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WildLIFE Associates Mission
When we learn to care about living beings other than ourselves, we begin to develop empathy and understanding of the diversity of nature and of the people around us. When we understand that natural systems sustain all life on the earth, we begin to comprehend the vital interdependence we have with all living things, including animals, plants and even the soil beneath our feet. It is then a logical step to understand that protecting nature is protecting ourselves. As a human species we are now at a critical junction where we can chose to live sustainably within the living natural systems that support all life, or continue to view nature simply as a source for our endless products, to be consumed without regard to the future. It is all a matter of perception. As James Hillman, Yale University scholar states, "We see what our ideas let us see." As humans, we understand only what we have experienced and learned as the following story illustrates: Two people are walking down a trail through a remote wilderness and come upon a ridge overlooking an expansive old growth forest. As they see this stunning view from the hill, they both take a noticeable gasp of breath. One person is awestruck to see and feel the millions of years of evolution that led to this immense expression of biodiversity, and can hardly contain exalted feelings of beauty, majesty and connectedness. With a heart beating fast with excitement, the other person takes a breath and sees millions of board feet of lumber that will increase corporate returns, driving their stock prices higher.Both of these people were looking at the same forest but their internal filters were giving them different perceptions and thus different experiences. Laura Seawall, in her book Sight and Sensibility, The Ecopsychology of Perception, explains this well: "It is no surprise that much of how we perceive is shaped by ongoing experience, by the scripts we follow, by the voices of those around us, by cultural coding. We all share and reinforce the daily assumptions that constitute consensual reality through the language we use, the media we watch, the stories we tell, the science we value, and the methods we use to describe truth.""The root cause of environmental degradation is directly linked to people's perceptions about living things, our interdependence on natural systems and the vital importance of biodiversity. The information we need is already out there, but what matters more than becoming aware of that information, is the act of forming relationships with living things. In the process of forming these relationships, we begin to see nature as more than just a backdrop to the human drama. Nature becomes alive, new perceptions about life unfold, and a new world awaits."  - Steve Karlin, "Wild Teachers"Our programs utilize a highly specialized educational methodology we call "Natural Systems Teaching." Wildlife Associates has two decades of experience invested in developing this teaching method, and has used it to teach over seven million students. "Natural Systems Teaching" is a teaching method that uses living wildlife within an experiential learning environment. It is based on results from cognitive studies on how humans learn and retain information in long-term memory. Instead of inundating the audience with huge amounts of scientific facts, like a virtual encyclopedia, our programs focus on having students develop a new way of seeing - a relational way of seeing - where the person becomes an active participant in the webs of life. As a participant in this process, nature then becomes a dynamic, living, interactive world full of intimate relationships between all life. At the core of these teaching strategies are the "Wild Teachers." These wonderful living animals are an integral part of Natural Systems Teaching. The Wild Teachers capture students' attention and encourage a direct learning experience, a learning experience that parallels the kind of learning humans have used for thousands of years before the emergence of books and computers. By learning directly from observing live wild animals, students learn to use all of their senses and actually begin to develop a "living relationship" with the wild earth. Learning directly through the senses while forming and experiencing new relationships with living things, opens us up to a new world of knowledge, awareness and focus in our lives. The focus of Wildlife Associates educational programs is to empower and awaken our compassion for living things and to develop a new knowledge base, leaving the next generation with the motivation to act responsibly toward the earth. Learning complex environmental concepts can be challenging for anyone, but having the animals, alive and breathing in front of them, delivers the most important message in a way no human can. Our programs help students learn respect and responsibility for ecological systems in a way they can relate to regardless of their age. Once students can see that since we, the human species have the same dependence on natural systems as other species, it is clearly understood that protecting nature is protecting ourselves. Go to the top. |
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"To gaze into the eyes of these magnificent beings brings us closer to a true understanding of our place in nature's web of life. Along with human intelligence and dominance comes responsibility. We must leave the next generation with the proper knowledge and motivation so they can act responsibly toward the earth". Steve Karlin WildLIFE Associates |