Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ecological restoration becomes more obvious. The thematic sections discussed under
the metatheme of power include a section about politics, governance, and planning
followed by chapters that discuss restoration economics.
The metatheme of perspective speaks to the experiential component of the prac-
tice. It is this realm where ecological restoration intersects and interacts with cultural
practices that allow us to negotiate between the tension inherent in the metathemes
of participation and power. Such practices help us complete the full restoration ex-
periment by helping transform the practitioner, arguably the most important change
of all. The themed sections here include eco-cultural restoration, which includes in-
digenous ideas about eco-cultural restoration as well as a chapter that explores the loss
of eco-cultural practices and landscapes in England (i.e., cultural severance), and tes-
timonies from four eco-artists about their work in public restoration projects in the
United States and China. The other themed section looks at the role education, at all
levels, can play in rounding out the complete restoration experience, both in terms of
gaining technical and people skills and as an avenue for personal and community de-
velopment (i.e., developing a sense of place). The case studies in this section provide
a look at education efforts at the following education levels: elementary/high school,
college/university, and continuing. These are real-world efforts that have already be-
gun to bear fruit and show promise for so much more.
***
While this topic is divided into various sections according to specific metathemes
and thematic areas, there is sufficient interplay between the chapters to recommend
that readers experience the whole menu rather than simply devouring their favorite or
most well-known entrée.
Conclusion
Living in the world is becoming increasingly complex with every passing day. Envi-
ronmental problems affect us all. Moreover, many of these problems do not come
with easy or quick solutions; they are “wicked” problems (Rittel and Webber 1973;
Conklin 2001). Such circumstances require us to move beyond “normal” science to a
“postnormal science” approach (Funtowicz and Ravetz 1993) that can operate suc-
cessfully and adaptively in the high-risk, high-uncertainty situations we often en-
counter. Moreover, these situations suggest that the pursuit of solutions to problems
must be more interdisciplinary and more democratic, and must employ an “extended
peer community” to assure that all aspects of the situation (both human and biophys-
ical) are taken into account.
To deal with the situations presented by many ecological restoration projects, we
need to integrate humans and nature and reconcile the boundaries between contem-
porary science and the society it serves (Bradshaw and Bekoff 2000). We must not only
hear Aldo Leopold's observation that humans are “plain members and citizens” of the
biotic community (Leopold 1949, 204), we must believe and adhere to it. In this topic,
we give voice to people who have studied the issues and implemented their ideas
