Two week intensive within a six month online study group: October 2011 to April 2012
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, Jonathan Dawson and Emily Ryan (Facilitator)
(Residential intensive: 23 October – 4 November)
This course runs again from March to September 2012. Click here for further details and to book a place>>
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.
We have created a transformative and holistic learning journey into the practice of ecoliteracy that will help develop individual ecological awareness that you can apply to your work and personal life.
It will explore the central themes of:
By joining this programme you will become part of an international community of learners who are commited 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.
This programme is at the heart of all we do at Schumacher College. Coming to study ecoliteracy 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 jouney and your commitment to apply what you experience within the programme.
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 ecoliteracy inquiry and allows you to immerse youself 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Total fees for whole programme including two-week residential intensive and facilitated global study circle are £1,750
Because we are developing this programme out of a successful series of short courses, we have absorbed some of the development costs in order to minimise fees. Subsequent programmes will have a higher fee than offered here.
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 local and global communities. 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.
Click here for downloadable course outline.
Click here for downloadable course poster.
