The City is an Ecosystem


Book Description

The City is an Ecosystem maps an interdisciplinary, community-engaged response to the great ecological crises of our time—climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality—which pose particular challenges for cities, where more than half the world’s population currently live. Across more than twenty chapters, the three parts of the book cover historical and scientific perspectives on the city as an ecosystem; human rights to the city in relation to urban sustainability; and the city as a sustainability classroom at all educational levels inside and outside formal classroom spaces. It argues that such efforts must be interdisciplinary and widespread to ensure an informed public and educated new generation are equipped to face an uncertain future, particularly relevant in the post-COVID-19 world. Gathering multiple interdisciplinary and community-engaged perspectives on these environmental crises, with contemporary and historical case study discussions, this timely volume cuts across the humanities and social and health sciences, and will be of interest to policymakers, urban ecologists, activists, built environment professionals, educators, and advanced students concerned with the future of our cities.




Understanding Urban Ecosystems


Book Description

Nowhere on Earth is the challenge for ecological understanding greater, and yet more urgent, than in those parts of the globe where human activity is most intense - cities. People need to understand how cities work as ecological systems so they can take control of the vital links between human actions and environmental quality, and work for an ecologically and economically sustainable future. An ecosystem approach integrates biological, physical and social factors and embraces historical and geographical dimensions, providing our best hope for coping with the complexity of cities. This book is a first of its kind effort to bring together leaders in the biological, physical and social dimensions of urban ecosystem research with leading education researchers, administrators and practitioners, to show how an understanding of urban ecosystems is vital for urban dwellers to grasp the fundamentals of ecological and environmental science, and to understand their own environment.




An Ecosystem for Research-engaged Schools


Book Description

Elements and dimensions of a research-engaged school eco-system are explored by experts in the field of educational improvement. This book is suitable for anyone interested in the potential for an ecosystem of learning and innovation in our schools where the structures, cultures, practices and policies align to promote research engagement.




Ecological Education in Action


Book Description

Celebrates the work of educators who explore ecological issues in school and non-school settings. Gives examples of ways to impact the thinking of children and adults in order to affirm the values of sufficiency, mutual support, and community.




It Takes an Ecosystem


Book Description

It Takes an Ecosystem explores the idea and potential of the Allied Youth Fields—an aspirational term that suggests increased connection across the multiple systems in which adults engage with young people. Recent research and initiatives make a strong case for what developmentalists have argued for decades: A young person’s learning and development is shaped in positive and negative ways by the interactions they have with all the adults in their life. Now is the time to reshape our systems to support this scientific understanding. The chapters in this book provide ideas, tools, examples, and visions for a more connected, more equitable world for young people and the adults in their lives. Endorsements for It Takes an Ecosystem "It Takes an Ecosystem offers a powerful and timely engagement of the possibilities and challenges facing the Out-of-School Time sector…this book charts a path forward for scholars, practitioners, community members to imagine OST anew---in ways that are socially just and affirming, centered on the optimal development of youth and the power of community." — Bianca Baldridge University of Wisconsin Madison "The book’s emphasis on an ecosystem approach, anchored in commitments to equity and racial justice, combines evidence-based analyses with a future-oriented call to action for the allied youth fields. This book will be a must-read for those committed to radically re-thinking how we bring sectors together to support thriving for children and youth." Ben Kirshner University of Colorado




Asphalt to Ecosystems


Book Description

A practical palette for visualizing, designing, and building innovative green schoolyard environments.




Geotourism


Book Description

Geotourism: the tourism of geology and landscape is a compilation of first class international research which provides insight into the many facets of this emerging subject, and comprehensively explores the nexus between landscape, geological phenomena and tourism.




Education's Ecosystems


Book Description

Education’s Ecosystems offers a new perspective on learning that is integrated and connected to lived experience. It presents a model for salient characteristics of both biological and pedagogical ecosystems, involving diversity, interaction, emergence, construction, interpretation. Examples from around the world show how learning can be made more whole and relevant. The book should be valuable to educators, parents, policy makers, and anyone interested in democratic education.




#EdJourney


Book Description

Your formula for managing innovation and transforming learning #EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education is a refreshing change from the negativity so common in the world of education today. Over the course of a 3-month solo road trip across the United States, author Grant Lichtman discovered that there is much to be positive about in today's K-12 schools. Lichtman, one of the country's leading experts in educational innovation, interviewed over 600 teachers, administrators, students, parents, and trustees to find out what kind of innovations they're doing right—and how others can leverage their successes. Innovation in education takes hard work, planning, and cooperation. With examples from around the country and findings from the latest education research, #EdJourney maps out how administrators and teachers can embrace the innovation process that schools and learners need now. Today's 21st century education presents unique challenges and opportunities to students, and this is a trailblazing practical guide to making sure education is ready for the future. #EdJourney focuses on four key questions: What new learning strategies are the top schools implementing to prepare our students for their future rather than for our past? How do teachers and administrators manage transitions to new types of teaching and learning? What are the key obstacles to shifting away from the assembly line model of education? How can we all leverage the lessons of success from the most innovative schools? The concrete examples and advice in this book will help you bring innovation and educational design concepts into your school. #EdJourney goes beyond the theoretical need for change—by now a familiar topic to almost everyone—and takes a real-world approach to achieving transformative education in any school.