{"id":4126,"date":"2010-10-18T12:02:26","date_gmt":"2010-10-18T16:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=4126"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:45:30","slug":"moving-forward-on-environmental-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2010\/10\/18\/moving-forward-on-environmental-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving forward on environmental literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs<\/em><\/p>\n

Connect with gamers.\u00a0 Connect with religious communities.\u00a0 Work with public health professionals.\u00a0 Explore.\u00a0 Make the connection to a green economy.\u00a0 Find champions in the private sector.\u00a0 Engage with your community.\u00a0 These were all messages those participating in last week\u2019s <\/span>Ecology and Education Summit<\/span><\/a> heard from a wide range of speakers focused on improving environmental understanding and stewardship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Convened by the Ecological Society of America and the <\/span>National Education Association<\/span><\/a>, as well as dozens of partners, the Summit explored ways to enhance environmental education in the United States.\u00a0 The conference brought together a wide range of people involved in education\u2014from those focused on green schools to those exploring ways to deepen interest in the environment using computer games, and religious leaders promoting Earth stewardship and social justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Focusing on global climate change, polar explorer Will Steger said that he sees building a clean-energy economy as a method for alleviating climate change, contributing to the economy, and advancing national security.\u00a0 Through his <\/span>Foundation<\/span><\/a>, Steger seeks to contribute to this transition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cassandra Carmichael, with the <\/span>National Council of Churches<\/span><\/a>, pointed out that, while the science community has knowledge, the religious community has thousands of years of practice in powerful metaphors that successfully move and motivate people.\u00a0 She argued that these two communities should interact more on their common goal of protecting ecosystems, regardless of differing views about whether or not these are \u201cGod\u2019s creations.\u201d\u00a0 Carmichael noted that elected officials take particular notice of \u201csomeone with a white collar or a nun\u201d appearing in their office and making a pitch for taking better care of our natural resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching a congressional hearing on endangered species unfold years ago, I saw first-hand how an evangelical minister disarmed a Member of Congress with eloquent arguments based on religious values when that same Representative had just successfully filleted a scientist who was also testifying for species protection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking carefully about various communities and their perceptions was another recurring theme of the Summit.\u00a0 One conference participant noted that in his experience, replacing the word \u201cenvironmental\u201d with \u201cstewardship\u201d or with \u201cnatural resources\u201d keeps people engaged who would otherwise immediately switch off, assuming that the speaker is an elitist \u201ctree hugger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And while some conference attendees seemed to feel strongly that an outdoor experience should be the top goal, others argued for taking advantage of existing trends in society, such as the estimated 500 million so-called gamers, or people who regularly play computer games.\u00a0 Instead of maligning this activity, argued game designer <\/span>Rusel DeMaria<\/span><\/a>, those promoting environmental education should think about ways to reach gamers through their favorite medium.\u00a0 \u00a0DeMaria proposed that a partnership between game designers and educators and scientists would offer great potential\u2014making games fun, challenging, and educational.\u00a0 Chris Dede, with Harvard University, talked about a new virtual educational tool he and his students are using to supplement what can be learned by going outside.\u00a0 He pointed out how virtual tools\u2014such as allowing a youngster to virtually experience a pond as a tiny Carbon element\u2014may enrich overall understanding.\u00a0 Much as reading Rachel Caron\u2019s Silent Spring<\/em> or going to the movie theater to see An Inconvenient Truth<\/em>, these indoor activities can enhance one\u2019s overall appreciation of the environment, said Dede.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"An<\/a> Will Allen, founder of <\/span>Growing Power, Inc.<\/span><\/a> enthralled Summit attendees with his story of enabling urban communities to grow their own fresh food, often transforming neighborhoods in the process.\u00a0 With locally grown food as the main goal, Allen\u2019s enterprise is year-round, featuring multi-tiered greenhouses heated by compost in the winter, compost worms\u2014\u201cworms are our livestock,\u201d said Allen\u2014and diverting waste from landfills.\u00a0 The company focuses on schools and communities, often creating gardens right on top of asphalt\u2014a much cheaper solution than digging it up and also a way to avoid often contaminated ground underneath, according to Allen.\u00a0 He noted that engaging with the community is the first step to accomplishing anything and that \u201conce you become a valued part of the community, anything is possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs Connect with gamers.\u00a0 Connect with religious communities.\u00a0 Work with public health professionals.\u00a0 Explore.\u00a0 Make the connection to a green economy.\u00a0 Find champions in the private sector.\u00a0 Engage with your community.\u00a0 These were all messages those participating in last week\u2019s Ecology and Education Summit heard from a wide range of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1005,106,1006,1007,1008,1009,1010,1011,1012,1013],"class_list":["post-4126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","tag-earth-stewardship","tag-environmental-education","tag-environmental-literacy","tag-gamers","tag-green-economy","tag-growing-power","tag-national-council-of-churches","tag-national-education-association","tag-virtual-educational-tools","tag-will-allen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4126"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21553,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4126\/revisions\/21553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}