Annie L. Booth (IN ABSENTIA)
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
University of Northern British Columbia
P.O. Bag 1950, Station A
Prince George, BC V2L 5P2
CANADA
In Canada and the United States, the student demand for university level "environmental studies" courses and even degrees is growing faster than university and colleges can meet the demand. Growing even faster is the demand by natural resource management agencies, both government and non-government, for "experts" with universitytraining. What has been ignored however, has been the question of what "environmental studies" training is most relevant for addressing a complex set of issues.
Ecofeminist principles would suggest that the most appropriate sort of training would be that which teaches environmental scientists to understand ethics, environmental philosophers to appreciate ecological science, and both to grasp how their areas intersect with the social and the political. Yet this necessary integration often fails to appear even in "interdisciplinary" programs or courses.
Ecofeminists might also argue for a linkage between theory and activism, or at least action. Again, this is a failing in many programs, and a crucial problem when academically trained individuals confront real-world problems in a resource agency.
Finally, many influential ecofeminists argue that in order to preserve the natural world (and the humans and nonhumans who depend upon it), something more than mere training is necessary. Caring is crucial. And how does one teach, indeed, can one teach, someone to care for the natural world?
I would like to raise these issues within the context of the intersection of ecofeminism and resource management. How do you infuse ecofeminist principles into an environmental studies program. How do principles of activism and caring fit within job training requirements? How can students be inspired to ask the broader questions, rather than limiting themselves to the facts.
In part, I wish to offer examples and ideas from my years of teaching environmental studies courses, service to government agencies and from this year's experience of setting up a new natural resources and environmental studies program. And I wish to encourage the sharing of other women's experiences in training resource managers, activists, and caring citizens.
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