Humans: The Earth's Support

Related Reading:
Why It Matters
Nature's Teaching
​Nature's Teaching: Foil Or Oil? 
Our Resource: Earth.
Our Earth: Whose Responsibility? 
Learning and Memory
A Finer Harmony 

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As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to think about why I decided to take a course about the environment, and education for sustainability (EFS). As I think back to my first class, I remember that I was interested in this topic particularly because I wanted to explore the idea of the natural environment, and how this connects to creativity and spirituality. I was also interested to learn because of my sincere belief that even though the United States has withdrawn from the Paris agreement, I was committed to the United States stance that this nation was still interested to preserve, conserve, and find other ways to commit to climate and sustainability

     I think that is is safe to say that I feel that I have been able to learn alot, not only through discussions, but also through my own research. Especially when I found that there truly was a connection to human beings and Earth. Our Earth, our home. The Earth supports us. Did we ever take the time to consider this? If you think about it, can human beings even live without the support of the Earth? An idea so simple, yet overlooked everyday. Earth is crucial to our human survival. The challenges of taking care of our Earth are growing everyday because our human existence, and our consumptions are beginning to (or already have) outweigh the Earth capacity to support us. 

     We must never loose hope, even though we are met with challenges, struggles and even times where we feel that there is no hope, we must never loose hope, because if we do at this present time, then how will we ever begin to think about the future generations, and what they will have to face? So we can see that our present moments are a prescription for the future outcomes, either we choose hope, or loose hope.

     It is possible to choose hope because human beings have this capacity called creativity. However, creativity within the field of education for sustainable development (EFS) is somewhat overlooked. We teach and learn about the environment, effects, and causations. But we forget about the value of an interdisciplinary approach. We cannot think about the environment, without thinking about social, and economical challenges. If we are choosing pro - environmental above all other factors, then we have truly done a dis - service. Social and economical challenges cannot be wished away. 

     We can also think about the arts and the role these have played historically. We can discover our historical positioning with our natural environment, how humans have adapted, grown and developed. Literacy, film, and reading can also help to raise our conscious awareness about the challenges that we face, not only with regards to the economy, but also societies as well. Sometimes the choices that we make about the economy and environment such as Nuclear power investments can bring short - term gains, energy is being produced, with low green house emissions, but there are still risks. These can be viewed through the long - term lens, associated with nuclear power disposal, radiation, and health risks. 

     This is why creativity, creative thinking skills are so important for this field. We have to find creative solutions, new avenues, frontiers to help support Earth. We owe this to the Earth, because it has and still supports us. For the purposes of the field of education we must find ways of embedding environmental thought within subject areas. Not to enforce the issue, but rather to inspire students to develop a love and care for the Earth. 

   For the purposes of the University, post - secondary, or any type of higher education institution, there must be an emphasis to use spaces of discussion to critically engage with topics and challenge the unknown. Yes we have to have a deep appreciation for historical perspectives and appreciate the inter - generational, generational relationships, but we must also possess the ability to challenge thoughts, challenge what is. This is particularly relevant not only in the field of Environmental Education, but any field or discipline. Ultimately the topic of the environment, the Earth, its care, is created through natural disasters, but also socially constructed. This makes the discussion of the environment controversial, as well as political.

    The decisions with regards to the environment, growth, economy, will impact some communities more than others, this could be either positive and negative. So here we see that not only is environmental education, education for sustainable development an interdisciplinary topic, it is also one that links leaders, communities, the education system, from the space of the university, to the setting of the kindergarten, where the child learns to plant a seed for the very first time. Also not forgetting the role of parents. 

Earth Supports Us To Live Well,
How about us humans begin to support Earth? 

Dedication: The words of this being are dedicated to our earth, and human beings, let us allow young minds to flourish, inspired to love and care for our home. My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand - written on August 19th 2017.

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