Spectacular Starry Night Sky, Sunshine Coast BC.- (Vermeulen, D. January 5, 2017).
“If you look at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and aren't pessimistic, you don't have the correct data. If you meet people in this unnamed movement and aren't optimistic, you haven't got a heart.”
(Paul Hawken, 2006).
On a brisk spring night in 2007, I lay on the ground in darkness and silence. I was not alone. Surrounded by 30 other adults attending a Sustainability Symposium at the outdoor school ( www.seatosky.bc.ca ) I worked at on Keats Island, the heart of Átl'ḵa7tsem/Howe Sound, BC, it was opportunity for all participants from across North America to connect with the nocturnal side of nature. We had been in breakout groups all day, discussing the future of the planet, how we educate, our roles in the struggle for climate justice. It was time to reflect, connect, and soak in the learning. I was in the early stages of pregnancy with my first child-exhilarated and nauseous. No one but myself and my partner knew I was pregnant and I felt like I was quietly whispering the secret to the universe. I could feel my heartbeat in my uterus, connecting me and my son to the cold soil beneath us. I was staring up at an infinity of stars. I felt a oneness with the earth.
I felt peace.
I felt panic.
Part of me was carrying the encumbrance of the ecological crisis. What right did I have to bring a child onto a planet in peril? What kind of world would they be gifted? Another part of me felt reverence for the more-than-human world. How could I not bring a child onto this miracle planet? Despair, Hope. Hope, Despair. Entangled in my brain and my body, I could not tease the two apart. Soil beneath me, stars above, I felt attached to nothing and everything all at once. This has been my standard journey through the ecological crisis, as a person, parent, and teacher.
The thing I’ve come to realize in my world and my work is that I need this duality. I need hope to survive my ecological grief. I need despair to propel my work ahead-to reconcile, rejuvenate, revolt against the injustices. And on a daily basis, I need to walk the line between the two, feeling all the feelings that come with knowing both, carrying both. Fuelled by these polarizing emotions and a smattering of inspiration and science, I strive to do my good work as an educator.
For those of you that live with these tensions and are keen to balance them within yourselves as educators and humans, I’ve compiled a short list of my favourite readings, websites, documentaries and change makers-with a specific focus on ecological sustainability, the climate crisis and our connection to the more-than-human world. These provide me with spark, joy, pain, and knowledge and guide me toward fiery and progressive teaching. May you find what you need in your own journey.
Despair
“...our pain for what is happening is the other side of the coin of our love for the world,” she told us. “We feel such depths of despair because we love the planet so much...” (Jessica Serrante)
George Monbiot-any of his writing
Want someone to tell it to you like it is? Look to George Monbiot and his work on climate.
I’ve been particularly moved by his books Heat and Bring on the Apocalypse, both addressing the climate emergency with a frank look at the politics and personal that have led us to our current situation.
(Heat, Monbiot, 2006). (Burtynsky, 2008).
Endgame Part I and II-the works of Derrick Jensen
Perhaps a bit dated with some of the current science now, having been published in 2006, Derrick Jensen generally goes for the shock and awe approach for letting us know just how dire the ecological crisis is. He does not mince words and when you need to feel the pain and suffering, this will take you there.
(Endgame Volume I and II, Jensen, 2006).
Want more on Derrick Jensen? Check out his website:
Inspiration
‘…Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is…’ (Greta Thunberg, 2019).
(Fridays for Future logo, 2020).
Fridays for Future
I know she does not want the H word to be used, but Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future campaign do inspire with their shaming of the inaction of elders (myself included). As educators we have a duty to support our youth in participating in the Fridays for Future Campaign. Take a look at this snapshot and then let students explain on the website.
(Fridays for Future website, 2020).
My Octopus Teacher-a documentary
(Netflix, 2020).
This was a recent find and is a true gem. The filmmaker walks the viewer through his process of reconnecting with the more-than-human world and the difference that this makes to his own well-being. The message is real, and the cinematography does not leave you wanting.
(Netflix, 2020).
Science
Robin Wall Kimmerer-Braiding Sweetgrass
Kimmerer perfectly blends her scientific knowledge and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Her writing provides readers with wholistic learning through her impeccable storytelling of her own journey through reconciliation with her indigenous roots and the land.
Kimmerer perfectly blends her scientific knowledge and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Her writing provides readers with wholistic learning - through her impeccable storytelling of her own journey through reconciliation with her indigenous roots and the land.
As it says on the back of her book, Braiding Sweetgrass:
‘…as a botanist…Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers…Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return…’
Please read this book.
For more on Kimmerer:
(Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer, 2013).
Climate Change-the Facts
(The Conclave, 2019).
You may find his voice makes you think of the beauty of nature and feel warm and fuzzy. I am so grateful that Sir David Attenborough is using his popularity to bring the facts to the forefront. With representation from the top climate scientists around the world, stark footage and a compelling argument to ACT, you may just find everything you need to start your fire.
350.org
A beautiful blend of ecological and social justice and the interwoven effects of both, 350.org is an excellent site for science, events and motivation.
Hope
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
(Desmond Tutu, n.d.)
Interestingly, Elin Kelsey, a BC author of whom I've admired for her beautiful children's books on worldly issues, is releasing a new book on Hope in October. So perhaps we will need a book club:
(Hope Matters, Kelsey, 2020).
Quoted in the Globe and Mail as stating:
'...anger and hope are not opposites...they have a symbiotic relationship. Both anger and hope are mobilizing emotions. Hope is what sustains us to keep fighting for social and ecological justice...' (Kelsey, 2020).
I can already put my eggs in this basket as a parcel of Hope in 2020.
More fantastic writing Elin Kelsey that I recommend for the children in your life, whether at school or otherwise:
(Various kids books, Kelsey, 2020).
The Geography of Hope-Chris Turner
Turner gives a global tour of the heart work that people are doing around the world to make for a more sustainable existence. He is positive, inspiring and like me, became motivated by the birth of his child to find the hope. Chris Turner is an excellent writer and has many more books and articles to inspire.
(The Geography of Hope, Turner, 2007).
Princess Mononoke - a documentary (of sorts)
(Princess Mononoke, Madman Anime, 2014).
Nothing like a little fantastical anime to summarize the conflict between humans and the more-than-human world! Set around the birth of the Iron Age, Princess Mononoke must save what is left of nature. In doing so, (spoiler alert) she finds the rejuvenation of the natural world cannot return nature to its original state. Despair and hope find that symbiotic relationship in this film. Also on Netflix.
(Madman Anime, 2014).
Ecological Grief
If this is a term that is new to you, or even if it isn't, and you need to know more, please read these articles on the process of grieving for this planet.
Parting Words
The process of compiling these resources has been therapeutic and re-inspiring for me. I could continue with this series indefinitely! A new focus each month on other Sustainability issues and the incredible support network to be found in the wealth of resources and passionate folks on the planet.
Stay tuned...
Sources:
Buckley, C. (November 15, 2019). Apocalypse got you down? Maybe this will help: Searching for a cure for my Climate Crisis Grief. The New York Times.
Desmond Tutu Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/desmond_tutu_454129
Ellis, N. & Consolo, A. (April 4, 2018). Hope and Mourning in the Anthropocene: Understanding Ecological Grief. The Conversation.
Foster, C. (2019). My Octopus Teacher [still shot]. Retrieved from: Netflix.
Fridays for Future. (2020). Retrieved from: https://fridaysforfuture.org/take-action/reasons-to-strike/
Hawken, P. (2007). Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History is Restoring Grace, Justice and Beauty to the World. New York: Viking Press.
Jensen, D. (2006). Endgame Volume I: The Problem of Civilization. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Jensen, D. (2006). Endgame Volume II: Resistance. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Kelsey, E. (2020). Hope Matters: Why Changing the way we Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis. Vancouver: Greystone Books.
Kelsey, E. (1999). Not Your Typical Book about the Environment. Toronto: Owl Kids.
Kelsey, E. (2015). Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire your Thinking. Toronto: Owl Kids.
Kelsey, E. (2017). You are Stardust. Toronto: Owl Kids.
Kimmerer, R. (2020). Robin Wall Kimmerer Bio. Retrieved from:
Kimmerer, R. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions.
Monbiot, G. (2020). George Monbiot. Retrieved from: https://www.monbiot.com/category/climate-change/
Monbiot, G. (2006). Heat: How we can Stop the Planet Burning. London: Penguin Books.
Monbiot, G. Bring on the Apocalypse: Essays on Self Destruction. London: Atlantic Books.
Netflix (Producer). Elrich, P., Reed, J. & Foster, C. (Directors). 2020. My Octopus Teacher [Motion Picture]. South Africa: Netflix.
Suzuki, T. (Producer). Miyazaki, H. (Director). 1999. Princess Mononoke [Motion Picture]. Japan: Studio Ghibli.
Vermeulen, D. (January 5, 2017). Spectacular Starry Night [photograph]. Facebook. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/bc.sunshine.coast/posts/photo-spectacular-starry-night-sky-at-nelson-island-powell-river-sunshine-coast-/1523790994316849/
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