Biophilia
Space

Biophilia loosely means a love of nature. Biophobia is a fear of nature.

 

Biophilia, as defined in Green Studies curriculum, is a term coined by Edward O. Wilson based on the Greek words for “life” and “love.” He defines it as the “innate tendency to focus on life and life-like processes.” According to David Suzuki, this leads to “an emotional affiliation of human beings to other living things.”

 

Objectives

Green (Earth Literacy Goals)

  1. The student will observe what is happening around and within them.
  2. The student will notice what is natural and what is human-produced using all their senses.
  3. The student will learn that three different perspectives from the same point reveal different information, sensations, observations.

 

ESL

  1. Students will use silent reflection as a valid data source.
  2. Students will make statements in the present and learn an advanced level use of the present tense as a rhetorical device, point of view.
  3. Students will organize reflective data into cohesive discourse.

 

Materials

Students should bring a beach towel to class and the day of the activity wear clothes in which they will feel comfortable sitting outside, on the grass and a towel. Optional:  ask students to bring a magnifying glass.  Announce this the day before and email a reminder if you are so connected. 

An appropriate place for this activity will have to been found prior to the day to do it. The place should be a natural environment that is on campus and within easy walking distance. It should be free of traffic, including pedestrian traffic. There needs to be space enough for students to find a place to put their towels and be far enough away from each other that conversation will discouraged.

 

Time

1- 1.5 hours

 

Steps/procedures

 Part 1

  • Walk to the place where you have selected to conduct the exercise.
  • Instruct students to find a place where they may sit and not be close to another person.
  • Tell students that this exercise will be conducted in silence.

  • Tell students to sit comfortably and notice what the see, hear, feel, smell, around them. They should  notice what is happening within their vista.

  • Instruct students to try  to stay in the present as much as possible and be aware of all the sensations and activity.

  • After ten minutes, ask students to stop the observation and jot down some notes on what they experienced.

Part 2

  • Instruct students to place themselves prone on their stomachs and to look at what is in front of them and what is happening within a smaller vista. (A variation on this is to have a magnifying glass for each of them.)

  • Encourage students to be aware of all their senses and of what is happening in the world in front of them.

  • After ten minutes give students a bit of time to jot down their responses and observations.

Part 3

  • Instruct students to lie on their backs and be aware of their sensations and observations from this new perspective. Some may be under trees and others in the open and that is fine.

  • Give students about ten minutes for this final perspective. When they are finished allow them some time to jot down their reactions and observations.

  • Either immediately after the exercise or the next period gather in a circle and let them share what they learned from the exercise. It would also be good to put their reactions into a journal and/or a paragraph or two to turn in.
     

Vocabulary

 
solitude silence  isolated observation      
sensations         senses  prone               vista                
canopy space               immobile          

stillness
animate inanimate          spirit                 muse               
mindful awareness    

 

Resources:

Read about Biophilia at this Website: http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/EOWilson.html  

Here is another article (more advanced reading required)
http://www.humboldt.edu/~campbell/biophilia.htm

See a Biophilia Nature Center
http://www.biophilia.net/