The Earth Speaks
A Powerful Tribute To Our Home In Space

Author: Steve Van Matre, Bill Weiler
Format: Paperback
Length: 187 pages
Publisher: The Institute for Earth Education
ISBN: 0917011007

Notes: With beautiful block prings by Gwen Frostic.

Item #: BTES

Price: $12.95

Order fulfillment provided by The Simple Living Network. Order by phone 800-318-5725 or 509-395-2323.

A collection of images and impressions captured by those who have listened to the earth with their hearts --

John Muir, Walt Whitman
Annie Dillard, John Burroughs
Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold
Henry David Thoreau, Loren Eiselay
Gary Snyder, Edward Abbey
Sigurd Olson, Wendell Berry
and many more...

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.

Excerpts:

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.

• Steve Van Matre

Copyright © 1983 The Institute for Earth Education

Reviews:

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

About The Author:

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.

Other Information:

The Institute for Earth Education is the world's largest organization for educators in the environmental movement, offering an alternative to the supplemental, infusion approach to educating students about our environmental problems. There are formal Branches underway in a dozen countries, with an international home base at Cedar Cove in Greenville, West Virginia.

Related Resources:

Earth Education... A New Beginning For All Those Who Love This Planet & Its Life
      By Steve Van Matre (Paperback)

Sunship Earth An Earth Education Program For Getting To Know Your Place In Space
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Earthkeepers Four Keys For Helping Young People Live In Harmony With The Earth
      By Steve Van Matre, Bruce Johnson (Paperback)

SUNSHIP III Perception & Choice For The Journey Ahead
      By Steve Van Matre, Bruce Johnson (Paperback)

Rangers Of The Earth Young People Responding To The Planet's Cry For Help
      By Steve Van Matre & Laurie Farber (Paperback)

The Earth Speaks A Powerful Tribute To Our Home In Space
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The Living More Lightly Profile Duplication Masters For Group Study
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