Resources
Reviewers: Bridget Butler, Alan Crook, Katie Gad, Tim Grant, Gary Fuhrman, Judy Halpern, Sue Kenney, Clifford Knapp, Jessica Kratz, Gail Littlejohn, Nate Meyer, Nancy Sklavos
Ecological
Literacy It was David Orr who first put “ecological literacy” on the education map with his 1992 book of that title; three years later, systems
thinker Fritjof Capra, philanthropist Peter Buckley and ecology activist Zenobia Barlow founded the Cen- ter for Ecological Literacy (CEL) in Berkeley, California. In Ecological Literacy: Educating our Children for a Sustainable World, editors Barlow and Michael K. Stone present a gener- ous selection of articles epitomizing the holistic vision and transformative practices promoted by CEL. Some of the authors are well-known theo- rists and writers, such as Capra, Orr, Donella Meadows, Wendell Berry and poet Robert Hass. Others are local activists and organizers who contrib- ute lucid and well-tested advice on encouraging systemic change and en- hancing community decision-making. Some report on how these ideas have been realized in school-based proj- ects, such as school gardens, student writing initiatives and the restoration of watersheds. Many of the essays focus on agriculture and food systems, from Alice Waters on “Slow Food” (as opposed to fast food) to Janet Brown’s “Meditations on an Apple.” All of the authors bring personal experience to bear on their shared sense of “place” and bioregional perspective. The result is anything but dry and academic: it’s brimful of reading that should inspire and inform us all toward “educating our children for a sustainable world.” – (GF)
Sierra Club Books, 2005, ISBN 1-57805- 153-3, 256 pp., US$16.95 from Sierra Club Books, <
www.sierraclub.org/books>.
Page 42 Garden
Mosaics Garden Mosaics is a youth educa- tion program that aims to promote science learn- ing, cultural understanding, mentoring by
elders and community action. Partici- pants survey local gardens; interview gardeners about their backgrounds, favorite plants, and planting and weed-control practices; undertake garden projects; conduct weed sur- veys; and contribute their observa- tions, interviews and weed data to the program’s on-line International Mosaics (“i-m science”) database. The multimedia resource kit that supports the program includes a comprehensive program manual by Marianne Krasny, an interactive DVD containing the manual and data sheets, a poster, and approximately 40 very engaging “Sci- ence Page” handouts that cover com- mon plants and gardening topics and include puzzles, recipes and research topics. Intended for use by teachers, youth leaders and community garden developers, the program is very flex- ible and could be used selectively or in its entirety in a variety of garden-edu- cation settings. The manual assists in planning, implementation and assess- ment, and provides many hands-on activities and ideas for action projects. Anyone interested in connecting stu- dents to gardens and to the mosaic of ages and cultures in their community will find most of what they need to get started in this amazingly comprehen- sive package. – (NS/GL)
Cornell University, 2006, US$79.98 plus $9 s&h for the kit (components may be pur- chased separately) from Garden Mosaics, 108 Fernow Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, (607) 255-2115, <
www.gardenm
osaics.cornell.edu>.
Eco-Games In Eco-Games: Outdoor Science Simulations for Life and Earth Sys- tems, outdoor educator Jennifer Baron takes an active game and recreates it for use with 15 different topics, such as birds, endangered species, energy
GREEN TEACHER 83
and several natural cycles. The object of the game is for players to find Morse code symbols that are writ- ten on small signs hidden in the play area, and decode the symbols to find an environmental message. Finding signs becomes a challenge when a couple of students are assigned the role of “limiting factors,” thus turn- ing the activity into a game of tag as well. For example, in The Wet- land Game, students look for coded macro-invertebrate signs while being chased by the limiting factors of Low Oxygen and Acid Rain. When all the sign codes are collected, students are challenged to decode an environmen- tal message — in this case, “SAVE WETLANDS.” (Messages can be changed using Morse code.) In each game version, facilitators are provided with background information, spe- cific instructions, reproducible game signs and cards, extension activities and literature/Web links. Suggestions are given for including mapping and orientation skills. Providing active and interesting means of learning ecol- ogy topics, the games are best played outdoors and would be most appropri- ate for Grades 3–6. While not glossily produced, this is a gem of a resource for teachers, camp counselors and recreation programs. – (BB)
Jennifer Baron (self-published), 2005, 70 pp., spiral-bound, C$15 plus $5 s&h. Send cheques to Eco-Games, c/o Jennifer Baron, PO Box 1264, Sutton, ON L0E 1R0, e-mail
jenbaron@sympatico.ca.
Teaching Science for
Social Justice The result of six years of study and interviews, Angela Cala- brese Barton’s Teaching Science for Social Justice
examines how urban youth living in poverty practice science in their daily lives and how formal science educa- tion could better reflect their lives and concerns. Through relating power- ful stories of young people living in family shelters, Barton and her fellow researchers have turned an academic
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