Ecological Literacy

 



Northward view from Cape Ferrelo at Lone Ranch Beach, OR
Photo: Bri Foster

Ecological Literacy: What is it?

There's a term that I've heard often since joining the Environmental Education (EE) masters program at Southern Oregon University: Ecological Literacy. Given that literacy itself can be a broad term, I thought it would be good to explore what exactly 'Ecological Literacy' (E.L.) is.

It terns out that the term 'Ecological Literacy' has only been around since the early 1990's when it was coined by David W. Orr and Fritjof Capra.  (Draft Global Issues Pilot August 2011)  At the time, David Orr simply defined E.L. as "Ecological literacy, according to Garret Hardin, is the ability to ask 'what then?' -David W. Orr Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World

Since then the definition has changed and grown as researchers have applied the term to their own investigations.  In looking for definitions in publications and other sources, I came of across multiple possibilities.  These are some of the highlights:

"Environmental literacy is the capability for a contextual and detailed understanding of an environmental problem in order to enable analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and ultimately sound and informed decision making at a citizen's level. This means that "environmentally literate" students will have the knowledge, tools, and sensitivity to properly address an environmental problem in their professional capacity, and to routinely include the environment as one of the considerations in their work and daily living. Environmental literacy is about practices, activities, and feelings grounded in familiarity and sound knowledge." -Carnegie Mellon

"It is a way of thinking about the world in terms of its interdependent natural and human systems, including a consideration of the consequences of human actions and interaction within a natural context. Ecological literacy equips student with the knowledge and competencies necessary to address complex and urgent environmental issues in an integrated way, and enables them to help shape a sustainable society  that does not undermine the ecosystems upon which it depends."-Draft Global Issues Pilot August 2011

"The definition of sustainability implies that in order to build sustainable communities, we must understand the principles of organization that have evolved in ecosystems over billions of years.  This understand is what we call 'ecological literacy.'"- Fritjof Capra Sustainable Living, Ecological Literacy, and the Breath of Life.  Canadian Journal of Environmental Education. 12, 2007.

"Education for sustainability or ecological literacy means to teach ecology in depth, in a systematic and multidisciplinary manner.  It means to know not only natural metabolism and study the impacts of human actions on the environment, but also the social metabolism with nature, the repercussions of the impacts of ecosystems on the social relations, re-designing class and power structures. Education for sustainable life is to promote understanding of how ecosystems sustain life, thus obtaining the necessary knowledge and commitment to design sustainable human communities.  In the pedogogy of education for a sustainable life, the curricula and the contents are the context that support the learners so that they can creatively develop behaviors and values for understanding the world. -Miriam Duailibi Ecological Literacy: What Are We Talking About?

"three types of environmental literacies: 

• functional: ability to understand ecological “facts” and to understand the landscape in biophysical terms;

• cultural: ability to comprehend the cultural significance of natural images and to be able to grasp human dimensions of landscapes; and

• critical: ability to actively explore the significance and meaning of one’s environment to self and others, and to develop an understanding of how to contribute to environmental change through action.

 

An ecologically literate citizen in a bioregional sense is defined as someone who knows about, cares for, and acts on behalf of the cultural and ecological integrity of their home-place. Ecological literacy has no endpoint. Rather, it is an active engagement with place, an ongoing dialogue with place, and it is nurtured through celebration of place." -

Lesley P. Curthoys & Brent Cuthbertson  Listening to the Landscape

  Given the wide variety of definitions, I personally prefer to work with a simpler definition for the term.  For that reason, my working definition of E.L. will be: the understanding and application of ecological knowledge within all educational disciplines so that students can integrate that knowledge and effect positive interactions with the environment and society.
As I explore avenues and methods for teaching E.L., I will use this definition to help keep my explorations on track.