... I think I decided that it was time to change our name when I was driving down a road in New Zealand one afternoon and passed a sign reading, "Entering the Western Acclimatization District." I almost wrecked the car! I screeched to a halt, threw it in reverse, and roared back up the highway. Sure enough, that's what the sign said. I didn't know it at the time, but a century or so ago there were Acclimatization Societies established in several parts of the world. However, in a sense, their intent was just the opposite of ours. We wanted to acclimatize people to the plants and animals of the earth, and they wanted to acclimatize the plants and animals of the earth to the people. So after a decade of similar incidents with the old title, in 1984 Acclimatization became earth education.

Notice that I capitalized Acclimatization in the sentence above, but not earth education. Why? Because we also wanted to broaden our base. We wanted people to see earth education as an alternative to the ineffective, moribund environmental education movement, not just a product of our making....

Okay. Exactly what is earth education? Earth education is the process of helping people live more harmoniously and joyously with the natural world. To help explain its components we have developed a structural logo, a three-sided pyramid representing the WHYS, WHATS, and WAYS of earth education. And the three points on each side of the pyramid represent one of the three components of either the WHYS, the WHATS, or the WAYS.

pRESERVING

We believe the earth as we know it is endangered by its human passengers.

nURTURING

We believe people who have broader understandings and deeper feelings for the planet as a vessel of life are wiser and healthier and happier.

tRAINING

We believe earth advocates are needed to serve as environmental teachers and models, and to champion the existence of earth's nonhuman passengers.

uNDERSTANDING

We believe in developing in people a basic comprehension of the major ecological systems and communities of the planet.

fEELING

We believe in instilling in people deep and abiding emotional attachments to the earth and its life.

pROCESSING

We believe in helping people change the way they live on the earth.

sTRUCTURING

We believe in building complete programs with adventuresome, magical learning experiences that focus on specific outcomes.

iMMERSING

We believe in including lots of rich, firsthand contact with the natural world.

rELATING

We believe in providing individuals with time to be alone in natural settings where they can reflect upon all life.

Let's begin with the reasons for our existence. Each of the three "WHYS" of earth education --preserving, nurturing, training --has two facets: Preserving the earth for ourselves and for itself alone, Nurturing people who have been deprived of a healthy relationship with the earth and enriching those who have not, Training individuals who can make changes in their own lives and preparing them to serve as teachers in helping others.

Continue... The WHYS: Preserving

Earth Education... A New Beginning Copyright © 1990 The Institute for Earth Education. All Rights Reserved.