Lee Beavington | Kwantlen Polytechnic University (original) (raw)
Videos by Lee Beavington
"Lee Beavington, of Simon Fraser University, is one of the Top 25 finalists in the Social Science... more "Lee Beavington, of Simon Fraser University, is one of the Top 25 finalists in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s 2020 Storytellers challenge."
Grateful to be one of the SSHRC Storytellers finalists!
This project was collaborative, and I express my gratitude to many folks for their help:
My Dad, Nelson Beavington, for adding his flute.
My brother, Daniel Beavington, for adding his percussion.
The glaciers in Norway for singing down the mountain.
The sword ferns that seem to follow me wherever I go.
My Mom, Dorothy Beavington, and Daniela Elza, for their script editing ideas.
Adrian, Emily, Joani, and Mike their film editing ideas.
The Amazon River for such depth of wonder.
The urchin, the slug, and the frog for being in the world.
The SFU Creative Ecologies class, which gave me the space and inspiration to start this project.
And finally, my wife, Jennifer Beavington, who sparked me to get to the heart of why this matters.
65 views
Papers by Lee Beavington
Cultural Studies of Science Education
Cultural Studies of Science Education
Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education o... more Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education occurs predominantly in classrooms and laboratories, settings that rationalize and deconstruct the natural world in a Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm. This often negates humans' relationality and interdependence with other life phenomena and furthermore negates nonhuman agency. I examine the alienation from the natural world in a screendominated society, review ecopsychology studies that show the effect of nature on human mental and physiological health, and address the limitations of anthropocentric arguments for reconnecting students with nature. Examples of learning about microbes in a biology laboratory, and the importance of what I call wild fascination, as methods to reconnect with our "forgotten forest" are discussed. Finally, I argue that environmental outdoor education is not only vital to foster an ecocentric ethic, but that it is a necessity for ensuring a sustainable future for the biotic community.
Cultural Studies of Science Education
This essay argues the importance of interdisciplinary, contemplative, place-based pedagogy. The E... more This essay argues the importance of interdisciplinary, contemplative, place-based pedagogy. The Ecology and Colour in 1m 2 study has students from the sciences and the arts observe a small quadrat in their local community over several weeks, engaging in both scientific and creative expression. The connection to Aldo Leopold's teaching principles and its relevance during our current screen fatigue pandemic and increasing disconnection from the natural world are outlined. We review contemplative practice in relation to education, such as sit spots or "site-specific" learning. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the Ecology and Colour in 1m 2 study and aligned with Leopold's emphasis on fostering a personal connection with nature, our paper also includes three narratives and examples of student reflections and visual artwork created during this project. Résumé Cet essai fait valoir l'importance d'une pédagogie interdisciplinaire, contemplative, et fondée sur la localité. L'étude "Écologie et couleur sur 1m2" permet aux étudiants des sciences et des arts d'observer un petit quadrat dans leur communauté pendant quelques semaines. Ils s'engagent donc dans une démarche à la fois scientifique et créative. Dans cet essai sont décrits le rapport avec les principes pédagogiques d'Aldo Leopold ainsi que sa pertinence durant la pandémie actuelle, qui cause à la fois une fatigue visuelle causée par les écrans et Lead Editor: K. Tobin. This manuscript is part of the special issue Contemplative Inquiry, Wellbeing and Science Education, guest edited by Kenneth Tobin.
Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 2021
This literary-visual métissage weaves together stories, scholarship and photographs. What can be ... more This literary-visual métissage weaves together stories, scholarship and photographs. What can be unearthed-science education, embodied knowledge, environmental ethics-when we walk on the land? Embodied and sensorial engagement fosters relational and enlivening educational experiences. Whether preschool or post-doc, direct sense experience offers not only active and experiential pedagogy, but also a spiritual attunement with the natural world. Now, amid the climate crisis and screen fatigue pandemic, such Earth resonance is of utmost import. Let us walk through a snowy forest, ponder what counsel our shoeless feet (and David Abram) afford us, and envision the learning environment as an emergent and adaptable opportunity for connection and wonder.
FusionJournal, 2021
As a biologist and educator, this essay weaves together personal experience with pedagogical expl... more As a biologist and educator, this essay weaves together personal experience with pedagogical exploration through narrative and academic prose. First, we explore bird language, nature attunement, and what shadows can teach us. Bird language is an aural blessing and soundscape that, to the attuned ear, reveals storm, predator, and wonder alike. We consider the Ecology in 1m 2 study I co-developed for remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this place-and inquiry-based project, students contemplate, in silence, a microsite several times a week over the course of a month. Then we go on a soundwalk in the city, where habituated noise pollution dulls our senses to the more-than-human world. Finally, we bear witness to Takaya's tragic story, the lone wolf who lived for eight years on an island just outside a metropolitan city. Through storytelling and philosophical consideration, alongside more academic modalities, I explore the importance of active listening beyond the anthropocentric babel. If we can hear the downstroke of a raven's wings, the creak of an old alder, the warning trill that goes Chickadee-dee-dee, perhaps we can better attune to the more-than-human world and both recognize and atone for our destructive actions towards the Earth.
Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, 2020
Scientists indicate that we are living in the Anthropocene, an epoch marked by unprecedented huma... more Scientists indicate that we are living in the Anthropocene, an epoch marked by unprecedented human impact on the planet. Our ecological predicament poses a significant challenge to human consciousness as we experience a pivotal moment in planetary history. Following the work of Mary Oliver, Carl Leggo, Kathleen Dean Moore, and other poetic luminaries, we consider what it means to live poetically in the Anthropocene, to experience beauty and meaning amidst depletion and radical ecological change, to weep for the disappearance of species while working toward personal and systemic transformation. We ask: How does poetry contribute to a flourishing life in a time of ecological crisis? Why is poetry an especially potent vehicle of human expression and transformation? In a dialogic format, the authors exchange reflections on poetic inquiry, and muse on the importance of poetry as a vehicle for investigation and reformation.
American Association of Philosophy Teachers Studies in Pedagogy , 2018
The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used as an experiential educational tool for nearly ... more The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used as an experiential educational tool for nearly twenty years. Innovative educators have expanded the educational use of GPS devices beyond the geocache. This essay uses Leopold’s land ethic as a philosophical framework for relational education, and outlines the practical application of the GPS ecocache. The experiential, place-based ecocache has learners navigate to sites of ecological significance (e.g., plants, animals, landforms), where they must answer a question or riddle related to this site. We discuss the contradictory nature of using a gadget to connect with the outdoors, and integrate the GPS ecocache with Kolb’s model of experiential education. Ultimately, we hope to cultivate the values of Leopold’s land ethic through the use of a ubiquitously available device, and for learners to engage in relational pedagogy relevant to ecology, geography, environmental ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of education and other courses concerned with human-nature connection and the nature of space.
SFU Educational Review, 2016
Homo sapiens rationalize their species’ uniqueness to justify anthropocentrism and self-interest ... more Homo sapiens rationalize their species’ uniqueness to justify anthropocentrism and self-interest towards nonhumans. Research and pedagogical practice such as mandatory dissection and animal experimentation, alongside mechanistic and atomistic assumptions deeply embedded in science curricula, reinforce the idea that nonhuman animals lack moral status. We need to devise and implement holistic, place-based curricula in our schools, where ethics are part of the conversation before students use nonhuman animals in their learning and research. Synergy and deep ecology can move us from exclusively biotic morality toward a more inclusive abiotic morality.
Transformative Dialogues, 2018
My three trips with the Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School, a global partnership between the C... more My three trips with the Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School, a global partnership between the Calanoa Project in Colombia and Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) near Vancouver, Canada, have profoundly influenced my teaching. This reflective paper describes my experiences through narrative, journal entries, photography, and examples from both the Amazon and my classroom instruction at KPU. From these experiences, I have shifted from being a teacher to being a facilitator of learning who encourages whole-person pedagogy. Four themes are followed: (1) the importance of teacher adaptability in active learning environments, (2) confidence building for teachers to become capable leaders and mentors, (3) contemplative education that embraces a reflective and relational pedagogy, and (4) the movement toward Nature as Teacher.
Poetic Inquiry as Social Justice and Political Response, 2019
This volume speaks to the use of poetry in critical qualitative research and practice focused on ... more This volume speaks to the use of poetry in critical qualitative research and practice focused on social justice. In this collection, poetry is a response, a call to action, agitation, and a frame for future social justice work. The authors engage with poetry’s potential for connectivity, political power, and evocation through methodological, theoretical, performative, and empirical work. The poet-researchers consider questions of how poetry and Poetic Inquiry can be a response to political and social events, be used as a pedagogical tool to critique inequitable social structures, and how Poetic Inquiry speaks to our local identities and politics. The authors answer the question: “What spaces can poetry create for dialogue about critical awareness, social justice, and re-visioning of social, cultural, and political worlds?” This volume adds to the growing body of Poetic Inquiry through the demonstration of poetry as political action, response, and reflective practice. We hope this collection inspires you to write and engage with political poetry to realize the power of poetry as political action, response, and reflective practice.
Ecopsychology, 2018
A poetic inquiry into wild fascination and the pertinence of place-based, embodied, direct sensor... more A poetic inquiry into wild fascination and the pertinence of place-based, embodied, direct sensorial experiences with the wonders of nature to cultivate a felt relationality with the more-than-human.
European Journal of Philosophy in Arts Education, 2017
This philosophical poetic inquiry argues for relational approaches and creative expression in uni... more This philosophical poetic inquiry argues for relational approaches and creative expression in university science education. Poetic inquiry as a methodology can cultivate connection to the other-than-human world that promotes contemplative practice and a reciprocal relationship with life phenomena under study. Throughout this philosophical inquiry I incorporate my own poems and photography, both as a Romanticism-inspired praxis, and to elucidate the vital importance of an ethical-holistic pedagogy in the current era of human-powered climate change, dramatic species extinction, and habitat destruction. Goethean science, where students understand nature inwardly, offers an alternative to Newtonian science by incorporating the intentionality of phenomenological learning and the development of ecological literacy. If we approach the scientific method with wonder and ethical-ecological holism, we might fully acknowledge our moral responsibility toward the biosphere and all earthly beings.
13 Questions: Reframing Education’s Conversation – Science, 2017
Chapter in 13 Questions: Reframing Education’s Conversation – Science
Animals and Science Education, 2017
In this chapter, we explore the unquestioned use and killing of animals in biological education, ... more In this chapter, we explore the unquestioned use and killing of animals in biological education, through a mixed-methods study involving narrative inquiry, poetic inquiry, and essay composition. Based on our results, we call for a shift to a more ethical-ecological holistic framework for science pedagogy. We argue that, for this shift to occur, we need to critically re-examine the foundational philosophical basis of, as well as accompanying psychological work that goes into, the de-animated and desacralized empiricist worldview. We also propose to re-animate, and to reclaim a sacred perception of, the world through aesthetic and contemplative practices alongside scientific investigations.
chapter in Poetic Inquiry: Enchantments of Place
Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, 2016
An experiential learning environment fosters engagement and commitment to process, while arts-bas... more An experiential learning environment fosters engagement and commitment to process, while arts-based learning incorporates student creativity and involvement. Through the three activities outlined in this paper, designed for undergraduate biology students in the lab or classroom, teachers become facilitators of interactive and aesthetic experiences. The desired outcome is arts-based experiences that students both enjoy and remember which are directly relevant to biological learning outcomes. These activities are meant to be complementary to, rather than replacements for, labs or lectures.
Poetry by Lee Beavington
SFU Educational Review, 2020
In fall 2019, I enrolled in SFU's President's Dream Colloquium course, Creative Ecologies: Reimag... more In fall 2019, I enrolled in SFU's President's Dream Colloquium course, Creative Ecologies: Reimagining the World. One of the scholars we read was anthropology professor Dr. Shannon Mattern. My creative response to Mattern's paper-"The Big Data of Ice, Rocks, Soils, and Sediments"-offered an alternative way to engage with her scholarship. In searching for poetic and concise turns of phrase, I noted how her word choice and image-making related to her essay's construction. I sought out bits of data from her paper, rearranged them into a cohesive unit, and from this garnered a deeper meaning of her intent and expertise. I also noted what was absent or lacking, and this deficit of words, specifically toward 'should we be exploiting the planet for research?' inspired me to emphasize this in my found poem.
"Lee Beavington, of Simon Fraser University, is one of the Top 25 finalists in the Social Science... more "Lee Beavington, of Simon Fraser University, is one of the Top 25 finalists in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s 2020 Storytellers challenge."
Grateful to be one of the SSHRC Storytellers finalists!
This project was collaborative, and I express my gratitude to many folks for their help:
My Dad, Nelson Beavington, for adding his flute.
My brother, Daniel Beavington, for adding his percussion.
The glaciers in Norway for singing down the mountain.
The sword ferns that seem to follow me wherever I go.
My Mom, Dorothy Beavington, and Daniela Elza, for their script editing ideas.
Adrian, Emily, Joani, and Mike their film editing ideas.
The Amazon River for such depth of wonder.
The urchin, the slug, and the frog for being in the world.
The SFU Creative Ecologies class, which gave me the space and inspiration to start this project.
And finally, my wife, Jennifer Beavington, who sparked me to get to the heart of why this matters.
65 views
Cultural Studies of Science Education
Cultural Studies of Science Education
Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education o... more Learners are more disconnected from the natural environment than ever before. Science education occurs predominantly in classrooms and laboratories, settings that rationalize and deconstruct the natural world in a Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm. This often negates humans' relationality and interdependence with other life phenomena and furthermore negates nonhuman agency. I examine the alienation from the natural world in a screendominated society, review ecopsychology studies that show the effect of nature on human mental and physiological health, and address the limitations of anthropocentric arguments for reconnecting students with nature. Examples of learning about microbes in a biology laboratory, and the importance of what I call wild fascination, as methods to reconnect with our "forgotten forest" are discussed. Finally, I argue that environmental outdoor education is not only vital to foster an ecocentric ethic, but that it is a necessity for ensuring a sustainable future for the biotic community.
Cultural Studies of Science Education
This essay argues the importance of interdisciplinary, contemplative, place-based pedagogy. The E... more This essay argues the importance of interdisciplinary, contemplative, place-based pedagogy. The Ecology and Colour in 1m 2 study has students from the sciences and the arts observe a small quadrat in their local community over several weeks, engaging in both scientific and creative expression. The connection to Aldo Leopold's teaching principles and its relevance during our current screen fatigue pandemic and increasing disconnection from the natural world are outlined. We review contemplative practice in relation to education, such as sit spots or "site-specific" learning. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the Ecology and Colour in 1m 2 study and aligned with Leopold's emphasis on fostering a personal connection with nature, our paper also includes three narratives and examples of student reflections and visual artwork created during this project. Résumé Cet essai fait valoir l'importance d'une pédagogie interdisciplinaire, contemplative, et fondée sur la localité. L'étude "Écologie et couleur sur 1m2" permet aux étudiants des sciences et des arts d'observer un petit quadrat dans leur communauté pendant quelques semaines. Ils s'engagent donc dans une démarche à la fois scientifique et créative. Dans cet essai sont décrits le rapport avec les principes pédagogiques d'Aldo Leopold ainsi que sa pertinence durant la pandémie actuelle, qui cause à la fois une fatigue visuelle causée par les écrans et Lead Editor: K. Tobin. This manuscript is part of the special issue Contemplative Inquiry, Wellbeing and Science Education, guest edited by Kenneth Tobin.
Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 2021
This literary-visual métissage weaves together stories, scholarship and photographs. What can be ... more This literary-visual métissage weaves together stories, scholarship and photographs. What can be unearthed-science education, embodied knowledge, environmental ethics-when we walk on the land? Embodied and sensorial engagement fosters relational and enlivening educational experiences. Whether preschool or post-doc, direct sense experience offers not only active and experiential pedagogy, but also a spiritual attunement with the natural world. Now, amid the climate crisis and screen fatigue pandemic, such Earth resonance is of utmost import. Let us walk through a snowy forest, ponder what counsel our shoeless feet (and David Abram) afford us, and envision the learning environment as an emergent and adaptable opportunity for connection and wonder.
FusionJournal, 2021
As a biologist and educator, this essay weaves together personal experience with pedagogical expl... more As a biologist and educator, this essay weaves together personal experience with pedagogical exploration through narrative and academic prose. First, we explore bird language, nature attunement, and what shadows can teach us. Bird language is an aural blessing and soundscape that, to the attuned ear, reveals storm, predator, and wonder alike. We consider the Ecology in 1m 2 study I co-developed for remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this place-and inquiry-based project, students contemplate, in silence, a microsite several times a week over the course of a month. Then we go on a soundwalk in the city, where habituated noise pollution dulls our senses to the more-than-human world. Finally, we bear witness to Takaya's tragic story, the lone wolf who lived for eight years on an island just outside a metropolitan city. Through storytelling and philosophical consideration, alongside more academic modalities, I explore the importance of active listening beyond the anthropocentric babel. If we can hear the downstroke of a raven's wings, the creak of an old alder, the warning trill that goes Chickadee-dee-dee, perhaps we can better attune to the more-than-human world and both recognize and atone for our destructive actions towards the Earth.
Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, 2020
Scientists indicate that we are living in the Anthropocene, an epoch marked by unprecedented huma... more Scientists indicate that we are living in the Anthropocene, an epoch marked by unprecedented human impact on the planet. Our ecological predicament poses a significant challenge to human consciousness as we experience a pivotal moment in planetary history. Following the work of Mary Oliver, Carl Leggo, Kathleen Dean Moore, and other poetic luminaries, we consider what it means to live poetically in the Anthropocene, to experience beauty and meaning amidst depletion and radical ecological change, to weep for the disappearance of species while working toward personal and systemic transformation. We ask: How does poetry contribute to a flourishing life in a time of ecological crisis? Why is poetry an especially potent vehicle of human expression and transformation? In a dialogic format, the authors exchange reflections on poetic inquiry, and muse on the importance of poetry as a vehicle for investigation and reformation.
American Association of Philosophy Teachers Studies in Pedagogy , 2018
The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used as an experiential educational tool for nearly ... more The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used as an experiential educational tool for nearly twenty years. Innovative educators have expanded the educational use of GPS devices beyond the geocache. This essay uses Leopold’s land ethic as a philosophical framework for relational education, and outlines the practical application of the GPS ecocache. The experiential, place-based ecocache has learners navigate to sites of ecological significance (e.g., plants, animals, landforms), where they must answer a question or riddle related to this site. We discuss the contradictory nature of using a gadget to connect with the outdoors, and integrate the GPS ecocache with Kolb’s model of experiential education. Ultimately, we hope to cultivate the values of Leopold’s land ethic through the use of a ubiquitously available device, and for learners to engage in relational pedagogy relevant to ecology, geography, environmental ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of education and other courses concerned with human-nature connection and the nature of space.
SFU Educational Review, 2016
Homo sapiens rationalize their species’ uniqueness to justify anthropocentrism and self-interest ... more Homo sapiens rationalize their species’ uniqueness to justify anthropocentrism and self-interest towards nonhumans. Research and pedagogical practice such as mandatory dissection and animal experimentation, alongside mechanistic and atomistic assumptions deeply embedded in science curricula, reinforce the idea that nonhuman animals lack moral status. We need to devise and implement holistic, place-based curricula in our schools, where ethics are part of the conversation before students use nonhuman animals in their learning and research. Synergy and deep ecology can move us from exclusively biotic morality toward a more inclusive abiotic morality.
Transformative Dialogues, 2018
My three trips with the Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School, a global partnership between the C... more My three trips with the Interdisciplinary Amazon Field School, a global partnership between the Calanoa Project in Colombia and Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) near Vancouver, Canada, have profoundly influenced my teaching. This reflective paper describes my experiences through narrative, journal entries, photography, and examples from both the Amazon and my classroom instruction at KPU. From these experiences, I have shifted from being a teacher to being a facilitator of learning who encourages whole-person pedagogy. Four themes are followed: (1) the importance of teacher adaptability in active learning environments, (2) confidence building for teachers to become capable leaders and mentors, (3) contemplative education that embraces a reflective and relational pedagogy, and (4) the movement toward Nature as Teacher.
Poetic Inquiry as Social Justice and Political Response, 2019
This volume speaks to the use of poetry in critical qualitative research and practice focused on ... more This volume speaks to the use of poetry in critical qualitative research and practice focused on social justice. In this collection, poetry is a response, a call to action, agitation, and a frame for future social justice work. The authors engage with poetry’s potential for connectivity, political power, and evocation through methodological, theoretical, performative, and empirical work. The poet-researchers consider questions of how poetry and Poetic Inquiry can be a response to political and social events, be used as a pedagogical tool to critique inequitable social structures, and how Poetic Inquiry speaks to our local identities and politics. The authors answer the question: “What spaces can poetry create for dialogue about critical awareness, social justice, and re-visioning of social, cultural, and political worlds?” This volume adds to the growing body of Poetic Inquiry through the demonstration of poetry as political action, response, and reflective practice. We hope this collection inspires you to write and engage with political poetry to realize the power of poetry as political action, response, and reflective practice.
Ecopsychology, 2018
A poetic inquiry into wild fascination and the pertinence of place-based, embodied, direct sensor... more A poetic inquiry into wild fascination and the pertinence of place-based, embodied, direct sensorial experiences with the wonders of nature to cultivate a felt relationality with the more-than-human.
European Journal of Philosophy in Arts Education, 2017
This philosophical poetic inquiry argues for relational approaches and creative expression in uni... more This philosophical poetic inquiry argues for relational approaches and creative expression in university science education. Poetic inquiry as a methodology can cultivate connection to the other-than-human world that promotes contemplative practice and a reciprocal relationship with life phenomena under study. Throughout this philosophical inquiry I incorporate my own poems and photography, both as a Romanticism-inspired praxis, and to elucidate the vital importance of an ethical-holistic pedagogy in the current era of human-powered climate change, dramatic species extinction, and habitat destruction. Goethean science, where students understand nature inwardly, offers an alternative to Newtonian science by incorporating the intentionality of phenomenological learning and the development of ecological literacy. If we approach the scientific method with wonder and ethical-ecological holism, we might fully acknowledge our moral responsibility toward the biosphere and all earthly beings.
13 Questions: Reframing Education’s Conversation – Science, 2017
Chapter in 13 Questions: Reframing Education’s Conversation – Science
Animals and Science Education, 2017
In this chapter, we explore the unquestioned use and killing of animals in biological education, ... more In this chapter, we explore the unquestioned use and killing of animals in biological education, through a mixed-methods study involving narrative inquiry, poetic inquiry, and essay composition. Based on our results, we call for a shift to a more ethical-ecological holistic framework for science pedagogy. We argue that, for this shift to occur, we need to critically re-examine the foundational philosophical basis of, as well as accompanying psychological work that goes into, the de-animated and desacralized empiricist worldview. We also propose to re-animate, and to reclaim a sacred perception of, the world through aesthetic and contemplative practices alongside scientific investigations.
chapter in Poetic Inquiry: Enchantments of Place
Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, 2016
An experiential learning environment fosters engagement and commitment to process, while arts-bas... more An experiential learning environment fosters engagement and commitment to process, while arts-based learning incorporates student creativity and involvement. Through the three activities outlined in this paper, designed for undergraduate biology students in the lab or classroom, teachers become facilitators of interactive and aesthetic experiences. The desired outcome is arts-based experiences that students both enjoy and remember which are directly relevant to biological learning outcomes. These activities are meant to be complementary to, rather than replacements for, labs or lectures.
SFU Educational Review, 2020
In fall 2019, I enrolled in SFU's President's Dream Colloquium course, Creative Ecologies: Reimag... more In fall 2019, I enrolled in SFU's President's Dream Colloquium course, Creative Ecologies: Reimagining the World. One of the scholars we read was anthropology professor Dr. Shannon Mattern. My creative response to Mattern's paper-"The Big Data of Ice, Rocks, Soils, and Sediments"-offered an alternative way to engage with her scholarship. In searching for poetic and concise turns of phrase, I noted how her word choice and image-making related to her essay's construction. I sought out bits of data from her paper, rearranged them into a cohesive unit, and from this garnered a deeper meaning of her intent and expertise. I also noted what was absent or lacking, and this deficit of words, specifically toward 'should we be exploiting the planet for research?' inspired me to emphasize this in my found poem.
Sweet Water: Poems for the Watersheds, 2020
Refugium: Poems for the Pacific, 2017
The ecology of our existence is utterly dependent upon our relationship with the more-than-human ... more The ecology of our existence is utterly dependent upon our relationship with the more-than-human world. Our bodies are living and breathing
ecosystems, a collective of tens of thousands of interrelated species too easily forgotten in our anthropocentric society. When our bond with
the earth is eroded, we lose the ability to hear the ecologies that surround us, we lose a part of ourselves. The voice of nature is heard by those who
pay attention to the language of birds, those who hear the cries of clear-cut trees. For these other-than-human words to be wholly received, we must
embrace a contemplative receptivity.
SFU Educational Review, 2015
A poetic inquiry into our culture's privileging of the objective over subjective, mind over body,... more A poetic inquiry into our culture's privileging of the objective over subjective, mind over body, and rationalism over wonder.
Writers of the Future, Vol. 22
Award-winning novella from Writers of the Future