Um...

Sorry, I got busy doing work stuff, and now I've forgotten what it was I was going to blather about.

So.

Um.

Well, I suppose I could give a little bit of insight as to what my work stuff actually is. It can occasionally be a little bit different from most peoples' work stuff, I guess.

I'm a naturalist, you see. Naturalist/interpreter. It's the kind of job that always seems to have to come with an explanation. Sort of like when I first started my degree and was continually having to tell people that no, studying zoology does not mean that I want to work in a zoo.

Although some zoologists do. There's nothing wrong with that.

So anyway, Dee, what the hell is a naturalist/interpreter? Considering that half the time I feel like I don't really know what it is myself (and I've been doing this for FAR TOO LONG, have I mentioned?) I'm not sure I'm the best one to describe the job, but I'll do what I can.

First let's do the interpreter part. An interpreter is someone who helps people understand things. A language interpreter (which I'm definitely not) translates languages to help people understand each other; a natural history interpreter "translates" nature to help people understand it.

With me so far?

As an interpreter, I'm an educator. I spend a large part of my professional life working with school groups to add a nature component to their science curriculum. When I talk (or, more usually, whinge) about doing programs, that's what I'm generally referring to. Teachers bring their kids to the nature centre so that we can teach them in a different, more interactive way than they might get in the classroom.

That part of my job can be fun. Unfortunately, it's not all just about goofing around in front of children. The curriculum needs to be examined for places that we can fit ourselves in. Programs need to be researched, written, and marketed. Staff needs to be hired, trained, and evaluated. I'm not always involved in every single facet of the above, but I'm in on quite a bit of it.

Of course, school programming isn't the only kind of interpretation that happens here. There are public programs (for, oddly enough, the general public), youth group programs, and even just casual roving out on the trails or in the building. If I'm chatting with you and giving you information, I'm being a good little interpreter.

And what about the naturalist part?

Well, first I want to make it clear that a naturalist is NOT a naturist. There's a difference. You can look it up yourself. Just come back here when you're done.






Ok? Now that we've made it clear that I don't have to come to work naked (in fact it's not encouraged), all I really have to say about being a naturalist is that I spend a lot of my time feeling completely inadequate because it seems like no matter how much weird knowledge I have floating around in the empty space above my neck someone always finds a way to ask me a question that I don't have an effing clue about.

You people are really talented when it comes to that, you know?

Yeah, the naturalist side of my job usually consists of doing my best to answer questions. Questions from visitors, questions on the phone, occasionally questions on the work blog... I'm definitely not the only one answering questions here (in fact, Wheat gets the lion's share. And he can keep it), but I answer attempt to answer a fair number. And now I'm going to tell you a secret about answering nature questions.

Search engines.

Yep.

If you've phoned in to the nature centre and have asked me a question that I haven't been asked a thousand times before, I can guarantee that I've been typing away in the background as I've been talking to you. You probably could have found the answer yourself. The only difference between my googling skills and your googling skills is that I have a basic set of websites that I'm pretty sure I can trust (although the Government of Canada has been known to spread a few untruths here and there, I suppose) so I might find things juuust a little faster than someone who doesn't do this kind of thing as often as I have to.

I'm also very good at looking things up in books.






Have I disillusioned anyone about the whole all-knowing naturalist thing yet? I'm not terribly sorry if I have because the simple truth is that there's no way in hell that we can know everything about nature. Anyone who tells you -- or thinks that -- s/he does is SO INCREDIBLY FULL OF CRAP. Hey, I've been doing this for a long time now. I know a little bit about a lot of things, but I'm never going to be able to answer every question. The only thing that keeps me from drowning myself in a bucket (why waste water when all you really need is a bucketful?) on the days when I'm feeling mostly incompetent is that I did know a tiny fraction more than the people who phoned in, or they wouldn't have phoned in in the first place.

Erm... did that make sense?

Actually, I don't even care if it made sense.

And I'm tired of typing now, so this unintended novel is coming to a rapid close. Gah, I've been long-winded lately.


Ah well. It'll make up for those many many many many many many many times when I'm not.