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Introduction | A regional conversation |Ecoliteracy goals | Logistics | Followup | Resources | Contact
Many of us in the Puget Sound region do not know the answers to the simplest questions:
Where does our drinking water come from? What affects the availability and quality of our drinking water? What are the full costs of providing this drinking water?
What affects the quality of the air we breathe?
Where does our food come from? What are the full costs of providing this food?
Where does our garbage and recycling go?
Where does our heating and electrical energy come from? What are the full costs of providing this energy?
How do our activities affect wildlife habitat?
Where does all our rainwater go?
But the answers to these everyday environmental questions are very important to our personal actions and to the voting choices we make as citizens of this region. We want to act responsibly but often lack the basic information about the immediate and longterm consequences of our actions and choices.
A regional conversationWe propose to initiate the Puget Sound Ecoliteracy Project by coordinating a regional conversation about a simple question:
Through this conversation we hope to identify a coherent set of eco-literacy goals for Puget Sound residents that will then form the basis of a number of coordinated environmental education activities for K-12 and college students, professionals and the general public. These activities would be conducted by the many environmental organizations and educational institutions in our region and by new coalitions that may arise out of this regional conversation.
Ecoliteracy goalsAn eco-literacy goal is just a statement of what a citizen should know about the environment of their region. As David Orr says in his book, Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World, ecoliteracy "implies a broad understanding of how people and societies relate to each other and to natural systems, and how they might do so sustainably. It presumes both an awareness of the interrelatedness of life and knowledge of how the world works as a physical system."
The idea of setting these regional ecoliteracy goals is similar to the intention behind the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Project 2061. In its 1989 publication, Science for All Americans, it set out what understanding and abilities in science, mathematics and technology would constitute science literacy for American adults. This was followed in 1993 by the book, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, that recommended what students should know and be able to do by the time they reach certain grade levels, as they progress toward adult science literacy. Over the past decade, this publication has had a tremendous impact on the development of K-12 science and mathematics curricula in many states.
LogisticsOver the summer months of 2003, we will be contacting leading environmental organizations, education institutions, professional associations, non-governmental organizations and media groups to discuss how best to both initiate and sustain a conversation about these ecoliteracy goals with their members and others in our region. In the process we expect to formulate a detailed strategy that will likely include the development of a website, online discussion forums and a series of public events. We would hope to start this regional conversation in the fall of 2003 – depending on when appropriate levels of funding can be secured.
FollowupSimply identifying these ecoliteracy goals is not enough. We must also research and communicate appropriate information and activities to achieve these ecoliteracy goals. This will be the real work of the Puget Sound Ecoliteracy Project.
We can imagine that this will involve the creation of shared curriculum materials, databases, GIS/mapping resources, etc. It may also involve capacity-building within the co-sponsoring agencies in the form of coordinated fundraising efforts and volunteer and board training.
ResourcesAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science. 1989. Science for All Americans. New York: Oxford University Press. (http://www.project2061.org/tools/sfaaol/sfaatoc.htm)
American Association for the Advancement of Science. 1993. Benchmarks for Science Literacy. New York: Oxford University Press. (http://www.project2061.org/tools/benchol/bolframe.htm)
Capra, Fritjof. 1999. Ecoliteracy: The Challenge for Education in the Next Century. Liverpool Schumacher Lectures (www.ecoliteracy.org/pdf/challenge.pdf)
Center for Ecoliteracy. Berkeley, CA. (www.ecoliteracy.org)Orr, David W. 1992. Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press.
Sterling, Stephen. 2001. Sustainable Education: Revisioning Learning and Change. Devon, U.K.: Green Books.
Thomashow, Mitchell. 1995. Ecological Identity: Becoming a Reflective Environmentalist. Cambridge, Mass. and London: MIT Press.
Zimmerman, Michael. 1995. Science, Nonscience and Nonsense: Approaching Environmental Literacy. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Contact Dr. Scott Carley
Organomics Consulting
(206) 323-0393
scott@pselp.org
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