Based on the life experiences of six prominent environmental voices – Fritjof Capra, David Quammen, Brian McLaren, Douglas Wood, Sylvia Earle, and Louise Chawla – I recommend changes in curriculum content for general science courses, specifically biology courses, to increase the ecological identity of our next generation. Experiences that allowed these individuals to develop an emotional connection to the natural world were an important component of their ecological identity. Coupling outdoor experiences with the development of systemic and ecological thinking skills was also crucial. Changing the science curriculum to reflect more holistic and systemic thinking by integrating with humanities and reflective practices is a necessary step to create a population with a highly developed ecological identity.

Keywords:
Ecological identity, ecological literacy, environmental education, environmental literacy, K–12 education, biology education
© 2016 National Association of Biology Teachers. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Reprints and Permissions web page, www.ucpress.edu/journals.php?p=reprints.
2016
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