Environmental Events - Free and Fun

Environmental activist and author Bill McKibben is speaking at Eckerd College at 7:30 on Wednesday, October 12. It’s amazing the number of free resources available if you live near a college. Take advantage of it! http://www.eckerd.edu/news/index.php?f=detail&id=3133

I’ve had the opportunity to hear him speak twice before, including once at a conference this summer where he spoke exclusively to independent school teachers about making their schools more sustainable. He's a visionary in the field, and he might change your way of interacting with the world around you.

One of the interesting things he said is that people have 10 times more interactions with other people at farmers’ markets compared with grocery stores. The Bradenton Farmers’ Market has now returned for the winter, and last Saturday I spoke with 5 people that I know for four different reasons…and none of those reasons was Saint Stephen’s, which is my largest social circle in the area. As I listened to potential customers ask a farmer about mache (a type of lettuce), I knew that his answers would have a better success rate at getting people to try the item compared with reading about it online. There’s something about the tactile nature of a farmers' market that encourages people to experiment with their eating.

This ties directly into my support for Geraldson’s Community Farm. I like knowing the farmers, watching the plants shoot up from the ground, and having my dinners depend on the weather from the previous months. If you want to learn more about the farm or the types of vegetables you can grow in Florida, you should come to Geraldson’s Open House this weekend from 9am-2pm. There will be games for the children, farm tours for adults, and you’ll leave with your own seedling to plant at home. http://geraldsoncommunityfarm.org/documents/OpenHouseFlyer11.pdf

Enjoy the harvest season in Florida. Eat locally, and take part!

Tide Pooling

(Look at my fun waterproof boots.)

If you ever are offered the opportunity to muck about in a tide pool, I recommend it. We spent over two hours traipsing around, poking under rocks, and lifting up kelp deposits. Susan was kind enough to loan me a pair of waterproof boots, and I stayed dry and warm even while wading through knee-deep water. I also saw the best side of the other teachers-helping each other find the critters we were searching for, holding out hands as a stabilizing force for people whose feet were less sure, and modeling curiosity about all of the creatures we came across. There was at least one abalone, a few fish, a fair number of crustaceans, an overwhelming number of anemones, and millions of jelly-type animals that we didn't always recognize on our own as alive.

(That large gray object on the right is actually a colonial tunicate. I reached my hand in the water to use it to poke the jelly substance immediately to the left, and it was soft. Just about everything you see here is alive.)

(This octopus shouldn't have been in the intertidal. It's now in Gilly's cephalopod lab.)

Steinbeck and Rickett's used to go collecting in the tide pools around Monterey. Reading my post about writing and Cannery Row, you might also remember the the metaphor of a tide pool is the essential metaphor for Cannery Row throughout the book. At our lecture preparing us for the experience, the scientist discussed the importance of looking slowly at details instead of surveying the vistas. This goes against human inclinations, and he challenged us to spend 5 minutes at two different times staring quietly at the same tide pool. The animals living in the pools can feel our approach, sense our shadows, and taste our presence in the water. They need time to adjust to us, and we notice more as we watch the interactions that unfold under the water.

(Bird rock that's appeared in the distance in many of my photos. 6am was the low-low tide of the day.)

(You can see better here how far out we walked.)

Tidepools are also a metaphor for Steinbeck's writing on a larger scale. He cared about symbiosis in communities, and the ways that different species rely on each other. Both he and Ricketts challenged the status quo of organizing (sterilized preserved) animals by phylum, categorization and instead found value in observing living communities. You can see this theme of community design and survivability in all of his fiction and nonfiction writings. Steinbeck observed communities, human and aquatic, in their natural environments, and he let their actions speak for themselves.

Monterey and Chesapeake Bay Comparisons

As an update to yesterday, having grown up near the Chesapeake Bay, I took part in a follow-up discussion with the presenter yesterday that compared revitalization of the Chesapeake and Monterey Bay regions.

People in the middle of the 20th century knew that the water quality of both had diminished, yet the Monterey Bay has been rehabilitated in a way that the Chesapeake Bay has not. Dr. Pulombi offered several potential explanations for this.

Looking at the geography, the Chesapeake Bay is shallower, and there's a higher density of people who live in the areas immediately surrounding the Bay.

The California coast is regulated by laws in the state of California, and the California Coastal Commission is quite strict. In contrast, the Chesapeake Bay runs through several states. Agricultural runoff regulations are not uniform and are not regularly enforced. In terms of blue crabs, Maryland has stopped winter harvesting of females to protect the population, while Virginia has not.

On the human side, the technology industry benefited the California coast because of the vast profits associated with it. A few individuals with substantial funds could pay to clean up the bay and found the aquarium and research institute.

Finally, and significantly, the marketability of the keystone species play a role. "Sea otters are furry and cute, while oysters are very, very tasty." I can tell you with certainty there's an "aawwww" factor around here with sea otters that doesn't occur with oysters.


So, no real answers, just some observations.

Sea Life of the Monterey Bay

Oh Seth, you had to ask to learn more about sea life in the region. Today started the biology section of the institute. Little did you know that I'm way over my head in marine biology terms at the moment. Things like the differences between "lottia digitalis" and "siphonaria maura," for example. Or looking at the effects of "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" on pelagic communities. We're working with a holistic biologist** from Stanford, the director of Hopkins Research Station, and a senior scientist from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Understanding that the majority of teachers aren't science teachers, we got some interesting comparisons such as acrea based on "universality of niche" to Tom Joad's final speech in The Grapes of Wrath, and a line of poetry to the jelly(family) food web.

Here are two creatures from the Monterey Bay that I can almost guarantee will be new to most of you.

The first is the vampyrus (vam-pyro-tooth-us) infernalis. Even though of you without a strong Latin background might notice some similarities to modern English words.



It's a "living fossil." When it's threatened, it assumes a pineapple posture to protect it's mantle by placing its arms in a protective posture. As if that weren't enough, it also squirts bio-luminescent particles from its arm tips that create an enormous and distracting display around itself.



The second was only discovered in 2007, and it was given the name "chetopterus pugaporcinus." You're welcome to translate, but I'll hint that the name is based on the appearance.




In the last 15 years, Humboldt squid have shown up in great numbers from more tropical climates due to rising water temperatures, reduced oxygen in the water, reduced competition, and reduced predation. They're depleting the hake fish population. I don't know if they're considered an invasive species, but the researcher used the word "invasion" to describe what's happened.




It's late, and we need to read The Tragedy of the Commons and several responses for our morning sessions tomorrow. Feel free (except Seth) to skip the next part. It's taken directly from my notes.

When European explorers arrived on the California coast in the 18th century, fish and wildlife were plentiful. Grizzly bears fought on the coast over sea life that washed up on the beaches, and condors ate from the sea as well. Between 1789-1811, 39,173 sea otter pelts were taken. Each pelt could be sold to the Chinese for 30 dollars at a time when 90 dollars bought you a house in San Diego. But, otters play an important role in the ecosystem. They protect sea kelp forests by eating sea urchins and abalone who eat kelp. Because the California waters are cold and sea otters lack blubber, every adult sea otter ate approximately twenty pounds of seafood each day. The kelp forests were devastated. This set a pattern where people hunted animals to extinction, altered the ecosystems, and found new animals to hunt. In order, they hunted otters, whales, seabirds, and abalone. (I'm not including the sardines and canning industry. I could.) Meanwhile, in the early 20th century, Julia Platt, Ph.D., fought against the pollution of the canning industries. She broke glass ceilings all over the world, and she even became mayor of the town of Pacific Grove when she found out she would have the power to create a marine conservation area and wildlife refuge if she did so. Onto the 1930s and sea otters were thought to be extinct. While building the Bixby Bridge on US1, a colony of 30-50 was discovered. Fishermen wanted to shoot them because they ate abalone, but some were moved to Monterey Bay. The otters liked the marine area, and soon the kelp forests began to rebound. With the kelp forests came more fish and with more fish came the seals. The seals brought tourists as well as the interest of Julie Packard (of Hewlett-Packard money) who helped conceive of and fund the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's one of the best research facilities for aquatics in this country, and it's also increased tourism to the area. (Tourism is now the second largest industry behind agriculture. There's more wildlife viewing than wildlife processing, and maintaining a healthy ocean has become part of the economic model.

*I'm pretty sure this is obvious, but I wanted to make sure people knew that these aren't my photos. :)
**Holistic biology is really interesting. It started for the non-science majors at Stanford because they were overwhelmed by the science focus of the school. It encourages students to examine systems and communities (as Ed Rickett's recommended) as an integrated whole.
***If you want to learn more, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has an excellent website at http://www.mbari.org/
****I saw my first two sea otters out in the bay this evening. They're just as cute as I expected. It was even better because it was a chance occurrence that I walked out back during the 5 minute break.

Environmental Education in Japan

I spent Tuesday morning in an environmental education session with Hari Srinivas, the Chief of the Urban Environmental Management Unit of the United Nations Environmental Programme and visiting professor at 7(!) universities. He put forth a well-balanced argument for environmental education, touching on past successes, future goals, and problems with the current system. Throughout, I sat scribbling notes; there were 61 slides in the first hour, then an hour of questions and answers. Srinivas believes that we need to switch from an idea of "environmental education" to "education for sustainable development." An integrated vision of sustainability deals not just with the environment, but also with the economy and equality. The starting point for environmental education is that "real environmental action is local - at the micro level, reflecting the problems and capacity of individuals and groups," our work and actions need to be contextualized, justifying local activities with global language. Here's a 10 list of what I learned this morning, and I'm even more aware than usual of just how much I'm leaving out.

1. In Tokyo, the ecological footprint is 3 1/2 times the size of Japan. In other words, the citizens of Tokyo consume over 3 times more resources than the country can produce.

2. Environmental Education (EE) is a process in which individuals gain awareness of their environment and acquire knowledge, skills, values, experiences, and also the determination, which will enable them to act - individually and collectively - to solve present and future environmental problems.

Environmental education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).

Environmental education enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective decision-making skills, and teaches individuals to weigh various sides of an environmental issue to make informed and responsible decisions. Environmental education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action.

The components of environmental education are:

1. Awareness and sensitivity to the environment and environmental challenges
2. Knowledge and understanding of the environment and environmental challenges
3. Attitudes of concern for the environment and motivation to improve or maintain environmental quality
4. Skills to identify and help resolve environmental challenges
5. Participation in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental challenges

3. Real environmental action is local - at the micro level, reflecting the problems and capacity of individuals and groups. 'Environment' means different things to different people. For some, it means separating the garbage into burnable and non-burnable items. To others it means saving on electricity or using less water. The term 'environment' may be associated with restoring the vitality of tropical rain forests, maintaining biodiversity and arresting desertification. Developing healthy, sustainable and safe communities becomes important to others. The environment also means agricultural and industrial production that is sound and 'green'. Some associate man-made chemical and nuclear hazards with concrete environmental policies. All of these views are right in their own way, and are united in its concern for the effects that the environment has on the day-to-day lives of current and future generations.

4., 5., 6., 7. Essentials of Environmental Education for Sustainability

.
Environment Economy Society Institutions	living in harmony with nature proper use of natural resources responsibility towards other societies responsibility towards future generations common but differentiated responsibilities of individual countries precautionary principle
.
Environment Economy Society Institutions	integration of environmental protection into processes of development change in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption new technologies open economic systems, fair market conditions developing countries’ conditions internationalization of environmental costs
.
Environment Economy Society Institutions	human development concern for human health eradication of poverty and ensuring equity demographic policies role of citizens and states, public participation indigenous people and major groups international co-operation
.
Environment Economy Society Institutions	environmental legislation environmental impact assessment co-operation among states regarding laws information, science and capacity building
.

8. Three issues with environmental action are access to computer, access to the Internet, and access to value-added assistance. (The third might involve teacher comfort with the material or technology programs or it might involve the lack of knowledge about how to build a partnership with local government or NGOs.)

9. Core themes of Environmental Education

• 1. Lifelong learning-The potential for learning about sustainability throughout one's life exists both within formal and nonformal educational settings.
• 2. Interdisciplinary approaches-Education for sustainability provides a unique theme to integrate content and issues across disciplines and curricula.
• 3. Systems thinking-Learning about sustainability offers an opportunity to develop and exercise integrated systems approaches.
• 4. Partnerships-Partnerships forged between educational institutions and the broader community are key to advancing education for sustainability.
• 5. Multicultural perspectives-Achieving sustainability is dependent upon an understanding of diverse cultural perspectives and approaches to problem solving.

• 6. Empowerment-Lifelong learning, interdisciplinary approaches, systems thinking, partnerships, and multicultural perspectives empower individuals and institutions to contribute to sustainability.

These underlying themes lay the foundation for a set of strategic actions and initiatives outlined in the report, "Education for Sustainability: An Agenda for Action" This report was produced at a meeting held in San Francisco, California, in 1994.

10. Environmental education cannot work if schools are going at it alone. We need scalable partnerships with the community, stretching community goals and linking them to national and global ideals. There is so much going on at the different levels; organizations on various levels need to collaborate with each other and target their messages accordingly.


If this is too much for you to process in this format, I'll be bringing back a print copy of his Powerpoint, my notes, and links to several websites he recommended. I can't overemphasize how incredible it is that Saint Stephen's has been using the word "sustainable" all this year and has been making strides towards sustainability. I think we're ahead of the curve because it's something we're hearing more frequently in non-traditional settings, and it's a term that's going to gain popularity across all disciplines.

Calling all 7th graders!

In keeping with the theme of sustainability (from the other night) and the Atlas Initiative, I took pictures of these posters when I visited a junior high school (grades 7-9) in Okinawa.

Guess what I found in the student artwork section on the wall.
I KNOW that's something you learned about during your 6th grade IQ last year. You don't even need to read Japanese to know what it means.

I also found this sign nearby. I'm a little less sure of its meaning, but I think it's asking me to stop leaving lights on unnecessarily.

Environmental tips from Okinawa

In Okinawa, I've noticed six things that seem like environmentally-friendly, sustainable, ideas.

1. (Okinawa is just as hot as Bradenton and even more humid. Most buildings do not have air conditioning.) Buildings are built with windows that open and are constructed with windows across from each other, allowing for cross breezes through the room.

2. The backs of the toilets have sinks. The water that you wash your hands with is the water that goes into the toilet once you flush the tank.

3. The toilets have two flush options. You can either choose light or heavy flush, depending on how much water you want to use.

4. Students (Elementary on up!!!) make the effort to recycle. They break down the milk cartons from lunch in the classroom after eating. They also put all of their uneaten food into a tub, where it can be turned into compost (like what you do at Dayspring).

5. If you want a plastic bag at the grocery store, you have to pay. The cost is only 3 cents, but it reminds you that you should be bringing your own bag.

6. In the hotel room, you have to place your key in a slot by the door for the lights and air conditioner to work. You can't leave the power on when you're out during the day.

Remember that every little bit helps! Have the builders broken ground yet on our new green middle school?