To understand the meaning of a bioregional perspective, and what it would mean to develop one.
To consider the benefits of consciously developing an intimate relationship with your place.
To explore what it might mean to protect the place we live.
Since the industrial revolution, our survival needs have been met in ways that do not require an intimate connection with the Earth. We have become separated from the places we live, as our daily activities have moved indoors to schools, factories and offices. Time once spent in nature is now spent interacting with machines. Where the original inhabitants of our homeplaces gained their sustenance from the land, we purchase goods in stores, often after they have been transported from distant places. Where they had no choice but to focus their energies on their immediate community, we have the use of automobiles, airplanes and electronic media to reach across town, across the country, across the ocean. Consequently, we have become much less aware of our impact on the natural world.
As a result, human artifacts--shopping malls, office towers, restaurants and supermarkets--arise with no relationship to the environment around them. Similarly, we have refined methods to transport mass culture everywhere, rather than allow a diversity of cultures to grow from nature's abundant variety. The result is an increasing number of cities and towns that are similar in appearance and feel.
The readings in this course describe an alternative future. The authors suggest that we should consciously immerse ourselves in our place, by learning as much as we can about it and concentrating our energies there. The more we receive our sustenance from, and take care of our wastes in, our own bioregion, the better we can see the effects of our living patterns on the water, soil and living beings around us. When we have a stake in our own place and are committed to making it last over time, the benefits can be immense--to ourselves, our communities and the Earth.
The curriculum is divided into 8 sessions, designed for weekly discussions. Each session includes brief readings and topics for discussion. Each focuses on a different aspect of the bioregional perspective.
The Land Ethic: There is a difference between living on the land and dwelling in it -- understanding its rhythms, its potential, and its limits. Those who develop intimacy with a place over time tend to accept responsibility for it.
Knowing Your Bioregion: Your bioregion is a unique place with its own watershed, soil, climate, plants, animals and history. How much do you know about it?
Living in Place: Living in place means consciously trying to satisfy your needs and find your pleasures in your local bioregion and working to assure the long-term health of the bioregion.
Mapping Your Place: Mapping can be learned by local groups and individuals to give a new sense of place. Whereas a typical map shows political subdivisions and transportation routes, a bioregionalist’s map delineates regions based on watersheds, climate and plant types, thereby helping people relate to their natural surroundings.
Building Community: A bioregionalist assumes responsibility for the health and continuity of a place, not only its natural features, but also the social bonds of its people.
Empowerment: Knowing a place can inspire and empower one to take action to preserve it or take part in its restoration. Is individual action important in modern society?
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