Steve Van Matre is the author of Acclimatization, Acclimatizing, Sunship Earth, The Earth Speaks, Earthkeepers,
Earth Education... A New Beginning and Sunship III. A former university professor, camp director, youth leader,
school teacher, and educational consultant, he now travels the world introducing the earth education alternative
to others.
Weiler, Bill :
Sample Chapter
Have You Listened to the Earth?
Yes, the earth speaks, but only to those who can hear with their hearts. It speaks in a thousand, thousand small
ways, but like our lovers and families and friends, it often sends messages without words. For you see, the earth
speaks in a language of love. Its voice is in the shape of a new leaf, the feel of a water worn stone, the color
of the evening sky, the smell of the summer rain, the sound of the night wind. The earth's whispers are everywhere,
but only those who have slept with it can readily respond to its call.
The earth speaks in many ways, on many levels. For the Australian Aboriginals, perhaps the oldest continuous culture
in the world, the features of the earth are an everyday part of their living heritage. They read their story of
life in the lanscape itself. For them, every mountain, every river, every valley speaks of ancient events. A gigantic
monolith becomes a rock dropped from the sky, a stone outcropping an effigy figure, a mountain range a great lizard.
For the modern geologist, the earth speaks of ancient events as well, but in this instance, those features are
a direct result of the natural phenomena of the planet. A hill represents a glacial remnant, a solitary boulder
an erratic, a canyon a timetable. However, for the earth lover, each fold, each depression, each peak in the crust
of the planet speaks of new discovories in a lifelong quest to seek out magical places, to be intimate with the
earth and its life.
"Whenever I pick up this book to glance thru it, it brings great peace to me -- the same peace as being
in the woods. Most of the people that I show this book to also have the same reaction -- I can see it in their
faces -- some part of them has been touched. Thank you for putting together this book. "
--Mary Ann Balko-Koch, Salzburg, Austria
"I was introduced to the book The Earth Speaks in my Environmental Science class last year. It really excited
me and now a year later I own my own copy... The earth is the center of my thoughts; the deciding factor in my
age, 16, to be this way... I am constantly looking for that which mirrors my feelings, but also which I trust....
"
--Atlanta Heidhues, San Francisco, California
Institute for Earth Education Web Site, June, 2001
Summary
The Earth Speaks can be read by individuals in moments of solitude, shared among friends around a trailside
campfire, and used by leaders to help their learners develop a love for life and and the systems of the earth that
sustain it.
Brought to life by the beautiful block prints of Gwen Frostic, this book contains the writings of naturalists and
natives, poets and philosophers, plus ordinary people who were able to capture in words the magic and meaning of
the earth's marvels.
