Hard to believe but Biocitizen is 10 years old now! One of the deepest joys I (Kurt the director) have experienced is derived from witnessing our students develop from little kids, into adolescents and then into young adults. The school’s CIT program and our junior staff is made of Wings who became Sharpshins and then...Continue Reading
Now Voyager Four Corners Sun.-Sun. March 11-18 and Sun.-Sun. March 18-25 Expeditions to Utah’s Grand Staircase and Bears Ears National Monuments Explore a wilderness that might vanish— More information. Continue Reading
1) The problem: what invasives are, botanically and culturally Weeds are plants that grow where we don’t want them to, and invasives are weeds we spread without control, altering ecosystems to such an extent that, sometimes, native species are crowded out and go extinct. Invasives are expressions of our colonial culture; we bring them—and cats,...Continue Reading
Background: Despite significant efforts to reverse historical trends, the survival of several Connecticut River species of migratory fish is imperiled. As a Leopoldian school of environmental philosophy, it is Biocitizen’s mission to educate the public about this problem, and also about the solution to it: “Promote improved flow and fish passage to ensure clean, free-flowing,...Continue Reading
Field: This word comes from ecology, and the term “field study.” It is based on the distinction between research done indoors, in the lab, and research done outdoors, in the field. Environmental: “environment” means that which encloses. Philosophy: means love (philo) of wisdom (sophy). Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP) is a pedagogy that takes students outdoors...Continue Reading
We fancy that industry supports us, forgetting what supports industry. —Aldo Leopold THE Problem: We are experiencing a paradigm shift precipitated by anthrogenic global warming. Many of the things we have been taught and teach need to be reassessed, re-understood and revised—around the pressing fact that our present way of living is out of synch with the...Continue Reading
Now Voyager Tuition and Logistics From December 27, 2016 to January 6, 2017, Now Voyager takes college students (& 18+ year olds) on an ecstatic journey through South-Central Chile, following the path of water from the Pacific Ocean in Pichilemu across the Central Range, the agricultural Central Valley, and onto the high Andean peaks of...Continue Reading
Happy! Biocitizen School is teaming with Superfun Chile to run Now Voyager, an 11-day field environmental philosophy (FEP) expedición for college students who want to learn to teach FEP. Departing from and returning to Santiago, Chile, we’ll journey from surf-paradise Pichilemu to the Andean peaks of the Tinguiririca range— While I was in Pichilemu developing Now Voyager curricula,...Continue Reading
The Life Riparian (Cross-posted from Hilltown Families) Riparian is a strange sounding word that denotes “river bank”: the meeting point of river and land. We enter the “riparian zone” when we get close to a river. It is a place we want to be, because it brims with exuberant sounds and smells, and because it...Continue Reading
I do get excited about maps like this one, which shows new areas in Chesterfield and Westhampton the USFWS is proposing for conservation. Here are the comments I sent USFWS, supporting “CCP Alternative C”: Dear US Fish and Wildlife Service, As a resident of Westhampton, Massachusetts, and director of the Westhampton-based 501(c)3 Biocitizen School of Environmental...Continue Reading
WHAT IS BIOCITIZEN? The word “biocitizen” is a contraction of “biotic citizen,” a term and idea conceived by Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) who is widely celebrated for conceiving the “land ethic.” A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. A […]
Charlie is a recent graduate from Wesleyan University who is just beginning to get his footing in the big wide world and figure out where he’s going. Although he majored in music, his studies always seemed to circle around environmentalism and the more-than-human world, a cross pollination which began the summer after his freshman year […]
Wind Wolves Preserve Camping | Hiking | Native Plant Stewardship FRIDAY Our second CLAWS trip of the fall kicked off at our normal meeting point Bette Davis Park. Folks were excited to get things going, so after an opening circle, with introductions, a gear check, and the plan for the evening we officially started our […]
Lead Teacher Azucena shares her journey reclaiming her narrative through her field notes recap emails By: Azucena Quinones When I first began working at Biocitizen I was super excited for all of the amazing experiences I would have, from camping, exploring new trails, to working with amazing kids. I knew there would be challenges that […]
Biocitizen NY is pleased to welcome Samantha as a Field Environmental Philosophy teacher! She’ll be co-leading Our Place Summerschool with Yubitza Bermudez! Sam grew up hiking, snowboarding, and biking through the mountains in her home state of Colorado. Along the way, she grew to appreciate natural spaces and developed a desire to protect them. Sam […]
Biocitizen NY Summer 2022 Internship Program What is Biocitizen? Biocitizen is the only educational institution in the world devoted to teaching Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP). Our Brooklyn-based Our Place Summer School is designed to bring children into direct contact with the creatures, geologies, hydrologies, and infrastructures of the Canarsee Biome and the Hudson River Estuary. […]
Lugar son historias en las que vivimos. Y algunos lugares nos gustan más que otros. ¿Por qué? Ricardo Rozzi nos cuenta una historia sobre un lugar que ama. —secundo de […]
Lugar son historias en las que vivimos. Y algunos lugares nos gustan más que otros. ¿Por qué? Yubitza Bermúdez nos cuenta una historia sobre un lugar que ama. —primero de […]
Westhampton, MA