Walking the Talk: 5 Questions with Jocelyn Rawleigh
1. Tell me how getting outside/being in nature fits into your life? Fortunately, my personal and work life center around going outside! I often can be found exploring southern Alberta with my binoculars in hand. As a Helen Schuler Nature Centre employee, all the nature adventures I partake in, directly supports my role there. What a dream! Come and say hi!
2. How and why did you get started? It all started with building curiosity in exploration. Classically, I grew up on a small farm in rolling-coulees-Southern-Alberta, where my dog and I would venture out finding frogs, baby rabbits, and the many, lone, cold eggs that undoubtedly rolled into the dugout long before I found them. I insisted on incubating them on a heating pad, but to no avail.When the time came to choose my own educational path, I knew that environmental work was where my heart felt at home. This is where I took a deep dive into our local flora and fauna and my love for the prairies grew. Fast forward to this past year when I began to explore birds. It was another way to connect to nature. Birds here, birds there, and before I knew it, I became an avid birder. It is funny how that sneaks up on you.
3. What has been your biggest challenge? To remember it all. It is a big world out there! There are a lot of birds. Haha! In all honesty, to see such inherent worth in something, but ultimately, it being devalued and degraded due to our own selfish, human desires can be quite demoralizing.
4. What’s your best tip for someone who is new to birding/nature appreciation/hiking? Just start. Start going outside. Start exploring unfamiliar places. Start asking questions. You do not have to know everything. It will come piece by piece.
Slow down and be truly present with the natural world. If your mind is too busy with thoughts about the past and future, then you will not be able to experience nature even if it is right in front of you. Also, do not be afraid to reach out to local experts. They usually enjoy sharing their wealth of knowledge and are a realHOOT!
5. What’s one wish you have for Lethbridge when it comes to conserving nature? My hope is that protecting the environment will not be constantly trumped by economic development. A city that values the natural environment and prioritizes sustainability, biodiversity, and green initiatives.