Tuesday, June 4

Hawken - Blessed Unrest

Hawken points out in Blessed Unrest that, "you can not describe possibilities for that future unless the present problem is accurately defined."  There is not one singular problem with the environment, there are multitudes of problems.  The overarching definition of all of those problems is that we are in trouble as a planet and we need to do something about it.

Environmental and Social Justice movements often address the same side of a larger problem.  "The way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in how we treat the earth."

There is a global movement that is arising from the bottom up.  There is no name for this movement or overarching structure or organization.  There are small networks between like minded groups, but the networks don't even begin to encompass the whole of the movement. 

Hope is humanities intention to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, re-imagine, and reconsider.   It is in our willingness to help others. 

This article is from a book published in 2007.  Now in 2013 there may just a name for the movement, and an overarching philosophy that is spanning the globe.  Idle No More is a grassroots movement that people and organizations around the globe are banning together to speak out against threats to the environment and to indigenous peoples rights.  Just this month the Hupacasath First Nation challenged a trade agreement with China in Federal court and the Beaver Lake Cree Nation has won the right to take the Canadian government to court over treaty rights violations created by the massive pollution of the tar sands.  Idle No More has stood in solidarity with indigenous and ecological causes and movements from around the globe.

The workshop given by Mike and Nathan brought these ideas closer to home by having us research local environmental groups and then to brainstorm ways in which we could team up with these groups to create a lesson for our subject area.   As a Home Ec. teacher I know that several of these groups would be a natural link to the foods classes that I would be teaching.  I found this to be an extremely useful exercise. 

One of the main reasons I chose to go into Home Ec is that I have a passion for local food sustainability.  I believe that as a society we are at serious risk of loosing the ability to feed ourselves.  Within a generation or two the first hand knowledge of how to grow and preserve and store food will be lost.  The curriculum, as it stands, does not focus at all on sustainability, so it will be up to me to find ways of working that into the curriculum.  I think by partnering with some of the organizations that were discussed in class, activities and projects could be developed that would give students insight into ecological and social justice issues as well as giving them real world hands on experience in ways in which they can make a difference.  Some of the organizations that would be a real good fit with the Foods classes would be:

• Beyond Factory Farming Coalition
• CHEP Good Food
• Craik Sustainable Living Project
• Organic Connections
• Oxfam - Prairie Region
• Permaculture Research Institute of Saskatchewan
• Road Map Saskatoon
• Safe Drinking Water Foundation
• Saskatchewan Network for Alternatives to Pesticides (SNAP)
• Saskatoon Farmers' Market Cooperative Ltd.
• We Are Many

(http://econet.ca/about/membergroups.html) 

 

Capra - Speaking Natures Language: Principles for Sustainability

What is a living system

Every living organism is a living system.

All parts of the living systems are living systems themselves

communities of organisms (ecosystems and human social systems) are living systems.

Systems are nonlinear networks, not linear cause <---> effect (which is the way that science tends to look at things)

For sustainability, quality not quantity counts

Systems theory says it is not just the molecules that are important, it is how they interact with each other.

Perceptual Shifts

From the parts to the whole: the whole can not be reduced to its parts, because the whole has properties that the parts alone do not possess.

·      Education Implication: Looking at individual classes to see how they fit within the entirety of the student's learning experiences

From objects to relationships: ecosystem is not just a collection, but rather a community.  A network of relationships imbedded in larger relationships. 

·      Education Implication: how are the classes that I am teaching interconnected with the other classes offered?  how can a community of teachers support each other and support learning

From objective knowledge to contextual knowledge: from thinking about the parts to the whole because the properties of the parts can only be understood within the context of the whole

·      Education Implication: What is the overall goal of education?  how is what I am teaching and how I am teaching it fit into the overall goal?

From quantity to quality: relationships and context can not be put on a scale and measured, however that does not make them any less valid than something that can be scientifically measured. 

·      Education Implication: taking time to make connections in learning instead of rushing through material and curriculum

From structure to process: systems are constantly developing and changing.  Systems are about transformation. 

·      Education Implication: being open to change and acknowledging that just because something has worked in the past

From contents to patterns: there are patterns in all relationships, but we have been looking at what makes the relationships, not the patterns that the relationships make.

·      Education Implication: What patterns are formed in the learning relationships?  how can we learn from them?

Implications for Education

Academic disciplines are fragmented.  We need to find a way of blending them, by finding the common principles and frameworks

Sustainability in the Language of Nature

Networks: the existence of individual members of a ecological community depend on their relationships for survival.  Sustainability is not individual, it involves the entire network or community. 

this translates into projects and human organizations as well

·      Education Implication: a students learning doesn't take place in a bubble, their learning is the combination of the interactions between teachers, peers, and the varied experiences

Nested Systems: systems are often nested within other living systems. 

·      Education Implication: a students learning experiences are nested in the classroom, school, board, district, province

Interdependence: sustainability of the individual and the entire ecosystem are interdependent.  no organism exists in isolation.  sustainability involves the whole community. 

·      Education Implication: learning in one classroom depends on learning in other classrooms, and previous learning situations

Diversity: diverse ecosystems are resilient because the individual species often have overlapping functions.  The more complex the network patterns of interconnections are the more resilient it is.

Human communities are the same, with different approaches to life and to the same problem.  In schools multiple approaches to curriculum and teaching styles are essential

·      Education Implication: the more varied the learning opportunities and content the more resilient/stronger a students understanding

Cycles:  matter continually cycles through the web of life

human communities are not always cyclical.  industry is linear. challenge is to make industry sustainable so all products and waste have a way of being a part of a cycle. 

·      Education Implication: Learning is cyclical.  we learn and we pass on the knowledge whether we know it or not

Flows: systems are open systems. energy is not cyclical, it flows and is converted from one form to another. 

a sustainable society would only use as much energy as was sustainable from the sun, wind and other forms of renewable energy. 

schools can be sustainable by sourcing local foods

·      Education Implication: the learning that takes place in the schools may eventually lead to independent study in an area of interest

Development: systems develop which evokes learning.  species grow and their learning is manifested in evolution.  In an ecosystem organisms and the environment grow together.  Individuals and the environment co-evolve.  The development is non-linear and unpredictable.  small changes can have profound effects.

·      Education Implication: as we grow our needs change and we seek out new knowledge

Dynamic Balance: Ecological cycles go through feedback loops to regulate and balance itself.  If there is a disturbance in the cycle it fluctuates.  These fluctuations take place within tolerance limits, if they go beyond the limits the system could collapse.  

·      Education Implication: learning needs to be paced for the individual learner in order for it to be effective and not overwhelming. 

Group work with the Itep class

sharing a place or space that is meaningful to us.  

I don't have a specific place that is important to me but I really love it when I find myself in a situation where I can see a clear definition between land and sky.  I love it when I can look 360 degrees (or close to it) and see uninterrupted horizon.  I love the realization how small we are as individuals and how big the world really is.  Some people get freaked out by that, but I really feel centered when I am in that situation.  

how do we see ourselves and our identity to natural systems

understanding ourselves in our world in inter conectiveness

It was interesting that in our group there was a consensus that there was an a feeling that we were willing to do something that was environmentally friendly but "as long as it didn't inconvenience me"