Published Horizons article: Practical Ecophilosophy, what is good eco-ethical practice?

Practical Ecophilsophy

What is good eco-ethical practice?

The pictures above are from a course I designed where children are given a chance to explore within and build a closer relationship to the natural landscape.

As a program designer and over all manager of the above programs, I have considered deeply the impact I am having on the natural landscape within which the programs operate, as well as the ecosophy of the individual participants enrolled on the courses.  I have struggled ethically with the above images and this inward conflict has driven me to some very deep reflection on my personal practise. Are we giving appropriate leadership whilst running sessions involving other living beings and is this affecting the participant’s outlook on the wider landscape?

My aims as a facilitator of outdoor pedagogy are grounded in giving participants, the chance to travel within the natural landscape, to learn within the natural landscape and to build a deeper relationship with the natural landscape and wherever possible to have fun!

                My concerns were that by allowing children to capture, touch and move living creatures within the natural landscape, that I was somehow imbedding that our want to learn about and examine other living creatures, outweighs the rights of such creature to go on with their day un-harassed by us. That we were impressing on young minds the underlying psyche that our human concept is more important than the intrinsic value and wants of the rest of the natural landscape around us. Maybe I am reading too much into it? But on balance, if I’m not, then what could the side effects be?  From a personal eco-philosophical stand point I wanted to see if my feared outcomes were indeed manifesting themselves.

I wished to gain a small understanding of what impact changing the leadership style of the facilitators during sessions would have on the participant’s opinion of other beings within the landscape of which we were traveling.

One facilitator allowed and encouraged children to capture insects in specimen tubs which have a magnifying glass attached, the instructor then took the scientific route of specimen observations and note taking with the participants there were no further discussions on the insects, and the specimens were released near where the children had gathered.

The other facilitator encouraged children to be respectful of the insects and their habitat and enforced that the insects were not to be touched and only observed using binoculars to get as much detail as possible. The instructor then spent some reflective time with the participants and asked questions surrounding the anatomy of the creatures and then onto how it interacted with the landscape and then onto deeper discussions such as; if the insects had the right to carry on their day uninterrupted and un-distressed by us, are humans more important than insects, what is the kindest way to learn about insects, should we protect living creatures habitat. This reflective time was based around Sanera and Shaw’s (1996) “Issues education.” looking at issues from many different angles, with facilitators only asking questions and not giving opinion.

                I then went through a quick-fire quiz with the two groups individually and both groups had learnt a very similar amount of anatomical knowledge about the insects. However when asked about the habitat in which the insect resides, the group who didn’t harass the insects physically had learnt a lot more information about the insects interaction with its habitat, and whilst asking open questions about what they had learnt they also brought up the intrinsic importance of the insects and how they wouldn’t like to be disturbed if they were insects.

I then gathered the two groups together before they went out to play some camouflage and concealment games.  I asked them all if there was anything they should take into consideration whilst running through and hiding in the forest. The participants shouted out the usual forest rules, such as looking out for trips etc. and boundary safety rules, but then from the group of children who didn’t pick up the insects, I had some answers I wasn’t expecting. One participant stated that we should really be careful and look out for living things on the ground whilst moving through the forest. That set off a barrage of answers from that specific group saying things like; “Yes we need to make sure we don’t hurt their homes!”  I was taken aback by the change and difference in outlook on their journeys through the landscape.

                This experience was conceptualised by a memory I have of doing coasteering training, I went to the same location with two separate trainers to gather as much information and soak up as much experience as possible. The first instructor took us around the route, I remember the jumps, he picked up a massive crab and scared one of the group, more jumps, lots of white water, he cut out a limpet and ate it, lots of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and learnt a lot. I then went back soon after with another instructor who went through the same route, with one difference. He started the day with a few questions thrown to us on do we belong here? Is this our natural habitat? Which led to the idea that we are visitors here in a foreign habitat and that we should treat the landscape with respect, he showed us the colours of the rock and told us of how these were life forms, he showed us a crab in its natural habitat, and we had the same amount of fun, lots of jumps, lots of white water. I was left changed in my opinion to the landscape of which I had just travelled, very much the same as the children who were about to embark on a camouflage and concealment game within the forest, it had now become a relational landscape, a relationship had been formed that placed emotion and value into the landscape.

                As small a piece of direct intervention as this was, it was emotive enough for me to change my thought patterns on program design.  I am not advocating facilitation that leads to disuse of the natural landscape on the call of conservation, I am however stating that there is a balance to be found between exploration and adventuring with groups within the natural landscape, and the facilitation of eco-philosophical discussions and fostering deeper relationships with the living landscape.

Most of the programs I have designed are for the private sector, and for commercial benefit. However my principals on outdoor pedagogy as discussed earlier have driven me to find a mid-ground on eco-matters, the balance between profitability and operational punctuality matched with an ecosophy of design and purpose.  The ever moving search for practical societal application of ecophilosophy.

References

Sanera and Shaw. (1996) “Facts, not fear : a parent's guide to teaching children about the environment.” Struik Christian Books.