Learning by Observation

Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of New­found­land is con­sid­ered a text­book illus­tra­tion of plate tec­ton­ics – the the­ory that continent-sized plates of the Earth’s crust have col­lided and sep­a­rated repeat­edly over geo­log­i­cal time, cre­at­ing and destroy­ing oceans among them. But it was a small para­graph in Parks Canada Visitor’s Guide to Gros Morne National Park about observ­ing wildlife that caught my atten­tion. The process of observ­ing is so ordi­nary, that it is usu­ally invis­i­ble. The Guide makes the point that in giv­ing ani­mals space and respect, we in turn learn to appre­ci­ate the sen­si­tive, dynamic nature of the envi­ron­ment, all of which con­tributes to a healthy, pro­duc­tive ecosys­tem. Of course, ecosys­tems are every­where, not only on a Gros Morne escarp­ment, and it is worth­while bring­ing wilder­ness obser­va­tion sen­si­bil­ity into an urban land­scape. Wilder­ness is a state of mind, says Tom Brown Jr. in one of his many out­doors field guides, a point he elab­o­rates this way:

Today, when I sit in a doctor’s office, a bus ter­mi­nal, or an air­port, I look for a flower, a plant, or a small wild thing that most other peo­ple ignore. As I gaze past the com­mo­tion to such lit­tle reminders, my spir­its are renewed. It is not the size of the wilder­ness that is impor­tant. It is the qual­ity of the involve­ment with it that makes the dif­fer­ence. One of the great chal­lenges of nature obser­va­tion is, as William Blake puts it, To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild­flower, hold infin­ity in the palm of your hand, and eter­nity in an hour.

This short list of ani­mal watch­ing Do’s pub­lished in the Visitor’s Guide suc­cinctly cap­tures the vital con­nec­tion between obser­va­tion and learning.

• Be a dis­crete observer. Find a com­fort­able, safe spot, and just sit qui­etly and observe. If dri­ving, stop, pull off the road and stay in your vehi­cle. Watch how crea­tures inter­act with each other and observe their habi­tat. You’ll be amazed at what nature will reveal!
• Act small. Resist that impulse to get close, each out, or call out to wildlife. Use binoc­u­lars and a tele­photo lens. Your best chance of observ­ing truly wild nature is to make as small an impact as pos­si­ble, and stay safe. Retreat imme­di­ately if an ani­mal approaches you or shows any sign of aggressiveness.
• See small. The big crea­tures get all the press, but there just aren’t that many of them out there. It’s more reward­ing to look for the smaller ones. Interest-like beauty-is in the eye of the beholder.
• Think big. While observ­ing the activ­ity at an ant’s nest, for exam­ple, con­tem­plate the ant’s role in the big­ger pic­ture as a model of soci­ety, per­haps, or as an impor­tant source of food for other for­est inhabitants.
• Intrude less. Ani­mals are not always vis­i­ble. If you haven’t man­aged to see any dur­ing your stay, buy post­cards with pic­tures of them, and tell your friends about the birds you heard or the bear tracks you saw.
• Keep on learn­ing. Join a Parks Canada inter­pre­tive pro­gram, read one of the many books about nature in the parks. Indulge your curiosity.

Selected Read­ings

• Frank, C.. (1999). Ethno­graphic Eyes: A Teacher’s Guide to Class­room Obser­va­tion. Frank makes the point that teach­ers and ethno­g­ra­phers share a com­mon respon­si­bil­ity to see the famil­iar with new eyes. Decision-making based on per­sonal biases needs to give way to see­ing actual com­plex life in class­rooms (and in the class­room of life).