Is Cyanobacteria really bad?

How has the cyanobacteria negatively affected the people and places surrounding Lady Bird Lake? This is the question that fueled my research in this field. From new articles to personal experiences I have always seen the cyanobacteria in a negative light. The algae have taken over Lady Bird Lake and have caused problem for not only the people in the area, but also the surrounding ecosystem.

Interviewing Auditorium Shores

For my fieldwork, I went to interview a dog park at Auditorium Shores. As I used to bring my own dog to this park, as well as, the close proximity to Lady Bird Lake, I felt that this was a perfect place to interview. Over the course of two weeks, I visited the park two times with my friend, and I tried to shape my observations around how the cyanobacteria was hurting the environment. In the beginning, I just tried to sit and observe the changes to the park. I took notice of the small number of dogs in the area, and the greenish color of the water due to the algae. These observations were perfect in helping to answer my question. I thought that my interview with the dog park was exactly what I needed. However, when I interviewed my friend, my views started to shift.

The Interview

Once again, as with my interview with the place, I began with questions that wanted to frame how the algae has a negative effect. I started with questions that were basic and would give background to the issue such as, what she thought about the algae problem and what the cyanobacteria has done to affect her life. Her responses detailed activities and hobbies that she could no longer perform due to the closer of different parts of the lake. Theses responses allowed me to address more specific parts of her responses. She had mentioned using the area around the lake to exercise and relax with her dog. I asked her about the differences in her life due to no longer being able to use the area around the lake. Her response was not what I was expecting. I thought she was going to talk about the nuances and difficulties that not being able to use the lake had, however I got the opposite. She mentioned having to use a different area to workout in and due to that meeting people and making friends. She told me that she now had a group of people that she works out with throughout the week, and if not for the closure of the lake, she would never have had this opportunity.

I was surprised by her response. It was not the response that I had expected and as a result we spent the rest of the interview talking about her new workout group. After finishing with my friend, I realized that I was not being objective about the issue. Without even thinking about it, I was looking for every which way that the algae was bad and ignoring anything that could be a positive change. This led me to shift my question towards if the algae was really bad, or if I had been biased. My second visit to the dog park in Auditorium Shores was very different. Instead of looking for all the ways the dog park was negatively impacted, I tried to observe every aspect of the park. I now noticed how there was way more grass now than before. I noticed that there were more birds and squirrels that were around due to the smaller amount of dogs in the area. These were changed that I had not noticed before in my initial visit and were only noticed when I shifted the way I thought about the algae.

What I Learned

This change in my focus reminded me of Latour’s “Sensitizing.” Being able to notice of not just the negative aspects only came after I took a step back and opened my mind to the possibility of other view points on the algae. I was able to become more rhetorical as I was no longer looking for a specific answer, but was open to any number of possible responses. This has also shifted my perspective in my overall topic as well. Before I was only searching for articles that negative, without even realizing it. However, now that I am aware of my lack of an open mind, I now can shift to just finding articles about my topic.