Duenkel, Nicky

Henderson, Bob

The Trumpeter - Journal of Ecosophy (Athabasca University)

Trumpeter (1997)ISSN: 0832-6193Editorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibili-tiesNicky DuenkelTrumpeterBob HendersonTrumpeterEditorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities 2NICKY: To wander and to wonder are fitting descriptors of mylife. My wandering has led me from the east to the west andback again, several times over; exploring both the inner and outerrealms of wilderness. I have journeyed through steep canyon wallsthat have humbled me and enabled me to grasp my insignificancein the greater scheme of things. I have paddled on lakes and riversin the mountains, prairies, on the Canadian Shield, and amongstdesert sands that have all taught me to move in accordance withthe flow of life rather than countering our own nature and that ofthe surrounding world. I have hiked on trails travelled by thou-sands as well as on barrens and streambeds likely untouched bydirect human presence, both of which have helped me to dispelthe myth of dualism and inspired feelings of being a part of, ratherthan apart from, the natural world. I recognize and celebrate thefact that my wandering has enabled me to become grounded in adeeply felt and profoundly experienced sense of relationship withthe Earth. My wandering reflects a deep sense of devotion to anongoing journey of discovering self and place.As I wander, I also wonder... I wonder how I can empower othersto assume greater responsibility for their own learning and person-al development. I wonder how I can help folks achieve a greatersense of harmony with themselves, others and the natural world. Iwonder how to enhance creativity and nurture divergent thought.I wonder why playing music and singing are always so uplifting.I wonder why I don’t play more and work less. I wonder aboutthe ebb and flow inherently present in all of life’s relationship-s. I wonder about and thrive in life’s mysteries. I often wonder,and wander, in what appear to be fuzzy grey areas between thedistinctive black and white.Copyright 1999 TrumpeterEditorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities 3My latest journey has led me to the Gulf of Maine bioregion,where I join students and co-faculty of the Audubon ExpeditionInstitute as we seek to co-create a more environmentally and so-cially just world. Much wandering and wondering remain to bedone...BOB: I enjoyed early years at children’s summer camps as camper,counsellor and travel guide. Thanks to these formative experi-ences, I learned early on to suspect the soundness of my culturalmap rather than to suspect the soundness of my perceptions (asE.F. Schumacher put it). I have been involved in Outdoor E-duction pretty much full time all the time as I see it. I try toteach in classrooms and institutional settings as a travel guidemight. By this I mean, I try to engage students in a disorienta-tion from individual, competitive, consumptive schooling towardsa co-investigative community of learners. I try to ensure a healthyamount of time for inquiry that brings us directly down to earth,”with” the Earth. I see this task as cultural work much more thanschool work. This effort has led to many pedagogical explorations”with” students. Working at McMaster University, Hamilton, On-tario, in a Kinesiology and the Arts and Science program has ledto a winter love affair with our local marsh, Cootes Paradise, andits skiff of snow and ice and the same regard for the Dundas Val-ley in the autumn. I split my time between the valley town ofDundas, Ontario, and Algonquin Park where I cut my teeth withpaddle in hand. I hope to continue to explore these areas with mypartner Kathleen, young family, and student groups.We are very excited by this opportunity to serve as editors for a theme issueof The Trumpeter entitled, ”Educating towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities.”While there are many who would suggest that the aims of the deep ecology move-ment, ecosophy and the like are unattainable, wild eyed idealistic visions for therelationship of humans to the earth, trapped in a comforting but marginalizingdiscourse etc. etc. We, on the other hand, have as individuals and friends (manyof these writers are so) maintained that deep ecocentric actions are ”out there”and being practiced in the name of education. Ideas, concepts, theories bent oncultivating ecological consciousness that have surfaced to educators have beenuseful to many. They are being acted upon with long term visionary passionfor moral agency, reality based viability and a celebratory joy of doing what isworth doing.Approaches that consciously and intentionally work within a curricular structureand sets of aspirations that support the deep ecology movement are many andvaried. There exist also many perspectives that are rich in potential, althoughunconscious or ignorant of deep ecology, are nevertheless actively furthering thedeep ecology movement. People, educators - young and old - are gaining theCopyright 1999 TrumpeterEditorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities 4insight that we must, as Theodore Roszak (1972)once put it, have the honesty toconfront our culture. We must bring ourselves to question cultural assumptionsand practices and of equal importance we need to act upon this reflective process.As noted by Chuck Chamberlin within these pages, the eighth principle of deepecology platform (see p. 83) is what makes the other seven revolutionary incharacter rather than a merely rebellious muse.The writers in this volume of The Trumpeter come from diverse educationalsettings. Perspectives within include eco-theatre, a naturalists’ view, activism,classroom teaching, travel guiding, personal lifestyle issues, community initia-tives and philosophical inquiry. It is certain that all writers approach educationexperientially with a strong focus on being, knowing, valuing and connectingto the out-of-doors. They also share a spirit of experimentation and creativity.There is much happening/evolving in the name, and in the framing inspiration,of the deep ecology movement in education for all ages. The key players increating educational programs, lifestyle change, recreational offerings, however,are more than likely working as the innovators themselves, forging their ownideas into practice. The role models are only now being identified within ourcommunities of elders and our dynamic youthful leadership. We are presentingthe work of some of these people here. Many here have influenced and supportedour own efforts through word and example.Moral responsibility is a shared attitude amongst these authors. There is an ex-ploration of enculturation throughout these writings as the environmental/socialcrisis is taken as a given. The hidden curriculum to avoid fundamental changetowards increased social justice and eco-centric practice is strong. Within thesepages, the authors and artists and poets publicly respond to the challenges ofteaching for such change. This responsible agency is a reflection of a revolution-ary character for change, quite a different notion of change than that furtheredby the rebellious character (Fromm, 1963, p. 113). The revolutionary (a strongbut appropriate word) does not seek to overthrow some structural order so asto gain power over the order and then perpetuate similar mistakes. This is theresponse of the rebel: no vision outside of self gain, the oppressed becomingthe oppressor. The revolutionary character, on the other hand, seeks to change,to better the existing order in the name of truth, beauty, goodness and adven-ture.1 The revolutionary character seeks genuine change and is willingly changedthroughout the process. The path is less clear. The vision is long term, whatMichael Harrington calls ”visionary gradualism” (in McLaughlin, 1993, p. 200).The change is measurable in behavior, in more viable ecological and social con-sciousness, in a more caring world for all beings. What could be more rewardingand more difficult? This is why we are excited by this issue of The Trumpeter.In it there are rewards, difficulties, setbacks and celebrations, throughout the”adventure” of education moving towards deep ecological territory.We are faithful Trumpeter readers and we wish to focus on one broad theme.We are knowledgeable about the Audubon Expedition Institute (A.E.I.) whichCopyright 1999 TrumpeterEditorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities 5is presented here as an example of an educational program that consciouslyand intentionally works from a deep ecological mission. This exemplary AEIprogram in outdoor experiential/environmental (one might add eco-political)education is not alone. Large and small, there are many educational programsand lifestyle ways that are consistent with the deep ecology movement. Wedo not provide a listing of programs, types and places, but attempt to capturesamples of the thinking and action explored and expressed by members of farreaching, far thinking, down to earth communities.Finally, for newcomers to both the deep ecology movement and to educationthat is critically pragmatic - that is, education that attempts to actively reshapeour inherited educational structures ”as judgements are made about good/bad,beautiful/ugly, true/false in the context of our communities and our attemptsto build them anew” (Cherryholmes, 1988, p. 179) - a few definitions serve tolaunch this collection of writings. As Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen onceput it, ”and, friluftsliv 2 for your thoughts” (in Reed and Rothenberg, 1993, p.12).Helpful DefinitionsDefinition of experiential education, as approved by the Association for Experi-ential Education Board of Directors, November 3, 1994. Experiential educationis a process through which a learner constructs knowledge, skill, and value fromdirect experiences.Elements of experiential education: individual learner involvement, educationnot classroom bound, education not teacher bound, living in the present, prepa-ration for a changing world.All other definitions are from ”An Ecophilosopher’s Dictionary: Basic conceptsfor ecocentric exploration.,” by Alan Drengson, 1994, Lightstar Press.Deep Ecology Movement is a grass roots, world wide, political movement thatis sometimes called radical environmentalism. It is characterized by support forNaess’ and Sessions’ eight platform principles. Supporters of the Deep EcologyMovement agree that we cannot go on with business as usual; human numbersand technology are destroying the ecological systems; we must make fundamen-tal changes in our values and practices; these require recognizing that thereare values inherent in Nature, and thinking, speaking and acting ecocentrically.Persons support this platform from a number of different ultimate philosophiesor religions.Ecocentric refers to a value system and attitude that humans are only part oflarger ecological processes and systems. Natural and human communities arefolded into one another. We cannot avoid participation in these communities.Copyright 1999 TrumpeterEditorial: Educating Towards Deep Ecological Sensibilities 6Our primary responsibility as Homo sapiens and moral agents is to take re-sponsibility for ourselves. The environmental crisis is a result of collective andpersonal failure in responsibility.Ecological consciousness is sometimes contrasted with lack of ecological con-sciousness, that is, behavior and thought which ignores ecological realities andhas no sense of participating the larger context of place. The ultimate aim ofthe environmental movement, say many, is to develop ecological consciousnessso that our social and cultural life manifest ecosophy, that is, ecological harmo-ny and wisdom. Ecological consciousness can take many forms, just as thereare many forms of ecosophy.Ecosophy literally means the wisdom of the household place. It implies thewisdom to dwell harmoniously and nondestructively in a place. It involves beingreceptive and responsive to the needs of a place and the wisdom that Nature hasenfolded into that place with its many beings, communities, and organizations.Ecosophy can deepen throughout one’s life, and throughout a culture’s life.The term was coined by Arne Naess to refer to ultimate philosophies based onecocentric values. There are many ecosophies.Self-realization is a central concept in many philosophies, e.g. Gandhi’s, Spinoza’sand also Arne Naess’ Ecosophy T. If the idea is understood broadly, it is foundin all major religions as part of the inner core of sacred, spiritual teachings.Extension of identification is one way to practice expanding our capacity forcare and understanding. Then we spontaneously act in nonviolent ways thatare creative and cooperative, which help others to realize themselves. When weextend our identification and realize our Ecological Self, we are transcendingidentification with a smaller insecure ego self.Notes1. Alfred North Whitehead in Adventures of Ideas (1947) refers to the im-portance of adventure for the promotion and preservation of civilization. Hewrites, ”But, given the vigour of adventure, sooner or later the leap of imagina-tion reaches beyond the safe limits of the epoch, and beyond the safe limits oflearned rules of taste. It then produces the dislocations and confusions markingthe advent of new ideals for civilized effort.” (p. 360).2. Friluftsliv literally means, a way home to the open air. It denotes a relation-ship with nature that involves meeting nature on nature’s terms, coming to knownature as home. For more on this Norwegian phrase, see Reed and Rothenberg(eds.), and also the article on page 93 in this issue of The Trumpeter.Copyright 1999 TrumpeterReferencesCherryholmes, C. 1988. Power and Criticism: Post-structural Investigations inEducation. New York: Teacher’s College Press.Fromm, E. 1963. The Dogma of Christ and Other Essays. London: Routledgeand Kegan.McLaughlin, A. 1993. Regarding Nature, Industrialism and Deep Ecology. Al-bany: State University of New York Press.Reed, P. and Rothenberg, D. (eds.). 1993. Wisdom in the Open Air. Min-neapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Roszak, T. 1972. Where the Wasteland Ends: Politics and Transcendence inPost Industrial Society. New York: Doubleday.Whitehead, A.N. 1947. Adventures of Ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.Citation FormatDuenkel, Nicky & Henderson, Bob (1997) Editorial: Educating Towards Deep EcologicalSensibilities Trumpeter: 14, 2. http://www.icaap.org/iuicode?6.14.2.1Document generated from IXML by ICAAP conversion macros.See the ICAAP web site or software repository for details

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