Gaia's Call: ecopedagogy, nonviolent communication, and a path to planetary healing

David Yisrael Epstein-HaLevi, Eric Holmlund, Kelli Rodriguez, Gwen Olton, Stephanie Gottlob and Michaela Ensweiler

Chapter 17 in Handbook of Social Justice in Education, 2026, pp 252-273 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter invites readers into a pedagogy of reconnection—one that weds ecological awareness, emotional literacy, and spiritual practice. Situated within the field of social justice education, the chapter proposes that planetary transformation begins with relational transformation: learning to listen, feel, and communicate as parts of a living Earth. Drawing from Jewish mysticism, somatic psychology, and nonviolent communication, the chapter outlines an embodied ecopedagogy that integrates grief work, ritual, and dialogue as pathways toward collective healing. The chapter positions education as sacred practice—where teaching and learning become acts of repair (tikkun) in a time of ecological and social rupture. Through theoretical reflection and guided exercises, the chapter offers a framework for cultivating compassion, moral imagination, and active hope across classrooms, communities, and ecosystems.

Keywords: Ecopedagogy; Spiritual Ecology; Nonviolent Communication; Embodied Pedagogy; Grief and Transformation; Planetary Healing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035318445
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