stressful life to immerse themselves in nature to be able to heal. If you think about many of the horrible things that are happening in the world, it heartbreaking to think about all of those people who will never have the opportunity to experience a world where you can be stress free and go for a walk in nature. It is very comforting to think that if I am ever having a bad day, I can turn to nature to lead me the right way.

It is always a true privilege to see wildlife in their natural habitat. 

And to witness sights like these....

                 In my opinion, being outside truly is the best form of healing that someone can experience. If you allow your mind to sink into the rhythm of nature, you will often gain insight into something you have been trying to work out that has been a burden to your life in some way. In my life, I have been privileged to always see nature in a beautiful light. I have always interpreted nature as my playground, classroom, and my healer. However, in areas of the world where the population is not as privileged and I have been throughout my life, the interpretation of nature may be missing. Many parts of the world do not have the access to beautiful landscapes like we do in Canada. Additionally, numerous countries in the world experience terror on a daily basis and the population does not have the ability to escape to natural places that we take for granted.

                 My hope is that one day there will be peace on earth to allow nature and people to heal simultaneously. The more opportunity and privilege people on earth have, the more people are able to advocate for nature. I believe that many people who live in third world countries would be advocates for conservation and the protection of nature if they had to opportunity to experience nature in its full beauty without having to deal with the terror of everyday life. By spreading that privilege of nature all across the world, we will be helping people around the world and be protecting nature at the same time.

Posted October 1st, 2017 at 8:00pm