Reflection
At the beginning of this task I was definitely a lot less aware of how badly wildlife had been affected by human society. In the initial weeks I looked more at how man-made structures or items were intertwined with nature, that in many places the two had come together and assimilated. When I moved onto looking at an environmental problem within Australia I was surprised by the huge number of threatened species within Australia. I never knew that there were over 1900 species that were threatened within our country, and that made me wonder how many more species are in danger all across the world. In week 4 I specifically looked at some of the most common ways in which we were endangering all types of animals, these being bushfires, the loss of habitats and waste production. These are all things that have persisted for many years and although we know that these are problems, there does not seem to be enough done to stop them. In some cases, they are even getting worse at a faster rate.
In week 5 and 6 begins the start of my e-concept. At first I was more fascinated in the ways technology and animals could be combined to make new discoveries. That this could be a very good beginning to a collaboration between species possibly bringing us closer. It also displayed a way in which nature could still be connected to all the changes and technological advances humankind had made. I simply saw the crittercams as a way that could help us empathise by putting humans in the shoes of animals as well as it being an effective way to dispute unprecedented claims of animals causing problems.
As I got more and more into the topic, whether through research or looking at previous students' work, I came to think more about how there are similarities in both human and animal behaviour. That possibly, the crittercams could reveal even more. It has already been shown before that when humans are shown footage that allows them to relate to animals it creates a powerful feeling of wanting to be more proactive in saving the environment and protecting animals. The crittercams could be a very effective way in recording these similar behaviours of animals with ease.
Since there are already ways in which the collaboration of man-made technology and animals can benefit in having animals be understood and protected, it is possible that there are many other ways in which innovative technology can be used to learn more about wildlife as well as assisting in their survival. Hopefully, one day people can come to see that animals are not that different from humans, that they too want to and deserve to live comfortable lives on this planet we share.