“ …It will soon be
unacceptable for any economist, politician, or corporate CEO to remain to
remain environmentally illiterate and thus ignorant of these
processes and our connection to them.” Allan Savory1999
“Environmental Intellect and Environmental Literacy”
a
gift and a skill to meet challenges of the
DECISION MAKING AGE
Environmental Intellect: A gift we humans have been tempted to neglect…
A gift needs to be ‘unwrapped’.
A skill cannot be given, bought or taught. A
skill is acquired and perfected through learning and practice.
Much like learning to fly an aircraft, most of
the real lessons are learned in the pilot’s seat and not from the literature.
We can spend some time at a simulator, but life is for real… And it can be exciting!
Kachana Pastoral Company has spent over ten
years developing the settings for an “out-door” learning environment.
We now offer training to help people of all age
groups develop their environmental intellect.
More on the
subject:
Never before in the history of this planet have we had so much
information at our disposal. Never have so many individuals been faced with so
many decisions…
But:
·
Are our decisions getting better?
·
Are we getting the desired results socially?
·
Are we getting the desired results ecologically?
Healing
damaged land has become a global challenge.
The
livelyhood of families and the future of civilizations are tied to biodiversity
and the fate of the land.
·
What
is the triple bottom line?
·
How does a CEO or a shareholder measure
the triple bottom line?
·
How do our children build a sustainable future and what
do we do to assist them?
As national economies begin to suffer as a result of eroding biodiversity
we are called to an ecological awakening: developing our “environmental
intellect”. “Environmental literacy” is the first skill we acquire to do this.
So what exactly do we mean by “Environmental Literacy”?
We use the
term “Environmental Literacy” to describe a basic skill that underpins holistically sound decision-making.
“Environmental
Literacy” has a very marketable ring to it. A search on the Internet reveals
that in recent months people have begun to use the term without necessarily
knowing what is meant. We were no
exception...
We believe that it will take some time before we can be
sure about the correct meaning and relevance of this new skill…
One thing however is certain: we must not confuse being
environmentally literate with being environmentally knowledgeable or with
having read a lot about environmental issues…
Knowing a lot about one or more environments, or about
environmental issues does not necessarily mean that we are capable of
deciphering what our environments are telling us on a day-to-day basis.
Modern
technology and communication has produced an unprecedented volume of knowledge
about environments on this planet. If however we were to draw the environmental
bottom line say: 15th October 2003 (despite all that volume of
knowledge and all the positive things that are happening), we would need to
admit to a decline in the health of the life-support system of planet Earth.
This fact alone suggests that we humans (as a species) are either not getting
the messages that nature is sending us on a daily basis, or we are not treating
them with the seriousness that they deserve.
Rather than
engaging in academic debate about what “environmental literacy” means we chose
to look for the answer in places
where people are consistently achieving results that are life enhancing,
socially rewarding and often financially justifiable.
Logic tells
us that these people are reading their particular environments in a manner that
transcends the search for immediate financial or social gratification. We think
this is a good place to start finding out about this relatively new skill.
So what do
people who successfully revitalise degraded environments and landscapes have in
common? Do they perhaps have what could be termed: “environmental
intelligence”?
It seems
they are learning to read “between the lines”; they are interpreting and then
acting on information that flows from the very environments that they rely on
for their livelihood and well-being. Rather than focusing on personal quests
and looking for opportunity they are beginning to learn what nature is telling
them and then mimicking natural processes in an endeavour to create opportunity
for themselves and for others.
We
associate two important skills with Environmental Literacy:
- The skill to read new and
existing ecological “sign-posts and maps” that tell us where we stand
(in ecological terms).
- The skill to read new and
existing ecological “sign-posts” that indicate where we are headed (in
ecological terms), and that caution us as to what may lie ahead or
around the next bend.
Applying
these skills awakens our environmental intellect… our capacity to thrive on
planet Earth, but not at the expense of others (present or future).
As
custodians of the land we use our
website to include others in our learning.
Rangeland
management advice is now available to land managers and other stakeholders.
The
Kachana Environmental Literacy Workshops offer “in the field” skill
training.
For
corporate groups we emphasise the ecological facets of triple-bottom line.
Other
workshops can be arranged specifically for schoolteachers and/or students.
Workshops can also be combined with
a family holiday.
Venue-Hire:
Kachana’s out-door classroom is available for other gatherings.
Kachana
Pastoral Company also offers a three-month practical training package on the
application and practice of Environmental Literacy skills.
For more
information please follow the links or browse through our web-site, but
remember: the real information is out there when you go outside and face the
elements… like in a news paper that information changes constantly.
GRASS
ROOTS INPUT TO ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATES
INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY TRAINING
Kachana Pastoral Company promoting
environmental literacy and functional science:
www.environmental-literacy.com (Learning to read what
Nature is telling us now.)
Contact us at Kachana@bigpond.com