Video Dialogue:
Brehanna- Hello, my name is Brehanna
Ricki- And my name is Ricki and today we are going to explain our journey of becoming ecoliterate and how we have braided all of our knowledge that we have gained in this course to make a positive impact on the environment and the future generations. Throughout this course we have changed our ways of thinking and embodying ecoliteracy by making small changes that can make a big impact.
Brehanna- When we started this class we expected it to be similar to the science classes we have taken in high school. We expected this class to have right and wrong answers and no grey area because that is the Euro-western way of knowing and that is the way we have been taught science in the past.
Ricki- We also thought that the main focus of this environmental class was going to be around environmental issues, going green, and reusing, reducing, and recycling, but to our surprise this class challenged our way of knowing and taught us to think more critically about the environment. This class challenged our ways of knowing by incorporating diverse perspectives into the class content.
Brehanna- Throughout this course the blogs have challenged us to think in different ways and step out of our comfort zone. When we first began developing creative visuals and blog posts they were very surface level and showed that we only had a basic understanding. After gaining more insight from what was taught and discussed in class, our creative visuals and blogs became more in depth, showed that we were able to incorporate our new found knowledge, and we were able to connect them to our personal lives.
Ricki- At the start of this course we found that it was very difficult to think of ideas for our visuals and blogs. As the year went it on, we feel as though our blogs became stronger and more insightful because our euro-western ways of thinking were challenged. At times this course component tested our ability to come up with a product because we were unsure if we should complete the visual or the written portion first. The comments also encouraged us to think beyond our initial speculation which in turn helped produce future blog posts.
Ricki- In my first blog post I viewed the environment in a Euro-western way. I thought that the land was owned by people and I took for granted everything that the environment provides. One quote from my blog is (quote) “I headed out the door and loaded the ranger with fencing supplies such as sharp shiny silver wire, fencing staples, worn out blue fencing pliers, and rusted fence stretchers” (end quote). Through this quote you can see that I mainly talked about man-made materials instead of the environment that was surrounding me. Connecting man-made materials to an environmental experience is the euro-western way of knowing. Whereas, the Indigenous way of knowing would have focused more on appreciating and respecting everything the land has to offer.
Brehanna- This class has helped us to unlearn what has previously been taught to us; the Euro-western way, by filling us with new knowledge that is not bias towards Indigenous perspectives, ways of being, and their culture and traditions. This has helped us bring them forward in our present thinking. Our colonial ways have made us think that we are on top of the world, made us believe that we are not the root of the problem, that we take the environment for granted, and are slowly destroying it. Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013) states that (quote) “you wouldn’t harm what gives you love (p. 124)” (end quote), so why are we harming the earth when it provides and takes care of us? It is very evident that the Western way of knowing is dominant because we are only ever told one side of the story.
Ricki- When we went outside as a class to take in our surroundings and embody our stillness, we were able to gain a different perspective on how we view the land.This experience helped us to recognize colonization and why our environment is the way it is today. One experience that really stood out to us was how the Euro-western way of knowing overpowered the Indigenous views. For example, the name of tree species are in the western language when they were originally named in an Indigenous language.
Brehanna- I can connect our time outside to an encounter I had with an elder that was invited into my university biology class during my first year. She brought along with her a variety of herbs, plants, and spices that she had gathered from nature. She stressed that it is very important that if you take something from nature you need to give back to it.
Ricki- Brehanna and I were a part of two different embodying ecoliteracy groups. Brehanna’s group focused on reducing plastic in their life while my group focused on growing plants and eating local food. Our projects can be woven together because planting helps to create new life and helps to rid the planet of toxins whereas recycling helps to clean up unwanted materials and can be made into something else for a better cause, for example, turning the pop can tabs into parts for a wheelchair. By reducing our plastic consumption we helped to stay clear of things that cause harm to the environment and by not purchasing objects that contain plastic we did not support companies that take part in creating this destruction. Even though these acts may seem small they can make a big impact on the world. Both of these projects involved easy solutions to incorporate into your daily life. After this project, we became more aware of how much these issues affect the world negatively and we will continue to embody these actions to help create an healthier environment.
Brehanna- In my blog post number 3, I talked about what I thought an ecoliterate person is and what they do, this post was very similar to what I wrote my love poem about. I said that (quote) “they are passionate about the environment and ecological issues as well as helping out within their community, they feel connected with their surroundings and through this may find harmony and a sense of being, they are respectful towards nature and its beings; showing gratitude, as well as towards other individuals, they take initiative when faced with something troubling or when they feel like change is in order; this goes along with being a leader and showing others your ways; they are aware and informed about what is happening around them, they are encouraging and supportive, and show and give love for everything that our environment gives us” (end quote). Through this, I also was able to define what I thought embodiment means, I said that it means (quote), “demonstrating how you are able to place yourself within a situation and show how you can incorporate your ways of knowing and being as well as behaving in ecoliterate ways” (end quote).
Ricki- As a future educator, there are many concept and ideas that we can implement into our future classroom that we have learned from environmental education. Before we are able to teach anybody we need to be informed and knowledgeable about the topic at hand before we can inform others about it. As teachers, we are responsible for educating the next generations. It is detrimental that we teach the students about multiple ways of knowing and introduce them to ways in which they can become ecoliterate. A couple of ways we can incorporate ecoliteracy into our classroom include, inviting an elder to represent and speak about indigenous perspectives and ways of being. We can also take our children on an outdoor education experience where they can have a firsthand encounter with the environment and communities around them.
Brehanna- We would like to end with a quote that truly resonates with us. It goes (quote), “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not” (end quote) (Dr. Seuss, The Lorax). I believe that if you are not knowledgeable, not informed, and do not inform others then you cannot make a difference. You need to get involved and show dedication and whatever you set your mind to, you’ll be able to achieve.
Link to Ricki Banford’s blog
References:
Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Epiphany in the Beans. Braiding Sweetgrass, 121-127.
All online references are hyperlinked in written dialogue above.
Brehanna Bay 