In a time of tripples crises – climate, biodiversity, environment – there is a need as never before to encourage, foster, and strengthen ecoliteracy throughout society. This is CUHRE’s mission.
We understand ecoliteracy as the capacity and willingness of human beings to cultivate sustainability, regeneration, and life-friendliness in symbiotic interplay with the more-than-human world. The notion of ´ecoliteracy´ weaves together ´ecology´ and ´literacy´. Ecology is concerned with the complex interactions between life forms and their environment(s); the symbioses, mutuality, and competition we find in natural systems. Literacy is concerned with the fundamental skills of reading and writing. In this context, we work with an extended sense of reading that encompasses making sense of and with one’s local and physical environment. This can include abilities to read the changes in the weather, the composition of the soil, the migratory patterns of birds, the waves along the coastline, the needs of a plant, etc.
We examine, create knowledge about, and seek to support the formation of ecoliteracy through our cornerstone projects and the research of the individual members, working closely with, for instance, schools and local municipalities. Additionally, we connect with our local environments and with peers nationally and internationally to create the transformations we believe are necessary.