Environment and Health

My participant is Kanan Mammadli, male, 16 years old. He is my cousin and living in the countryside in Qakh, north mountainous region of Azerbaijan.

He said he will share his candid opinions on the subject. He is aware that he is not required to reveal any personal information or discuss anything that might make them feel uncomfortable. He would like to use “Kanan Mammadli” as his name for the proposal and project.

I have requested my cousin to provide a statement that he freely consent to sharing his photos and written statements with me about his perspectives on the environment and/or health.

CONSENT:

I, Kanan Mammadli, am hereby giving my full consent For the UCF (University of Central Florida) student, Nurlan Mammadli, to use any of my documents, photographs, and recordings accumulated and created for the purpose of his PhotoVoice assignment within the course HUM 2020.

These materials may be publicly viewed within the class in order to be critically assessed and graded by her professor. Such materials may also be distributed amongst classmates/peers and via Pressbooks if the assignment asks for such evaluation. Further inquiries into said materials can be answered by me through the contact information displayed below.

By signing below, I hereby give my full consent,

Kanan Mammadli

Date: 11.14.2023

Email: kananmammadli02@gmail.com

The below are the 3 images and statements that he provided:

1)

This picture is taken in our garden. This is a picture of a cow that I helped raise and care for. It’s about 2 years old and was born very healthy. I often feed it myself and look after its health. I kept it clean and made sure it was fed grass as part of its diet. I love interacting with farm animals and being around them.

2)

This picture is of a fire I made in our garden during last winter. My grandmother made a breakfast and told me to make a fire for boiling water for tea. As I was sitting waiting for a fire to be ready, I have noticed my cat “Mesi” coming near and standing by fire to get warm because the weather is usually freezingly cold as we’re living in mountainous area. It was a wholesome moment.

3)

In this picture, you can see flock of sheep that shepherds bring to graze near our village, and shepherds always have their dog with them to protect flock from wolves. They gather around noon and graze in the lower part of the hills. I like to watch the sheep that graze in the hills near my house in the afternoon. I find it peaceful and relaxing to watch them run around and graze.

Summary

I think what my cousin is trying to convey is to show his passion for country life, especially animals. By picturing cow in the first picture, he shows that he cares about farm animals and love them. Then in the second image, he is picturing how different is life in countryside as no one living in an urban places would make a fire to make tea in the morning, and the cat trying to warm itself by the stove also adds beauty to the picture showing he is usually surrounded by animals. In the final picture, he enjoys watching sheep graze around.

Analyzing:

I would call the theme “Embracing Rural Harmony”. The pictures and statements reflect my cousin’s appreciation for country life and animals. The emphasis is on the harmonious connection he feels with farm animals, the simplicity of daily rural activities like making tea by the fire, and the peace of watching sheep graze. It reflects a genuine love for the countryside and a deep connection to the natural and animal world.

I think what my cousin tried to express relates with the idea in the Becoming One With Nature | Spoken Word Poetry, video from Perspectives on Nature reading, that in order to listen to nature, humanity would have to travel into natural environments—far away from urban areas. When I was in Azerbaijan, whenever we talk on the phone, he was inviting me to come and see that beautiful nature, mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, their garden, and animals. Upon visiting him, I was astonished not only by the natural beauty of the area, but also by the naturalness of the air we breathed, the water we drank, and the food we ate. I now understand his passion for country life and nature.