“ethno” - culture | “ecology” - living systems
What is ethnoecology?
Ethnoecology studies the intricate relationship between cultures and their environments. It delves into how various societies perceive, interact with, and manage their surroundings, integrating diverse knowledge and practices with ecological understanding.
This interdisciplinary field explores how local knowledge shapes conservation, resource management, and sustainability, offering insights into the dynamic interplay between human societies and their ecosystems.
What does it do?
Ethnoecology involves collaborating with local communities to document, understand, and apply their ecological knowledge. It engages in fieldwork to assess regional practices and their ecological impact, contributing to conservation strategies, sustainable resource management, and fostering culture-based approaches to environmental challenges.
Specifically, it explores how recognising and exploring cultural assumptions about the natural world, whilst Integrating local knowledge, helps to identify coherent, practical solutions that align with community needs and environmental preservation.
How does it help?
Ethnoecology offers invaluable insights for local conservation by preserving biodiversity through local knowledge. It aids in adapting to climate change by leveraging traditional approaches that enhance local resilience through regenerative practice.
Additionally, it fosters place-specific approaches, promoting public health through culturally aligned strategies, such as community-based land care and crafts or sustainable lifestyle approaches methods that nurture community and ecosystem well-being.
How can I get involved?
In the Blog area, you will find articles, projects, and more that give you an insight into my ethnoecological approach and practice.
I run Courses that focus on areas such as the role of place in nurturing kinship and using crafts to create a deeper relationship with your watershed, and we bring together communities through a shared understanding of our responsibility to the Land.
The Online courses introduce some basic ideas about crafts, theory, practice and approaches related to ethnoecology.
You may also want to Work with Me on writing, events, or ethnoecology-based projects in the field. Alternatively, you can find out more About me.
Otherwise, you might be interested in the work of the Centre for Ethnoecology, a research organisation that brings researchers and practitioners together to explore the field.
