WHY THE CHANGE FROM TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGH LITERACY TO A BIODYNAMIC OUTDOOR LEARNING COOPERATIVE?
HC: After years of exploring how to deepen students’ connection to the larger biotic community through reading, writing, and discussion, I realized that what I now wanted to be teaching couldn’t be taught INSIDE, and that it was something that students needed to find on their own. I feel ready to create the spaces for others to connect with and broaden their own intimacy with the natural world, rather that reading or writing about it while still being somewhat disconnected from it. And honestly, it has a lot to do with my own learning — I feel like now I’m going to be entering an intense period of study taught by the earth! So much of what this project focuses on is active listening within the natural world, and in order to create spaces for others to practice that, I need to hone my skills! IHE: YOUR STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN HELPING YOU WITH YOUR NEW PROJECT. HOW ARE THEY PARTICIPATING? HC: After spending an entire semester reading about food justice and food deserts (low-income area
