Chapter 17
Bringing the Classroom Back to Life Jonathan Dawson and Hugo Oliveira Our educational systems are in crisis, beset by multiple sources of disruption. These include the growing gulf between the mindsets, competencies, and skills required to address our converging “wicked” crises and those provided by a conventional university education, as well as growing student dissatisfaction with what is being offered. This is something that cannot be tackled using the old methods alone. Replacing one set of textbooks with another is not going to do the trick. The revolution that is required in our educational practice needs to be felt on an embodied level as much as understood cognitively. It can be described as nothing short of bringing the classroom back to life. “New approaches to teaching and learning reject the conventional neat separation between the observer and the observed that is central to traditional, mechanistic, educational philosophy.” Jonathan Dawson is head of economics at Schumacher College in England, where he coordinates and teaches/facilitates on the innovative Economics for Transition postgraduate program. Hugo Oliveira is a landscape ecologist and permaculture specialist at OrlaDesign and a researcher at the Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Change at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Last May received the 2nd edition of the "Nature-Based Design Frameworks" a Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change (CE3C) Advanced course, from the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences @ the Lisbon Botanical Garden.![]() Hugo Oliveira will be co-creating and facilitating the following course @ CE3C - Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change within the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. The course will happen @ the Lisbon Botanical Garden between the 15th-19th of May 2017. If you're interested please follow the link to apply. http://ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/training/ver.php?id=7 Nature-based approach to Design solutions for a more resilient future aims to support societies address a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in sustainable ways. This approach relies on actions that are inspired by, supported by or copied from Nature. Nature-based solutions use the features and complex system processes of nature, such as its ability to store carbon and regulate water flow, in order to achieve desired outcomes, such as reduced disaster risk, improved human well-being and socio-ecological inclusiveness. These nature-based solutions ideally are energy and resource-efficient, and resilient to change, but to be successful they must be adapted to local conditions.
Nature-based Design recognises the importance of Nature and requires a systemic approach to environmental change based on an understanding of the structure and functioning of ecosystems, including human actions and their consequences. Nature-based solutions “sprout” from the premises that some societal challenges stem from human activities that have failed to recognize ecological limitations; and that sustainable alternatives to those activities can be found by looking to nature for design and process knowledge. They therefore involve the innovative application of knowledge about nature, inspired and supported by nature, and they maintain and enhance natural capital. They are positive responses to societal challenges, and can have the potential to simultaneously meet environmental, social and economic objectives. This course will introduce all participants to different Nature-based bodies of knowledge and experience, such as the Biomimicry, Permaculture and Resilience topics. With almost 2 days per topic, the students will get a good feeling of how these topics see, do research and implement effective and sustainable solutions targeting a wide variety of societal, ecological and economic challenges. Hugo Oliveira from OrlaDesign within his Colaboration with the CE3C-CCIAM co-facilitated last October a course on Permaculture Research @ Quinta do Vale da Lama. Few months later Permaculture Magazine wrote an article on the course. Here it is for you to take a look. hope you enjoy itPlant your Water Join us for an afternoon of Regeneration in Action at the Winter Gathering of the Farm.
South Slope - Prepared for the Coming rains The rainy season is approaching and with it the opportunity to harvest much needed water within the dry landscapes of southern Portugal. After careful and thoughtful observation, design and planning work, this year we are extending the implementation of the Water Wise Dryland Regeneration Strategy for the south-slope of Quinta do Vale da Lama.
Orla was present at the Urban Futures - Squaring Circles: Europe, China and the World 2050 Conference.
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Orla DesignEco Social Regeneration Archives
August 2021
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