This article will discuss the role of environmentalism in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) in the context of ecopedagogy. Ecopedagogy calls for the remaking of capitalist practices and seeks to re-engage democracy to include multispecies interests in the face of our current global ecological crisis. In this article, the written reports by international business students on the documentary film If a Tree Falls about a radical environmental movement will be discussed. The aim of this article is to reflect upon the question of whether confrontational questions posed by radical environmentalism can move students to re-examine certain central assumptions within their own society and education. The analysis of students’ individual writing assignments after viewing the film is placed in the context of the discussion about the aims of education in relation to environmental advocacy. This case study seeks to provide an example of how environmental advocacy and the objective of pluralistic education can be combined as mutually supportive means of achieving both democratic learning and learning for environmental sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973408215569119 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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In human-controlled environments, areas of wild plants are 'translated' into cultivated landscapes to accommodate social, cultural and economic needs. This article explores indoor, agricultural and (sub)urban landscape in the Netherlands, focusing on the use of plants both indoors and outdoors, and reveals anthropocentric, instrumental and unsustainable practices. The article also presents suggestions for alternative, more ethical and sustainable ways of relating to plants in the Netherlands and beyond. https://www.ecologicalcitizen.net/article.php?t=wilderness-plastic-plants-how-might-get-back-wildness https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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The adaptation of urbanised areas to climate change is currently one of the key challenges in the domain of urban policy. The diversity of environmental determinants requires the formulation of individual plans dedicated to the most significant local issues. This article serves as a methodic proposition for the stage of retrieving data (with the PESTEL and the Delphi method), systemic diagnosis (evaluation of risk and susceptibility), prognosis (goal trees, goal intensity map) and the formulation of urban adaptation plans. The suggested solution complies with the Polish guidelines for establishing adaptation plans. The proposed methodological approach guarantees the participation of various groups of stakeholders in the process of working on urban adaptation plans, which is in accordance with the current tendencies to strengthen the role of public participation in spatial management. https://doi.org/10.12911/22998993/81658
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Worldwide, coral reefs are rapidly declining due to increased sea water temperatures and other environmental stresses (Figure 1). To counter the extinction of major coral reef building species on the island of Bonaire, the non-profit organization Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire is restoring degraded reef sites using corals that are grown in local nurseries. In these nurseries, corals are propagated on artificial trees using fragmentation. After 6-8 months of growth in the nursery, the corals are transplanted to degraded reef sites around the island. Over the years more than 21.000 corals have been outplanted to reef restoration sites in this way. These corals show high survivorship under natural reef conditions but remain under threat by environmental disturbances, such as increased water temperatures, diseases, and competition with macroalgae. A promising intervention to increase reef persistence and resilience is to manipulate the coral-associated microbiome. At present, the composition of the microbiome in nursery-reared and outplanted corals on Bonaire is unknown. The aim of the current project is to identify and isolate naturally occurring beneficial bacteria that may stimulate the resilience of these corals. Our key objectives are: 1) to assess the presence of functionally beneficial bacteria in corals in nursery and restoration sites on Bonaire using metagenomic screening. 2) to design culture strategies to isolate these functionally beneficial bacteria. In the future, a selection of these beneficial bacteria can be applied to the corals to increase their resilience against environmental disturbances.
Gebouwen blijven lang (gemiddeld 50 jaar) in functie. Desondanks wordt circulariteit van gebouwen vaak gelijk gesteld aan herbruikbaarheid van de toegepaste materialen na sloop. Door de aanscherpende functionele eisen is het moeilijk om de bouwmaterialen die bij sloop of verbouwing vrijkomen één-op-één te hergebruiken. Deze materialen voldoen niet meer aan de huidige eisen en worden veelal gerecycled om de materialen/grondstoffen in de kringloop te houden. Als hergebruik van afzonderlijke bouwmaterialen moeilijk is dan wordt het interessant om te onderzoeken of de levensduur van een gebouw in z’n totaliteit kan worden opgerekt: door te streven naar bijvoorbeeld levensduren van 100 jaar en meer. In de leidraad Circulair Ontwerpen van CB’23, een platform dat onderzoek doet naar circulariteit in de gebouwde omgeving, worden onder meer overmaat en koestering als randvoorwaarden voor een langere levensduur genoemd. Door het gebouw te over-dimensioneren kan het gemakkelijker andere functies in zich opnemen. Koestering gaat over waardering van de gebruikers voor een gebouw. Uit het literatuuronderzoek dat met een KIEM-subsidie is uitgevoerd, blijken gebouwen met royale en aansprekende entrees en die uitgevoerd zijn in zorgvuldig gedetailleerde materialen die mooi verouderen hiervoor in aanmerking te komen: materialen als beton, natuursteen en baksteen – dure materialen met relatief hoge schaduwkosten. Het consortium, bestaande uit architectenbureaus, bouwfysische en constructieve adviesbureaus, opdrachtgevers, ontwikkelaars en koepelorganisatie/kennisplatform NEVAP wil het onderzoek naar gebouwen die lang in functie kunnen blijven, doorzetten. Het architectonische en theoretische onderzoek naar gebouwen met lange levensduren wordt uitgebreid, maar het onderzoek gaat zich vooral richten op de vraag hoe deze gebouwen technisch en financieel gerealiseerd kunnen worden. De onderzoeksvraag is hierbij : ‘Op welke manieren kan de levensduur van gebouwen worden verlengd om waardeverlies van gebouw en gebruikte materialen te voorkomen waarbij niet alleen rekening wordt gehouden met architectonische en (gebruiks-)technische, maar ook met financiële en milieutechnische randvoorwaarden?’
In the Netherlands, the theme of transitioning to circular food systems is high on the national agenda. The PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency has stressed that commuting to circular food chains requires a radical transformation of the food chain where (a) natural resources must be effectively used and managed (soil, water, biodiversity, minerals), (b) there must be an optimum use of food by reducing (food) waste . . ., (c) less environmental pressure, and (d) an optimum use of residue streams. The PBL also recognizes that there should be room for tailored solutions and that it is important to establish a benchmark, to be aware of impacts in the production chain and the added value of products. In the line of circular food systems, an integrated nature-inclusive circular farming approach is needed in order to develop a feasible resource-efficient and sustainable business models that brings shared value into the food chain while invigorating the rural areas including those where agricultural vacancy is occurring. Agroforestry is an example of an integrated nature-inclusive circular farming. It is a multifunctional system that diversifies and adapts the production while reducing the carbon footprint and minimizing the management efforts and input costs; where trees, crops and/or livestock open business opportunities in the food value chains as well as in the waste stream chains. To exploit the opportunities that agroforestry as an integrated resource-efficient farming system adds to the advancement towards (a) valuable circular short food chains, (b) nature-based entrepreneurship (nature-inclusive agriculture), and (c) and additionally, the re-use of abandoned agricultural spaces in the Overijssel province, this project mobilizes the private sector, provincial decision makers, financers and knowledge institutes into developing insights over the feasible implementation of agroforestry systems that can bring economic profit while enhancing and maintaining ecosystem services.
