Recently, I left a job in morning radio to work at the Couchiching Conservancy.
I’ve spent the past few months thinking about the ways we learn and speak.
It’s been really intimidating learning new things, especially when I feel guilty for not already knowing them.
But the more I admitted I didn’t actually know, the more helpful the answers became.
A while ago, the conservancy was hosting a workshop teaching volunteers how to identify benthic macroinvertebrates. If you can find and count them, they can indicate the health of the water body.
It was only moderately embarrassing to ask a room full of scientists, “Pardon me. The details on this informative workshop seem fascinating, but what exactly is a benthic macroinvertebrate?”
Very informed scientist: It’s a macroinvertebrate that lives in the substrate.
Me: Yes, thank you. And substrate is?
VIS: Essentially dirt or soil.
Me: Of course. Makes sense. And this term, macro?
VIS: It means large. So, a large invertebrate.
Me: Got it. And an invertebrate is what?
VIS: An organism without a backbone.
Four. It took me four questions to drill down that a benthic macroinvertebrate is something bigger than a fly that lives in river muck, like snails, worms or crayfish. When explaining something we’re familiar with ourselves, we tend to have difficulty understanding it needs to be much simpler for those new to the idea.
It’s not embarrassing to admit my invertebrate ignorance, but somehow it’s mortifying to ask how to create a reel or post a web article. Shouldn’t I know this by now? But if I just admit what I’m embarrassed I don’t know, I’ll learn it so much quicker.
We all have this fear, just about different subjects.
Then I noticed the map. At the Couchiching Conservancy, we have 57 (and counting) properties on which we help protect natural habitat and wildlife. They’re plotted on a huge map on the wall.
Grant’s Woods hikers often come into the office to use the washroom and ask about it. It’s a great visual for nature lovers to see the extent of our conservation efforts. They’re often surprised by how much land we protect (almost 15,000 local acres) — they thought we were just one single location with trails.
Then every person, without fail, tries to find where they live on the map. They want to see the nearest nature reserve to their home, but they can never find their house. Never. It’s a map of municipalities, and the roads aren’t clear.
So, I taped yarn to it. I traced highways 400, 11 and 12 in red yarn and now they can immediately see how close they are to protected nature. For example, Hawkestone residents can find Carthew Bay Nature Reserve just around the corner, and those in Sebright can see how close they are to Sweetwater Farm Nature Reserve. The habitat protection work we do now relates directly to their lives.
Don’t be afraid to ask for things to be simplified. Go ahead and tape string to a map if it will help people better understand the world around them. And ask questions. Admitting what you don’t know is the first step toward learning.
Meg Whitton was the morning show host with Bounce Radio but is now at the Couchiching Conservancy, a non-profit land trust protecting nature for future generations.
