What did nature do for you on Earth Day?

Wageningen (NL): Today is Earth Day for some of us (it seems that amidst the daily hustle & bustle, humanity does still require one official day a year to reflect on the planet). For eyes4earth, it is also three years exactly since we first launched ‘The Question’ – “What did nature do for you today?”  Since then, we’ve received hundreds of enlightening responses (more than we have been able to post online). And these responses have given us many unexpected insights into how individuals across society perceive the benefits they receive from nature as well as their understanding of the concept of ‘ecosystem services’.

We thought it was appropriate today to post our first ever response received to ‘The Question’ – which we recorded in Arnhem (The Netherlands) on Earth Day in 2006. Unfortunately, we don’t know the name of this Native American university professor but would like to thank her again for this contribution which, in our view, remains one of the most insightful of all responses we have received to ‘The Question’ during the past three years. It also illustrates what we think is far more unifying and holistic understanding of how we should collectively view the concept of ‘ecosystem services’.

Click below to view an edited version of the response (1:30 min):

“What did you do for nature today?” with TGL Artists

Coolart Wetlands (AU): Following on from our two previous posts below, we asked a few of the performing artists at the TGL festival the question, “What did you do for nature today?”  It’s not the easiest question to answer so have a quick listen to hear what they had to say…

Defining Ecosystem Services @ the TGL Festival

Coolart Wetlands (AU): Following on from our previous post, we asked selected performing artists at the Thin Green Line Festival what they understand by the term ‘ecosystem services’.  As you may expect from outcomes of our previous posts which have asked the same thing, responses don’t usually match the scientific defintion. Nevertheless, there are some insightful answers here which could be ready on standy in case the current definition of ecosystem services ever needs upgrading…  Click below to view the 1 min clip.

“The Question” with Artists @ the Thin Green Line festival

Coolart Wetlands (AU): eyes4earth got amongst the fantastic Valentine’s Day vibe and feelgood groove to ask “The Question” to performing artists at the inaugural Thin Green Line Festival on the Mornington Peninsula, Australia. Click on the short video clip below to see how artists like Nalkuma Burrawanga, Paul Coyle (from Bomba) Shane Howard, Banula Marika, Neil Murray, Archie Roach and Xavier Rudd responded. And check out the photos on the right-hand side to see some more visual links with this idea of ‘ecosystem services’. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we post more short clips from the festival which include great responses from festival-goers as well the musicians’ own impressions of ‘ecosystem services’ and what they all feel they themselves did for nature that day…

eyes4earth @ the TGL festival

Coolart Wetlands (AU): eyes4earth attended the Thin Green Line Festival last Saturday 14th February along with 2000 other revellers who soaked up the great weather, positive vibes and cosy feel-good atmosphere (maybe that was the Valentine’s Day factor) . Given the recent events in Australia (e.g. Victorian bushfires and the Queensland flooding), the day was a sensitive reminder of our need to urgently act with greater love and respect for the earth but also to support all those who act as stewards for the environment (such as conservation/park rangers) as well as those who are sometimes tragically on the receiving end of nature’s extremes (such as victims of the Victorian bushfires).  Click here for images and an update of the Thin Green Line Festival. And next week, we’ll post video highlights from responses to “The Question” which was asked to the TGL festival-goers and festival performing artists such as Xavier Rudd, Archie Roach, Shane Howard and Neil Murray.

Xavier Rudd entertaining at the Thin Green Line festival

“The Question” at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (Part 2)

Barcelona (ES): Last week we posted the responses of “The Question”, i.e.  What did nature do for you today?”   as shared by the distinguished panellists of the  Sustainability Dialogue on Spirituality and Conservation at the 2008 IUCN World Conservation Congress.  This week we post Part 2: which showcases their answers to the equally important question of :  “What did you do for nature today?” .  Click below to view some creative and inspired answers…

“The Question” at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (Part 1)

Barcelona (ES): The IUCN World Conservation Congress which played centred stage back in October last year saw a number of global ‘firsts’. One of these was the first ever Sustainability Dialogue on Spirituality and Conservation which took place on Thursday 9th October 2008. The session was organised by IUCN Social Policy, the IUCN-WCPA “Delos Initiative” & Task Force on Cultural & Spiritual Values of Protected Areas (CSVPA) and the Forum on Religion and Ecology from Yale University. The event brought together a respected panel representing diverse religious and spiritual traditions to discuss the role they have to play in addressing environmental issues.   Following this inter-faith dialogue, eyes4earth asked some of the distinguished panelists, such as Satish Kumar, “The Question”. The answers are – not suprisingly – “spiritualized”…

Greening the SAARMSTE Conference

Grahamstown (SA): Climate-Culture was active in assisting the 2009 SAARMSTE Conference in setting a great precedent for future (scientific / academic) conferences worldwide with a dedicated effort to tackle questions and issues related to environmental sustainability. As hosts of the conference,  the Rhodes University Education Department delivered on their commitment to ‘green’ the conference by actively seeking creative ways to reduce their ecological footprint.  The vision for SAARMSTE 2009 was to reduce the consumption of resources, avoid damage to the local and global environment, protect biodiversity and human health, and offer sustainable development options to the local people and economy. The conference organisers focused on the following themes: travel, contribution to ecosystems and community, waste, food and drink, water, and energy.  Each theme aimed to raise awareness and stimulate debate about what we can do individually and/or collectively through environmental education initiatives.

eyes4earth @ IUCN-WCC

Barcelona (ES): The eyes4earth initiative was present and active at the recent IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Barcelona. In some ways, you could call the WCC the Olympics of conservation – it is an event which attracts around 7500 attendees and is held every four years. It brings together government representatives, inter-governmental agencies, non-governmental organisations, academics & scientists, businesses, indigenous groups and anyone else with an interest in getting a feel for the cutting-edge issues and approaches in conservation.

Defining ‘Ecosystem Services’

Brisbane (AU): In science and government, increasing attention is being given to the concept of ‘ecosystem services’. Ecosystem services are usually defined as the diverse benefits humans obtain from nature (but which are not valued in the marketplace, e.g. pollination of crops by insects, purification of water by wetlands or the recreational value of nature.) However, we wonder what the general public understands by ‘ecosystem services’. Here’s a first glance… (written responses can be found at eyes4earth.org)