Synopses & Reviews
Our efforts to build a sustainable world cannot succeed unless future generations learn how to partner with natural systems to our mutual benefit. In other words, children must become and#147;ecologically literate.and#8221; The concept of ecological literacy advanced by this bookand#8217;s creators, the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, goes beyond the discipline of environmental education. It aims, says David Orr in his foreword, and#147;toward a deeper transformation of the substance, process, and scope of education at all levelsand#8221;and#151;familial, geographic, ecological, and political.
The reports and essays gathered here reveal the remarkable work being done by the Centerand#8217;s network of partners. In one middle school, for example, culinary icon Alice Waters founded a program that not only gives students healthy meals but teaches them to gardenand#151;and thus to study life cycles and energy flows. Other hands-on student projects described here range from stream restoration and watershed exploration to confronting environmental justice issues at the neighborhood level.
With contributions from distinguished writers and educators, such as Fritjof Capra, Wendell Berry, and Michael Ableman, Ecological Literacy reflects the best thinking about how the world actually works and how learning occurs. Parents and educators everywhere will find it an invaluable resource.
Synopsis
A network of educational reformers reports on projects that are equipping today's children with the tools of ecological consciousness and systems thinking that will help humankind live more sustainably on the Earth tomorrow.
Synopsis
"The Center for Ecoliteracy is at the forefront of a movement teaching us to find connections in seemingly disjointed problems, perceive patterns instead of pieces, and design communities based on the interrelatedness of all life. This important book synthesizes sophisticated theory and inspiring stories of successful ecological education from elementary through college levels."--Frances Moore Lappé, author of
Democracy's Edge and
Hope's Edge (with Anna Lappé)
"The ecological crisis is in part a crisis of education. This highly original volume makes a critical contribution to rethinking how we teach our children about their place in nature. The best book of its kind."--Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire
"This is a marvelous book. Zenobia Barlow and Michael Stone present a beautiful array of essays that embrace theory, philosophy and practice with spirit and substance. Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World is a remarkable gift to environmental educators everywhere."--Bora Simmons, Past President, North American Association for Environmental Education
Table of Contents
Foreword--
David W. OrrPreface: How Nature Sustains the Web of Life--Fritjof Capra
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Zenobia Barlow and Michael K. Stone
PART I. VISION
En'owkin: Decision-Making as if Sustainability Mattered
Jeannette C. Armstrong
Speaking Nature's