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Deborahbenham
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ECOLOGICAL CITIZENSHIP: PATHWAYS & OUTCOMES

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Figure 1: Ecological Citizens Framework version 1.1. Created by Deborah Benham © 2024. This work is openly licensed via Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND meaning you may share the framework with others so long as you provide attribution, and do not change or remix the content or use it for commercial purposes.

 

Five Pathways

  1. Envision a Preferred Future. Imagine and articulate the community and world you want to live in, that meets the needs of people and the wider living world we rely on.
  2. Understand Humans as a Keystone Species: Re-member that humanity as a species can be a positive participant of and contributor to our places and ecosystems. For thousands of years people have tended the land in ways which support life. Indigenous lands still protect 80% of biodiversity on the planet. We can all learn how to do this again.
  3. Reconnect with Nature: Research shows its good for our health and overall wellbeing, and helps us act on behalf of people and the planet.
  4. Learn from Nature: Life has 3.8 billion years of accumulated intelligence and solutions. We can learn to design within nature's patterns and principles to create human societies and systems which are life affirming.
  5. Contribute Locally: The local community and bioregional level is where most of us can have meaningful impact. Its also the source of our support and resources.

 

Five Outcomes

  1. Active Hope and Motivation: Combining a clear Vision of a future where social and ecological systems have regenerated and which we are proud to leave to future generations, with a sense of belonging and meaningful contribution within the living world, uplifts our hearts and helps us roll up our sleeves to make this vision a reality.
  2. Joy and Wellbeing: Once we both understand ourselves as a valued participant in the web of life and have a felt sense of interconnection with nature; then mental, emotional and physical wellbeing improve. Loneliness abates. Feelings of wonder and happiness increase. Deep connection with nature inspires and supports, helping to regulate our nervous systems, reduce stress, and even improve our gut microbiome and therefore our overall health.
  3. Ecological Literacy and Mindset: Deeply observing, connecting with and learning from nature helps us shift from the common western cultural delusion of separation, competition, individualism and dominance to an ecological mindset, where we experience and value the interconnected and cooperative nature of the living world and our participation in it. From this also comes an understanding of how living systems create the conditions for all life to thrive and the universal biological principles and planetary boundaries that support this.
  4. Regenerative Design and Action: By bringing together an ability to learn from nature, and a committment to participating in and contributing to our local places and communities, we become regenerative agents of change, with the ability to  co-design, produce and deliver new pathways towards thriving, for land and people.
  5. Solidarity and Healing Divisions: When committment to community and land meets our Vision for a preferred future, and we co-create this together, including, valuing and uplifiting the needs of all people, not just the dominant or privileged in society, then we have the chance to create true community, where respect, kindness and mutual aid are the norm and the repair of past and current harms can begin.

 

If you would like to learn more, deepen into your own ecological citizenship journey, or develop your skills to support others with this, please get in touch. We are in the process of developing a new course, set of learning resources and community of practice, and are welcoming people who would like to be founding participants and members. Pay what you can options are available. Contact details and a call booking option are at the bottom of this page.

 

Lineage and Gratitude: This framework is based on my experiences as a wildlife biologist and guide, and as a practitioner, leader and educator in transformative nature connection, biomimicry, sustainability and community led change. I have been much inspired and supported by the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Paul Hawken, Carol Sanford, Rob Hopkins, Daniel Wahl, Adrienne Maree-Brown, Janine Benyus, Lynn Margulis, Andrew Sage, Manda Scott, Kate Raworth, Tyson Yunkaporta and Fritjof Capra. I am deeply grateful for the mentoring and friendship of tracker and naturalist  Jon Young over the last 12 years, and his work on deep nature connection and nature-based community building. The emerging genres of Solar Punk and Thrutopias have also been a helpful source of Vision, ideas and hope. I was delighted to find that others were also beginning to talk about humans as a keystone species and I highly recommend Miriam Kate Macdonald's book 'Emergent: Rewilding Nature, Regenerating Food and Healing the World by Restoring the Connection Between People and the Wild. Much of the framework is also informed by research across several aligned fields. Below you will find some key papers and publications which have been helpful to me and may also be for you. Lastly of course, gratitude to the sea otters and kelp bed ecosystem of central California, where an important strand of my journey started and where part of my heart still resides.

 

References

  1. Capaldi, C.A.; Dopko, R.L.; Zelenski, J.M. (2014). “The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis.” Frontiers in Psychology. 2014; 5: 976. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00976

  2. Capra, Fritjof and Pier Luigi Luisi.  2014.  The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision.  Cambridge University.  

  3. Chatterton, Paul.  2019.  Unlocking Sustainable Cities: A Manifesto for Real Change.  Pluto Press 
  4. Dicks, H.; Bertrand-Krajewski, J.; Ménézo, C.; Rahbe, Y.; Pierron, J.; Harpet, C. (2021). “Applying Biomimicry to Cities: The Forest as Model for Urban Planning and Design.” pp.271-288 in Nagenborg, Stone, Gonzalez Woge, Vermaas, eds, Technology and the City: Towards a Philosophy of Urban Technologies. Springer Nature Switzerland DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-52313-8_14
  5. Furness, Ella (2021).  “How participation in ecological restoration can foster a connection to nature.”  Restoration Ecology 29:7 (2021).  DOI: 10.1111/rec.13430
  6. Hari, Johann.  2018.  ​Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions. Bloomsbury.
  7. Henfrey, T.; Maschowski, G.; Penha-Lopes, G, eds. (2017). Resilience, Community Action, and Societal Transformation:  People, Place, Practice, Power, Politics, and Possibility in Transition. Permanent Publications.
  8. Hopkins, Rob.  2019.  From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want.  Chelsea Green.
  9. Ives, C.D.; Giusti, M.; Fischer, J.; Abson, D.J.; Klaniecki, K.; Dorninger, C.; Laudan, J.; Barthel, S.; Abernethy, P; Martín-López, B.; Raymond, C.M.; Kendal, D.; von Wehrden, H. (2017). "Human–nature connection: a multidisciplinary review." Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 26–27 (106-113). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.05.005

  10. Kimmerer, Robin Wall.  2002.  “Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Biological Education: A Call to Action.” BioScience, Volume 52, Issue 5, May 2002, Pages 432–438, https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0432:WTEKIB]2.0.CO;2  https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/52/5/432/236145?login=false

  11. Lai, Olivia.  2022.  “Solarpunk Is the Future We Should Strive For.”  17 Jun 2022.  https://earth.org/solarpunk/

  12. Madmar, Sofiane et al. (2023). “Applications of biomimicry to urban planning: interrogating the relevance of emerging approaches to design cities by inspiring from nature.”  IOP Conference Series: Earth Environmental Science 1274 012015. DOI:10.1088/1755-1315/1274/1/012015 

  13. Mang, Pamela and Bill Reed (2012).  “Designing from place: a regenerative framework and methodology.” Building Research and Information 40(1):23-38 DOI:10.1080/09613218.2012.621341

  14. Mang, Pamela and Bill Reed (2012). “Regenerative Development and Design.” In: Meyers, R.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3_303

  15. McDonald, Miriam Kate.  2022.  Emergent: Rewilding Nature, Regenerating Food and Healing the World by Restoring the Connection Between People and the Wild.  Earth Books.

  16. Mckay, James and Benjamin Dickson. 2018. Dreams of a Low Carbon Future.  EPSRC / Royal Academy of Engineering / University of Leeds. 

  17. MacKinnon, Rebecca. 2021.  “An Introduction to Life’s Principles.” https://biomimicry.org/an-introduction-to-lifes-principles/

  18. Pedersen Zari, M. and Hecht, K. (2020). “Biomimicry for Regenerative Built Environments: Mapping Design Strategies for Producing Ecosystem Services.” Biomimetics 2020, 5, 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics5020018  

  19. Pedersen Zari, Maibritt (2021). “Biomimetic Urban and Architectural Design: Illustrating and Leveraging Relationships between Ecosystem Services.”  Biomimetics 2021, 6(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics6010002

  20. Read, Rupert.  2017.  “Thrutopia: Why Neither Dystopias Nor Utopias Are Enough To Get Us Through The Climate Crisis, And How A 'Thrutopia' Could Be.” Huffington Post 06 Nov 2017 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rupert-read/thrutopia-why-neither-dys_b_18372090.html
  21. Richardson, Miles (2023).  Reconnection: Fixing our Broken Relationship with Nature.  Pelagic Publishing. 
  22. Sanford, Carol.  2018.  “First Principles of Regeneration.” https://carolsanford.com/2018/06/116-first-principles-regeneration/
  23. Scott, Manda.  2018.  “Why We Need Thrutopias.” https://mandascott.co.uk/why-we-need-thrutopias/  “The Thrutopia Masterclass.”  https://thrutopia.life/

  24. Young, Jon. ​2019.  “Connection Modeling: Metrics for Deep Nature-Connection, Mentoring, and Culture Repair,” ​in Darcia Narvaez et al. eds. Indigenous Sustainable Wisdom: First-Nation Know-How for Global Flourishing.​ Peter Lang.

    Young, Jon et al.  2009.  Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature.  Owlink Media. 
  25. Zelenski, J.; Warber, S.; Robinson, J.M.; Logan, A.C.; Prescott, S.L. (2023).  “Nature Connection: Providing a Pathway from Personal to Planetary Health.” Challenges 2023, 14, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe14010016 
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