October 29, 2024
Francis G

Francis said the environment is important to her, but could not recall a moment when it became important to her. Then she said she didn’t want to be interviewed. I started off with, “I am doing a workshop.” So maybe I should have just started a conversation.

November 2, 2024
Tiana T.

I interviewed my friend Tiana via phone. I told her I was doing a workshop about the environment (E) and asked if she would like to participate and answer a few questions. She said the E is important and that she could do more. Since she didn’t elaborate on what she could do more I asked, In what way have you acted on it? Then she said she tries not to use disposable items and likes to help other people who care about the environment. She responded to the second question by sharing her grounding experiences and how much she loved those moments. She could recall the scent of pine and how delicious and clean it smelled. She described how her feet felt in the sand and how soft and cool. I tried to get her to tell me how she felt. It took three times to get her to describe her emotions. She mentioned how much she loved that it only took her 15 minutes to get to the beach and how she left everything behind, like the noise, garbage, clutter, etc.., the urban environment, and how free and calm she felt. So I led with that and set up a scenario of her getting to the beach and walking towards the ocean and this is when she finally expressed her emotions. She said, relaxed, meditative, joyous and calm. But that was it. I find that it’s difficult for people to connect and express their emotions. I don’t know if I am coming across as too aggressive to my interviewee to express how they felt, or if my questions about expressing their emotions make them uncomfortable. Or is it me? I’m finding that with each interview I am learning more about myself too.

November 1, 2024
Santosh

There was good communication between myself and Santosh, but it was a bit frustrating because I couldn’t get him to talk about himself. He said, “It’s important… not as an individual … I mean to do something as a group…politicians need to get involved…” I tried giving him an example of how I feel I am contributing as an “individual” to the environment by carrying my utensils instead of opting for disposable ones. I also shared how I volunteered to clean the Bronx River and he said he doesn’t think those acts are impactful and shouldn’t be put on the individual and that a collective effort is more impactful. I agree with both efforts. I told Santosh that there might be things he does every day that he might not be aware of that impacts the environment positively and asked, is there anything you can think of now? He said, “I really can’t and, to be honest, I think it’s the wrong way to look at it… none of these things make a difference … Getting the vast majority of people to solve the problem together …” I told him that’s the reason why I joined this workshop and how we hope, as a collective to make a difference. I asked him question number two. He said, “I’m in Spain and there’s “ … flooding, people are dying … the news … the world is in trouble.” I then asked him, “How did that make you feel, he said, “Bad”. I went on and on (about two minutes) about my experiences, hoping he would connect with his feelings. Maybe that was not a good idea. It didn’t work. He started talking about the government. He made good points, but I couldn’t get him to express his emotions. I asked if there was a favorite place he likes to go to and he said a nice park across the street from his residence and he likes to go on long walks. I asked him if he could describe what the park looks like, how it smells, etc…? He said, trees, ponds, manmade things, people fishing, and added, “There’s a connection that can’t be explained.” I then described a preserve in Rye, NY. I described what I saw and how it made me feel. Then I asked, “What are the emotions that come up when you’re in your favorite park”, and he said calmness. And that was the end of the interview. Then I thought, I have to get better at this. Was it me, or was it him?

I don’t like writing long posts here so I will sum up. I have done 7 and have had 2 folks interview me and the most important thing that I have noticed is the impact of the sensory part of the inquiry. When I try to go to emotions too quickly, many folks find it hard: really immersing in the 5 senses helps to deepen the intimacy in a way that is more natural and major manageable for people who are awkward or who I dont know well.

12 is so much, that I just knew that “ok: this week I’ll just use every opportunity and then some”.
Getting to 12 wasn’t really a problem as I was presenting at a the ICS24 (International conference for sustainable resource society), and there were plenty of opportunities to “quickly divert into a personal experience” during breakes and the “off-program” times.
Some phone calls and meetings with friends, family and other course members helped with the rest.
From all the conversations I only mentioned a few times that it is part of an excercise, and so my questions just became an integrated/normal part of our conversation.
Three times the people also asked me the same questions back, withoutr me even asking them to do it.

The funniest reported “nature moment” was from a friend who told about a night together with hos previous partner and they were in bed but didn’t have condoms.
He said the strange thing was that they still felt someho drawn to proceed anyway (but then didn’t). My friend said it was a very pure, primitive and somehow deeply with his own nature connected feeling.

Tip for posting

Hey everyone! I love reading your reflections and look forward to hearing more about them today in class. To make the format easier to read, you can start with a simple title (like “Exercise 2” or whatever you want) and then hit the “enter”/”return” key twice to begin writing your reflections. This way, the first line will be large and the rest will be normal text that is not all squished together.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have questions and we can jump on a call to troubleshoot.

I got a chance to speak with 4 people and 2 additional had to reschedule. Two of the four are fellow participants. I will have the calls with the 2 reschedules and additional ones this week.

To summarize the outcomes I think the main takeaway for me from the calls was what emotions are identified with. On a few occasions my respondents did not identify their emotions with nature per se. They identified the emotions with people and their relationships with these people. Their motivation is not nature per se. Is this an issue?

Exercise 2

I have interviewed 5 people and been interviewed by 2 – there was no space in this week to make it to 12. It has been interesting to hear how diverse the nature conversations have been. I have ‘traveled’ to the mountains of Vermont to see the stars, to national parks to see mountains, open land and wild life, middle of the ocean to see whales playing and backyards filled with beautiful plants. With each conversation, I am reminded of a similar experince I had, since I was (loosely) following a script I did not bring up my own memories but instead focused on actively listening so I could ask follow-up questions that led people through the script. The experince furthers my belief that we are all connected. Overall it was an enjoyable experince. I am also excited to one-day receive Sajjad’s mother’s recipe for yogurt.

Exercise 2

Posting late on this and re-iterating what I shared in class. I spoke with 4 people and hit gold, and feel appreciative that they were willing to share deep, personal moments in nature with me. Their words:
1) AR said “euphoria, beauty, playfulness, curiosity”
2) KN said “sacred, playfulness, rejuvenation, interconnection”
3) Hayden said “exhilarating, exciting, peaceful, present, carefree, the opposite of feelings today when thinking what’s next”
4) DS described an experience in nature that was like “when the rhythm of your body matches the rhythm of everything around you”