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Hey Marie,

After reading your post this week, I definitely agree with a lot of the points you brought up. 

To start off, I think it's terrible that you got put off from studying biology from people you looked up to. One of the bigger themes from my last couple blogs is promoting conservation by getting more people interested in the outdoors and biology. Taking someone that is passionate about it to begin with, and essentially alienating them from the field, is the exact opposite of that and a shame to see. I’m glad that you were able to get around those barriers and find yourself looking into careers in biology!

You had also mentioned the notion that STEM majors feel a sense of superiority in the scientific community. I agree that this happens to an extent, and think that it is a very backwards way of thinking. In order to have a more diverse background of ideas and perspectives, we should welcome people of all different backgrounds into the scientific community. This would also benefit conservation as a whole by bridging the gap between scientific education and environmental education brought up by Wals et al. (2014). 

It is also certainly important to embrace our role as spokespeople for the outdoors. As you said, you never know who is looking up to you as an interpreter or as an individual, so it is best to use the privilege we have as interpreters wisely. In chapter 7 of the textbook, Beck et al. (2019) goes over the importance of being accessible to diverse audiences. Essentially, it’s your responsibility as an interpreter to recognise the sovereignty of your clients, and present them with unbiased information in a non confrontational manner. If you fail to connect with a client because of socioeconomic or cultural differences, you risk making them feel marginalized, and not comfortable in an interpretive setting. When the goal is to get as many people passionate about the environment as possible, this is the opposite of what we should be doing. 

~Nathan

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., and Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Wals, A.E.J., Brody, M., Dillon, J., Stevenson, R.B. (2014). Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, 344(6184):583-584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515 

Final Blog Post: A Temporary Goodbye

Wow, I can’t believe that we have already arrived at our final blog post for this course. I approach the end of this semester with uncertainty; I feel both relieved to finally be done with assignments for the time being, but also slightly saddened as this course has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences this semester. I look back on my previous blog posts and am just in awe of how much I have changed as a person and an interpreter within the course of just one semester. As I approach my fourth and final year of undergrad, I’ve been spending a lot of time introspecting. What do I really want to do with my degree? It has never been a consistent answer, as I went into first year thinking I’d be applying to veterinary college. A year later, I was dead set on doing herpetology research. The next year, I switched over to entomological research.

So here I am now, reflecting on everything I have learned from this course, and I am faced with yet another “career change”. I have come to realize that my lack of commitment to one pathway out of university is because I just have a general passion and love for all things nature. Whether it was veterinary medicine, herpetology, or entomology, the common factor was that I just love learning! And with that, I love helping others learn about the same things that have brought me so much joy.

This new-found motivation is what fuels my main belief about nature interpretation: accessibility for all. Now, this of course encompasses physical and economical accessibility, but one of my main focuses is what I would call “emotional accessibility”. I have often encountered this toxic sense of superiority when it comes to STEM, even in natural/environmental studies. Sometimes without even realizing, we often place our own stereotypes on who should or shouldn’t be a part of the scientific community, and on that note; if you are not a part of the scientific community then somehow your access to nature is restricted! I remember as a kid how daunting it was to ask questions to adults; some of the people i looked up to the most have scoffed as what they considered a “silly” question. For a time, this really put me off from studying biology, and I felt like I wasn’t “good enough” to join nature clubs at school because I didnt have any background knowledge (which, who would ever expect a 13 year old to be an expert on plant identification??). I had placed this extra pressure on myself because of the role models (clearly not very good nature interpreters) that chidded me as a kid.

These experiences, paired with everything I learned from this course about accessibility such as the importance of multiple intelligences (Beck et al., 2018) or the unpacking of our invisible backpacks (Gallavan, 2005), have taught me how vital it is to an interpreter to be accepting, forgiving, and encouraging. While this might be my motivation and my belief, it does bring about a huge amount of responsibility. As I witnessed myself first hand as a kid, and as highlighted in this unit chapter, we need to use our privilege of education and knowledge wisely as you never know who is looking up to you as a mentor. As an interpreter, you automatically are given responsibility for the future generation as they are the ones who listen the hardest and care the most (Beck et al., 2018). We need to be sure that our every action is in their favor and will help mold their connection with nature.

Thanks to this course, I am now able to both identify and express my motivations, beliefs, and responsibility; two skills that were definitely lacking beforehand. I have never been good at expressing myself in forms that were not visual; but through honing my writing and talking skills thanks to the blog and podcast assignment, I have realized that these skills were within me the whole time! I just never gave myself the chance to try it out. And that is exactly what I want to do after leaving this course. I want to give kids the chance to try out new skills and learn about nature in ways that they never thought they could. I now plan to further my studies by doing a Masters in Science Communication, so that I can continue to build these skills in both myself and the kids that I hope to inspire!

Thank you to everyone involved in this course, as the content of both the readings and your blog posts have been such an incredible source of inspiration! I have learned about things I never would have thought to look into and it has helped me widden my own personal point of view. I wish you all the best of luck in the rest of your nature interpreting journeys and hope to someday see how each of you have used these skills in your future careers.

Goodbye for now!

Marie

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (1st ed., pp. 127-158). SAGAMORE Publishing.

Gallavan, N. P. (2005). Helping teachers unpack their “invisible knapsacks”. Multicultural Education, 13(1), 36. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A137921591/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9fe2f151

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Hey Emily,

I really enjoyed reading your final blog post this week! I definitely agree, looking back at all the past posts it’s crazy to see how our views on interpretation have changed since the “describe your current relationship with nature” blog. 

I liked your point that our duty as nature interpreters is to help others see the beauty and awe of nature. In my blog, I talked about how introducing kids to nature is the best way to conserve it, and I think the two go hand in hand. Rondenburg et al. (2019) talk about this in their article, saying that the true hope in environmental education resides in immersing kids in nature rich communities where they will learn to value and protect the environment. I think that having kids grow up being outdoors as much as possible, and with access to interpretive services to help them see the beauty of nature, is the best way to ensure the future of conservation. On top of that, exposing kids to the outdoors can give them some of the numerous benefits to their mental health as discussed in Beck et al. (2019) chapter 3. 

Another thing you said that resonated with me was leaving nature as or more pristine than you found it. As someone that enjoys spending time in nature, it bothers me to see people treating it badly by disturbing it or leaving garbage. A few days ago I saw a picture on Ontario Fish and Wildlife’s Instagram of an absolute mess of garbage left on the ice where someone took down their permanent ice hut. This kind of neglect for the environment is extremely damaging, not only to the environment itself, but to the image of the people who use it. If everyone picked up a piece of garbage when they saw it in nature, rather than leaving more, the beauty and enjoyability would be better for everyone. 

The post from Fish and Wildlife's Instagram (Instagram, 2022).

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., and Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Instagram. (2022). Ontario Fish and Wildlife. https://www.instagram.com/fishwildlifeon/?hl=en 

Rodenburg, J. (2019) Why Environmental Educators Shouldn't Give up Hope. Clearing Magazine.org, https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300 

Last Blog Post

Hi Everyone! 

This week’s post is a lot to think about and reflect on, and I’ve been looking through a semester’s worth of blog posts to see what I’ve learned about myself and nature interpretation. 

The most important takeaway I’ve learned is how vital nature interpretation is. I’m graduating with a Wildlife Biology degree this year, and I love learning about ecology and all things nature-related, including conservation initiatives. The skills I have learned in this class, though, will be some that I carry with me as I move on to my next chapter because to be successful in this field of work, being able to share my love for wildlife and inspire more people to care about nature is truly an important skill to have. I believe that one of our primary responsibilities now that we have the tools is to help others see the beauty and awe of nature, to give them a feeling of belonging and help others enjoy the world around them a little more. 

Touching more on beliefs I have, something I strongly feel is leaving wildlife and nature as pristine as how it was before I visited, or more so. This belief is an idea I would want to get across to anyone I am guiding or working as a nature interpreter for. I also believe that nature is for everyone and that as nature interpreters, we should make it our job to help as many people as we can learn and discover nature in any capacity they can. Being inclusive is of utmost importance so that everyone can feel comfortable and enjoy their time in nature. As discussed with the idea of an invisible backpack, not everyone will feel comfortable in the same settings (Gallavan, 2005). 

Responsibilities are involved with being nature interpreters as well. As a nature interpreter, I have the responsibility to try to ignite a passion for learning about and enjoying nature in younger generations. A quote from the textbook in Chapter 7 reads: “Our most important audience might be our smallest and youngest ones. These groups are the future o four natural resources and cultural heritage. They are our hope for the future…Interpreters impact the future by interpreting to children today (Beck et al., 2018, pg. 144).” The idea of impacting people’s outlook on nature is also perhaps one of the most significant rewards of nature interpretation; seeing the people you are presenting to, of any age, be interested in what you say and develop their own passion for nature in some capacity. I think we also have a responsibility to consider multiple perspectives and make sure that what we are presenting is truthful to the best of our knowledge (Bowen et al., 2006). I also think that if I were in charge of teaching information to others, I would need to be responsible for continually educating myself by learning new information as it becomes available and broadening my understanding of the natural world. This education includes incorporating people’s views and beliefs that are not my own, as told and described by them in their own voices as much as possible, such as understanding the history of places and Indigenous perspectives. 

From what I have learned about myself over this course, I think that I am a lot more comfortable going about nature interpretation through the written word, such as this blog, or creating videos and podcasts that can be shared. I’m not a very outgoing or talkative person and am much more confident when I have time to practice, plan, and do re-takes, not in front of a crowd. I enjoyed interviewing an expert for my group’s podcast, for example, where it was a one-on-one friendly conversation with a pre-made list of questions/talking points. I also am more of a tactile learner, so being able to create shows and tangible things would feel rewarding for me. I enjoy learning new things from people about nature and wildlife and hearing others’ stories. A platform that would allow me to do so, interviewing people and sharing their thoughts, learning from them and creating a space for others to learn, whether through audio, visual, or written means, would be ideal for me as a nature interpreter. 

I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with everyone through this blog over the semester and reading and interacting with others. There have been many posts that have inspired me and intrigued me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas. 

Emily 

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World (1st ed., pp. 127-158). SAGAMORE Publishing. 

Bowen, C., Bessette, H., & Cham, T. C. (2006). Including ethics in the study of educational leadership. Journal of College and Character, 7(7), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1241 

Gallavan, N. P. (2005). Helping teachers unpack their “invisible knapsacks”. Multicultural Education, 13(1), 36. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A137921591/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9fe2f151

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Hey Annika,

That wolf howl sounds really cool! I’ve actually tried that at Algonquin park too but wasn’t lucky enough to get anything to howl back. I do love listening to coyotes though, and know what you mean by them sounding so close. There’s times when I sleep with my window open in the summer, and feel like they're only a couple hundred yards away in the bush. 

For why I think it's the same deer, I think this because he has really tall G2 points. These are the second tines from his head, and are the ones sticking pretty much straight up in the pictures. This makes him relatively recognisable, as he’s slightly unproportionate. 

Thanks for the reply!

Nathan

Unit 09 Blog - Nature Story

In every place where interpretation could occur, at least some amount of it should (Beck et al, 2019). Nature is no exception to this rule, so for this blog I am going to attempt to interpret one of my favourite experiences in nature through a few lenses discussed in this course. 

Before anything can be interpreted, I need to tell the story first! It was December 13th last year, and my brother and I were going to do a late season archery deer hunt. We slept in that day, so our expectations for seeing anything were pretty low. We pulled up to the spot around 10:45 am. This place is an old hay farm with steep rolling hills that make it hard to far anything else on, or do anything with the bush where the ridges are steepest. For this reason, the only unnatural disturbance to the bush is firewood that my uncle and the landowner cut, and we help split each year. As we walked into the bush towards our stand, every footstep was loud because of a heavy frost on the ground. I went up into the stand, near the top of a ridge looking into a “bowl” below me, and my brother walked back out the way we came in, he was going to make a long circle back towards me and possibly push some deer my way. As he walked away, I could hear his footsteps leaving, but it hadn’t been five minutes when I realised that at some point his footsteps had faded out and turned into a deers’. Very shortly after my brother left, about 4 does and fawns came towards me from exactly where he left. They were a bit nervous looking because they likely caught his ground sent, and were also downwind of me, but seemed to be still coming in. I was slowly trying to open my jacket pocket and get the rangefinder out and see how far they were, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye on the ridge behind me. I slowly looked back and saw a flash of an antler, this was super exciting because until this point I hadn’t seen a buck all season! When it stepped out more, I saw that it was the biggest buck I’ve ever seen, and the one we’d had on camera for a couple years, and it was with another big buck! I slowly tried to turn in my seat to face them, but that was too much movement for the already spooked does in front of me, and they took off. The bucks didn’t know what was going on and froze for what felt like an hour (probably 2 minutes). The smaller one was in an open lane for me to shoot at, but I thought he was too far. Then when they finally started walking again, the big one went even closer to me, walking quartering away at probably 15 yards! There were too many branches in the way to get a clean shot, so I watched both deer slowly walk away along the ridge. Once they were gone, I ranged to the spot where the one stood when I had a shot to it, and it was only 30 yards (within range). Overall, even though I never shot, I got super close to these two amazing massive deer, without them ever knowing I was there! It was a surreal experience because I’ve never seen any deer that size, and they came so close to me and it all happened so fast. The whole experience from seeing the does to losing sight of the bucks was probably 5-10 minutes. 

(Trail cam pictures of the bigger of the two deer)

This encounter could be looked at through a historic lens because of the natural history of the forest I was in (Beck et al, 2019). A mixed deciduous forest like that one in Grey county is rare to have unlogged. The composition of the trees and plants is likely the exact same as it was hundreds of years ago! Some of the older trees probably saw all kinds of history unfold in front of them just like they saw those deer on that day. 

An element of risk versus reward as discussed in unit 03 could be thought of too. In a sense, my choice to take a shot at any of the deer would pose that problem because the reward would be harvesting an animal and getting food, but the risk would be making an unethical shot because I wasn’t sure of the distance and because of the branches in the way. Ultimately, I decide the risk outweighed the reward, and didn’t make a shot. 

Finally, interpretation through art could be thought of as well. Although there weren’t any paintings or pictures involved, one of the reasons I go hunting is to experience the natural beauty of undisturbed forest settings.The same way national parks in the United States and Canada have intrinsic value based on their beauty (Beck et al, 2019), there is beauty to be seen in many local forests. The benefits to your mental health from being in nature as discussed in unit five are a great reason to spend time in the woods, hunting or not, and you might just have a cool encounter like this!

Sorry for the longer blog this week, I felt like I had a lot to say about this, and wish I could have kept going with some of my other crazy stories in the woods!

If anyone else here likes spending time in nature and interacting with animals, I’d love to hear some other cool stories of what you all might have run into. 

Nathan

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

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Unit 10 Blog - Ethics in Nature and Sustainable Harvesting

My biggest ethic, as both an interpreter and an individual, is to put conservation first. Since the most impactful way to go about wildlife conservation is to preserve wildlife habitat (Wildlife Habitat Canada, 2018), I try to support this whenever I can. I take pride in being a member of both Trout Unlimited Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada, where my contributions help improve the quality of local waterways, and Canada wide wetland habitat. As someone who enjoys the outdoors and wants to see it intact for future generations, I feel it is my responsibility to pitch into conservation efforts. 

Another personal belief I share is that one of the best ways to ensure the future of our natural resources is to get the next generation of kids involved in outdoor activities. I think Rodenburg (2019) did a good job explaining this by saying that the true hope resides in creating “nature-rich communities where kids feel a deep and abiding love for the living systems that we all are immersed in.” One great program that I was lucky enough to take part in is the Ducks Unlimited Canada Wetlands Centre of Excellence program. Here, we would take grade 4 students from surrounding schools and give them a tour of Luther Marsh, while teaching them all about the importance of wetlands. 

“Critter Dipping” at the pond to show students what kinds of macroinvertebrates are present in wetland ecosystems. Photo from Ducks Unlimited Canada (2022). 

Chapter three of Beck et al. (2019) discusses an assortment of benefits and values that nature provides. Of these, education, recreation, inspiration, individual growth and even health values are given to both individuals and society. However, what this chapter doesn’t mention are some of the more tangible benefits that nature provides in the form of natural resources. As someone who grew up in a more rural area, my experiences with agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing have all led me to appreciate nature's ability to provide food and resources, and to develop a strong ethicacy for sustainable harvesting. 

From an agricultural perspective, I always grew up around farming, but not actually on a farm. I have however worked in agronomy as a Crop Scout for FS, where I took soil samples and assessed crop growth and health. This gave me a solid foundation in agriculture practices, which I can use to better understand what sustainable agriculture looks like. As someone that does most of my hunting on farm properties, I understand the importance of having a healthy environment around the fields, and prioritising more than just yield. The thing I’m most passionate about in agriculture is applying fertiliser responsibly. If you apply the right amount at the right time, you can maximise yields without any nutrient loss to the environment. Following the “4R’s” of nutrient stewardship (right rate, right source, right time, right place) can allow you not only to save money on fertiliser by not wasting it, but can minimise the environmental effects of agriculture, and help farmers harvest their crops sustainably. 

The “4R’s” of nutrient stewardship. Image from 4R Nutrient Stewardship (2017). 

I can also look at the theme of harvesting sustainably from a forestry point of view. Forests obviously hold a special place in my heart as someone that tries to spend as much time in nature as I can, but also as someone that wants to live in a house, I realise the need for harvesting wood. This is not a new problem for interpreters, and controversial issues like whether or not to harvest certain forests have been going on for years. In chapter 16 of the textbook, Beck et al. (2019) suggest not challenging your clients viewpoints on such topics so as to not alienate anyone you’re interpreting for. My personal take on this is that there is a happy medium to be found, where harvest can occur, but on a sustainable level. This can be done by emulating natural disturbances (Spence and Volney, 1999). For example, in a Northern Ontario Jack Pine stand, wildfires are fairly regular occurrences, so clearcutting followed by replanting does a good job mimicking that effect while providing us with lumber. In a Southern Ontario hardwood stand however, a more appropriate method of harvest would be a selective cut, targeting a few of the declining or diseased hardwoods. In some cases, clear cutting patches in uniformly aged timber stands might even increase biodiversity through habitat heterogeneity and edge effects (Hamm and Drossel, 2017). By creating niche potential for species that benefit from both young and old growth stands, species evenness and diversity would be expected to increase. If anyone is interested in learning more about what factors might make a tree get cut or retained, I would recommend checking out the Ontario Tree Marking Guide at this link: https://dr6j45jk9xcmk.cloudfront.net/documents/2807/guide-treemarking.pdf.

On a more personal level, I think the role I play as a nature interpreter would be an ‘ambassador’ for the outdoors. As an ambassador, I believe it is my responsibility to introduce as many people to the outdoors as possible, and to bridge the gap between environmental education and scientific education as expressed by Wals et al. (2014). If the next generation of kids grows up loving the outdoors as much as I do and I imagine all of you do too, they will be more likely to go down a similar environmental science related path, and continue bridging the gap. In order to introduce new people to the outdoors, I think it's great to take people out hiking, hunting, or fishing when they normally wouldn’t. 

One example of this that I think is an odd but interesting concept is Delta Waterfowl’s University Hunt program. Here, students at participating universities can enrol in a wildlife management based course that covers topics on conservation and sustainable harvesting. Students of scientific backgrounds with little to no hunting experience are encouraged to enrol, so that the future of scientists and policy makers have a good idea of actual in the field practices and animal behaviour (Delta Waterfowl, 2020). 

Students going on their first hunt, as part of Delta Waterfowl’s University Hunt program (Delta Waterfowl, 2020). 

Anyways, I know I went over a lot of topics in this post and would love to hear your guys feedback so I can further talk about some of these points! What do you guys think is the best way to promote conservation? Is it getting the youth involved or something else? Are you guys for or against cash crop agriculture? Do you guys think encouraging university students to go on their first hunt is as good of an idea as Delta Waterfowl does? Any responses and viewpoints are welcome as I am passionate about this topic and am sure you all are too!

~Nathan

References: 

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., and Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Delta Waterfowl. (2020). Delta Waterfowl University Hunting Program. https://deltawaterfowl.org/deltas-university-hunting-program/ 

Ducks Unlimited Canada. (2022). Luther Marsh WCE. https://wce-education.ducks.ca/index.php/en/wce-3/item/45-wellington-heights 

4R Nutrient Stewardship. (2017). What are the 4Rs? https://nutrientstewardship.org/4rs/ 

Government of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. (2004). Ontario Tree Marking Guide. Queen’s Printer for Ontario Printed in Ontario, Canada. https://dr6j45jk9xcmk.cloudfront.net/documents/2807/guide-treemarking.pdf 

Hamm, M., and Drossel, B. (2017). Habitat heterogeneity hypothesis and edge effects in model metacommunities. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 426:40-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.05.022 

Rodenburg, J. (2019) Why Environmental Educators Shouldn't Give up Hope. Clearing Magazine.org, https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300 

Spence, J.R., and Volney, W.J.A. (1999). EMEND - Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance. Sustainable Forest Management Network, G208 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. ISBN 1-55261-028-4 

Wals, A.E.J., Brody, M., Dillon, J., Stevenson, R.B. (2014). Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, 344(6184):583-584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515 

Wildlife Habitat Canada. (2018). What we do. https://whc.org/what-we-do/ 

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Hey Jacqueline,

I really enjoyed reading your post this week and am also fascinated by the resilience of nature! 

When I think of resilience in nature the first thing that comes to my mind is wildfires. Most ecosystems, especially those that get burnt quite frequently, are extremely resilient and bounce back from complete devastation in a matter of a couple years. In fact, some forest types such as the Northern Ontario Jack Pine dominated forests rely on regular fire-cycles to maintain their structure (Pausas and Keeley, 2019). 

This picture shows how a South Dakota pine rangeland recovered from a controlled burn used to mimic a natural wildfire. By removing all the coarse woody debris from the leaf litter and allowing more sunlight to get through the canopy by removing older trees, a flurry or regenerative growth can take place (Ware and Larson, 2019). These semi-frequent burns are a necessity for maintaining the younger structure of many forest types. 

Another fascinating way nature is reslinant is through its ability to recover populations. My favourite example of this is the case of the Ontario wild turkey. Due to poor management practices and lack of regulation, these awesome birds became extirpated from Ontario in 1909. Reintroduction efforts in 1984 however were a huge success, and now the species bounced back to historic high levels (Hunter, 2020). They are so established now that hunters can sustainably harvest two male turkeys per spring and still see them all over the fields come fall. I think this re-establishment really speaks to the resilience of nature!

Here’s a picture of a flock of turkeys that came out to a cut soybean field at my grandpa’s neighbours farm near Hepworth, Ontario.

~Nathan

A. Hunter. 2020. 10 fascinating facts about wild turkeys. Retrieved from Nature Conservancy Canada website: https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-turkeys.html#:~:text=Wild%20turkeys%20were%20extirpated%20(locally,have%20more%20than%206%2C000%20feathers. 

J.G Pausas and J.E Keeley. 2019. Wildfires as an ecosystem service. Front Ecol Environ, 17(5):289–295, https://doi:10.1002/fee.2044 

L. Ware and S. Larson. 2019. Prescribed Burning for Healthy Rangelands. Outstanding in the Field: Views From the North Coast Rangeland. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=29965 

Resilience of Nature

Nature is crazy! There are an unbelievable amount of things to talk about. I could discuss the intangible items such as wild weather patterns or any flora and fauna.  Each time I go for a stroll in the woods nearby my house in Guelph I am bound to see something new each time. In these instances it is awesome to have a BugFinder or iNaturalist app on your phone to be prepared for anything you could come across. Technology can be our guide on our solo walks and help us remember to share photos and the stories that go along with them.

Just this past weekend I took a walk on the same path and discovered a few man made additions to the trail. There was a cute painted bird house that had a Rapunzel braid coming out of the hole, it made me laugh and was certainly not there the last time I walked that way. Something about this train of thought led me to think about the endurance and resiliency of the woods, and then the resilience of nature as a whole.

There are so many examples of nature’s resilience! Nature has the capacity to absorb disturbances and still retain its original purpose. 

It is that time of year where you start to see buckets in the woods and know the sap is running for syrup collection. I know that this time of year there are buckets on buckets in our backyard filling up with maple sap. It is incredible that we can drill a hole into the tree’s bark and the tree has enough sap to spare for human collection. The trees have no trouble bouncing back from the drilled hole and sap depletion. 

Another fabulous example of resilience for flora would be about 500 species of trees that are affected by spongy moth larva (Lymantria dispar dispar). Any one of these tree species can survive about 80% defoliation and still come back healthy the next year! Of course there are instances where this is not the case, possibly due to other ailments of the tree or negative human interference. 

When I start to think about the fauna in nature and a particular resilient reptile. I grew up with skinks living in our front garden/concrete front step. On a nice sunny day they would come out and soak up in the sun. Sinks that showed up sometimes were missing or had regrown ends of their tails. Stress and fear or a predator grabbing a skink’s tail will cause them to lose their tail. It is amazing that they can continue to survive after. (Take a look below to see some of these friendly little skinks. The second photo shows the regrowth of their tail)

We need to count on natures’ resiliency especially as climate change continues to progress. We can only do so much when the world is divided and doesn’t take large actions to reduce our impact.

-Jacqueline 

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Hey Carson,

I have not heard of Plant Wave, but it deficiently sounds super cool! I love identifying plants, especially trees, so it’d be awesome to know what some of them “sound” like.

I think you would definitely beat the grouse in a drum off!

~Nathan

Unit 07 Blog - Music in Nature

Music in nature is everywhere. From songbirds chirping away on a nice morning, to whales letting out low frequency hums that mimic the tempo and lengths of human songs (Gray et al, 2001), nature is filled with great tunes. My personal favourite one to hear on a calm spring morning is the drumming of a ruffed grouse 

It may sound quiet from the video, but the low frequency can really carry it far, and when you learn to listen for the pattern of starting slow and speeding up towards the end, it is unmistakable. The reason the grouse drums is to attract a mate, but this is not always the case for all music in the animal kingdom. Amazingly, it has been suggested that whales use repeating refrains similar to human rhymes for the purpose of helping them remember complex ideas (Gray et al, 2001). Or maybe simpler, it is possible that sometimes animals like birds just sing for the sake of it (Mayntz, 2020). 

Just like how music is ubiquitous with nature, themes of nature are found all throughout music. This theme can be found in both modern music and in traditional, folk, or aborigional music. An example of this is the oral storytelling performed in folk music in Finland (Mallarach, 2012). These poems expressed in the form of songs mix nature with mystery, telling stories of the earth’s origin from an egg, or of a massive oak tree that blocked out the sun. They also vividly describe the natural landscapes surrounding the region, and the animals they house (Mallarach, 2012). Folky music like this is not all traditional however and is still being made today. Owen Riegling from Mildmay for example released the song Old Dirt Roads where he sings about finding him “down where the tree line ends and the cattails grow”.

If you want to hear about nature from your more modern music, you don’t have to look much further than country radio. All kinds of modern songs appeal to nature or bring up elements of it in an attempt to invoke the same feeling that yu get from actually being there. Lines like “Somewhere where the road ends out there where the creek bends” by Rodney Atkins are pretty blatant examples of this. 

Sometimes the songs that are the most effective at taking you back to a natural place in your head are not intended to do that at all. Hearing a specific song or line while having a natural experience can make a link between that song and place forever. For me, hearing “22” by Taylor Swift takes me back to driving around aimlessly with my dad as a kid in the fall looking for fields with geese to ask permission to hunt on. 

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Gray, P.M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl. C., Baptista, L. (2001). Music of nature and the nature of music. Science, 291(5501):52-54. https://DOI.org/10.1126/science.10.1126/SCIENCE.1056960 

Mallarach, J.M. (2012). Spiritual Values of Protected Areas of Europe: Workshop Proceedings. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. https://ares.lib.uoguelph.ca/ares/ares.dll?action=10&form=50&value=289844 

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Unit 09 Blog - Nature Story

In every place where interpretation could occur, at least some amount of it should (Beck et al, 2019). Nature is no exception to this rule, so for this blog I am going to attempt to interpret one of my favourite experiences in nature through a few lenses discussed in this course. 

Before anything can be interpreted, I need to tell the story first! It was December 13th last year, and my brother and I were going to do a late season archery deer hunt. We slept in that day, so our expectations for seeing anything were pretty low. We pulled up to the spot around 10:45 am. This place is an old hay farm with steep rolling hills that make it hard to far anything else on, or do anything with the bush where the ridges are steepest. For this reason, the only unnatural disturbance to the bush is firewood that my uncle and the landowner cut, and we help split each year. As we walked into the bush towards our stand, every footstep was loud because of a heavy frost on the ground. I went up into the stand, near the top of a ridge looking into a “bowl” below me, and my brother walked back out the way we came in, he was going to make a long circle back towards me and possibly push some deer my way. As he walked away, I could hear his footsteps leaving, but it hadn't been five minutes when I realised that at some point his footsteps had faded out and turned into a deers’. Very shortly after my brother left, about 4 does and fawns came towards me from exactly where he left. They were a bit nervous looking because they likely caught his ground sent, and were also downwind of me, but seemed to be still coming in. I was slowly trying to open my jacket pocket and get the rangefinder out and see how far they were, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye on the ridge behind me. I slowly looked back and saw a flash of an antler, this was super exciting because until this point I hadn't seen a buck all season! When it stepped out more, I saw that it was the biggest buck I’ve ever seen, and the one we’d had on camera for a couple years, and it was with another big buck! I slowly tried to turn in my seat to face them, but that was too much movement for the already spooked does in front of me, and they took off. The bucks didn’t know what was going on and froze for what felt like an hour (probably 2 minutes). The smaller one was in an open lane for me to shoot at, but I thought he was too far. Then when they finally started walking again, the big one went even closer to me, walking quartering away at probably 15 yards! There were too many branches in the way to get a clean shot, so I watched both deer slowly walk away along the ridge. Once they were gone, I ranged to the spot where the one stood when I had a shot to it, and it was only 30 yards (within range). Overall, even though I never shot, I got super close to these two amazing massive deer, without them ever knowing I was there! It was a surreal experience because I’ve never seen any deer that size, and they came so close to me and it all happened so fast. The whole experience from seeing the does to losing sight of the bucks was probably 5-10 minutes. 

(Trail cam pictures of the bigger of the two deer)

This encounter could be looked at through a historic lens because of the natural history of the forest I was in (Beck et al, 2019). A mixed deciduous forest like that one in Grey county is rare to have unlogged. The composition of the trees and plants is likely the exact same as it was hundreds of years ago! Some of the older trees probably saw all kinds of history unfold in front of them just like they saw those deer on that day. 

An element of risk versus reward as discussed in unit 03 could be thought of too. In a sense, my choice to take a shot at any of the deer would pose that problem because the reward would be harvesting an animal and getting food, but the risk would be making an unethical shot because I wasn’t sure of the distance and because of the branches in the way. Ultimately, I decide the risk outweighed the reward, and didn’t make a shot. 

Finally, interpretation through art could be thought of as well. Although there weren't any paintings or pictures involved, one of the reasons I go hunting is to experience the natural beauty of undisturbed forest settings.The same way national parks in the United States and Canada have intrinsic value based on their beauty (Beck et al, 2019), there is beauty to be seen in many local forests. The benefits to your mental health from being in nature as discussed in unit five are a great reason to spend time in the woods, hunting or not, and you might just have a cool encounter like this!

Sorry for the longer blog this week, I felt like I had a lot to say about this, and wish I could have kept going with some of my other crazy stories in the woods!

If anyone else here likes spending time in nature and interacting with animals, I’d love to hear some other cool stories of what you all might have run into. 

Nathan

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

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Hey Reilly, 

I really enjoyed reading your post this week! When you said that we often listen to music when we want to relax, I immediately thought of walking my dog, or just walking through nature with headphones in and being tuned out. I do this a lot, and always find it amazing when I take them off, or if they get caught on a bench or something and get ripped out, how different of a world it is when you are listening to nature instead. On most days, it is a complete quire of birds, insects, frogs, and much more filling in almost an ambient background noise. I find listening to this instead also helps you connect with nature more deeply than just passing through listening to music as well. Being able to pick out small differences in the background noise, like an animal snapping a twig or the flushing of a ruffed grouse through some thick brush that you couldn't see through is a big plus of listening to the “music” of the landscape. 

I think you also bring up a good point about why some people like listening to whale sounds so much as white noise. It’s an interesting thought to think that we might be attracted to that because of the similarities of whale noises to human ballads (Gray et al. 2001), which we’re already comfortable with. Other people will put on generic “nature sounds” sometime to help them focus and they’re not composed like human poems, but anyone who’s been outside is intuitively familiar with these sounds, so they may be comfortable for that different reason. 

If you’re as interested as I am in finding out more about why nature sounds can be relaxing and beneficial, you should check out this article by Ontario Parks (https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/natures-music/). It goes over some of the benefits of being exposed to nature and listening to the sounds such as better sleep and a healthier mind and body!

~Nathan

Gray, P.M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl. C., Baptista, L. (2001). Music of nature and the nature of music. Science, 291(5501):52-54. https://DOI.org/10.1126/science.10.1126/SCIENCE.1056960 

Blog 6: music & nature as one in the same

Where is music in nature? To me the answer is everywhere. We often listen to music when we’re taking time for ourselves and wanting to relax, and the sounds of nature have the same effect. There’s a popular quote by George Santanaya saying, “The earth has music for those who listen”, with the important part being those who stop and listen. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind, rain dropping, birds singing, cicadas humming, thunder rumbling ect is all part of the symphony of the earth. Not all notice these noises, but they are constant and everywhere in varying degrees. This reminds me of the saying “it’s like music to my ears’’ which people normally say when hearing something they like that’s not traditional music. When I think of this, I picture myself on an empty beach listening to the waves crashing on shore, as I consider that a form of music. What comes to your mind?

After reading this weeks content I read the paper that published the quote shown in the notes called The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music by Gray et al. They answered the question of whether or not other species show musical language and expression by explaining how whales and birds use similar musical techniques as humans (Gray et al 2001). They have the ability to memorize and recognize musical patterns, showing they use music to share and interpret information just as we do.

Where is nature in music? With this I think of either turning natural sounds into songs, or songs that mentally take people back to natural locations. A good example of one of these was provided to us as DJ Ecotone. He creatively took nature sounds and turned them into a modern style of music that would appeal to kids. His passion started with recording bird calls and then adding beatboxing to connect others with nature as the birds had done to him. Even the recordings of nature sounds have been shown to improve peoples mood and mental state. Sometimes when I’m stressed I’ll go on Spotify and listen to playlists that combine nature sounds with classical music to relax. It always works to help calm me down before an important exam or presentation.

A song that takes me back to a natural landscape would be “A Horse with No Name” by America. 

I was 13 in the back of my grandparents car driving through the deserts of Arizona when my Grandpa thought it would be ironic to play a song about being in a desert. Although, we ended up listening to the entire album 3 times in a row by which point we were all very sick of it. Now everytime I hear that song I think about looking out the car window into the deserts of Arizona and the vast and flat landcape.

-Reilly

References:

Gray, P. Krause, B. Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl, C. & Baptista, L. (2001). The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music. Science. 291. 52-54.

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Unit 07 Blog - Music in Nature

Music in nature is everywhere. From songbirds chirping away on a nice morning, to whales letting out low frequency hums that mimic the tempo and lengths of human songs (Gray et al, 2001), nature is filled with great tunes. My personal favourite one to hear on a calm spring morning is the drumming of a ruffed grouse 

It may sound quiet from the video, but the low frequency can really carry it far, and when you learn to listen for the pattern of starting slow and speeding up towards the end, it is unmistakable. The reason the grouse drums is to attract a mate, but this is not always the case for all music in the animal kingdom. Amazingly, it has been suggested that whales use repeating refrains similar to human rhymes for the purpose of helping them remember complex ideas (Gray et al, 2001). Or maybe simpler, it is possible that sometimes animals like birds just sing for the sake of it (Mayntz, 2020). 

Just like how music is ubiquitous with nature, themes of nature are found all throughout music. This theme can be found in both modern music and in traditional, folk, or aborigional music. An example of this is the oral storytelling performed in folk music in Finland (Mallarach, 2012). These poems expressed in the form of songs mix nature with mystery, telling stories of the earth's origin from an egg, or of a massive oak tree that blocked out the sun. They also vividly describe the natural landscapes surrounding the region, and the animals they house (Mallarach, 2012). Folky music like this is not all traditional however and is still being made today. Owen Riegling from Mildmay for example released the song Old Dirt Roads where he sings about finding him “down where the tree line ends and the cattails grow”.

If you want to hear about nature from your more modern music, you don’t have to look much further than country radio. All kinds of modern songs appeal to nature or bring up elements of it in an attempt to invoke the same feeling that yu get from actually being there. Lines like “Somewhere where the road ends out there where the creek bends” by Rodney Atkins are pretty blatant examples of this. 

Sometimes the songs that are the most effective at taking you back to a natural place in your head are not intended to do that at all. Hearing a specific song or line while having a natural experience can make a link between that song and place forever. For me, hearing “22” by Taylor Swift takes me back to driving around aimlessly with my dad as a kid in the fall looking for fields with geese to ask permission to hunt on. 

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

Gray, P.M., Krause, B., Atema, J., Payne, R., Krumhansl. C., Baptista, L. (2001). Music of nature and the nature of music. Science, 291(5501):52-54. https://DOI.org/10.1126/science.10.1126/SCIENCE.1056960 

Mallarach, J.M. (2012). Spiritual Values of Protected Areas of Europe: Workshop Proceedings. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. https://ares.lib.uoguelph.ca/ares/ares.dll?action=10&form=50&value=289844 

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Hey Verena, 

I really liked your post this week and interpretation of the quote by Hyams. You made it very apparent that looking through the lens of history opens up a lot more viewpoints than just nature interpretation. Being able to remember and learn from our mistakes in the past should keep us from making those same mistakes again. 

It is also really cool to think of all the history that nature has seen. For example, the woods and grasslands in Europe where both world wars were fought probably have some pretty frightening stories to tell. This in itself could change the way we as interpreters look at these areas. Maybe instead of focusing on animal life or natural landscapes, we would be more interested in the historic sites. This could even spill over into how we manage resources in these areas, whereas a normal forest might be logged more frequently and intensely, a history rich site like this may be more preserved, putting values on those hundred year old trees that were there during the fighting. 

That concept in itself is weird when you really think about it. You are treating a woodlot differently than you would typically because of something that happened in it years before that is long over. Even at the cost of better ecosystem functioning and sound forest management, our interpretation through the lens of history alters the way we handle our resources.

Like your example of holcaust victims shows being nothing more than an old pair of shoes without interpretation, these battlegrounds would be nothing more than forests and grasslands. 

I’m curious if you have an opinion on the topic, and look forward to reading more of your posts in the future!

Nathan

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana, 1905)

Why do we want to know as much as we can about our ancestors? Why do we care about the past? Why is history important? In the following blog post, I will analyze a quote split into two parts about the meaning of the past.

Part One

The importance of memories

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.

(Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

In the first part of this quote, the author states that integrity (wholeness, completeness) is what matters and that is why history matters. Think about it this way: Who would you be without your past? If you were to wake up tomorrow with no memories, would you feel whole?

The importance of ancient things

The idea of memories is just one part of the quote, Hyams says that integrity gives ancient things meaning. I remember going to the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany and a part of the exhibit was pairs of shoes from Jewish people that were killed in the Holocaust. The sign next to the shoes described who they belonged to and told me their story.

Without any interpretation, I would have fully ignored those shoes. The interpretation gave it meaning, provided integrity and made the shoes more than just shoes. This museum also had a cinema where they told the story of the concentration camps. This provided me with a personal authenticity experience (Beck et al. 2019). My parents thought they lost me in the museum because I spent two hours just exploring.

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial.

The importance of knowledge

In the 1880s, the Canadian government and multiple churches opened residential schools. I will never fully understand the horrors that indigenous people have gone through. If they survived the schools, the children weren’t even able to communicate with their own families because they were taught to forget their language and culture. Knowledge matters for integrity, for indigenous people and for us Canadians. If we ignore the past, how can they ever forgive us?

Part 2

Trains and Time

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)

The second part of the quote by Hyams uses a metaphor to illustrate why ignoring the past is wrong. The author compares the past to the train station that a train has just left. If we ignore the past, we refuse to take notice of the train station’s existence.

Do you care about the train station?

The reality is that most of us are more concerned with where the train goes to than where it was. I spend most of my time planning future events such as when I will complete my blog post for next week. In a way, we don't ignore the existence of the station; it just is not important at the moment.

The past is important. I grew up in Germany and we spent multiple years in school studying the two world wars my nation has caused. It took me a while to grasp the importance of learning this in so much detail. It is just as George Santayana says: If we don't remember the past, it is condemned to repeat itself.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2019). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage. Van Haren Publishing.

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Hey Fleur,

Thanks for sharing!

This is a great example of how sound science at the silvicultural level can have far reaching effects of biodiversity over different taxas, and even become beneficial economically for humans. It is great to see how science is being used alongside interpretation for these awesome results. 

The Role of Science in Nature Interpretation - Unit 05

Sometimes, as nature interpreters, we need to take a more objective look at the world around us through the lens of science. This can help guide us to making the right decisions about the environment such as proper land management. 

Unfortunately, this is often more easily said than done. At the fundamental level, there are differences in scientific education and environmental education, even though they should go hand in hand (Wals et al. 2014). 

Perhaps one reason for this discrepancy is because as interpreters, we are often looking for one black or white answer, while science can have grey areas in the environmental side. An example of this comes from the forestry side of things, where scientists still don’t fully understand the link between biodiversity and ecosystem services (Paquette and C. Messier, 2011). Nature interpretation and environmental sciences are often blurred simply because of the complexity of living systems. Trade-offs are often required in these situations, and it can be questionable at times. For example, when reforesting, the quickest and most efficient way to plant trees is to plant rows of pines, or plantations. These can be quickly set into the ground, sometimes by machine, and grow fast and straight. For lumber production, this is the optimal system that yields the most “boards per acre”. Unfortunately, when looking at biodiversity or other ecosystem services, this is not the way to go. The pines tend to crowd the understory with their needles, making it hard for any undergrowth to come up. This takes away carbon sequestration and hinders the basal area of the forest. When managing land, or interpreting nature, it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind, and keep science in mind!

With keeping science in mind, I think it is important to talk about the role citizen science plays in nature interpretation and the environmental sciences. As we are all taking this course, it is a safe bet that we all have strong positive attitudes towards the environment and want to gain a better scientific understanding of it. If that is the case, citizen science is a great way to get involved in that. Large scale data collection operations over longer time periods than might be possible for a grad student to do as a masters are possible through citizen science. 

Another great part of citizen science is that it peaks interest in the environmental sciences. Merenlender et al. (2016) showed that participants’ interest and knowledge in the environmental sciences both increased after taking part in citizen science training programs. This is obviously a great thing to have because it means more people are now thinking and taking action on environmental issues. As interpreters this is exactly what we need to see the nature we love preserved for future generations. 

I’m curious to hear what everyone else has to say about the role science has on nature interpretation since it is such a broad topic. In its purest sense, interpretation is what you make nature out to be, so maybe science and nature interpretation don’t exactly go hand in hand? 

References

A.M. Merenlender, A.W. Crall, S. Drill, M. Prysby, and H. Ballard. 2016. Evaluating environmental education, citizen science, and stewardship through naturalist programs. Conservation Biology, 30:1255-1265. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1111/cobi.12737 

A. Paquette and C. Messier. 2011. The effect of biodiversity on tree productivity: from temperate to boreal forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 20:170–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00592.x 

A.E.J. Wals, M. Brody, J. Dillon, and R.B. Stevenson. 2014. Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, 344(6148):583-584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515 

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Merit in Ancient Things - Unit 06 Blog

“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)

This quote, albeit slightly confusing at first, offers a lot of great insight into why it is important to study history from a nature interpretation perspective. What I get from it is that there is no integrity in forgetting about the past, and it would even be an injustice to ignore it. In order to fully respect the environment, we need to look back at its history, and the history that unfolded in it. 

The textbook states that “A good costumed interpreter (whether in first or third person) has to combine the skills of a host, a storyteller, an entertainer, an expert, a psychologist, a guardian (of the site and its artefacts), a tour guide, a stand-up comedian (when and if appropriate), a therapist and a counsellor.” –Marc Wallis, Director of Past Pleasures (UK). I think if we are really thinking of it,  a historian should be added to that list. Going back to earlier topics in this course, interpreting nature through history helps us find our “sense of place” as observers. What I mean by this is that when walking through the woods, one feels a much stronger intimate connection to the land if they can picture what has happened there before they came through. This could go back as short as the night before when a whitetail deer walked the same trail as you and left a track for you to see, or in the long term where the first pioneers of the area might have walked through the same old growth forest you’re in now. 

The railway analogy makes me think of the Mississippi river and the original Lewis and Clark expedition that first went up it. They were the first settlers to explore up the river and a large portion of the States as a result. All along the way, they were able to make discoveries and document new species. They were also able to find untapped resources that today would make any sports person want to go back and witness, like catching 9 catfish totaling 300 pounds in a day! Today, the Mississippi river is heavily travelled and fished, but still carries the rich history of its pioneers. Anyone on the Mississippi today would be doing this history an injustice if they just ignored it and took the river at face value. Like the train tracks, the river itself exists long before and after it is used by any one person, so it should be respected and valued to both honour the history, and preserve it for future generations. 

I’d love to hear what you guys think this quote means to you, or how you interpret it!

Nathan

Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-08-25

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Hey Annika,

I think you bring up some great points about video learning. My opinion on it is an overall positive one, but this may be only because I am a more visual learner. Being able to watch something on my own terms at home where I’m comfortable is a huge bonus along with being able to pause and play. 

This makes me think of the differences I had between my first and second years at Guelph, and how I did a lot better in my second one that was all online. That being said, I’m still keen to get back into class and stop staring at a screen all day. 

I couldn’t find the video you talked about in the arboretum, but I definitely agree that there is an impressive amount of biodiversity there for being right in the city. There’s deer, turkeys, and a great variety of trees. A few years ago, a new species of lichen was actually discovered there too!  (McMullin et al. 2018).

Being able to engage people with videos is also a great skill to have as interpreters. It can allow us to engage with a more diverse audience of people, who may not be able to come and learn in person. It also may seem like less of a commitment, and encourage people to participate when they might not otherwise. 

As you brought up however, video learning isn’t for everyone. It may be an important tool to have in our back pockets, but overall I think that in person teaching and nature interpretation can’t be beat. Being able to engage on a more personable level with your audience and pander to their interests can be crucial to keep them excited about the topic. 

I enjoyed reading your post this week and am looking forward to many more!

Nathan

What I’ve Been Thinking About

Hello! I wanted to take an opportunity to share some ramblings for this week’s open-ended blog prompt. 

First, I wanted to express how engaging I found Kitty and Jenny’s “Animal Signs at The Arboretum” video to be. I was surprised to retain so much information from a virtual, non-interactive segment, and I wanted to discuss here some of the reasons why I thought their interpreting skills were so great. I loved how they employed the use of visual aids to allow their viewers to decide what sort of animal signs we saw in the Arboretum. They also did an eloquent job of describing how the life history of the animals affects their behaviours and the clues they leave behind in the Arboretum. It seemed to me that Kitty and Jenny were targeting a naive audience, but they provided enough information to appeal to people of all ages. I really liked how they used gestures and tone of voice to their advantage in keeping the audience engaged. As the course material this week suggested, there are some risks and rewards to this sort of approach. I think that one of the risks to virtual delivery is that there is little or no opportunity for the audience to ask questions to enrich their knowledge or to clarify what they’ve learned. This has the potential to stunt the learning of the virtual audience when they might be looking for more information. Another disadvantage to the virtual approach is more obvious – audience members don’t get to physically experience nature. Tactile learners can’t feel the wood pecker feeding holes, for example. There are number advantages, too. For one, a virtual setting allows viewers to replay and pause the video as they see fit, eliminating potential time constraints discouraging people from accessing nature interpretation. The virtual environment is also more accessible to people with disabilities. I think the main take-away here is that even when we can’t see animals around us, it doesn’t mean they’re not there. A trained eye can pick out evidence of their existence all around us. Kitty and Jenny also drew the audience’s attention to some of the impacts that humans can have on trees in the Arboretum, which were largely negative. They reminded Arboretum visitors to try to leave nature as its found to allow animal habitats to persist.

I’m curious to know what you think of this format of nature interpretation. Do you virtual delivery engaging?

Now for an abrupt change of subject! I have had the opportunity to enjoy many local hiking trails recently, most notably to catch a couple of sunrises at Princess Point in Hamilton. I noticed some signage which subtly integrated nature interpretation into the landscape, which I thought was super neat. It is always eye-opening to discover something you didn’t know about a place you’ve visited dozens of times. I think that this course has made me more aware of the different ways nature is being interpreted around me. 

And to close, some snowy scenes from Hamilton and Espanola I’ve photographed in the last few weeks.

Looking forward to reading everyone’s posts this week! 

Annika

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The Role of Science in Nature Interpretation - Unit 05

Sometimes, as nature interpreters, we need to take a more objective look at the world around us through the lens of science. This can help guide us to making the right decisions about the environment such as proper land management. 

Unfortunately, this is often more easily said than done. At the fundamental level, there are differences in scientific education and environmental education, even though they should go hand in hand (Wals et al. 2014). 

Perhaps one reason for this discrepancy is because as interpreters, we are often looking for one black or white answer, while science can have grey areas in the environmental side. An example of this comes from the forestry side of things, where scientists still don’t fully understand the link between biodiversity and ecosystem services (Paquette and C. Messier, 2011). Nature interpretation and environmental sciences are often blurred simply because of the complexity of living systems. Trade-offs are often required in these situations, and it can be questionable at times. For example, when reforesting, the quickest and most efficient way to plant trees is to plant rows of pines, or plantations. These can be quickly set into the ground, sometimes by machine, and grow fast and straight. For lumber production, this is the optimal system that yields the most “boards per acre”. Unfortunately, when looking at biodiversity or other ecosystem services, this is not the way to go. The pines tend to crowd the understory with their needles, making it hard for any undergrowth to come up. This takes away carbon sequestration and hinders the basal area of the forest. When managing land, or interpreting nature, it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind, and keep science in mind!

With keeping science in mind, I think it is important to talk about the role citizen science plays in nature interpretation and the environmental sciences. As we are all taking this course, it is a safe bet that we all have strong positive attitudes towards the environment and want to gain a better scientific understanding of it. If that is the case, citizen science is a great way to get involved in that. Large scale data collection operations over longer time periods than might be possible for a grad student to do as a masters are possible through citizen science. 

Another great part of citizen science is that it peaks interest in the environmental sciences. Merenlender et al. (2016) showed that participants' interest and knowledge in the environmental sciences both increased after taking part in citizen science training programs. This is obviously a great thing to have because it means more people are now thinking and taking action on environmental issues. As interpreters this is exactly what we need to see the nature we love preserved for future generations. 

I’m curious to hear what everyone else has to say about the role science has on nature interpretation since it is such a broad topic. In its purest sense, interpretation is what you make nature out to be, so maybe science and nature interpretation don’t exactly go hand in hand? 

References

A.M. Merenlender, A.W. Crall, S. Drill, M. Prysby, and H. Ballard. 2016. Evaluating environmental education, citizen science, and stewardship through naturalist programs. Conservation Biology, 30:1255-1265. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1111/cobi.12737 

A. Paquette and C. Messier. 2011. The effect of biodiversity on tree productivity: from temperate to boreal forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 20:170–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00592.x 

A.E.J. Wals, M. Brody, J. Dillon, and R.B. Stevenson. 2014. Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education. Science, 344(6148):583-584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515 

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Hey Katie, 

I think it’s great how you connect to nature through your photography! That is a great way to share nature’s beauty with other people and hopefully spark interest in someone. Showing your work for free is also a really great thing to do for nature interpretation. 

I also try to connect with nature through pictures, although the haphazard iphone pictures aren't always the greatest. Being able to share what you are seeing with other people is definitely special and a great way to share the beauty. You are also able to have people see what you are seeing through a unique lens that you create with the picture. I could see that being a great tool to have as an interpreter to share your views with the masses. 

I also think it’s amazing how well we can memorize things like song lyrics but not other more important things that we should. I think this definitely ties back to some of our older content about “teaching learners”. When we are engaged like we are listening to a good song we are more likely to absorb the information. We can apply this same concept to using art in nature interpretation. By taking an “a picture speaks a thousand words” mentality we can show a lot more of why nature is valuable than we can explain. 

You are also able to reach a much more diverse audience through your photos by showing them on the internet. From people who don’t have the financial means to visit natural areas, people who physically might not be able to get there, or people who might be too busy to go and visit, anyone can connect to your photos and experience the beauty that you are sharing!

Interpreting Nature Through Art – Blog #4

I interpret nature through art using photography. I have mentioned in some previous blogs that I enjoy photography and most of the time my photos are of landscapes or animals. As our textbook by Beck et al. (2018) states, taking a picture  is capturing a snapshot in time. I am very sentimental, so photos are a perfect way for me to capture these beautiful moments in time. I am also very interested in painting! I am not good at it, but I very much enjoy it! I usually paint very simple landscape photos or cartoon animals. When it comes to my role of interpreting the “gift of beauty,” I share my snapshots of beauty in time through my photography. I have a photo website online that I share all of my images to for people to use for free with no licenses applied. This allows me to share my interpretation of the beauty of nature with people for free, allowing a more diverse group of people to have access to this from of interpretation.

Above are some of my favourite sunset photos or “snapshots of beauty” that I have been able to capture!

In addition, I had the opportunity to offer an “Art in the Park” program as described in our textbook. I brought all the art supplies to a random area within Marten River Provincial Park and had guests join in and draw what they saw. Sometimes I would ask them to close their eyes, and paint just based off of noises they heard, or create art made of materials found in the area such as rocks and sticks.

In chapter 10 of our textbook, I found the music section to be very intriguing. I started to think about how I can memorize hundreds of song lyrics but have a hard time remembering basic lecture material. However, when I use song to remember something, for example, the periodic table, I can remember it a lot easier. This made me think about all the songs that I was taught in elementary school to remember environmental processes, for example the water cycle song, or our solar system song! I am curious about any other cool songs people may have learnt in school or when exploring the internet! Feel free to mention some if you have any you would like to share!

I have attached some of the songs I heard in elementary school below in-case you are interested!

Solar System Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2prtmPEjOc

Periodic Table Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz4Dd1I_fX0

Skeletal System Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vya4wpS2fgk

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04 -Art in Nature Interpretation

Who am I to interpret nature through art? This is a good question because who is anyone to interpret nature through art? I am not an artist, so maybe some of the finer details may be lost on me. However most artists are not ecologists, so are they even able to fully interpret nature through art? 

As I talked about in my previous blogs, I feel very connected to nature, and it’s beauty is one of the reasons that I might feel this way. If I wasn’t attracted to the biodiversity and natural landscapes in nature, I would spend less time there, and not care as much about what happens to it. This makes the “intrinsic” values of nature power, and is a key driver in conservation.

It is apparent that art has a huge influential effect on how people may perceive or value nature, a prime example of this being 19th century artists convincing congress to set aside landscape for conservation (Beck, n.d.). So with this in mind, part of our role as interpreters is to relate that natural beauty to as many people as we can. 

“Art” can also be more than just natural beauty. A combination of music, stories and drama can be used by interpreters to enhance a visitor's experience at a site. Someone may not be  passionate about the natural history of a site normally, but when expressed in an artistic form, it may grab their attention and make them put more thought into it. 

Along with giving the intrinsic value of natural beauty, nature also gives tangible benefits, or ecosystem services. However important these services may be, they are often overlooked by the general population (Hartter 2010). This further reinforces the fact that the natural beauty of nature is essential for public interest, and its preservation. 

My interpretation of the “gift of beauty” is that it is something that the guide gives to the client. It is up to the guide to give the client the ability and desire to sense the beauty of the nature around them. As a gift, this is something that does not go away when the tour ends, and will hopefully stay with the client forever. This gift however is not in the form of a material, but it is knowledge, so the only way that it can be properly given is by using proper teaching strategies. 

In order to effectively share with someone the gift of beauty, the interpreter must first get to know the person and find out the best way to teach them. This entails finding what resonates with them, and sparks their interest. When talking about art and nature, this is no different. Maybe one client is passionate about biotic life, while another only wants to hear about rocks. It is your job as a teacher and interpreter to incorporate them both, and give each client the “gift of nature”. 

I would love to hear what some other people think is the best way to share the “gift of nature”. 

Beck, L. (n.d.). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World.

Joel Hartter (2010) Resource Use and Ecosystem Services in a Forest Park Landscape, Society & Natural Resources, 23:3, 207-223, DOI: 10.1080/08941920903360372

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Hey Warren,

I think that you’re definitely right that it is important to first recognize your own privilege before trying to understand and connect with others. As nature interpreters, one of the most important skills we need to have is connecting with other people from all kinds of different backgrounds. 

One of the best ways to do that according to chapter 7 of the textbook is to come up with common denominators. Things that most people may have in common despite factors such as their economic class, ethnicity, age, or privilege. In nature interpretation, this might look like the intrinsic value of an old healthy tree, or the importance of biodiversity. 

A fine line we as interpreters have to walk while serving a diverse audience however is not forcing our interpretation onto our audience. We need to be careful to respect their “visitors bill of rights”. This means that each visitor has sovereignty over their own interpretation, and are able to retain and express their own values while still being treated with respect and given unbiased information. 

To go back to your point, being aware of your own privilege is extremely important when dealing with a wide range of people. One privilege we both share is going to post secondary education. When possibly dealing with clients that don’t have that privilege, we still need to be able to effectively communicate some more complex ideas that we may have learned here in an understandable manner. We may find ourselves taking other such things for granted as well, maybe things as little as knowing what footwear to have on to not get blisters and be miserable when experiencing nature come from our privileged childhoods that not everyone has had.

Overall, when we begin to recognize our own privilege, we are on the way to being able to better connect with our audiences and give them a better experience!

Blog 3

My definition of privilege is advantages afforded to a particular group of people. Privilege is not binary, you are not privileged or not. Privilege exists on a gradient, and factors such as sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion and many others determine the level of privilege afforded to you. Privilege is not fair, it is not something that you can achieve through a lifetime of hard work and dedication, you are born with it. It is important to recognize the privilege you have, in order to better understand and connect with people not afforded the privileges we possess.

To unpack my invisible backpack as discussed in the lecture, I am very privileged. I am a well educated, white, heterosexual, male, from a middle-class family, who speaks English. These are the obvious privileges afforded to me, but if you look more deeply I have many more privileges than this. I played many different sports, I was introduced to many outdoor activities and was encouraged to not get a “job” but to pursue a career I am passionate about. All of these were afforded to me because my family was financially stable, and I could afford to do so. If you were to think of someone who is privileged, I am the poster boy.

A quote from the reading that really spoke to me was “individuals born into privilege are not taught to recognize their own privileges, and, if acknowledged, they deny the resulting advantages” (Noel, 2000). This quote grabbed my attention because this is exactly how I reacted when we discussed privilege in my high school social equity class. I became frustrated because to me it felt like my teacher was saying that what I had achieved was not due to my work ethic, but rather all the privileges I was afforded. It took me a while to realize that’s not what is being said. Acknowledging your privileges does not mean devaluing your accomplishments, but rather acknowledging the struggles others face.

I think privilege effects every occupation, and nature interpretation is no exception. Becoming a nature interpreter requires a lot of knowledge and skills. A lot of these begin to form at an early age, while being introduced to nature. That in itself is a privilege as not everyone is able to do so. Activities in nature are expensive, be that money or time. Even something as simple as a walk through a public forest, you may need a vehicle to get there, or time off work to go. Not everyone is afforded these privileges. Another way privilege impacts peoples access to nature interpretation is through technology. Technology plays such a crucial role in all areas of life, nature interpretation included. If you want to identify a plant, there’s an app for that, want to learn what bird made that call, there’s an app for that. Not everyone has equal access to technology or access at all. We need to ensure we acknowledge our own privileges and recognize the advantages they grant us. This is the first step in creating the change we want to see.

 Noel, J. (2000). Notable selections in multicultural education. Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill