While reports on climate change and environmental disasters can bring anxiety and a sense of helplessness, a new multidisciplinary research project at TWU seeks to help people feel more connected to the natural world and more hopeful for its future.
By studying the natural world in a local area, this project aims to create a sense of belonging and increase people's understanding of how to meaningfully dwell in, and care for, the environment.
The ConVersing/ConServing project imaginatively combines environmental science and creative writing to bring together various parts of the natural world into conversation.
Led by English professors Drs. Katharine Bubel, Holly Faith Nelson, Laura Van Dyke, and Jessica Walters, the ConVersing/ConServing project imaginatively combines environmental science and creative writing to bring together various parts of the natural world into conversation.
Upcoming event: Tuesday, April 4 – ConVersing/ConServing: TWU Ecosystem Study Area "Back 40" Trail Walk
See the event
The research will take place at the Trinity Western University Ecosystem Study Area, a dedicated area for studying and preserving the environment.
“Conversation has an ancient meaning, as author Marilyn McEntyre reminds us, of ‘a life-sustaining practice, a blessing, and a craft to be cultivated for the common good.’ We see conversation and conservation as deeply interconnected acts of attention."
Project goals and outcomes
The project has three main goals that are meant to draw out the value of this place. First, the researchers plan to collect stories about the TWU Ecosystem Study Area (ESA) from multiple sources. These include local libraries, museums, oral histories, and interviews.
Second, the project aims to create new knowledge about the ESA through environmentally responsive and place-sensitive creative writing practices. This requires a process of observation and contemplation leading to a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, the environment.
"Bringing together creative, contemplative and ecocritical methods to complement the work of our colleagues in Environmental Studies and land management, we desire to foster a deeper understanding and care for the environment at TWU and in other places as well.”
Third, the project seeks to show how this interdisciplinary dialogue between creative, ecocritical, and environmental studies can help people cope with the anxiety and feelings of powerlessness caused by climate change.
“We want to bring the enormous, complex challenges of climate change into a localized conversation,” the researchers expressed.
“Conversation has an ancient meaning, as author Marilyn McEntyre reminds us, of ‘a life-sustaining practice, a blessing, and a craft to be cultivated for the common good.’ We see conversation and conservation as deeply interconnected acts of attention. Bringing together creative, contemplative and ecocritical methods to complement the work of our colleagues in Environmental Studies and land management, we desire to foster a deeper understanding and care for the environment at TWU and in other places as well.”
The desired outcome is to develop a stronger sense of connection to the land and a deeper commitment and responsibility for its care.
Upcoming ConVersing/ConServing events
The ConVersing/ConServing research project hosts its first event on March 23, 2023: a foraging workshop in the TWU Ecosystem Study Area (ESA)—affectionately known as “the Back-40.” This workshop will be led by local naturalist, herbalist, and community educator Diana Munday.
The next ConVersing/ConServing event will be an immersive ESA walk on April 4, 2023 held during TWU's Sustainability Week (April 3–6, 2023) hosted by the Planetary Health Club (formerly Trinity Western Environmental Club). Participants will fill in their “passport” as they move through stations on the trail hosted by Conservation Biology students ready to converse about fascinating aspects of the ESA.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.