How people view themselves as human beings in relationship with their environment is a critical question in the field of environmental education (EE). Learning to be with nature, and care about nature, are common ways EE speaks about this relationship. But a side effect of such language is the sense that human beings are something other than nature themselves. In this paper, the author argues that human beings already are nature and that our very existence is created each moment in relationship with all living and nonliving aspects of our environment. She also proposes a writing method to promote this kind of understanding.
One of the ways that EE has traditionally approached this topic is by attempting to teach people to be less anthropocentric, or human-centered. The author of this paper argues that enabling people to discover they are an integral part of the universe, engaged in a dynamic human-nature relationship, completely transforms this anthropocentric view. The way to do this, she argues, is to promote engagement with the world, as opposed to only a conceptual understanding of it.
The writing technique the author suggests for helping people actualize this non-human-centered perspective is to encourage the humanization of the world around them. She posits that we can learn from children, who quite naturally do this with their environment. Rather than steering children (and adults) away from this natural anthropocentric inclination, she suggests using this inclination as a means for writing and engaging with the environment. In other words, the author encourages young people to write about the animals, plants, and insentient objects as if they have human senses and feelings. She calls this writing method “interspecies articulation” (that is, articulating for other species). By doing so, the author argues that students develop a deeper understanding of what is shared with the world around them, as well as their dependence on, and connection with, all of it.
To illustrate her point, the author uses writing samples from a previous study she conducted in which people were encouraged to write about the beauty they found in their everyday lives over the time span of one year. One of the excerpts follows:
The trees had dressed in white winter jackets and the sky radiated in its various colors. The river spoke and I realized now that I had heard it already inside the house. Deep sighs came from beneath the ice cover, the water was breathing, and the ice went along with it. I felt that everyone in the universe was making content sounds.
The Bottom Line
<p>Through a writing method called interspecies articulation, environmental educators can demonstrate and remind students of their ongoing co-existence with nature. This method encourages students to write about other species and insentient objects, such as rocks and mountains, as if they possess human senses and feelings, using language such as “the shrub tenderly unfurled its leaves after a long and restful winter sleep.” Interspecies articulation can be practiced through many mediums, including writing, journaling, or poetry. These forms of expression and empathy can provide an opportunity to realize and enhance connectedness with nature.</p>
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