| This study is an ethnographic portrait of Interpretive Naturalists at a Midwestern state park. The study exhibits the ways in which Interpretive Naturalists learn about a place, how they create meaning about a place, and how they transmit this knowledge to others. Principle findings include the use of experiential storytelling and intimate contact as vehicles for individual and collective engagement to place. The concept of sense of place is examined as a form of relating to the natural world which infuses holism of knowledge, belonging to a place, and love. This is integral to larger goals of meaning making and preservation of both ecological and cultural systems. The research concludes that Interpretive Naturalists are unique educators in that they offer a model of emplacement or reinhabitation for visitors to parks. The concept of reinhabitation is explored in the context of Natural History Interpretation as a potential alternative to mainstream forms of Environmental Education. This educative model evident offers an important alternative to mainstream education in contemporary society as more people become dislocated from intimate and emotive experience with places. |
