In many places, people are struck and devastated by various natural disasters, locally, nationally

and globally Thus disaster preparedness and risk management have been the targets of the
government and educational institutions through various plans and programs in this case,
environmental awareness has to be reiterated and strengthened in schools and integrated in the
curriculum, while everyone has to be oriented on taking care of and sustaining the environment
through eco literacy practices.
Environmental Awareness is about being aware of the environment. This refers to all
flowers and animals and includes all marine and wildlife. The planet is currently facing an
increasing number of environmental challenges, which include climate change, global
warming, droughts, water scarcity, floods, and pollution. Children, as early as possible,
should be aware of the environmental issues we’re facing.
Schools must lead the conversation. Environmental awareness should be a part of the
curriculum in all schools. This will encourage young people to engage in their environment
to protect it and can help communities become more environmentally aware.
Eco-literacy and Sustainable Development
Eco-literacy considers ecological systems and awareness of how society operators within natural
aspects as an educational imperative. The basic principles of eco-literacy are good starting points
to explore fundamental lessons that can be learned from nature for the reform of society (Wahi,
2017)
Ecoliteracy is the ability to understand the organization of natural systems and the
processes that maintain the healthy functioning of living systems and sustain life on Earth.
An ecologically literate person is able to apply this understanding to the design and
organization of our human communities and the creation of a regenerative culture.
David Orr (1992) posited that by failing to include ecology perspectives in education,
students are taught that ecology is unimportant. Orr and Capra (1990) coined the idea of
literacy as creating a new emphasis on the need for education to integrate understanding of the
interdependence between nature processes and human ways of life. The term eco-literacy was
first published 16 years ago by Capra (1997), who founded the Center for Eco-literacy, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to education for sustainable living (Center for Ecoliteracy
2013a). Drawing heavily on the work of Orr (1992), Capra and others in the broader
humanities have advanced eco-literacy, with a focus on the creation of sustainable human
communities and society. Therefore, eco-literacy is the ability to understand the
organization of natural systems and the process that maintain the healthy functioning of
living systems and sustain on Earth.
In another perspective, ecological literacy is an understanding of the principles of organization
that ecosystems have evolved to sustain the web of life, which is the first step on the road to
sustainability. The second step is the move towards eco-design, of which there is a need to apply
the ecological knowledge to the fundamental redesign of technologies and social institutions, to
bridge the current between human design and the ecological sustainable systems of nature
(Capra, 2003).
Dito na papasok ang Sustainable development – it is the organizing principle for meeting
human development goals while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to
provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society
depend.
Sustainability is a qualitative and quantitative condition that demonstrates the human capacity to
survive over time. It is qualitative in a way that we want well-being although, it is difficult to
measure. But is also quantitative in that natural capital and ecological carrying can be measured
with foot printing tools. It is a biological and imperative for human society to exist within the
ecosystem. Ecological literacy therefore, provides the pests for integrated thinking about
sustainability. It supports the frame of mind, ethics, and the type of practice that will support the
kind of thinking that prioritizes ecological imperatives.
We live in a modern, consumerist and largely urban existence throughout the developed
world and consume natural resources every day. In our urban centers, we consume more
power than those who live in rural settings and urban centers use a lot more power than
average, keeping streets and civic buildings lit, to power our appliances, our heating and
other public and household power requirements. It is estimated that we use about 40%
more resources every year than we can put back and that needs to change. Sustainability
and sustainable development focuses on balancing between competing needs - our need to
move forward technologically and economically, and the needs to protect the environments
in which we and others live. Sustainability is not just about the environment, it's also about
our health as a society in ensuring that no people or areas of life suffer as a result of
environmental legislation, and it's also about examining the longer term effects of the
actions humanity takes and asking questions about how it may be improved.
To achieve sustainability, we must trace the roots of our cultural assumptions and work on
ecological illiteracy. Our society has created industries, processes, programs and institutions that
are destroying the ecosystem’s ability to support life. This unsustainable and reckless action is a
direct result of lack of ecological understanding and lack of sense of urgency. With this in mind
ecological literacy aims to replace fragmented thinking with new cognitive and social capacities
necessary for the design of sustainable ways of living. (www.eco-labs.org/about eco-literacy)

Ecologically Literate Person and Society

For Wahi (2017), an ecologically literate person can apply such understanding to the design and
organization of communities and the creation of a regenerative culture. To be eco-literate means
to understand the principles of organization of ecological communities (i.e. ecosystems) and to
use those principles for creating sustainable human communities {www wikipedia.org).
An ecologically literate person understands the essence of independence and interconnectedness
and that we are all part of a living system. An ecologically literate person translates this
understanding into actions that demonstrate conscious efforts to minimize negative impacts on
our life-sustaining systems and maximize value contribution to our collective well-being, now
and for future generations. (http/#educationforsustainability.info/general/ecologicel-itoracy/.)
An ecologically literate individual understands environmental realities by specifically
identifying their cause and effect relationships. The ecologically literate individual has a
clear perception and understanding of a system's dynamics and ruptures, as well as its past
and alternate future trajectories. He or she understands the complexity of studied objects
and phenomena, allowing for more enlightened decision‐making.

On the other hand, an ecologically literate society would be a sustainable society which
does not destroy the natural environment on which they depend. Thus, ecological literacy is
a powerful concept as it creates a foundation for an integrated approach to environmental
problems.
Advocates and catalysis champion eco-literacy as new educational reform emerging from
holism, systems thinking, sustainability and complexity. Watt (2017) claimed that nurturing
ecological literacy in students of a wide range of ages has become the goal of sustainability
education programs worldwide.
Ecological literate society involves applying a way of thinking that emphasizes
relationships, connectedness and context. For example, we can only understand a songbird
by exploring both its own characteristics as well as its interactions with the watershed
where it lives. Systems operate on multiple scales, with systems nested within systems – a
watershed is a vibrant interplay among species from the tree to the bacteria in the soil.
Systems thinking is necessary to understand the complex interdependence and often
unpredictable dynamics of ecological systems, social systems, economic systems and other
systems on all levels.

Ways to Develop Eco-literacy in Schools

A growing number of educators feel the need to foster leaning that genuinely prepares young
people for the ecological challenges presented by this entirely unprecedented time in human
history. Thus, the goal is to raise students with an important perspective called, “socially and
emotionally engaged eco-literacy which is a process that offers an antidote for fear, anger and
hopelessness which result from inaction. Hence, the act of engaging in ecological challenges
whatever scale is possible or appropriate. It develops strength, hope and resiliency among young
people.
Being the most intelligent and being gifted with reason, humans are capable of controlling
and taking care of the creation in their own advantage.

In this case, eco-literacy is founded on a new integration of emotional, social and ecological
forms of intelligence. While social and emotional intelligence extend students’ abilities to see
from another perspective, empathize, and show concern, ecological intelligence applies these
capacities to understanding of natural systems and cognitive skills with empathy for all of life.
By weaving these forms of intelligence together, eco-literacy butts on success from reduced
behavioral problems to increased academe achievement to foster social and emotional learning.
To help educators foster socially and emotionally engaged eco-literary, the following are
identified practices in age-appropriate ways for students, ranging from pre-kindergarten through
adulthood and help promote the cognitive and affective the abilities with the integration of
emotional, social and ecological intelligences.
1. Develop empathy for all forms of life. By recognizing the common needs we share with all
organisms we can extend our empathy to consider the quality of life of other life forms. Feel
genuine concern about their well-being and act on that concern.
It encourages students to expand their sense of compassion to other forms of life. By shifting from
our society's dominant mindset (which considers humans to be separate from and superior to the
rest of life on Earth) to a view that recognizes humans as being members of the web of life, students
broaden their care and concern to include a more inclusive network of relationships.

2. Embrace sustainability as a community practice. By learning the wondrous ways that plants,
animals and other hiving things are interdependent, students are inspired to consider the role of
interconnectedness within their communities and see the value in strengthening those
relationships by thinking and acting cooperatively.
It emerges from knowing that organisms do not exist in isolation. The quality of the web of
relationships within any living community determines its collective ability to survive and
thrive.
3. Make the invisible visible. If we strive to develop ways of living that are more life-affirming,
we must find ways to make visible the things that seem invaluable by using web-based tools,
such as Google Earth, Google Guide and Food Educate App.
This will assists students in recognizing the myriad (countless) effects of human behavior
on other people and the environment. The impacts of human behavior have expanded
exponentially in time, space, and magnitude, making the results difficult if not impossible
to understand fully. Using tools to help make the invisible visible reveals the far-reaching
implications of human behavior and enables us to act in more life-affirming ways.
4. Anticipate unintended consequences. Teachers can teach students strategies for anticipating
unintended consequences. These include pre-cautionary principle that when an activity threatens
to have a damaging impact on the environment human health, pre-cautionary actions should be
taken. Another strategy is to shift from analyzing a problem by reducing it to its isolated
components, to adopting a systems thinking perspective that examines connections and
relationships among various components of the problem.
A twofold challenge of predicting the potential implications of our behaviors as best we
can, while at the same time accepting that we cannot foresee all possible cause-and-effect
associations. Assuming that the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life, students can
adopt systems thinking and the “precautionary principle” as guidelines for cultivating a
way of living that defends rather than destroys the web of life. Second, we build resiliency
by supporting the capacity of natural and social communities to rebound from unintended
consequences.
5. Understand how nature sustains life. Eco-literate people recognize that nature has sustained
life for long that resulted to turning to nature when their teachers imbibe three crucial tenets to
eco-literate living (1) eco-literate people learn from nature that all living organisms are complex
and interconnected that inhabit a particular place for survival; (2) eco-literate people tend to be
more aware that systems exist on various levels of scale; and (3) eco-literate people collectively
practice a way of life that fulfills the needs of the present generation while simultaneously
supporting nature’s inherent ability to sustain life in the future.
Imperative for students to cultivate a society that takes into account future generations and
other forms of life. Nature has successfully supported life on Earth for billions of years.
Therefore, by examining the Earth's processes, we learn strategies that are applicable to
designing human endeavors.

Seven Environmental Principles of Nature

Considering the key to understanding environmental problems is to learn about ecosystem.
Ecology can be best appreciated in schools through a more practical and more relatable
perspectives and manner of orientation and realization.
The following are basic environmental principles of ecosystem (adapted from Barry Commoner;
cited in Butter, 2012)
1. Nature knows best. People need to understand nature and have to abide by the rules imposes in
essence, one must not go against the natural processes if he/she would like to ensure a
continuous and steady supply of resources.
This principle is the most basic and in fact encompasses all the others. Humans have to
understand nature and have to abide by the rules nature dictates. In essence, one must not
go against the natural processes if one would like to ensure a continuous and steady supply
of resources.

One natural process that needs serious attention is nutrient cycling. In nature, nutrients
pass from the environment to the organisms and back to the environment. Any disruption
in the cycle can bring about imbalance.

For example, burning of farm wastes instead of allowing them to decompose naturally
disrupts the cycle. In burning, most of the organic compounds are lost. The combustion
products bring greater havoc as in the case of carbon dioxide build-up, which results in the
warming-up of the earth, or the so-called "greenhouse" effect.
Nature has also its built-in mechanisms to maintain balance of homeostasis - the
availability of nutrients, conduciveness of the environment for growth and reproduction,
and the feeding relationships that exist between and among organisms which serve as
population controls. For example, the rat population is controlled by the presence and
number of its predators, e.g., snakes.
The use of chemical pesticides and fertilizer disrupts check and balance in the ecosystem.
Pesticides can either kill vital organisms directly or induce genetic changes that result in
resistant pests or organisms. Chemical fertilizers increase the acidity of the soil through
time making a number of nutrients unavailable and thus, unfit for the survival of plants
and other organisms.
History and our experiences are full of examples to prove the validity of this principle. In
fact, this principle only surfaced when many of the detrimental effects of technology were
recognized and coined thereon as "ecological backlash."
2. All forms of life are important. Each organism plays a fundamental role in natural therefore,
all living things must be considered as invaluable instruments in maintaining balance in the
ecosystem.
Each organism plays a fundamental role in nature. Since such occupational or functional
position, otherwise known as niche, cannot be simultaneously occupied by more than one
specie, it is apparent that all living things must be considered as invaluable in the
maintenance of homeostasis in the ecosystem.
It is easy to appreciate the beautiful butterflies, especially knowing their important role in
pollination. The giant beasts – the elephants, the whales, the alligators – are objects of awe
and the products they yield – ivory, oil, leather, respectively – are highly prized. But when
it comes to unlovely, wriggly, and troublesome creatures, this principle is unusually
overlooked.
For instance, it has been customary for many to step on any wriggling creature (e.g.
earthworms) without even considering why God made them in the first place. People also
react adversely to the presence of snakes. At home, spiders are looked at with disdain.
Awareness of the snakes' role in limiting the rat population and of the spiders' role in
checking the population of mosquitoes and flies may, however, change this attitude.
3. Everything is connected to everything else. In an ecosystem, all components interact with each
other to ensure that the system is sustainable, of which any outside interference may result in an
imbalance and deterioration of the system.
This principle is best exemplified by the concept of the ecosystem. In an ecosystem, all
biotic and amniotic components interact with each other to ensure that the system is
perpetuated. Any outside interference may result in an imbalance and the deterioration of
the system.
In a lake ecosystem, the organisms are linked to one another through their feeding
habit/level and are also dependent on other physico-chemical factors in the lake (e.g.
amount of nutrients, amounts and types of gases, temperature, PH, etc.). At the same time,
the physico-chemical factors in the lake are influenced by the terrestrial environment that
surrounds it. The fertilizers that reach the lake cause a faster growth of phytoplankton,
which may lead to algae bloom, red tide, or other such phenomena.
This principle may be discussed in local, regional, or global perspective. Deforestation in
the mountains may affect the lowlands through floods, drought, and erosion. Whatever
happens to one country may affect other countries. An example of this is the Chernobyl
accident, which affected a lot of countries through the transfer of radioactive substances by
natural agents such as wind and water, as well as human activities like the export of
contaminated food.
4. Everything changes. People must rethink their relationship with the environment through
relevant technologies for positive changes.
It is said that the only permanent thing is change. As a general classification, change may
be linear, cyclical or random. As example of linear change is evolution of species, which has
brought about higher and more complex types of organisms. Cyclical change may be
exemplified by seasons and the rhythms in floral and faunal life stages that go with the
seasons. An example of random change is the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, which brought
about great upheaval in many parts of Luzon and changes in the topography of the land.
The environment is constantly changing. Organisms also evolve through time. However,
man’s technology has affected these natural changes often to a problematic extent.
Although mutation is a natural change, pesticides have induced insect mutations, which are
not matched by natural checks and balances.
Humans should rethink their relationship with the environment. Changes that they think
may be beneficial to the environment often turn out to be disastrous. Environmental
technologies should be given priority if man would want more positive changes in the
environment.
5. Everything must go somewhere. Since wastes may go back to one’s own backyard in some
other forms, it is important to become aware of the different types of waste, classify and
segregate those that are toxic and potentially hazardous.
When a piece of paper is thrown away, it disappears from sight but it does not cease to
exist. It ends up elsewhere. Gases released in smokestacks may disperse but it will end up a
component of the atmosphere or brought down by rains. What a particular type of waste
does to the earth's repository should be of concern to us. It may be a pollutant or a
resource depending on certain factors.
Since wastes are not lost to oblivion, and even goes back to one's own backyard in some
other forms, it is important that one becomes aware of the different types of wastes –
whether they are hazardous or not. Classification of wastes facilitates their proper disposal
and minimizes, if not prevents, the entry of toxic wastes in vital ecosystems and ensures
reconversion into useful forms.
6. Ours is a finite earth. Awareness of the earth’s limited resources leads to a conscious effort to
change one's attitude and initiative to recycle them.
The earth’s resources can be classified as either renewable or non-renewable. Renewable
resources are those that can easily be replenished by natural cycles (e.g. water, air, plants,
and animals) while non-renewable resources are those that cannot be replenished through
natural cycles (e.g. ores of various metals, oil, coal). Although renewable resources can be
replenished, it is important to note that these are renewable only as long as they are not
overused nor destroyed from such factors such as pollution. To ensure that these resources
will be continually replenished, it is essential to know how much of a resource can be
consumed at a given time to balance the rate of exploitation with the rate of replenishment.
Just how long would the earth be able to sustain demands on its resources? This is a
question that needs serious reflection. Unless the factors of population growth, lifestyles,
and polluting technologies are checked, the collapse of the earth might be inevitable.
Awareness of the earth's limited resources leads to a conscious effort to change one's
consumerist attitude as well as to develop processes and technology that would bring about
effective recycling of a great number of resources.
7. Nature is beautiful and we are stewards of God's creation. Being the most intelligent and being
gifted with reason, humans are capable of controlling and taking care of the creation in their own
advantage.
Among all creatures, humans are the only ones made in God's image and have been given
the right to have dominion over all His creations. Being the most intelligent and gifted with
reason, humans are capable of manipulating creation to their own advantage. Yet, creation
exists not to be ravaged or abused but to be taken care of. Humans cannot exist without
nature. They are co-natural with the environment they live in. If the environment they live
in is destroyed, with it will go Homo Sapiens.
This principle is inherent in all religious and tribal beliefs. Teachings of Christianity,
Buddhism, and Islam enjoin everyone to respect all life and the order of nature. Words of
Chief Seattle, Macli-ing Dulag, and Chito Mendez point to our duty to discern the true
worth of modern systems and techniques to reject those that degrade, and promote those
that elevate the human condition.