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Emiko: Recollections of a Global Climate Strike zine

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Emiko: Recollections of a Global Climate Strike zine

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DKUPpE2CiOM2Qv6fjsIr6AyyHwS-9ETJ/view?usp=sharing

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Google Drive folder with a variety of resources on the assignment.

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Sarah: Seed Bombing as Peaceful Disruption

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Sarah: Seed Bombing as Peaceful Disruption

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Ecoliterate: How Educators are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence

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Ecoliterate: How Educators are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13838082-ecoliterate

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This book offers examples of how different organizations and educators are fostering a sense of humanity and compassion in their students. Through four short stories depicting "community leaders putting engaged ecoliteracy into practice", the book shows how "innovative educators, artists, activists, scholars, and students...educate others about some of the most critical issues of our time."

Daniel Goleman's previous work on emotional intelligence ( Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More T...more

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This book offers examples of how different organizations and educators are fostering a sense of humanity and compassion in their students. Through four short stories depicting "community leaders putting engaged ecoliteracy into practice", the book shows how "innovative educators, artists, activists, scholars, and students...educate others about some of the most critical issues of our time."

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https://www.indigenousclimateaction.com/

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Responding to Climate Change:  A Primer for K-12 Education

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Responding to Climate Change:  A Primer for K-12 Education

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SEPN
https://sepn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SEPN-CCEd-Primer-January-11-2021.pdf

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https://www.project2050.ca/

EcoSchools has a partnership

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Every day, you have the chance to make climate-friendly habits part of your life. You'll be working with thousands of kids across Canada to help slow down climate change and accomplish the community goal. So what are you waiting for? Log your habits, and unlock awesome rewards along the way!

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Project 2050: Climate-friendly habits to change the world!

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Every day, you have the chance to make climate-friendly habits part of your life. You'll be working with thousands of kids across Canada to help slow down climate change and accomplish the community goal. So what are you waiting for? Log your habits, and unlock awesome rewards along the way!

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Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow & EE Scope & Sequence

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Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow & EE Scope & Sequence

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Indigenous Youth Climate Activist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0tKDSALt50

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https://climateatlas.ca/

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EVENT

Cripping Climate Adaptation: Disability Justice and Climate Change

Event for rethinking the intersection of climate change and disability justice

Join us for the premiere screening of the film "Cripping Climate Adaptation: Disability Justice and Climate Change". This ground-breaking 13-minute film aims to enhance our understanding of how climate issues directly impact the lives of disabled people, who hold valuable insights and solutions that can be integrated into climate adaptation decision-making.

The Screening will be followed by a panel discussion. The afternoon will close with facilitated conversations focused on shedding light on this critical intersection of disability and climate, and paving the way for inclusive solutions to climate adaptation.

Date: Friday, November 17

Time: 1:30-4:00

Place: Convocation Hall (University of Winnipeg) or Zoom

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Climate Change in Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada

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Join us for the premiere screening of the film "Cripping Climate Adaptation: Disability Justice and Climate Change". This ground-breaking 13-minute film aims to enhance our understanding of how climate issues directly impact the lives of disabled people, who hold valuable insights and solutions that can be integrated into climate adaptation decision-making.

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Connecting the dots: key learning strategies for environmental education, citizenship and sustainability

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Connecting the dots: key learning strategies for environmental education, citizenship and sustainability

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https://lsf-lst.ca/media/LSF_Connecting_the_Dots_February2014.pdf

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https://www.allwecansave.earth/for-educators

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The All We Can Save Project is on a mission to embed climate truth, courage, and just solutions in education - and to make it exceedingly easy to use the All We Can Save anthology within classrooms and beyond.

We're so glad you're here for the journey.

Scroll down to access our free, open educator resources, or watch a short video walkthrough here.

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For educators - The All We Can Save Project

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The All We Can Save Project is on a mission to embed climate truth, courage, and just solutions in education - and to make it exceedingly easy to use the All We Can Save anthology within classrooms and beyond. We're so glad you're here for the journey.

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https://decolonizingwater.ca/

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Building Resilient Water Futures

Our goal is to create a prototype of an Indigenous-led community-based water monitoring initiative that is rooted in Indigenous laws, and is a practical expression of Indigenous water governance.

Our Project

There is an urgent need to improve water governance in the North, which is a critical issue for many reasons:

the increase of pressures on water resources in the context of climate change;

the lack of robust water data;

multiple water intensive energy industries;

controversy over the transparency and public accountability of regulation

Our GOAL: Our long-term goal is to create a self-sustaining water and ecological monitoring program that will enhance protection of water resources and fulfill the promise of Indigenous water governance.

Our METHODS: We engage in interdisciplinary, and Indigenous-led co-research on water, including its ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. Our project team is committed to reciprocally enabling respectful Community-Based Research and observing OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access and Possession) protocols.

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Building Resilient Water Futures There is an urgent need to improve water governance in the North, which is a critical issue for many reasons: the increase of pressures on water resources in the context of climate change; the lack of robust water data; multiple water intensive energy industries; controversy over the transparency and public accountability of regulation Our GOAL: Our long-term goal is to create a self-sustaining water and ecological monitoring program that will enhance protection of water resources and fulfill the promise of Indigenous water governance.

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An Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators

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An Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators

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https://www.existentialtoolkit.com/

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THE EXISTENTIAL TOOLKIT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE EDUCATORS

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As feelings of eco-grief and climate anxiety grow, educators are grappling with how to help students learn about the violent systems causing climate change while simultaneously navigating the emotions this knowledge elicits. This book provides resources for developing emotional and existential tenacity in college classrooms so that students can stay engaged.

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

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https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44581496-we-are-water-protectors

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This is a beautiful book. I could go on a rant here about climate & environmental protections that have been rolled back in the last 4 years but if you're reading this book, you're probably already aware.

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This is a beautiful book. I could go on a rant here about climate & environmental protections that have been rolled back in the last 4 years but if you're reading this book, you're probably already aware.

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How it all started.

While studying environmentalism in college, IE founder Leah Thomas recognized the erasure of oppressed communities resulting from a white-washed environmental narrative. Simultaneously, mainstream media began discussing a more inclusive version of feminism using the idea of 'intersectionality', a term coined by lawyer + professor Kimberlé Crenshaw. As a Black woman in the environmental movement, Leah was inspired to focus her efforts on a new study: intersectional environmentalism. This more inclusive perspective of sustainability recognized the intersectionality of social justice + sustainability.

In May 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Leah called on the environmental community to make a pledge to Black lives and commit to a journey of intersectional advocacy that would amplify silenced voices. The post went viral, and the online sustainability community began looking for spaces to listen to and amplify these silenced voices.

Thanks to the incredible momentum from environmentalists and social justice activists, Leah and fellow cofounders Diandra, Sabs, and Phil created the concept for IE and launched the platform one week later.

This is only the beginning. While IE was built to address the unjust murders of Black lives and the silence from the environmental community, we are committed to amplifying the voices of all those fighting to uplift underserved communities, preserve cultures, + protect our planet.

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About Us - Intersectional Environmentalist

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While studying environmentalism in college, IE founder Leah Thomas recognized the erasure of oppressed communities resulting from a white-washed environmental narrative. Simultaneously, mainstream media began discussing a more inclusive version of feminism using the idea of 'intersectionality', a term coined by lawyer + professor Kimberlé Crenshaw.

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Great intro text
https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138018846/default.php

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Welcome to the Companion Website for EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse, Democratic, and Sustainable Communities, Second Edition by Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci.
Designed for introductory educational foundations and multicultural education courses, this text offers a powerful model for cultural ecological analysis and a pedagogy of responsibility, providing teachers and teacher educators with the information and classroom practices they need to help develop citizens who are prepared to support and achieve diverse, democratic, and sustainable societies in an increasingly globalized world.

Enhancing and extending the text, the Companion Website features additional questions, useful links, and resources for student and instructors.

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Welcome to the Companion Website for EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse, Democratic, and Sustainable Communities, Second Edition by Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci.

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Annual EECOM Conference has great speakers! Subsidies for TC & Teachers may be available from your University or School Board

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Annual EECOM Conference has great speakers! Subsidies for TC & Teachers may be available from your University or School Board

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Grist intro video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREtXUij6_c

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Environmental Inquiry through an Indigenous Lens
https://www.naturalcuriosity.ca/

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Our 2022 Awards are here!

Every year, Natural Curiosity is grateful to recognize exemplary educators and educator candidates who are integrating environmental education and the importance of Indigenous perspectives into their practice, through our annual Burtynsky and Suzuki Awards for Teaching Excellence in Environmental Education. This year, we are honoured to announce that our Suzuki Award for pre-Service educators has grown into a nationalaward. Learn more about your eligibility, and apply today!

Recovery, Reflection, & Reciprocity Series

Natural Curiosity in Community: Sustaining Environmental Inquiry Beyond Earth Month with Raadiyah Nazeem (Grade 1 Teacher, JICS Lab School) and Krista Spence (Teacher-Librarian & Land-Based Education Resource Teacher, JICS Lab School)

On Wednesday, April 27th, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET, Raadiyah and Krista celebrated Earth Month by exploring Natural Curiosity - the four branches of environmental inquiry, deepened by Indigenous perspectives articulated by Doug Anderson - through the powerful lens of community. They explored the potential of community-focused inquiries as a catalyst for all learners to engage in experiential and integrated learning about food, water, waste, plants and animals, stories, treaties, and all that binds us in the integrated nature of the environment and communities in which we live.

Over the summer, Natural Curiosity engaged our key authors and leading practitioners to develop a new, freely accessible professional learning program in support of environmental and Indigenous education across Turtle Island for all.

This 5-part instructional video series that provides an introductory exploration of Natural Curiosity's four-branch environmental inquiry framework, deepened by Indigenous perspectives.

May's edition of Making the Shift is out now! This month, Natural Curiosity highlights an inspiring educators to celebrate our annual awards. The newsletter also showcases some resources and events to help you get outdoors and engage in Environmental Education and Indigenous perspectives this month and beyond.

Doug Anderson and Julie Comay (authors of NC2!) had a lovely conversation on Earthy Chats hosted by our friends at Green Teacher Magazine, The Outdoor Learning Store, CBEENetwork, and Stoked on Science about exploring environmental inquiry with an Indigenous perspective.

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Natural Curiosity | Educator Resource for Environmental Inquiry | Toronto

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Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition is an educator resource that builds children's understanding of the world through environmental inquiry and indigenous perspectives. We are housed in the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, a laboratory school of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

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Going Beyond the Land Acknowledgement (ETFO),  Natural Curiosity, Decolonizing Our Schools, Urban Indigenous Education Ctr (TDSB)

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Going Beyond the Land Acknowledgement (ETFO),  Natural Curiosity, Decolonizing Our Schools, Urban Indigenous Education Ctr (TDSB)

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https://learningtheland.ca/

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Learning The Land - More than just an outdoor education program!

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Physical Connection Earliest cultures have a traditional way to use land and what is upon it. The obvious being using the land to make things such as shelter and tools to aid in tasks for living off the land. Cultures have a traditional diet which includes immense knowledge of plants, animals and their properties.

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Robin Wall-Kimmerer
https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

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A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub
A Washington Post "2020 Holiday Gift Guide" Recommendation
A Minneapolis Star Tribune "2020 Holiday Book Recommendation"
A Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020​"
A Food Tank Reading Recommendation for Fall 2020
Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the hardcover special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages. Beautifully bound with a new cover featuring an engraving by Tony Drehfal, this edition includes a bookmark ribbon, and five brilliantly colored illustrations by artist Nate Christopherson. In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book-gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred-and offer an edition that will inspire readers to gift it again and again, spreading the word about scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants.

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings-asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass-offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Indigenous, Nature, science, Native American, traditional ecological knowledge, Natural history, Ecology, botany, plants, essays, environment, spirituality, nonfiction, life sciences, spiritual, teaching, wisdom

Like this book? Sign up for occasional updates

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer is no stranger to addressing the biggest issues of our times through art. In the...

Join Robin Wall Kimmerer at Door County Library for the Write on Door County Reads 2024.

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A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Bestseller A Los Angeles Times Bestseller Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub A Washington Post "2020 Holiday Gift Guide" Recommendation A Minneapolis Star Tribune "2020 Holiday Book Recommendation" A Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020​" A Food Tank Reading Recommendation for Fall 2020 Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the hardcover special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages.

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Land-based Learning Researcher
https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ctl/Faculty_Profiles/382242/Sandra_Styres.html

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Research Overview

Dr. Styres is a Canada Research Chair in Iethi'nihstnha Ohwentsia'kkha (Land), Resurgence, Reconciliation and the Politics of Education, Assistant Professor with the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE, and is director of the Indigenous Educational Research Centre. Her research interests are: Land-centered education; Indigenous resurgence; politics of decolonizing reconciliation in education broadly; appropriate inclusion of Indigenous perspectives into teacher education programming; pre-service/in-service teacher development; Indigenous philosophies and perspectives; culturally aligned methodologies and theoretical approaches to Indigenous research; ethics and protocols that guide the work in Indigenous and non-Indigenous research collaborations and community engagement.

Curriculum Vitae

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/Curriculum_Vitae/Sandra_Styres_CV.pdf
Academic History

Ph.D. in the Language, Culture and Teaching Program at York University's Faculty of Education, Toronto, ON

M.Ed. in the department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education at Brock University's Faculty of Education, St. Catharines, ON

B.Ed. Specializing in Aboriginal Adult Education with the department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education at Brock University's Faculty of Education, St. Catharines, ON

Teaching Overview

Dr. Styres teaches in both teacher education and graduate programs. Dr. Styres teaches "Introduction to Indigenous Land-Centred Education: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives"; "Indigenous Civilization: Language, Culture and Identity"; "Literacies of Land: Narrative, Storying and Literature"; and Land‐centred Approaches to Research and Community Engagement: Bringing a 'Good' Mind to Indigenous Education Research.

Representative Publications

(2020). Reconcili action: Reconciling Contestation in the Academy. Power and Education, 0(0), 1-6. DOI: 10.1177/1757743820916845

Jahnke, H., Styres, S., Lilley, S. & Zinga, D. (2019), Indigenous Education: New Directions in Theory and Practice. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press. (Edited)

Styres, S. (2019). Pathways for Remembering and (Re)cognizing Indigenous Thought in Education. In Jahnke, H., Styres, S., Lilley, S. & Zinga, D. (Eds.), IndigenousEducation: New Directions in Theory and Practice.Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press.

Zinga, D. & Styres, S. (2018). Decolonizing Curriculum: Student Resistances to Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy. Power and Education, 0( 0) 1-21.

Styres, S. (2017). Pathways for Remembering and Recognizing Indigenous Thought in Education: Philosophies of Iethi'nihsténha Ohwentsia'kékha (Land).Toronto, ON:University of Toronto Press.

Styres, S. & Zinga, D. (2013). The Community-first Land-centred Research Method: Bringing a 'Good Mind' to Indigenous Education Research. Canadian Journal of Education, 36(2), 284-313.
Research Grants and Contracts

Dr. Styres is a Canada Research Chair in Iethi'nihstnha Ohwentsia'kkha (Land), Resurgence, Reconciliation and the Politics of Education. She is PI on several grants including: Ontario Research Fund; Indigenous Arts and Culture Partnerships Fund; Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund-Partnerships. She is co-applicant on a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant and the Jackman Institute, University of Toronto Artist-In-Residency Fund.

Honours and Awards

Traditional Honours

2009 Eagle Feather, presented to Dr. Styres by Brock University's
Tecumseh Centre for Aboriginal Research and Education

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CTL :: Sandra Styres :: Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE

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Research Overview Dr. Styres is a Canada Research Chair in Iethi'nihstnha Ohwentsia'kkha (Land), Resurgence, Reconciliation and the Politics of Education, Assistant Professor with the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE, and is director of the Indigenous Educational Research Centre.

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National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education

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School of Cities Webinar
Feb. 3, 2022
https://www.schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/events/youth-climate-justice

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Autumn Peltier is a water protector and referred to as a "Water Warrior" who has been advocating for the protection of Nibi & Mother Earth since the age of 7. Her film "The Water Walker" gained international acclaim as Autumn shared the reality that exists across our land and her journey to address the UN in NYC.  She was inspired and mentored by her Great Auntie Josephine Mandamin, former Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation.

An incredibly decorated 17-year-old Anishinaabe-Kwe and citizen of the Wiikwemkong Unceded Territory; Manitoulin Island, a First Nation of the Anishinabek Nation member; currently residing in Ottawa Canada.

Ms. Peltier has gained international recognition and emphasizes the connection of the Anishinabek to the land & water and their role to protect the lifeline of Mother Earth.

Autumn remains focused on bringing to the forefront the attention and need for clean water across First Nations.

Autumn Peltier was appointed the Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner in June, 2019.  Ms. Peltier's influence and vision have been recognized as "30 under 30" by North America for Environmental Education.

In 2019, 2020 & 2021 Autumn Peltier has consistently been named in the "100 Most Influential People" across multiple platforms.

Autumn's efforts and passion have put her on global stages in Canada, US, Europe and continue inspiring today's youth and societies around the world.

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Autumn Peltier is a water protector and referred to as a "Water Warrior" who has been advocating for the protection of Nibi & Mother Earth since the age of 7. Her film "The Water Walker" gained international acclaim as Autumn shared the reality that exists across our land and her journey to address the UN in NYC.  She was inspired and mentored by her Great Auntie Josephine Mandamin, former Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation.

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National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education

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Ecojustice helps people like you take governments and polluters to court and call for better laws to protect the people and places we love. Here's the latest on what our team has been working on.

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As Canada's largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice is building the case for a better earth. Learn more and get involved.

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This resource was developed as a response to the gaps in knowledge, and requests for support that were identified in our national survey: Canada, Climate Change and Education: Opportunities for Public and Formal Education and feedback from teachers who have attended LSF's professional development institutes. Our hope is that this resource is an accessible and comprehensive response to Canadian educators and will equip teachers with the background knowledge and tools to approach climate change education in their classroom, across subjects and curricular areas, and ultimately empower youth to become solutionaries. Read about some of the key highlights of the National survey in the Executive Summary

The purpose of this guide is to present opportunities to evolve students' understanding of the climate and climate change, assess the risks and opportunities to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate, unpack ethical dimensions, and honour emotions that are part of the process of coming to understand the complexity and urgency of the issue.

Transformative teaching strategies used throughout this guide are important to tackling complex problems like climate change. These strategies often begin with the understanding and experiences that students bring with them. Educators, who themselves are grappling with climate change issues, take the role of facilitators and co-learners as the class works together to learn, critically reflect, and take action.

Most importantly, this guide aims to engage students in contributing to solutions in their schools, communities and homes. It aims to connect educators to instructional strategies that allow for students' perspectives and voice, currently available climate change science and research, teacher resources and activities, datasets, and action solutions.

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This resource was developed as a response to the gaps in knowledge, and requests for support that were identified in our national survey: Canada, Climate Change and Education: Opportunities for Public and Formal Education and feedback from teachers who have attended LSF's professional development institutes.

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The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Youth Climate Action Guide was developed to assist youth with mobilizing their communities towards equitable climate action. This guide offe rs resources and strategies to support youth with implementing climate action initiatives that are responsive and sensitive to the needs of their community.

T he Youth Climate Action G uide was created in collaboration with TDSB students and a variety of community partners. Learn more . about this guide

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The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Youth Climate Action Guide was developed to assist youth with mobilizing their communities towards equitable climate action. This guide offers resources and strategies to support youth with implementing climate action initiatives that are responsive and

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Work that Reconnects: Council of all Beings (Joanna Macy)

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Work that Reconnects: Council of all Beings (Joanna Macy)

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This colorful, sometimes solemn, and often lusty communal ritual allows us to step aside from our human identity and speak on behalf of other life-forms. It is excellent for growing the ecological self, for it brings a sense of our solidarity with all life, and fresh awareness of the damage wrought by one upstart species.

Following a ritual opening, participants allow themselves to be chosen by another life-form, for whom they will speak in Council. They prepare themselves to do this by reflecting on their life-form, often by making a mask to represent it, sometimes practicing moving and speaking as that life-form, and finally gathering in a formal, structured Council to speak of the grave threats faced by nearly all life-forms today.

Each Council, being the extemporaneous expression of those present, is different from all others. Each has its own character and flow. Some release torrents of intense feelings; others appear lighthearted or relatively staid. Remember that appearances can be misleading: participants who seem awkward in their roles, or relatively silent and uninvolved, can be deeply affected by the Council.
Method
Invocation. To begin the process, the guide can call upon the Beings of Three Times (see invocation in Chapter 9) and the Four Directions. The blessing of the Four Directions is found in many indigenous traditions; use a form familiar and comfortable to you. Other ritual openings include smudging everyone with sage or sweet grass smoke, and chanting.

Being chosen. In this process, we imagine that other beings, other life-forms apart from humans, seek to be heard at our Council. The participants take time alone to let themselves be chosen. If time and setting permit, they walk outside for fifteen or twenty minutes. Indoors, allow three to five minutes. Ask people to relax deeply, opening their mind wide like a radar dish.

Encourage people to stay with the first impulse that arises. It is not a question of choosing a species one knows a lot about, but rather allowing oneself to be surprised by the life-form that comes, be it plant, animal, or ecological feature, such as swamp or mountain- any nonhuman being. Suggest that they visualize this being fully and from every angle, its size and shape and ways of moving. Then they request this being's permission to enter it, so they can imaginatively sense its body from within. Finally, they ask the being how it wishes to be represented and, if masks are to be used in the Council, what symbolic form the mask can take.

Mask-making. Lay out materials (cardboard, color markers, paste, tape, scissors, string, fabric scraps, etc.) on tables or ground cloths. Let people also gather their own materials from nature. A half hour should suffice; give a five-minute warning before the end of the allotted time. Everyone works without speaking. People can attach their masks with string, elastic, or by taping the mask to a stick to be held in front of the face. Be sure everyone cuts holes to see and speak through; a mask which blocks the mouth makes it hard to be heard.

Practice moving and speaking as the life-form. If time allows, this practice session helps people identify more fully with their life-form. Either or both of the following activities can help alleviate self-consciousness, which activates our human egos.

The guide invites participants to start moving as their life-form, beginning with eyes closed.
Breathing easily, begin to let yourself feel how it is to take body in this new life form... what shape are you? How much space do you take up now?... What is your skin or outer surface like?... How do you take notice of what is around you?... How do you move, or how are you moved by other forces?... Do you make any sounds? Play with those sounds.
In groups of three or four, participants don their masks and practice using their human voice to speak for their adopted life-form. Each being speaks in turn for three to five minutes to their small group, introducing themselves, describing how it feels to be who they are, and naming their special strengths and qualities. Here they stay focused on their physical nature and way of life as it has been from the beginning of time (saving comments about present conditions for the Council itself).

Gathering in Council. The masked beings move to the Council ground "in character" when summoned by drum beat or animal call. When they are all in the circle, the guide, as her adopted life form, welcomes them to this council on what is befalling their Earth and their lives. She invites them to identify themselves. One by one around the circle, each being introduces itself in a ceremonial fashion: " I am Wolf and I speak for the wolf people." "I am wild goose and I speak for the migratory birds." "I am the Colorado River and I speak for the rivers of the world." It is important that this initial roll call precede any lengthier statements.

Three stages of the Council. 1) Now, speaking at random, the beings express the particular concerns they bring to the council. For example: "As wild goose, I want to tell the Council that my long migrations are hard now because the wetlands are disappearing. And the shells of my eggs are so thin and brittle now, they break before my young are ready to hatch. I fear there is poison in my bones." The Beings in the Council respond with "We hear you, wild goose."

"As Mountain I am ancient, strong, solid, enduring. But now my forest skin is being torn off me, and my top soil washes away, my streams and rivers choke. Blasts of dynamite shatter me. I cannot care for the beings to whom I have always given refuge." "We hear you, Mountain." One by one they speak, and are heard. Rainforest, river, soil, wheat, badger, mouse.

2) After a while, perhaps a dozen testimonies, the guide reflects that all the suffering that the beings describe seem to derive from the activities of one adolescent species. "It would be good for humans to hear what we have to say. Let us summon them to our Council, to listen only. Would five or six of you put down your masks and move to the center to be humans?" The guide beats the drum and humans come to sit back to back in the middle, facing outwards. From now on, they are addressed directly: "Hear us, humans. This is our world, too. And we've been here a lot longer than you. Yet now our days are numbered because of what you are doing. Be still for once, and listen."

The humans silently listen as the Council continues. "Oh, humans, as the Danube, I was a bearer of life. Look at what I bear now that you've poured your wastes and poisons into me. I am ashamed and want to stop flowing because I have become a carrier of sickness and death." "We hear you, Danube," say the other beings. After a time, when more beings have spoken, the drum beats again and other humans replace the ones in the center, who return to the periphery and pick up their masks. In this fashion, everyone takes a turn to listen as a human.

3) When all the beings have had a chance to address the humans and call them to account, a major shift occurs. The guide may reflect, "For all their machines and apparent power, the humans now are frightened. They feel overwhelmed by the momentum of the forces they have unleashed. It does not serve our survival for them to panic or give up, for truly our life is in their hands. If they can awaken to their place in the web of life, they will change their ways. What strengths and gifts can each of us give them to help them now?"

Now each being has the chance to offer to the humans, and receive as a human when they come to the center, the powers that are needed to stop the destruction of the world, the strengths and gifts inherent in each life-form. Sometimes the humans break their silent listening to say simply "Thank you."
"As Mountain, I offer you my deep peace. Come to me at any time to rest, to dream. Without dreams, you may lose your vision and your hope. Come, too, for my strength and steadfastness whenever you need." "I, Condor, give you my keen far-seeing eye. Use that power to look ahead, beyond your day's busyness, your short-term concerns." "I, Wild Flower, offer my fragrance and sweet face, to call you back to beauty. Take time to notice me, and I'll let you fall in love again with life. This is my gift."
Ending. Each Council ends a little differently, given its dynamics. Some wind up reflectively in silence. Some end intimately when everyone has joined the humans in the center to receive the gifts, and find themselves embracing and sounding together. Other Councils burst into vigorous drumming and dancing, with hoots and howls and other wild calls.

In whatever way the Council ends, a formal releasing and thanksgiving should take place. People are asked to speak to the life-forms they adopted, thanking them for the privilege of speaking for them, and then letting that identity go. Then, placing their hands and foreheads on the ground, they return the energy that has moved through them to the earth, for the healing of all beings.

Now what to do with the masks? The group may burn them in a reverent way, or compost them, or take them home to keep for a while.

John Seed and Joanna sometimes end with another suggestion. Participants can retain as their true identity the life-form for whom they have spoken- and put on a human "mask" (their own face) to re-enter the world.
Variations

1. When time is short, or the materials are not at hand, drop the mask-making. If desired, use stick-on labels instead, on which people can draw a figure or symbol. Drop the practice sessions of movement and/or speaking in small groups.

2. When time is very short, say you have just an hour, you can still offer a key feature of the Council: the chance to step aside from one's human identity and speak on behalf of another species.

In this abbreviated form, people cluster in foursomes. Closing their eyes, they follow the guide's suggestions on how to let themselves be chosen by another life-form. Then one by one, in their small group, they begin to speak as that being. It helps to lean forward, heads together, eyes half-closed.

Each person's turn takes about ten minutes and covers three parts, which the guide delineates beforehand, perhaps noting them on a sheet of newsprint:

1. a) Describe what it's like to be this life-form, the powers and perspectives you enjoy, the relationships that nourish you and that you nourish in turn.

2. b) Describe the disruptions and difficulties you may be experiencing now, due to loss of habitat, pollution, toxic dumping, drift nets, clearcutting, factory farming, etc.

3. c) Since humans are causing these difficulties and abuses, and only they can correct them, consider what strengths you can offer to the humans to help them make the changes necessary to your survival- and the survival of life on Earth.

The guide, who has given a time signal for each ten-minute turn, may conclude the exercise by reflecting that the gifts each life-form has given are already present within us by virtue of the web of life. Otherwise they would not have occurred to us. When the whole group has drawn together, people may share what life-forms spoke through them, what gifts they offered, and what they discovered in the process.

Kathleen Rude lead a Council with a group of 40 people. She divided the group into three "delegations." Each delegation spoke to one of the parts described above, with each member of the delegation walking around the circle while speaking, so that everyone could see and hear clearly.

Alan Steinberg included a very brief but effective version of a Council in a conference workshop using clay. After a number of clay-working activities, he used a guided meditation to help each group member encounter another life form. Participants then had five minutes to make a clay figure representing it. Then going around the circle, each person spoke as their being, addressing the three topics listed above. Although brief, the process was moving and memorable.

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This colorful, sometimes solemn, and often lusty communal ritual allows us to step aside from our human identity and speak on behalf of other life-forms. It is excellent for growing the ecological self, for it brings a sense of our solidarity with all life, and fresh awareness of the damage wrought by one upstart species.

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UNESCO "Putting Climate Change Education into Practice"

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UNESCO "Putting Climate Change Education into Practice"

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