Summary

Stories of environmental stewardship in communities from New Orleans to Soweto accompany an interdisciplinary framework for understanding civic ecology as a global phenomenon.

In communities across the country and around the world, people are coming together to rebuild and restore local environments that have been affected by crisis or disaster. In New Orleans after Katrina, in New York after Sandy, in Soweto after apartheid, and in any number of postindustrial, depopulated cities, people work together to restore nature, renew communities, and heal themselves. In Civic Ecology , Marianne Krasny and Keith Tidball offer stories of this emerging grassroots environmental stewardship, along with an interdisciplinary framework for understanding and studying it as a growing international phenomenon.

Krasny and Tidball draw on research in social capital and collective efficacy, ecosystem services, social learning, governance, social-ecological systems, and other findings in the social and ecological sciences to investigate how people, practices, and communities interact. Along the way, they chronicle local environmental stewards who have undertaken such tasks as beautifying blocks in the Bronx, clearing trash from the Iranian countryside, and working with traumatized veterans to conserve nature and recreate community. Krasny and Tidball argue that humans' innate love of nature and attachment to place compels them to restore nature and places that are threatened, destroyed, or lost. At the same time, they report, nature and community exert a healing and restorative power on their stewards.

Choice Review

This is a book about broken places and unbroken spirits. The former are the places around the world suffering through severe environmental degradation, and the latter are people driven to fix the problems that cause it. As the title indicates, the general term for what drives these individuals is "civic ecology." Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, civic ecology is a form of pragmatic optimism for environmentalists, one that sees green hope in dark despair. This brand of civic-mindedness, a type of stewardship, is based on an understanding of the interconnectedness of humans and their environment. A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of steward stories. Interspersed between each chapter, these stories highlight the everyday heroes who are hard at work caring for and nurturing the environment. Krasny and Tidball (both, Cornell) portray individuals as present and potential heroes; anyone can make a difference. Though the focus is largely on the US and the book glosses over the insidious role of capitalism, this fascinating, well-researched study leads to the possibility of linking local, small-scale environmentalism with larger organizations for the betterment of the environment. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Patrick Gamsby, Brandeis University