tbenvs3000w24

[tbenvs3000w24]

The Ecology of Music

This week's blog prompt was interesting, but a tricky one. As a classically trained piano player, and a person with an affinity for nature, I often listen to music that is evocative of nature. But to really deconstruct what that means is a bit harder. Where is music in nature? After reading “The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music” I learned about all the ways that the sounds that animals make are so similar to scales and musical ideas in human music than I originally thought. My initial understanding of music in nature was more of the random sounds that animals make to communicate. I did not know it was so closely related to our music. This piqued my curiosity about how much our music has been influenced by animals. I know it was mentioned in this week's reading that people that live amongst nature hace nature sounds in their music. But I wonder how much of the foundations of music are influenced by nature. 

In searching about this topic I came across a composer named John Luther Adams who has a philosophy that it is necessary for people to strive for an “ ecology of Music” to change “the quality of our attention to the world” (Adams, 2012) I thought this statement really ties together the ideas in this unit. The impact of nature in music and music in nature is that it helps us pay better attention to the earth. Adams has composed music inspired by nature and did a campaign for the Alaskan wildlands. I have linked below his music installation called The Place Where You Go to Listen. 

This music piece was created along an art installation and was created by Adams through his years of experience with the Arctic region near the coast of Alaska. The inspiration came from the aurora borealis, seismic activity, geomagnetism, cloud cover and visibility and the movement of the sun and the moon. The process by which he makes music, he has called sonification, which he states is the “ process of mapping data with some other meaning into sound” (Adams, 2012). 

I understood the process of Adams music making as a form of interpretation. He is mapping out the nature he is experiencing and turning that into music. I chose his music for this as it is such a unique form of expressing nature through music. Listening to his music and knowing about the process of his music is art in itself. Music and Adams music as an example, shows how interpretation using the affective domain is done well. By mapping out the aurora borealis, listeners are evoked with the beauty of it which incites an emotional response to this natural phenomenon (Beck et al., 2018). Because he has been successful in heightening  people's “attention to the world” through music he has been brought in to do campaigns. To bring people closer to nature in such a way that they become mobilized is I think, the whole purpose of music in nature and nature in music.

Adams, J. L. (2012). The place where you go to listen: In search of an ecology of music. Wesleyan University Press.

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M.(2018).Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed.).Sagamore Publishing.

[tbenvs3000w24]

Hi,

I agree with what you have said and I found your post very interesting to read. I agree that nature interpretation is not just about sharing information but getting people to connect with nature. This is something that I have had to learn through this course, at the beginning all the blog posts I did were just fact regurgitation, it was not until halfway through the course, after being given feedback from my peers that I realized that I need to focus more on getting people to connect with the content. So I think that connection is a vital part of nature interpretation. You also highlighted how crucial it is to get children interested and passionate in nature because they are future decision makers. I agree with this sentiment, I remember growing up, it was the lessons about the environment and the shows about cool nature I saw on TV that has made me have different opinions about nature than my parents. You also said interpreting nature through music is the most effective way to connect with people. I totally agree with this, I have been very moved by things in my life when it is through the language of music. It also really motivates me to do something because it is not as burdening emotionally as other forms of interpretation that might make you feel kind of hopeless. Great post and enjoy the rest of this class!

The Final Episode

Hey guys, it saddens me to say this is the last blog post for this semester. It has been an interesting ride in which I have had a lot of time to think and reflect on feelings I didn't know I had. I am glad that you guys have stayed with me for 10 weeks and watched me ramble on about different topics and read my poor attempts to articulate my feelings. With this last post I hope I have managed to invoke feelings in you guys and maybe connect you a little more with nature. For this last post I will be talking about my personal development as a nature interpreter. 

To start off within the realm of nature interpretation a person's ethics is a compass that guides them, it dictates the interactions within the natural world and shapes the message that they want to put out into the world. Nature interpretation is not just about sharing information but also creating a deep and meaningful connection between individuals and the environment that surrounds them and giving them the tools to do so . The course content this week states that we can provide the tools to the younger generations in order for them to make safe decisions when connecting with the nature around them, we can ignite the interest and passion (Hooykaas, 2024). I think this is one of the most important roles of a nature interpreter as the children are a crucial piece in preserving our natural world and all of its inhabitants. Every child should be given the opportunity to experience nature and form a connection with it as it can help them when they grow up. But unfortunately not all kids have the privilege to witness beautiful natural landscapes. Without guidance and the chance kids can grow up not really knowing how to feel about the environment around them, and they will grow further apart from it creating a disinterest and this might lead to the destruction of the natural world. 

Being a nature interpreter is a role that must connect others with the vast world in front of them, but it is a taxing and a hard role, as the textbook says “passion is the essential ingredient for powerful and effective interpretation- passion for the resource and for those who come to be inspired by it” (Beck et al, 2018). This is very important to think about, because I believe it is the job of the nature interpreters to be able to reach all types of audience. This can be someone who may not be able to walk or the most mobility compared to other, the interpreter needs to be able to adapt to this by providing a safe place to walk or showing places that are more accessible, or even through various art forms like music or art, all in order to get your feelings across and still give them the tools to form a connection. Another thing is being able to welcome and handle individuals who may not be so open to experience new ways of thinking or may not be so interested in the natural world. Nature interprets a lot of responsibility, they must be able to show people what they can’t see and they hold so much for the future. Especially in this age of technology, they have an important role in drawing the fleeting attention of the younger generations and pulling them towards the natural world through the use of exciting stories. Being able to educate their audience is another huge responsibility that interpreters shoulder. Through education we can empower individuals to truly become stewards of the Earth, and through this we can inspire curiosity. Through education we can teach people how to ethically interact with the environment and everything within it. 

To most it may seem like they could never interpret nature, but that's the beauty of it, there is no one set way to interpret. There are so many different approaches to expressing your feeling like the textbook says there are so many different venus that interpretation can occur in (Beck, et. al, 2018). For me, photography from the start has been my main approach, you can fully immerse the audience in the beauty of nature. It allows the interpreter to fully capture the essence of nature in all its glory. Through their lens they can connect and inspire people to really connect with nature and may inspire people. However, during week 7 we spoke about music, through this I fully realised how important music is for interpreting nature. I believe this approach is also important and probably the easiest way to introduce people into nature, and form a connection. I believe that it is crucial for a nature interpreter to continuously learn, and the best way to do that is think about many various different outlets, and partake in discussion with other interpreters. Experiencing many different cultures is also essential as you can learn so much from different beliefs and a myriad of historical backgrounds. It is my dream to be able to do this throughout my life 

In conclusion, this has been an interesting journey to say the least, before this I had no idea how important nature interpretation really was. I was interpreting nature in my own way all this time without fully understanding it. I am very thankful for the privilege to be able to experience the nature around me. I think everyone should try to engage in nature interpretation as it is an easy way to reconnect with nature and to make up for the lost years that technology has caused. I think nature interpretation is a deciding factor in reducing the damage we have caused to our natural world and the animals that inhabit it. In the end, I hope you guys have enjoyed this journey and reading my thoughts on various topics and I hope that I was able to inspire others to maybe go out and appreciate nature almost as much as I do!

References: 

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

Hooykaas, A. (2024). Unit 10: Nature Interpretation’s Role in Environmental Sustainability. University of Guelph. https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/858004/viewContent/3640024/View.

[tbenvs3000w24]

Hi,

I found your post really interesting and I agree with a lot of what you had to say. A lot of our beliefs are developed in us when we are young. I know a lot of my passion for nature came from nature interpreters I saw on TV show me cool sciencey things. It's great that you had the opportunity to spend a lot of time hiking and spending time outdoors and I am sure that is part of the reason you are now taking a nature interpretation class! I also agree with what you said about the importance of knowing about the history of a place during interpretation. You also said you would be best at science interpretation.  I think it is our responsibility as people privileged with the knowledge and opportunity to get a university education, that we should also be mindful of other ways of knowing and acknowledging that when interpreting that western science is not the only way to understand something. This is something I first experienced in an ecology class when we were told to “talk to a tree”. This lesson was done by an indigenous educator and it showed me that two ways of understanding something can co-exist. I think this kind of interpretation might interest you given you said you care about dismantling barriers because in my experience this is a new way of interpreting and it could help more people experience more connectedness to the history of the land they are on.  

My Personal Ethic as a Nature Interpreter

Hello again everyone!

This will be my final blog post of the semester, so it will be an important one! For this blog post, I will be describing my personal ethics as a nature interpreter, including my personal beliefs, responsibilities, and approaches when it comes to how I experience and provide nature interpretation. I’m going to be going into quite a bit of detail for this, so let’s get right into this!

First let’s start with my personal beliefs, since that’s where most of one’s personal ethic stems from. I think a lot of belief stems from experience and how you are brought up. I’m quite thankful for the upbringing I have, with my mother taking me and my brother on plenty of hikes and nature excursions. Bringing this back to my first blog post this experience helped me develop a “sense of place” for the natural world (Beck et al., 2018). Because of this my personal belief when it comes to nature interpretation is first of all that everyone should be able to do and feel comfortable with it! I think nature interpretation, and nature in general, is something that is incredibly important for a person’s mental well-being and belonging. Being in nature can make someone feel relaxed, and being able to experience nature interpretation can help them feel more connected to their surroundings and can help build up a sense of community among participants. I also have witnessed firsthand how connecting with nature can make it more important to you, which is why I also believe that it is necessary for conservation efforts. People are more willing to protect something that they care about, which means that nature interpretation can help inspire people to protect nature. Since I believe that nature interpretation is so important, I also believe that it needs to be accessible and open to anyone and everyone.

This belief leads to what my responsibilities are as a nature interpreter. I believe that first and foremost I have a responsibility to make sure that I am not alienating anyone or making anyone uncomfortable with my approaches to nature interpretation. I have a responsibility to make sure I am educated about the history of a place, including Indigenous perspectives, and that I keep these histories in mind during my interpretations. I also have a responsibility to remove any barriers I can that may prevent someone from accessing nature interpretation, including making sure I am remaining disability and financially inclusive (Beck et al., 2018). I think that advocating for these types of things will also send a message to people and help them feel more at ease with coming to me for nature interpretation because they know these are things that I care about. Since I will be the person that people are looking to for information I also have the responsibility of making sure I am accurate in what I say and speaking in plain language so everyone can understand me. Of course, dismantling these barriers is something that is easy to say and harder to do. Still, I think that making an effort is important and can have a meaningful impact on people. If it makes even one person more likely to seek out nature interpretation or more comfortable, I think that makes it worth it to do. 

As for what approaches are the most suitable for me as an individual, I think I excel at two types of nature interpretation. First, I believe I am a very confident speaker and am very good at expressing my thoughts and ideas verbally. I have to speak to a large volume of people consistently in a professional manner for my career, as well as in my daily life as an undergraduate at university. While I do get nervous sometimes, I find that I am consistent with how I speak and am told that I am good at verbal communication. Because of this, I feel that I would be good at an approach to nature interpretation that allows me to speak to people, whether it be one-on-one or to a larger group. Another approach I think I would excel at for nature interpretation is through a visual medium. This is due to my history with visual arts which I believe I could combine with my passion for nature to create graphics that facilitate and promote nature interpretation. Graphics like these could be used for social media, posters, presentations, or just about anything that has a visual component. Given my love for art and design, I think that this approach would also be very fulfilling for me, which I think is important. I think you can really tell when the person behind something is passionate about it and that passion can encourage other people to feel the same way. Both of these approaches to nature interpretation speak to me, and I think I would be suitable for either one to inspire and inform people about the environment. 

I think that these facets of myself all combine to form my personal ethic as a nature interpreter. I want people to be as excited to learn about and care as much about nature as I do, and I’m willing to put in the effort to make them feel comfortable and engaged to do so. Over the course of this semester and this class, I have learned new strategies for nature interpretation and have gained important insight into how to make people feel welcome through my actions. I am excited to see how everyone else has taken these lessons and applied them to their own personal ethics. I hope everyone has a great end to their semester, thank you all for a great experience!

References

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

[tbenvs3000w24]

Ethics and Interpretation

When given this week's blog prompt, I was initially stumped. What exactly is an ethic? I wanted to understand and define this for myself so I could attempt to outline and put into words what I garnered from this class. In a book by Dewey & Tufts they explain ethics as the “ systematic account for our judgment about conduct, … to estimate from good or bad right or wrong.” I took this definition to mean what my  moral beliefs are, and I used this as the definition to write this post. 

 Through this course we have been asked to reflect on things that I have not had to think about in a lot of my other environmental science courses. And in that process I have developed ideas and opinions about things that I would not normally think about related to nature. Nature interpretation began to increase the protection of natural areas and parks by being a means of guiding people to care for and protect natural areas by understanding and having some feeling of connection to it brought on by the interpreter. A quote by Baba Dioum that explains this: “In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand.  We will understand only what we are taught.”(Beck et al., 2018). This quote and the ideas presented in the first chapter of the textbook, when I read it fully, helped me understand the importance and the need for nature interpretation.  

I bring up the ideas presented in the first unit because those ideas formed what the basis is for my personal ethic as a nature interpreter. My ethical beliefs as a nature interpreter are informed by the theories of Aldo Leopold, who was a forest manager and the writer of  A Sand County Almanac, which is a collection of essays that describe his land ethic, and the land around him. His land ethic is of the ecocentrist view, which states that our actions towards the environment should be made in a way that maintains the wholeness of the ecosystem as a whole, instead of just singular organisms. He states that “ A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity. Stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” ( Williston, 2012)In this quote there is a clear right and wrong, as an ethic is meant to dp, as stated earlier, and this ethic states that a correct action is one that keeps the integrity of an ecosystem. 

This is the belief  I hold  as a nature interpreter and I believe I should be responsible for maintaining and teaching other people to keep ecosystems whole. Another thing I learned through the course material is that there are many different ways people will experience nature depending on their age and their privilege. I also have a duty as a nature interpreter to make sure the people that I am interpreting for are able to access and fully experience what I would like them to. To achieve this I have a responsibility to do research and be fully aware of the experiences of the group of people I am catering to. This means I will have to understand how different age groups understand ideas and concepts. Familiarizing myself with things like Piaget's stages of Cognitive Development and Learning styles (Beck et al., 2018) will ensure that I can make informed decisions about how to deliver information to different age groups. In terms of privilege, I feel it is my responsibility to be aware of the ways my privilege impacts the way I experience and interpret things. To develop this I will need to do a lot of learning and reflecting. When I am interpreting to people I also need to be aware of the backgrounds of those people and how they are able to or have previously interacted with the environment so I am able to be sensitive and mindful when I do interpretations.  

Overall for myself as an individual interpreting nature through science is the most appropriate for me. I have noticed through this course that I had challenges interpreting nature in a way that was less focused on the science of nature. Writing about art and music was more challenging for me. I also think this is in line with my learning styles. I am a more tactile and kinesthetic learner, I prefer to learn through experiencing things(Hooykaas, 2024), and when I do I think it's easier for me to understand it and share it. So as an interpreter, it will be more suitable for me to interpret things related to science and it would be easiest for me to teach it in a hands-on way.

My personal ethics and approaches I have learned through this course so far as an ecocentrist will aid in my ability to decide how I can use and apply my knowledge and abilities into the world. Because I have been able to formulate better what my values are in relation to nature and how I need to express that I am able to better articulate my beliefs through nature interpretation the best way I can. 

Beck, L., Cable, T.T., & Knudson, D.M.(2018).Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (1st ed.).Sagamore Publishing. 

Dewey, J., & Tufts, J. H. (2022). Ethics. DigiCat.

Hooykaas, A. (2024, January 15). Unit 02: Teaching Learner.University of Guelph. https://courselink.uoguelph.ca/d2l/le/content/858004/viewContent/3640016/View

Williston, B. (2012).Environmental Ethic for Canadians. Oxford University Press.

[tbenvs3000w24]

Hi, I found your post on evolution to be very interesting. I enjoy reading and thinking about evolution too. When I started learning about evolution at Guelph it also really opened my eyes to the different aspects of evolution and how many misconceptions I had about it. As you said, it's very mechanistic. 

You quoted “everything happens for a reason” and I liked this quote because this used to be my understanding of evolution but now it is a little different. Those things evolve because they have to be best suited to the environments they are in, but also sometimes they will evolve and change for no reason. I learned about genetic drift in an evolutionary ecology class and it really opened my eyes about how some evolution just happens. Genetic drift is when a population will fix a certain trait/gene by chance and for no other reason without selection acting on it. This usually happens in isolated or small populations because the genetic variation is smaller. This changed my view on the idea that in evolution “ everything happens for a reason” because sometimes a population will evolve, but it could be a neutral or even negative trait that has evolved so there is no reason for this evolution, and it can reduce the complexity of the species. Actually natural selection has to move against genetic drift to get a population to evolve to greater fitness and complexity in a smaller population because genetic drift is stronger here. 

evolution & everything happens for a reason.

Okay, so pretty much everyone since Darwin has heard about evolution by natural selection. BUT this does nothing to change the fact that it’s still such an interesting and exciting topic!! I’m not going to drone on about the theory of evolution - no, Charles did that for us. Instead, I really want to talk about how having some knowledge of that theory makes my time in nature that much more magical. In this way, I hope to bring the three guiding facets of interpretation together - education, recreation, and inspiration (Beck et al., 2018).

(Side note; I bought a copy of “On the origin of species” when I got accepted to UofG, and still have not managed to make my way through it. No hate to Darwin, but I think we could’ve taken some notes from this class to make that read a bit more engaging - jokes, of course. If any of you have read it in its entirety, I’d love to hear your thoughts…is it worth the read? did he include anything that would be deemed a “hot take” in our modern day?).

In biological studies, we come back to evolution all the time, and we blame it for nearly everything. At this point, I’ve learned the more mechanistic view of evolution, the misconceptions about it, and where we see it in ourselves and the rest of the biological world.

And yeah, makes sense, right?

But for me, it all really clicked last semester in my Animal Behaviour class, which pulled a lot of ideas from economics, cost and benefit, and the prisoner’s dilemma (cue loud groan). I know, I know, booooring.

But honestly, it really put it all into perspective for me –  the grandiose concepts of evolution finally had a really solid foundation, such that the story of any natural sight I see is clearer in my mind.

Like, okay, why do parents take care of their young?

Silly question, right? But really think about it for a sec. Well, we know that offspring are genetically related to their parents – if a parent doesn’t take care of their young, the young (and the parent’s genes, and even potentially the act of providing for young) does not persist.

We also know that in some species, one parent (mother or father) puts way more energy into raising the young than the other parent does. Again, why? If they’re both equally related, why isn’t this behaviour equal between the two?

There are a lot of “it depends” here, but one example is that the mother can be 100% sure that those babies are hers, while the father can’t be quite as sure – what if the mama snuck off with another fellow and those kids don’t have any of the “father’s” genes?

Basically, to hedge his bets, the father doesn’t spend his energy on raising young, and instead spends it looking for other potential partners.

who woulda thought that evolution would explain why there's so much drama and gambling in the natural world??

A Friend in Need (1903) by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

My other favourite example has to do with food caching behaviour in red squirrels vs. grey squirrels. Grey squirrels hide food all over the place, spreading out their cache. Red squirrels make one big stockpile. So, if a grey squirrel defends its caches, it wastes a ton of energy, almost for nothing. It physically couldn’t manage to guard all its nuts at once, so defending one cache leaves an opportunity for other caches to be robbed.

A red squirrel, though, benefits a lot from defending its cache. If it does, it stands a much higher chance of keeping itself fed through the winter, and if it doesn’t, it has lost all of the eggs from its single basket. This explains why red squirrels are the angry little guys they are – they aren’t just evil little devils who’ve escaped from hell. Instead, they just got out of their econ lecture!

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12144772@N06/1700328393

So, while it might seem that going through the mild pains of learning the theory and its economic/math-y/mechanistic intricacies would make nature as a whole feel less magical, I think it does the exact opposite. I feel like knowing these connections paints a really bright hue on my view of nature. “Why is that thing the way it is?” is such a cool, whimsical question to get caught up in, and I love it.

We've been educated, we've had some fun looking at some silly animal examples, and hopefully there was a hint of inspiration in here too!

Mother Nature really said “everything happens for a reason” and I think that’s super neat.

Anyone else have an "evolution epiphany" moment to share?

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Chapter 3: Values to Individuals and Society. In Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World (pp. 41-56). Sagamore Publishing.

[tbenvs3000w24]

Dancing Bees!

Evolution has always interested me and so have bees. So today I want to tell all of you about the bee dance and how it evolved. I read about this a couple years ago and when I did it completely changed my perspective on bees. When I used to  think of bees, I thought of simple insects that are programmed to be driven to any flower they see. Until I found out they dance to communicate which flowers to go to. 

An article by Doenhaus and Chittka (2004)  titled “ Why do Bees Dance?” showed me that bees actually have a way to communicate information about food sources with each other through dance. The dance in question is a “waggle dance”  done by moving their comb in a figure 8 motion (Figure 1A)   (Doenhaus & Chittka, 2004) . This dance is supposed to inform other members of the hive in which direction and how far they can find a good source of pollen. 

The way bees communicate direction and distance is quite interesting. The dancer repeatedly circles in a figure-eight pattern centered around a waggle run in which the bee waggles its abdomen as it moves forward (Dong et al., 2023). The direction of the waggle shows the direction of the food source, the duration of the dance shows the distance and the amount of waggles depicts the quality of the food ( more waggles means higher sugar concentration) (Dong et al., 2023).

 The experiment by Doenhaus and Chittka examined the evolution of the “waggle dance”. The overall conclusion of the article“Why do Bees Dance”stated that bees in environments with plants that flowered for a short time had more need for the dance than bees in areas where there were more options for pollen throughout the year. This showed that the dancing likely evolved in conditions of scarcity where this information could determine the overall success of the hive that season.(Doenhaus & Chittka, 2004)

 The study by Dong et al. intended to study how important it is for bees to learn the waggle dance from older bees. It did this by studying the accuracy of the messages sent through dance by bees that had no older bees to learn from and then from bees that did. It concluded that bees develop and refine their waggle dance by watching other older bees dancing (Figure 1B) . The study showed that social signaling when younger bees encoded and learned to deliver a specific message( distance, quality, direction ) in a certain way as a young bee, would continue to do it like that as it got older. So the first set of bees that did not have older bees to teach them the dance delivered messages that were more incorrect their entire life, but bees who had observed other bees as a young foraging bee were able to improve the accuracy of the messages in their dance(Dong et. al., 2023).

The evolution of the dance language and the ability for bees to develop and improve on their ability to convey information about distance, direction and quality shows how intelligent they are. Now you know how smart bees are!

Figure 1: A. shows the dance of the bee, 1 round of the dance starts at 1, the waggle is 2 and then 3 the dance is repeated. In the image below, w is doing the dance while the fs are watching to learn where to go. B. showing how the directional accuracy of bees in E1, which are young bees with no older bees around them, gave less accurate information about a food source than C1, young bees with older bees around them. (Dong et al., 2023)

Dong, S., Lin, T., Nieh, J. C., & Tan, K. (2023). Social signal learning of the waggle dance in honey bees. Science, 379(6636), 1015-1018. Dornhaus, A., Chittka, L. Why do honey bees dance?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 55, 395–401 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0726-9

[tbenvs3000w24]

Hi, 

I enjoyed reading your post and agree with a lot of what you said about your interpretation of the quote. You say that there is no merit in ancient things but there is merit in the way ancient things can cause people to act in the present. That learning from history a person can now become an agent of change and that this has merit. 

I agree with this and I think this connects to the quote by Hymes as one of the reasons there is value in ancient things is because of the way it can teach us about how things were and what they could be from historical experience. 

I think this is especially important in the present with climate change. A lot of people are choosing to not see how landscapes have changed, how they were before and after colonialism and the industrial revolution. And how this is important to acknowledge so we can make better decisions about the environment moving forward. 

The quote you mentioned by  George Santayana is a good example of this and it relates to the idea that the value of history ( or “ancient things) is to tell the full story so we don't repeat mistakes we have made before. I also thought the quote urges us to understand the full story of a thing so it can be valued for exactly what it is and so nature interpreters must be knowledgeable and honest in their presentation of nature.

Ancient Things

There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, the past is simply the past. When it comes to interpretation, the past can act as a tool, used to change how the present is enacted. As mentioned in the textbook, stories of survivors become agents for change (Beck et al., 2018). But is there a merit to it? Ancient things cannot accept awards, what's done is done. But the agent of change is now useful, there is integrity in their stories.

Integrity has merit. It is one of the only things that we can hold onto when all else is lost. Yet what does integrity include? One such thing is the truth, an honest person is one with integrity. This honesty must hold true in our agents stories, as accuracy and authenticity are key contributors in how a story is interpreted (Beck et al., 2018). Mistaken stories often come from those inauthentic to the message, and are hence told inaccurately.

But what are these stories together, how does each part play into the greater picture? Each part is a key piece in the puzzle, integrity must be held at each part. But, it also must be held by those putting the puzzle together. In order to maintain the authenticity and accuracy needed, the one to put the puzzle together must have a deep understanding of our so called 'ancient things'.

"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."

The way that interpreted the first part of this quote is with the importance of the full story. Throughout the 15th chapter of the textbook they consistently highlight the importance of maintaining accuracy and authenticity in the reporting of historical content. The quote reminds me of this again, where ancient things must be maintained in the same way to be properly interpreted. However, establishing merit can be difficult, and the merit is not in the ancient things themselves, but the people who continue to tell the story today.

This is because, to think, feel, or act as though the past is done with lacks foresight. This thought can be compared with another more common quote by George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This quote tells a similar story. The remnants of our past are great indicators as to what the future holds, or even the meaning of what we're seeing now.

For example, believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it. This belief lacks foresight as to what the future holds, as there will be more train stations just like those you've passed up ahead. It also highlights meaning in the present, where someone can establish meaning in repetitive train stations only because of their past experiences.

Overall, this whole quote touches on subjects of why we record and tell history. It conveys how accuracy can enhances the quality and meaning of the past, as well as why these ancient things should have meaning in the first place.

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

[tbenvs3000w24]

The Importance of History in the Wholeness of a Landscape

The quote “ 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.” by Edward Hymes states that there is value in a full or complete telling of something, and the only way to gain a full story we must also include the telling of its history. Hymes states that without this we are only acknowledging a part of something. This is relevant in nature interpretation for a number of reasons. 

When we talk about natural areas we must also consider its past as it is relevant to know how it has ended up in the form that it is presently in. This can mean describing how lakes formed as a result of a past glacier or how lakes have disappeared as a result of climate change. Knowing what was on the land previously is the only way to fully understand the land now. It helps us understand why certain sediments or species are found there and it shows how those things and others shaped it to its present form. Understanding its natural history can also serve to show people how human actions can impact a natural landscape. Both knowing its history and the reason for its present state can help give people a closer relationship with that piece of land as well as more of an emotional connection. 

The varying impact of glaciers on a landscape

Additionally, it is important to think about the history of a place in terms of the people that lived there, because landscapes are not only impacted by natural forces but also by the people that have lived with them. The impact of people and the value of people that live in and with a landscape has value because they will know a lot about the land and its changes. They will also know about things that could not be known by researchers because their relationship with the land is more important. So when interpreting a landscape, gathering information about and from the people that have a close relationship with this land will be able to give more valuable insights. This will also allow the consumers of this interpretation a connection with the land because they will have a human connection that they can attach to the land. 

This video shows how the Native Americans lived with the land and is an important perspective to consider when telling the story of a landscape and its changes through colonialism.

Edward Hymes’ quote in relation to nature interpretation suggests that we must acknowledge all these parts of a landscape when interpreting it as it is the only way to give integrity to the piece of land. Any other telling would not be so whole and valuable. 

[tbenvs3000w24]

My Relationship with Nature

My current relationship with nature is a good one. Nature is the place that I go to relax and clear my mind. It is also where I like to spend a lot of time because I like to hike a lot. I spent a lot of time as a kid outdoors because my parents liked to garden and be outside. I think this is one of the things that really propelled me to enjoy being outside. Now my favorite thing to do in nature is observe plants and grow plants and learn about them. 

Having this interest in plants early on gave me a sense of place because I was able to observe the things around me and develop an interest in things in my surroundings. Being able to appreciate the plants around me made me feel very lucky because I have always lived in urban areas but I always felt connected to nature because of my interest in plants. While observing the nature around me gave me a sense of place in my own environment because I knew a lot about the things growing around me. It also allowed me to connect with it and interact with it. 

I always grew plants of my own outdoors because I would know how they would interact with the environment around my house. I knew where to put certain plants and I knew how to handle them so they would produce the most fruit. I think that growing plants specifically that we could eat was impactful in my relationship with the environment. There is a need for more care and attention to plants than with plants that are purely decorative, because of the added incentive of having the fruit at the end. In growing vegetables and fruits I had to learn more about the plants I was growing and I had to know what would be best for them in relation to the place that I lived. This really propelled my interest and my knowledge of my environment and I think this is really the basis for my relationship with nature. Having spent so much time outdoors to tend to a garden as a kid really helped connect me to nature in a special way. 

I think this connection has developed into more broad awareness for the kinds of plants around me, not only what I need to know to grow food. Because of the foundation I have, it has driven me to be more curious about nature around me, not just plants but also animals and other environmental factors that can impact a system. I think this is why I have chosen to study ecology. 

[tbenvs3000w24]

Interpreting Nature Through Art

Interpreting nature through art is a very important part of nature interpretation because this kind of interpretation can impact a large audience. When we interpret nature through art it can insight more of an emotional response from people, which could increase their want to preserve/conserve nature.

So who am I to interpret nature through art? For one I am a person who is able to sense the beauty around me. My camera roll is full of pictures of nature. I pay attention to nature everywhere I go. I notice when the leaves start to change color and I notice when the flowers bloom and I always appreciate it.  This is something that I think shows my ability to sense the beauty in my surroundings. This is an important part of interpreting nature through art,  to first be able to sense the beauty around us ( Beck et al., 2018) . 

This is a photo at the University of Guelph that I stopped to take between classes because the trees started changing color.

In addition to being able to sense the beauty around me I  also care about preserving the nature around me. I care deeply about my direct environment and also the whole planet. The fact that I am trying to get an environmental science degree, and also in my daily actions to live more environmentally consciously shows this.  

Finally I  feel a strong connection to the nature around me. I think of nature connection as the ability to be aware of the nature that is local to me. I developed this idea from an outdoor school that I was at, that promoted just the awareness of the nature around us as a way to be more nature connected.  

To put these ideas together, this is what I have interpreted the gift of beauty to be. It is the way that nature interpreters can use art to interpret nature. By appreciating and recognizing the beauty of nature then having a desire to preserve it they aim to feel more connected to nature and also allow others to do the same. 

Nature interpretation through art happens in many different ways. As a classically trained piano player, I have observed this a lot in some of the pianists I like to listen to. In this way they put the sounds of nature into their music or give character to the nature around them. This is impactful to me because when I listen to these pieces I feel like I am experiencing that environment and that is a connection that I would not have without the music. This is a way that these artists are interpreting nature through art. By recognizing its beauty and then sharing it in a way that makes people feel like they are connected but also want to do something to preserve it because they are experiencing the beauty that the artist did.

This is a video of Pianist Ludovico Einaudi playing "Elegy for the Arctic" for a campaign with Greenpeace . The piece alone invokes a sense of loss and also beauty.

[tbenvs3000w24]

The Impacts of Privilege in Nature Interpretation

How does privilege play a role in nature interpretation?. First to define privilege, I define it to be the unequal access to opportunities people have as a result of things that are not in their control/ a result of their decisions. Because of this people who are more privileged will have access to more kinds of education and activities that others will allow them to achieve things that may be more challenging for others to achieve. I think privilege plays a huge role in how much someone is able to experience nature and therefore be part of its interpretation.

In nature interpretation privilege plays a role in a persons access to education. If we think of jobs that a nature interpreter may have, these jobs will require a lot of knowledge on a topic. We know that most people, who do not live amongst nature have to aquire this information through schooling. When people are not given equal opportunity to attend some kind of nature related program, because they were not able to afford it or could not because of some other reason unrelated to their own choices they will have a harder time finding work as a nature interpreter.

The second way that nature interpretation is heavily related to privilege is in the ways people have access to nature. People need: 1. time 2. resources to be able to experience nature around them to develop and interest and an understanding for it. People who are not privileged enough to have time, such as people who must work long hours, or people that need to cosntantly care for others will not be able to experience nature fully. And also people that do have time but are unable to spend the money or travel to places that they can experience nature is a way that privilege can affect our ability to become nature interpretation. 

This is all to say that privilege plays a role in what kind of person that we tend to see nature interpretation from. The most privileged people will get the opportunity to experience nature and learn from it, and be able to make a profession out of it. But this means when the average person is learning from a nature interpreter we are only told one kind of story. This is especially apparent in academic settings. We will read about white researchers “discovering” new theories and ideas from nature and presenting it as a new idea. When this knowledge may have existed before in other underprivileged communities, and is only now being legitimaized by someone with more privilege. We also see this inequality in TV programs that will often have white, upper class presenters, exploring foreign countries and their amazing nature through a western lense. 

In a society where there is an imbalance, privilege shows up in nature interpretation through the ways nature is presented and the ideas that are presented. A specific kind of story or idea is presenetd through presenters that have largely experienced the same privileges.

[tbenvs3000w24]

My Ideal Role

My ideal role of environmental interpreter is something similar to things I have seen on T.V. growing up. When I think about the most impactful nature interpreters in my own life it's the host of shows like the “Krat Brothers” and BBC Planet Earth that introduced me to all the interesting parts of nature that I could not appreciate and changed my opinions on things I saw around me. 

This kind of nature interpretation is a role that holds a lot of importance in connecting and mobilizing youth, especially those that live in urban areas. These people played a crucial role in developing my interest and love for nature. Having grown up in urban areas I had not had the chance to experience nature like I could on these shows. They played a crucial role in shaping my interests and curiosity towards nature and helped me pay more attention to the natural world around me. Through them I started learning about all the interesting things nature has to offer. The skills that they have would be a deep knowledge about something but also the ability to deliver this information in a way that can maintain the audience's attention as well as pique curiosity.  

What I realized later on, as I watched a BBC Planet Earth episode is that it's not only what but how these presenters deliver this message that captures my interest. It is clear that the presenter has a deep knowledge and passion for nature, but also the story telling aspect of the delivery can really reach and hold a large audience. Along with the well thought out descriptions and narrations of what we are seeing, that is informative, simple and interesting. I think this storytelling is an important skill that a good nature interpreter needs to have. While being able to teach things simply is also important, people will be able to garner more of an emotional connection with something if a story is told in relation to something. And I think helping people experience a connection of some kind should be one of the goals of a nature interpreter. A deep knowledge about something is important but also the ability to deliver this information in a way that can maintain the audience's attention as well as pique curiosity. 

While thinking about how these interpreters deliver their message, I also reflected on how these interpreters have impacted me. When I started watching these shows as a kid the main thing I garnered from these shows is knowledge of different animals and habitats. As I’ve grown I have noticed a change in the information presented in these programs. Primarily that there is more of an emphasis on the impacts of climate change. This leads me to think that one of the purposes of nature interpreters is to get people to care and connect with nature. This is something that nature interpretation is important for, as the majority of people do not get the chance to see how nature is impacted by changes in the climate. The majority of people do not have the same connection as people who live with  nature or have learned about it. Nature interpreters provide this crucial service of reconnecting (or connecting) people with nature and their own environments.

[tbenvs3000w24]

Disclaimer

This blog was created for ENVS*3000, University of Guelph. 

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the University of Guelph. 

The University of Guelph is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by this blog.