Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: From Breakdown to Breakthrough 1

Five Practices of Emotionally and Socially Engaged Ecoliteracy 12

Section One: Stories From the Field

Part One Standing Strong on a Coal Mountain 21

1 Lessons from a Coal Miner’s Daughter 23
Teri Blanton and Wendell Berry, Kentucky

How to Mine a Mountain 25

Deconstructing the Meaning of “Cheap” 26

Why Can’t We Go Out and Play, Daddy? 30

2 Taking a Power Trip 35
Spartanburg Day School, South Carolina

Bringing “The Ecosphere” Down to Earth 36

What’s My Connection? 40

The Last Mountain 41

Part Two From Anger to Action in Oil Country 43

3 The Heart of the Caribou 45
Sarah James, Arctic Village, Alaska

Top Ten Oil Producers 48

United States Is Number One in Oil Consumption 53

4 Beyond Whining 55
Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools

The World’s Most Important Energy Source 59

Classroom Exercise: Where’s the Oil? 62

Part Three Shared Water: Moving Beyond Boundaries 63

5 Water Wars and Peace 65
Aaron Wolf, Mediator and Oregon State University Professor

The Biggest (Hidden) Use of Water 67

Ocean Water in a Glass? 68

The Resilience of Water 71

6 From Restoration to Resilience 77
Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed, Northern California

Freshwater Blues 81

The Rise of Dead Zones 82

The New Face of Water Pollution 84

Part Four Nourishing Communities with Food 87

7 Changing a Food System, One Seed at a Time 89
La Semilla Food Center, Anthony, New Mexico

How to Feed Nine Billion 92

Test Your “Food IQ” 94

8 Forging the Food Justice Path 99
Tony Smith, Superintendent of Schools, Oakland, California

The Rise of School Food Reform 100

The Curriculum Connection 105

Rethinking School Lunch 106

Section Two: Professional Development Strategies 111

9 Cultivating Ecoliterate Learning Communities 113
Guidelines for Engaging Colleagues

Using Circles to Cultivate Deep Listening 118

Transformation in the Classroom 120

10 Reflection and Practice 123
Conversation Strategies for Getting Started

Going on a Virtual Dive 127

Professional Development Sample Agendas 130

Conclusion: Hands-On Hope 133

Notes 135

Resources 155

Index 163

The Center for Ecoliteracy 171

The Authors 173

Hopeful, eloquent, and bold, Ecoliterate tells stories of educators, activists, and students who embody a new integration of emotional, social, and ecological intelligence. Building on the success of bestselling author Daniel Goleman's emotional and social learning paradigm, Ecoliterate shows how educators are extending the cultivation of these essential dimensions of human intelligence to include knowledge of and empathy for all living systems.

Through stories ranging from the Arctic to Appalachia and New Mexico to New Orleans, the authors reveal how education that engages in some of the most pressing ecological issues of the day advances academic achievement, fosters resilience, and helps school communities play a vital role in protecting the natural world. The book also includes a professional development guide and exploration of five practices of engaged ecoliteracy: developing empathy for all forms of life, embracing sustainability as a community practice, making the invisible visible, anticipating unintended consequences, and understanding how nature sustains life.

Praise for Ecoliterate

"One of the most urgent issues facing humanity is fixing our broken relationship with the earth, on which all life depends. To do that, we have to think, feel, and act differently. With vivid examples and lucid analysis, this powerful and persuasive book shows just how much inspired educators and students can achieve together. It should enlighten and invigorate schools and communities everywhere."
—Sir Ken Robinson, creativity expert and author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

"Ecoliterate provides a veritable how-to guide for educators to creatively engage young people in the most important ecological issues of the day, helping them gain knowledge of and empathy for all living systems, which is bound to enrich their lives and protect the future of our planet."
—Gail Connelly, executive director, National Association of Elementary School Principals

“In this pioneering book, Dan Goleman and his collaborators demonstrate—in vivid and compelling fashion—how education can be transformed through a synthesis of these intelligences.”—Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education 

"In the 21st century, we need a new relationship with nature, a redefinition of both environmentalism and ecoliteracy. Ecoliterate offers a roadmap for educators—and the rest of us—to that future, one based on empathy, kinship, natural intelligence, and hope. We're in their debt for showing the way."— Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods 

“Gutsy, eloquent, moving, Ecoliterate is a masterpiece of motivation and practical guidance. Yes, it is perfect for educators, but it is also perfect for students, parents, grandparents, and all of us yearning to contribute to life on our planet. Ecoliterate will help young people discover their own power—and that genie is impossible to get back in the bottle! I love this book.”—Frances Moore Lappé, author of EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want 

“Beautifully written, accessible, and urgently important, Ecoliterate introduces us to individuals and communities around the country who in very real, practical ways are demonstrating that a new world is possible. No harangue here; this is about hope, embodied in educating our children—head, heart, and hands—to deeply understand how to take care of themselves, their neighbors, and the natural world on which we all depend.”—Michael Ableman, farmer and author of From the Good Earth, On Good Land, and Fields of Plenty 

“To be Ecoliterate is to be equipped to be Earth Citizens, to reach our full potential as human beings. This important book shows us how."—Vandana Shiva, Founder, Navdanya International and author of Soil Not Oil 

“Timely, important, healing, and hopeful—Ecoliterate is a ‘must read, must implement’ guide to a healthy and sustainable present and future.”—Cheryl Charles, President and CEO, Children & Nature Network 

“The Center for Ecoliteracy has for years been a preeminent thought leader for how we can educate our children in a way that creates generations of earth-stewards. Ecoliterate is a much-needed guide for exactly how to accomplish this goal and includes great examples that demonstrate the success of their approach.”—Oran B. Hesterman, Ph.D., President and CEO, Fair Food Network