Transcript of Bessie Schwarz '08

(Title: Bessie Schwarz ’08. Bessie interviewed 17 Clayoquot Sound residents about environmental issues for a study supported by a fellowship from Carleton, the Natural Capital Project and the University of British Columbia.)

Well, I’m Bessie Schwarz, I’m a senior Philosophy major and ENTS concentrator (Environmental and Technology Studies) and I’m from South Orange, New Jersey.

I’ve always been really interested in environmental issues, pretty much since I went hiking when I was younger--49 days with a pack, hiking. And in the beginning I was this loud, rowdy, rambunctious kid. And by the end I was this loud, rowdy, rambunctious kid who just found themself outside. So I came back to school just very touched by what I had experienced and I have kept that with me the whole way.

The study that I did is called Stakeholder Perceptions of Ecosystem Services. Ecosystem Services have a couple of definitions, but the one that I generally tend to use is all the goods and services that the natural world or our natural environments provide for humans. Things like the timber value that we get from the natural lands, our water sources, and then the intangible services, which is what I was concentrating on for this study. And those are also labeled Cultural Services, and they’re things like the spiritual value of natural lands, the educational value, the aesthetic value.

The best way I think to value these are actually to go out and see what people think of them. What does a sunset mean to people? People who aren’t scientists or academics, necessarily.

(Visual: Map of Clayoquot Sound region of British Columbia. )

So where I was in Clayoquot Sound, I was looking for people who had interests or needs somehow wrapped up in Clayoquot Sound. Looking at their environmental values, the way they perceive the environment and their relationship with the environment. People involved in local aquaculture, people involved in local ecotourism, and people involved in commercial fishing.

I showed up with all of my bags, dropped off in the middle of town in the middle of the rain, and there didn’t seem to be anyone there. I had no idea where to get where I was supposed to go. But I got there, and it turned out that this research center I was staying at was also part of the local botanical gardens, the Tofino Botanical Gardens, and there were a lot of really smart, great, fun, young people working in the botanical gardens. A lot of bonfires on the beach and going surfing… and then they would go work in the botanical gardens and I’d be staying up really late working on my research and doing interviews.

The conclusions were actually really exciting and they’re just starting to come out. We’ve done initial analysis. People recognized educational value, aesthetic value, social value, an opportunity to get together and bond. Bonding was a word that was used a lot. These can be the biggest motivators for people when talking about the value of the environment.

I’m asking you to give because I think at this age…this is the time in a lot of people’s lives when they have this great enthusiasm and they’re itching to get out and do something about what they care about.

I think something that stayed with me is the fact that I just did it…and having the confidence to do it, and knowing that I had the support and faith in me from all these people around me that I could just do…just volunteering myself, and pushing for it. It was an incredibly valuable experience, and it’s something I’d like to continue doing for a while.

(Title: Support Incredibly Valuable Experiences)

(Title: go.carleton.edu/bessie)