Caring Practices for Social-Ecological Systems
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Provided by: STEM Teaching Tools|Published on: October 27, 2025
Articles/WebsitesScientist Reviewed
K-12
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Synopsis
- This teacher-focused article explains the importance of helping students foster a respect for other forms of life and develop a kinship with the "more-than-human."
- The resource also provides ideas for implementation in the classroom, recommended actions, and reflection questions for teachers.
Subjects: Science
Authors: STEM Teaching Tools
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This is a beautiful concept that will foster a sense of stewardship, appreciation, and responsibility in students who are introduced to it.
- Students will love communing with nature and getting to know organisms around them at a deeper level.
Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with the interdependence of species within their ecological communities.
- Some of the links are broken.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Students may benefit from hearing stories of how humans have developed an appreciation for and learned from the more-than-human. Sy Montgomery writes beautiful stories about her work alongside animals, and she is featured in this podcast episode and this one. Teachers can use one or both of these podcasts to hook students into an author study about Sy Montgomery or another author who may help students develop respect for all life on Earth.
- Another author and scientist who can help students understand what it's like to respect and appreciate the "more-than-human" is Robin Wall Kimmerer. She is featured in this podcast episode and talks about Indigenous knowledge, plants, and her experience. Teachers can use this podcast episode to introduce an author study or a class read of her very popular book Braiding Sweetgrass.
- Teachers may be able to tweak the reflection questions to journal prompts for older students to reflect on their experience with non-human life on Earth. For example, they can answer the question, "How are [you] currently building sustained relationships with the non-human inhabitants of local ecosystems?"
- To foster the appreciation for other beings in their local area, young learners may benefit from many opportunities to go out in the school's forest or another green or blue space and time to exist within them, taking time to notice and wonder about the organisms they encounter.
This resource focuses on engaging students in developing deep commitments to all the inhabitants of an ecosystem. The misconception that humans are separate from ecosystems is directly challenged and is supported by numerous external links in the text, including peer-reviewed journal articles. A few links are broken, but this resource is still strong in its presentation of ecological systems and is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
