For the purpose of this entry, I was asked to interview a grandparent or someone of their generation in order to learn about their philosophy on sustainability, ecological perspective, and sense of place. I was also asked to share with them what I have been learning in this course throughout the Semester and find out their perspective on it. As my grandmother lives in Brazil and it would be difficult to have this discussion over the telephone, I spoke to my 85 year old neighbor of 12 years, Evelyn Swan. The conversation with Ms. Swan went as follows:
Sustainability
(http://crmworks.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/sustainability11.jpg)
"I know that sustainability is of growing concern to people today. When I was a child, things like global warming weren't a problem. Well, I mean, they were an underlying problem, but we didn't know about them yet. I guess that could be because not a lot of scientific data was around when I was growing up, or maybe pollution and overconsumption just hadn't taken their toll on the environment yet. Today, I recognize the concept of sustainability, and I agree with the idea that people need to become less dependent on resources that we're eventually going to run out of".
Ecological Perspective
"I know that sustainability is of growing concern to people today. When I was a child, things like global warming weren't a problem. Well, I mean, they were an underlying problem, but we didn't know about them yet. I guess that could be because not a lot of scientific data was around when I was growing up, or maybe pollution and overconsumption just hadn't taken their toll on the environment yet. Today, I recognize the concept of sustainability, and I agree with the idea that people need to become less dependent on resources that we're eventually going to run out of".
Ecological Perspective
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"You could say that I have somewhat of a close relationship with the environment, though I do have a lot of respect for the land and I think we should treat it with common courtesy before the damage caused by our consumption habits is irreversible. It's sad now a days, it seems as though I'm spending more time playing bridge with the girls, or going up to the Club House for parties than I do outside. There aren't a lot of natural wonders right in my backyard like there used to be that's for sure. Definitely not spending as much time outside as when I was growing up and I was always running around in the woods. Though I still really like sitting on my doc to watch the sun set, and I spend time outside when I play golf."
Sense of Place
(http://www.springfieldculturalcouncil.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/sense-of-place.jpg)
"Where I feel most at home? Can it be at any time in my life? Ok, my sense of place is definitely going to have to be my house in North Carolina when I was growing up. Our house was the only house for miles, and there were a lot of woods for us kids to play in! My dad built us a tire swing off a tree in the backyard and I used to spend so much time there with my sister. Right up the road there was a little creek. When my dad found the patience, he used to take all the girls fishing. I think I also felt a sense of place in that house because of the way it smelled, and the way mom was always baking something delicious. I love remembering my childhood and how great it was growing up in that big old house with my family who I miss so much today".
Perspective of the University Colloquium
"Where I feel most at home? Can it be at any time in my life? Ok, my sense of place is definitely going to have to be my house in North Carolina when I was growing up. Our house was the only house for miles, and there were a lot of woods for us kids to play in! My dad built us a tire swing off a tree in the backyard and I used to spend so much time there with my sister. Right up the road there was a little creek. When my dad found the patience, he used to take all the girls fishing. I think I also felt a sense of place in that house because of the way it smelled, and the way mom was always baking something delicious. I love remembering my childhood and how great it was growing up in that big old house with my family who I miss so much today".
Perspective of the University Colloquium
(http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~joerg/colloquium/colloquium.jpg)
"I think it's great that they're teaching students what they need to know. Since climate change is a real problem, it's best that we educate ourselves on it. The field trips you said you went on sound really fun. It's great because I think it gets students more involved with the environment. Too bad more schools don't adopt this program. It would be a good start to cleaning up the country".
Upon conversing with Ms. Swan, it can be concluded that our childhoods were somewhat the same, but actually quite different. We both experienced watching the world change, and different generations evolve. I also spent a great deal of time outdoors when I was growing up in Brazil. My parents owned a citrus farm and we used to spend every weekend either there, or at my grandmother's cattle farm, until we moved to the United States. Even when our family moved here though, I remember always being at the beach, and my parents took us to all of the different Everglades parks and preserves. Her upbringing differed from mine though as nature was much more available. If my parents hadn't owned a farm, I don't think I would have spent much time outdoors, as we lived in a very large and somewhat dangerous city; Sao Paulo. Nature is seldom nearby in a metropolitan city that swims in concrete like Sao Paulo.
"I think it's great that they're teaching students what they need to know. Since climate change is a real problem, it's best that we educate ourselves on it. The field trips you said you went on sound really fun. It's great because I think it gets students more involved with the environment. Too bad more schools don't adopt this program. It would be a good start to cleaning up the country".
Upon conversing with Ms. Swan, it can be concluded that our childhoods were somewhat the same, but actually quite different. We both experienced watching the world change, and different generations evolve. I also spent a great deal of time outdoors when I was growing up in Brazil. My parents owned a citrus farm and we used to spend every weekend either there, or at my grandmother's cattle farm, until we moved to the United States. Even when our family moved here though, I remember always being at the beach, and my parents took us to all of the different Everglades parks and preserves. Her upbringing differed from mine though as nature was much more available. If my parents hadn't owned a farm, I don't think I would have spent much time outdoors, as we lived in a very large and somewhat dangerous city; Sao Paulo. Nature is seldom nearby in a metropolitan city that swims in concrete like Sao Paulo.
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