Ecological Applications Journal

Ecological Applications Journal

Ecological Applications Journal

In the past 30 years, the American population has voiced increasing concern with issues of ecology and environment. By the turn of the 21st century, learning centers dedicated to ecological and environmental knowledge and applications had sprung up across the globe. Whether for children, college students or professional adults, these programs share the common theme of care for the planet and accreditation in hands-on applications such as permaculture, sustainability and green collar jobs.

Beyond Recycling

As the "Green" movement explodes in popular culture, learning centers and nonprofit organizations across the country are responding. These organizations span the educational spectrum: some are for adults, some for children; some are secular, some are oriented to a particular religion; some are attached to major universities, and others are taught by farms or workshop centers far off the beaten path. These environmental studies take students into a world beyond recycling, where our actions and activities can be skillfully designed to leave smaller, more positive impacts on the environment around us.

Permaculture, Sustainability, and Environmental Studies

Many organizations, in response to a growing sense of unease surrounding the unsustainable practices of Big Business and Big Agriculture, have begun a grassroots movement based on ideas of sustainability and permaculture. "Sustainability" refers to ways of living on the earth that use renewable resources and take care to replenish the world we live in, even as we take what we need.