Beyond Reading
and Writing — Ecological literacy
In our schools we emphasize
and test the teaching of literacy. We tout literacy as
a decisive factor in the education and development of children
and civilization. Nevertheless, many children remain ecologically
illiterate. As population pressures put the ecosystems
that support us at risk, it is more urgent than ever that
environmental literacy be taught. Education must teach
the interrelationships between a healthy body, a healthy
environment and a healthy economy. This is nothing short
of teaching a way of life that is sustainable. No
matter where children live, they need to develop an awareness
of the kinship and responsibility of their own lifestyle
as consumers and producers with the life of the planet, and
help create a future economy that supports both.
On hot summer day-camp
days some years ago I used to take children to the creeks
and rivers in our area. It was so beautiful to float on
an inner tube through these lifelines of the high desert
and listen and watch cliff swallows dart and swoop, or
see blue herons wade and fish. Hawks would circle on the
rising heat high above the colonies of other birds, lush
plants and creatures that the watershed supports. The children’s
play and explorations enabled them to experience the environment
with an unhurried intimacy, and they became friends with
it.
We always took large
bags with us and cleaned the shores of trash thoughtless
visitors left after their days of pleasure and play. I
would always point out to the children that most sources
of trash that polluted the beaches and rocky banks were
things that were really not good for peoples’ health.
The lesson in this
is that people who pollute the environment are first polluting
their bodies. How can we teach people to take care of the
environment if they don’t take
care of themselves? Environmental and economic catastrophes
that darken our spirit these days are the results of unhealthy
living. When we look at the earth holistically as an organism
we gain a new perspective of the human being’s place
in it and our responsibility.
Sustainability is a
consequence of responsible living, and the keynote of health.
It is based upon the balance of taking and giving back — of
using resources in a way that is not wasteful or damaging.
When an organism is healthy it sustains its life and other
lives. Environmental sustainability follows the same law
of give and take, and succeeds when one nurtures it as
a good partner and a good custodian. Our
well-being as living organisms is connected to the well-being
of our environment. The environment is not separate or alien
from us; rather it follows the same principles of life in
the same cooperative and interdependent system in which we
all live.
Economic activity is the
manifestation of human interaction with the environment.
The tragic and deadly tar and chemicals gushing from the
depths of the Gulf of Mexico are symptoms of an unhealthy
addiction to a toxic-dependent lifestyle with a dead end.
This crisis demonstrates the consequences of ignoring the
interrelationship between the health of our body, the environment
and the economy. A healthy economy is a continuous cycle: conservation,
growth, use, renewal. These qualities are what make
for healthy living and healthy environmental practices as
well. We need to be aware that we live on an island in space
with finite boundaries and finite resources that must be
continuously cared for.
As we teach children the academic tools for success, we
need to also give them the tools for applying their knowledge
and meeting their needs in a sustainable way. Individual
success is empty if it does not contribute to a healthy and
happy life for oneself and others. The essence of ecological
literacy is the realization that one is an important agent
in the healing and transformation of oneself, the environment
and the economy. When all individuals participate in this
transformation, we will create communities that are cohesive,
prosperous and sustainable.
© 2010 Richard
V. Sidy
