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How can environmental action also become political organising?

A local environmental practice can change participation and livelihoods through the institutions organising it.

Earth & climateThinker · Selected readingBeginner friendly
Background and goal

No prior study required. Read the assigned passage; the route is an introduction, not a survey of the whole subject.

Map a fictional tree-planting programme’s ecological aim, participants, resource rights and political obstacles.

Your pathway

4 steps · 3 hours
  1. 01

    Begin in fifteen minutes

    0.25h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    First fifteen minutesWrite your initial answer to “How can environmental action also become political organising?” in three sentences. Keep it to compare with your final answer.
    Your outputThree-sentence starting answer
  2. 02

    Read the argument

    1h · week 1
    Wangari Maathai: Nobel Lecture

    Wangari Maathai · reference

    Opening third of the Nobel Lecture; record the argument rather than the award biography.

    Free full text

    Open the reading
    Reading notes and task

    Wangari Maathai: Nobel Lecture. Environmental organising and connections among ecological conditions, livelihoods and political participation. Trace the institutions as well as the trees.

    Try thisRead Opening third of the Nobel Lecture; record the argument rather than the award biography.. Mark one claim, its reason and a passage you do not yet understand.
    Your outputAnnotated argument
    Check your understanding

    Answer this question in your own words: How can environmental action also become political organising?

    Hint

    Name the claim, then explain why a reader might accept it.

    Compare with an example answer

    A local environmental practice can change participation and livelihoods through the institutions organising it.

    What to look for

    • States a claim that addresses the question
    • Connects the claim to a passage or observation
    • Separates the author’s argument from personal agreement

    Common mistake: Summarising a biography instead of explaining the argument.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

  3. 03

    Try the idea

    1h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisMap a fictional tree-planting programme’s ecological aim, participants, resource rights and political obstacles.
    Your outputWorked example
    Check your understanding

    What would make your activity a convincing example?

    Hint

    Map a fictional tree-planting programme’s ecological aim, participants, resource rights and political obstacles.

    Compare with an example answer

    A useful response carries out the task: Map a fictional tree-planting programme’s ecological aim, participants, resource rights and political obstacles. It records the observation or passage used and explains how it bears on the question.

    What to look for

    • Completes the specific task
    • Shows evidence or reasoning rather than only a conclusion
    • Identifies an alternative explanation or reading

    Common mistake: Presenting an opinion without showing the example it rests on.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

  4. 04

    Explain what changed

    0.75h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisRevise your initial answer. Include one passage, one reason and one limit: A compelling narrative of a programme does not replace evaluating its specific ecological and social outcomes.
    Your outputRevised answer with a reading reference
    Check your understanding

    What is one conclusion this reading does not establish?

    Hint

    Test the boundary: A compelling narrative of a programme does not replace evaluating its specific ecological and social outcomes.

    Compare with an example answer

    A compelling narrative of a programme does not replace evaluating its specific ecological and social outcomes.

    What to look for

    • States a specific limit
    • Explains why the reading does not warrant the stronger conclusion
    • Distinguishes a limitation from dismissing the work

    Common mistake: Treating a useful interpretation as an unrestricted fact.

    Start this pathway to keep your answers in My learning.

All 1 resources

Background, different viewpoints, and further reading.

  • Wangari Maathai: Nobel Lecture

    Wangari Maathaireferencecore

    Environmental organising and connections among ecological conditions, livelihoods and political participation. Trace the institutions as well as the trees.

    Opening third of the Nobel Lecture; record the argument rather than the award biography.

Continue learning

  • Study Wangari Maathai

    Introduces the question and vocabulary used in the longer selected reading.

    Earth & climateSome background