About the Book
Why spend countless hours indoors in front of screens when being in nature feels sogood? In learning why and how to nurture our emotional connection with nature, wecan also regenerate the ecosystems on which we depend for our survival.
Renewal explores the science behind why being in nature makes us feel alive andhelps us thrive. Using personal experiences and cutting-edge research in cognitivescience, this book weaves delightful stories that:
Reveal nature's genius and impacts on our lives from physical, emotional,intellectual, and spiritual perspectives
Explore how emulating nature is yielding design breakthroughs with biomimicryand biophilic design
Highlight the importance of compassion and coexisting with wildlife in designingour conservation strategies
Describe the significance of nurturing an ecological ethic that supports areciprocal relationship with nature
Whether you are drawn to conservation or are interested in the science behind humanbehaviour, Renewal will help create a blueprint for integrating nature with a life ofcreativity, compassion, and joy.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Marc Bekoff
Introduction: Forging an Emotional Bond with Nature
1. Aligning with Nature
Doorways to Nature • Types of Nature Alignment • Internal and External Alignment • Natural Principles • Awareness and Humility • Natural Ingredients
2. Awe and Beauty
Awe's Qualities • Beauty's Attributes • Reinstilling Awe and Beauty
3. Health and Well-Being
Healing Impacts of Nature • Nature As a Vital Supplement • Green Care • Finding Our Place in Nature
4. Mentor and Provider
Learning from Nature • Cycles and Milestones • Nature As Provider
5. Nature's Intelligence
Intelligence of Gaia • Why Nature's Intelligence Matters • Nature's Designs • Animal Intelligence • Plant Awareness • Slime and Mushrooms
6. Kinship and Creativity
Skalalitude • Biophilic Design • Creativity and Nature • Nature As Canvas • Beyond Nature As Resource
7. Compassion and Coexistence
Cultivating Coexistence • Biological Altruism • Animal Emotions • Compassionate Conservation • Rewilding Our Hearts
8. An Ecocentric Ethic
An Integral Perspective • Five Global Trends • Reciprocity Through Nature • Flourishing with Nature • A Legacy of Regenerative Coexistence • Doing What We Can
Resources
Bibliography
Notes
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers
About the Author :
Andres R Edwards is an educator, award-winning author, media designer, and sustainability consultant. He is founder and president of EduTracks, a firm specializing in developing education programs and consulting services on sustainable practices for green building and business initiatives. He has worked as a producer, exhibit developer, and consultant for projects in natural history, biodiversity, and sustainability. He is the author of The Heart of Sustainability: Restoring Ecological Balance from the Inside Out (2015, Silver Award: Nautilus Book Awards), Thriving Beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society (2010, Gold Medal: Living Now Book Awards), and The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift (2005). He is co-author with Robert Z. Apte of Tibet: Enduring Spirit, Exploited Land (2004). Andres has given radio and television interviews and has lectured and presented seminars at conferences, universities, and for business and community organizations. He currently lives in northern California. www.andresedwards.com
Review :
"Rediscovering joy through nature is of critical importance within the climate movement; the bonds that hold movements together aren't just strategic, they build our compassion. This book can be a guide on that journey."
— May Boeve, executive director, 350.org
"Renewal is a journey that takes us home... Edwards' personal love affair with this world and his eclectic relationship with sages from every time and culture make this journey delightful, nourishing, and worth every page."
— Sandy Wiggins, co-founder and principal, Consilience, LLC;Director, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)
"This inspiring mix of inner work and outer action reminds us we still have a chance to save the planet (and ourselves), if we turn to nature as our guide."
— Mary Reynolds Thompson, author, Embrace Your Inner Wild and Reclaiming the Wild Soul
"Andrés Edwards' important new book walks us through the steps of forging a powerful emotional bond with the rest of nature.."
— Linda Buzzell, co-editor, Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind
"A key subject, explored with clarity."
— Jeremy Narby, author, Intelligence in Nature
"Renewal contains many guiding ideas and suggestions for making the connection [with nature] a real part of our lives. After you read it, get out there and build your own lifetime of experiences."
— Carl Safina, author, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
"Saving nature is not just an altruistic act. In saving nature we also save ourselves since our innate affiliation with it supports our wellbeing. Nature provides services that we can hardly replicate and can be the inspiration for the things we design. Andrés Edwards has articulated the message that our lives are tied economically, intellectually,and spiritually to nature."
— Bill Browning, Partner, Terrapin Bright Green
"This book is a pioneering exploration of an epochal (and bitterly necessary) shift in our attitude toward nature. Edwards sees nature not as an external resource to make human life safe but as part of the paradigm of reciprocity that makes our existence possible and allows reality to flourish."
— Andreas Weber, author, Biology of Wonder,Matter & Desire, and Enlivenment
This book includes remarkable stories and neuroscience discoveries that inspire us and call on us to connect to nature and live more fulfilling live."
— Thupten Jinpa, author, A Fearless Heart
"Robinson Jeffers wrote: "We must uncenter our minds from ourselves; we must unhumanize our views a little, and become confident as the rock and ocean that we were made from". Andrés Edwards confidently and elegantly guides us through how to unhumanize, and then rehumanize, ourselves."
— Wallace J. Nichols, PhD, author, Blue Mind
"In these times when less than half of Americans say they participate in outdoor recreation, and mental health problems have become epidemic in part due to people spending too much time watching electronic screens, Andrés' book will help people return to their roots and discover the healing and inspiring powers of nature."
— James A. Swan, PhD, author, Nature as Teacher and Healer
"Using personal anecdotes and scientific evidence, Renewal illuminates the different ways we can emotionally and intellectually connect with nature as well as practical ways we can deepen this relationship to promote both our own flourishing, and that of the natural world around us."
— Craig L. Anderson, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
