Ecological Design and Education 307technologies, farming, machines and architecture that are orders of magnitude
more efficient, elegant and durable than our best industrial capabilities. But the
foundational pedagogy begins with nature as tutor and mentor.
Ecological design, further, is not simply a mimicking of nature toward a
smarter kind of industrialization, but rather a deeper revolution in the place of
humans in nature. In Wendell Berry’s words, design begins with questions ‘What’s
here? What will nature permit us to do here? What will nature help us do here?’
The capacity to question presumes the humility to ask, the good sense to ask the
right questions, and the wisdom to follow the answers to their logical conclusions.
Ecological design is not a monologue of humans talking to nature, but a dialogue
that requires the capacity to listen, discern and learn from nature. When we get it
right, the results in John Todd’s words are ‘elegant solutions predicated on the
uniqueness of place’. The industrial standard, in contrast, is based on the idea that
nature can be tortured into revealing her secrets, as Francis Bacon so revealingly
put it. Brute force and human cleverness, not co-evolution and cooperation are at
the heart of the modern worldview. So, too, standardization and a one size fits all
strategy making industrial design look the same and operate by the same narrow
logic everywhere. But this is no great victory for humankind because the mastery
of nature, in truth, represents the mastery of some men over other men using
nature as the medium, as C. S. Lewis once put it (1947).
Second, pedagogy informed by an ecological perspective does not begin with
the assumption that humans are infinitely plastic. On the contrary, our sense of
order and affinity for design are bounded by our long evolutionary history and our
dawning sensations of life. The first safe haven we sense is our mother’s womb.
Our first awareness of regularity is the rhythm of our mother’s heartbeat. Our first
passage way is her birth canal. Our first sign of benevolence is at her breast. Our
first awareness of self and other comes from sounds made and reciprocated. Our
first feelings of ecstasy come from bodily release. The first window through which
we see is the eye. The first tool we master is our own hand. The world is first
revealed to us through the senses of touch and taste. Our first worldview is formed
within small places of childhood. Our ancestors’ first inkling that they were not
alone was the empathetic encounter with animals. The first music they heard were
sounds made by birds, animals, wind and water. Their first source of wonder, per-
haps, was the undimmed night sky. Their first models of shelter were those created
by birds and animals. The first materials humans used for building were mud,
grass, stone, wood and animal skins. Their first metaphors were likely formed from
daily experiences of nature. The first models for worship found in what early
humans perceived as cosmic harmony were those of the dwelling.
We are creatures shaped by the interplay between our senses and the world
around us. We know of five senses and have reason to believe that there are others.
For example, some evidence suggests that we have a rudimentary awareness of being
watched and there are other possibilities. Aboriginal peoples can walk with unerring
accuracy across trackless landscapes in the dark of night. Across all cultures and
times, good design is a close calibration of our sensuality with inspiration, creativity,