Exploring my own story

Ecological Learning through Direct Experience

The past few years have been some of the most exciting and challenging years of my life so far. Since leaving Schumacher college in 2015, I have dedicated the majority of my working life to further understanding the solutions to climate change, and the restorative benefits of re-wilding and Regenerative agriculture - through the diverse clients of ReWild Africa.

As this is my first post on substack, as an independent writer, I thought that the best place to start would be from the beginning. Showcasing the foundations that set me up for the opportunity to engage deeper with the questions of climate change and biodiversity loss. I took a risk in my master’s, and instead of writing a paper I decided on producing a documentary that sought to engage with the truth that we can never fully understand something if we do not wholly engage with it (Beyond our rational thinking mind).

This video thesis is an attempt to bring a deeper understanding of Eco-literacy through Experiencing the natural world. The thesis is as much a quest to deepen my self-knowledge (theory to practice), as it is an exploration of learning more about how people impact place and place impacts people.

Please excuse the production quality, I made it at the very start of my filmmaking career :)

My interest in ecological sustainability began with my involvement in the natural world, being taught and guided into experiencing the brutal truths of nature, allowing me to integrate myself a bit more, and build a holistic understanding of the world in which we live. The deepest realization I came to is that Academia must contribute to the outcome of learning not to be an end in itself. Action-based learning allows the inherent relationships around us to contribute to our question and brings the life it needs to understand the subject. The nature of learning is within the experience itself.

So what is rewilding?

A term that has got me enthused since the moment I understood it. It just made complete sense. If we have taken so much of the biosphere away and are contributing to increased climatic instability, then surely bringing back nature will help in reducing this instability. I finally had something to hold onto, after 2 years of studying the diverse problems in our society at Schumacher College and the Sustainability Institute. George Monbiot was the first person to highlight this subject to me when I read his book “feral”. I was to learn since the first time hearing the word, that the idea of rewilding is extremely complex, and has since become a generic word like ‘sustainability’. To get to the core of the essence of rewilding, one must ask several questions that will realize this, such as what is the natural context in which I should rewild, who are the communities that surround this effort, how can we learn from the indigenous learnings about the land, and most importantly, How do I see myself as wild, who is also wildly integrated within the web of life?

“Some people see rewilding as a human retreat from nature; I see it as a re-involvement. I would like to see the re-introduction into the wild not only of wolves, Lynx, wolverines, beavers, boar, moose, bison, and perhaps one day in the distant future- elephants and other species but also of human beings. In other words, I see rewilding as an enhanced opportunity for people to engage with and delight in the natural world (Monbiot, 2013:11).

̄” We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well- for we will not fight for something we do not love” (Gould, S: 1991).

I thoroughly enjoyed these quotes by Monbiot & Gould, as they speak to two extremely important truths. One is that we significantly need Biodiversity to help regulate our planet, (I go into this more in the video when explaining Gaia Theory in the video) and the other is that we need to rewild our consciousness - meaning that we should see ourselves as part of the natural consciousness - not separate from it. I listened to a fantastic podcast that articulates this incredibly well.

The Art of Tracking

“Trackers themselves cannot read everything in the sand, rather they must be able to read into the sand. To interpret tracks and signs trackers must project themselves into the position of the animal to create a hypothetical explanation of what the animal was doing. Tracking is not strictly empirical, since it also involves the tracker's imagination. Generally speaking, one may argue that science is not only a product of objective observation of the world through one’s perception. It is also a product of the human imagination. A creative hypothesis is not found or discovered in the outside world, it comes from within the human mind”. Louis Liebenbourg(1990),

I love this quote, as it articulates the experience of tracking, and how our mind is a part of this process. I was extremely lucky to be taught by the tracker academy at Londolozi game reserve to experience these fundamental truths. I believe when we give ourselves this opportunity to experience this ancient practice we give ourselves the chance to remember parts of ourselves previously forgotten.

As we move towards finding justice for ecological and social systems we need to start from within and work our way out. This was the process for me has created this documentary thesis. I am often reminded that I need to keep doing this and find ways to incorporate it into our modern and busy lives.

Conclusion

To conclude this week’s written blog, I share a quote that I deeply resonate with:

“We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

As we continue our daily lives, my call to action would be to engage with whatever your local context is. What is the community that surrounds you? How can you begin to treat it with love and respect? I would also ask what world you want to come into being. It is through our imagination and intention that we will find a more connected and whole relationship with ourselves and the natural world. If you are interested in engaging more with these topics of ecology, culture, and spirituality please subscribe to my youtube and substack.

Another quote I love if you still reading on ;)

̄The Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert talk about the two "hungers

". There is the Great Hunger and there is the Little Hunger. The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger, the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning... There is ultimately only one thing that makes human beings deeply and profoundly bitter, and that is to have thrust upon them a life without meaning. There is nothing wrong in searching for happiness. But of far more comfort to the soul is something greater than happiness or unhappiness, and that is meaning. Because meaning transfigures all. Once what you are doing has for you meaning, it is irrelevant whether you're happy or unhappy. You are content - you are not alone in your Spirit - Van der Post (1961)