Cultivating an Ecoliterate Worldview: Person, Place and Practice - Autumn 2012

Cultivating an Ecoliterate Worldview: Person, Place and Practice

Click here: http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/courses/cultivating-an-ecoliterate-w...

Two week intensive within a six month online study group: October 2012 to March 2013
(Residential intensive: Sunday 28 October to Friday 9 November 2012)

Contributors to the residential TBC: Satish Kumar, Stephan Harding, Philip Franses, Julie Richardson, Jonathan Dawson, Bethan Stagg and Emily Ryan (Facilitator). Other contributors TBC include Mark Burton, Fritjof Capra (via videolink), Martin Crawford, Gustavo Esteva (via videolink), Rob Hopkins, Terry Irwin (via videolink), Anne Miller, David Orr (via videolink), Toni Spencer

This programme is open for bookings.

Programme summary

This foundational programme offers an exceptional introduction to the development and practical application of an ecoliterate worldview, a fundamental step in living and operating in a sustainable way. Through it we invite you to experience an engagement with the natural world which will lead you to a better understanding of your role within it and empower you to take action in your own place and context.

“The great challenge of our time is to build and nurture sustainable communities …The first step in this endeavor is to understand the principles of organisation that ecosystems have developed to sustain the web of life. This understanding is what we call ecological literacy. Teaching this ecological knowledge will be the most important role of education in this century.”
Fritjof Capra

We have created a transformative and holistic learning journey that will help develop individual ecological awareness that you can apply to your work and personal life.

It will explore the central themes of:

• Gaia theory
• complexity
• systems thinking
• holistic design
• place-based learning

By joining this programme you will become part of an international community of learners who are committed to the same values and concerns, but who will be contributing different experiences and perspectives to their development of an ecoliterate worldview. You will have a unique opportunity to learn from some of the most effective and inspirational leaders in the sustainability field during a two week intensive at the College. These ideas will then be explored and developed through the online global study circle.

“An excellent balance between theory and practice, learning, living and doing.” Course participant, Ecoliteracy: First principles for radical change, October 2009

This programme is at the heart of all we do at Schumacher College. Coming to study ecological literacy here, where we have been exploring this concept with many other connected ideas for over 20 years, will be an exciting and transformative process in itself. With a unique sense of place and a global community of thought leaders, Schumacher College is an ideal place to come to gain this vital new perspective and discipline.
(To learn more about Schumacher College, click here)

Schumacher College is dedicated to supporting your unique learning journey and your commitment to apply what you experience within the programme.

A transformative journey to turn inspiration into action

This programme is for individuals who are seeking a rigorous and holistic approach to establishing an ecoliterate worldview. It provides a platform to go deeper into the inquiry and allows you to immerse yourself in a transformative process with your fellow participants.

You will be invited to explore and work with the challenges and opportunities specific to your own journey as an ecological learner, as well as those of the group.

We will want to explore what has drawn you to the subject, whatever it is you have a strong passion or inclination towards. We will invite you to bring a specific project, question or challenge you might face within your work or life with regards to the move toward sustainability. Please see our testimonials section for more information about how people are using this work in their lives and communities.

This programme is also for those who recognise that a shared foundation of ecological literacy is an essential component for bringing sustainability into the workplace. We encourage businesses, institutions, and organisations to consider the benefit of having several people from their community share an experience from which they can collectively draw. This is a fantastic opportunity to generate new thinking and cross-pollinate ideas.

A programme at the heart of Schumacher College

This programme introduces you to the core concepts and ethos on which Schumacher College is built and acts as a useful platform for other Schumacher College courses and programmes, including postgraduate studies and topic-focused short courses.

Schumacher College has been engaged in facilitating transformative education for twenty years with expert input from hundreds of visiting teachers and thousands of participants.

Cultivating an Ecoliterate Worldview: Person, Place and Practice is distinct from short courses at Schumacher. While it contains a two-week residential intensive comparable to the other short courses we run, the periods before and after the residential are designed to optimise your learning experience and establish a strong global learning community which will offer continued support, inspiration, and collaboration beyond the usual two-week period.

Full programme detailsPre-Residential: Once registered your journey begins

When you join the programme group you will be introduced to your fellow participants and you will have the opportunity to begin to explore the ideas and practices which will support a more resilient and sustainable future. Alongside reading material and group discussions, you will be presented with a series of focused questions to help develop your thinking.

Residential Intensive

Week 1: Understanding and experiencing ecoliteracy

Week 2: Applications of ecoliteracy

Contributors to the residential: Satish Kumar, Stephan Harding, David Orr, Toni Spencer, Julie Richardson, Mark Burton, Rob Hopkins, Martin Crawford, Bethan Stagg, Terry Irwin (via videolink), Gustavo Esteva (via videolink), Philip Franses, Anne Miller, Emily Ryan (Facilitator)

A two-week residential intensive in the development and cultivation of ecological literacy from the perspective of Schumacher College.

Engaging with key theories, concepts and practice early on in the programme through a two-week intensive will ensure that the material and process resonates with you, your projects, and the group and place-based learning. International and local experts will offer insight and inspiration, with facilitated sessions allowing time to reflect on what has been learned. There will also be the opportunity to reflect on your personal learning process and explore further the emerging worldview and its impact on your chosen project.

“Cultivating Ecological Literacy: Person, Place, and Practice is a very exciting course. It is an invitation to explore the great mystery of the web of life and our role within it. It is also an invitation to find and strengthen our capacity to act from this place of interconnectivity. It is inspiring, invigorating, challenging, and also fun.

As course facilitator, it is both my role and my pleasure to serve as a guide and conductor, helping each of you to get the most out of your experience, from the moment you join the programme. All of us, teachers, students, College staff and volunteers, work together to create a lasting, transformative experience which has substance and momentum, and can carry each of you forward, equipped with a radically new understanding of how you play a part in our changing world.“

Emily Ryan, Programme Facilitator

Week 1: Understanding and experiencing ecological literacy

Sunday PM: Arrival; Preparation and opening: Introduction to each other, and group process: Emily Ryan

Day One: The wisdom of our own ecoliterate nature; Ecoliteracy and Systems theory: Emily Ryan

Day Two: Resilience, exploring embodied ecoliteracy: Toni Spencer
Building a global learning community: Emily Ryan & Jonathan Dawson

Day Three: Gaia and deep ecology: Stephan Harding

Day Four: Complexity and Goethean Science: Philip Franses

Day Five: Soil, soul and society: Satish Kumar

Week 2: Applications of Ecoliteracy

Day six: Economics, energy and Ecoliteracy: Julie Richardson and Mark Burton; Gustavo Esteva (via videolink)

Day seven: Community, transition and social transformation: Rob Hopkins; Holistic design: Terry Irwin (via videolink)

Day eight: Land, food and agroforesty: Bethan Stagg and Martin Crawford

Day nine: Creativity and holistic solutions: Anne Miller

Day ten: Next Steps/Taking it forward: Emily Ryan

Global Study Circle

Following the residential intensive, you will be empowered to revisit your initial focus on the project or idea that you brought to the residential. The whole group will then be facilitated in continued reading, dialogue and discussion to apply your shared learning to your own place, context and journey.

Each month will have a focusing theme and a guest teacher.

You are asked to contribute to the group and explore your own ideas as regularly as you can to support your own work and the work of others in relation to this programme. This may be between 1 and 5 hours a week depending on your commitment and availability.

The study circle will formally meet online once a month for 2–3 hour session. Each participant will have an opportunity to present their idea or project for feedback and support during a session, and will have constant access to the online networking site for continuing interaction among the group.

Programme Fees

Total fees for whole programme including two-week residential intensive and facilitated global study circle are £1,950

Programme fees include accommodation for the two-week residential intensive, food, field trips, online activities before and after the course and all teaching and facilitated sessions.

To book this course, click here.

For information on booking this course, click here.

Bursaries:

Bursaries are available for this programme to ensure it is accessible for those who cannot afford the full course cost. Please pay full fees if you are able which will ensure that our limited bursary funds can go to those most in need. Click here for more details.

Tel: +44 (0)1803 865934
Fax: +44 (0)1803 866899
Email: admin@schumachercollege.org.uk