Q. Why do you emphasize the term eco-psychology so much? Is
this more of your emphasis on placing children in nature?
A. Eco-psychology is a powerful term for this generation
because of our appreciation for ecology in reference to planetary biomes. However,
the term eco-psychology coined about a decade ago reaches deeper, into the
inner terrains of children, to include psychological, physiological and even
spiritual realities. The term “Deep Ecology”, offers a complementary reference
to the power of nature’s energetic blueprints—to psychology that reaches deep
into the hearts, minds and souls of children.
Eco-psychology bespeaks heart to
heart relationships with children. Our urgent and immediate task as a society
is to seek the means to free pent-up natural forces. As we begin to see the
child through the eyes of the heart, we will replace current schooling regimes
with organic, LIFE-affirming systems. Restorative powers inherent in the human
family, will reveal astonishing generative potentials, enabling future
generations to flourish.
The following example affirms the
powerful life-promoting, healing power of nature’s substrata. When an
enlightened society appreciate that this applies to children equally with
forests, the places our children learn will be vitally alive centers of eco-psychology
– that include nature’s playscapes.
In 1986 60,000 people
in the Soviet Union were evacuated from the area surrounding the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power plant after a catastrophic explosion released large quantities of
radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Prior to this the society had
leveled thousands of acres of forest to install farms, roads and
buildings. Yet, less than three
decades later a team of scientists has discovered there a remarkable rebirth, a
primeval forest teaming with life.
Wildlife including wolves, moose, bears, beavers and bison are thriving
in the self-restoring ecosystem. Nature, freed from mankind’s controlling,
leveling, destructive tendencies, has restored a profusion of living potential
in realms of breathtaking beauty.
