The NEW ECOLOGY Project
bringing people and the planet into harmony
Ecology: Noun (Oxford Dictionary)
The Invitation
My name is Nicki Mosley and this portfolio is an invitation for you to explore my journey of self inquiry and community change. A demonstration of this exploration can be seen on my blog: Living Yoga. It provides evidence of a yogic practice and philosophy integrating with my academic learning and processes about complexity and chaos, critical pedagogy and praxis, ethics and change . This portfolio is also an invitation to observe my participation in the external world through my practicum experiences with Four Worlds Center for Development Learning and in trauma sensitive yoga at the Trauma Center in Boston. In addition, my professional experiences working with the Women of Courage Program and Shunda Creek Wilderness Addiction Treatment Center, are examples of this participation. I hope this portfolio is an example of my personal, professional, and academic work that aims to align my relationship with community and the planet in a sustainable way through choices, actions, ethics and a critical lens.
The Concept
The concept of NEW ECOLOGY Project emerged from an independent study called 'The Relationship Between Yoga, Mindfulness, and Community Development'. The course was a vehicle to explore the relationship between the self in the natural environment through exploring Eastern theories and practices of mindfulness and yoga, in addition to community capacity building towards social action and change. The outcome of this course was the development of a four-day module. The module invites participants in a journey of self-inquiry to investigate their personal values within a group setting. Over the duration of the four days, participants transition from looking inward, to then explore how they participate in the world in alignment with their values through choices that contribute to social and eco-change.
The Framework
The NEW ECOLOGY Project is a framework for social and eco-change and transformation. It accounts from the micro through to macro systems – a person’s spirit and organic body through to the planet Earth. It is a relational model that uses holistic practices of mind, body, and spirit to account for intra and interpersonal growth and change. Natural elements are consistently referred to in metaphor. A core principle within this model is fostering relationship with the Earth to understand the interdependent nature of life and to support healing.
Throughout the past two years, I have been reconfiguring my own ecology
Navigating The Framework
My portfolio is a based upon a framework I call the NEW ECOLOGY Project. Each tab explores how my past and present experiences integrate to inform this framework. A description of each tab is described below to support navigating my porfolio.
- the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
The Invitation
My name is Nicki Mosley and this portfolio is an invitation for you to explore my journey of self inquiry and community change. A demonstration of this exploration can be seen on my blog: Living Yoga. It provides evidence of a yogic practice and philosophy integrating with my academic learning and processes about complexity and chaos, critical pedagogy and praxis, ethics and change . This portfolio is also an invitation to observe my participation in the external world through my practicum experiences with Four Worlds Center for Development Learning and in trauma sensitive yoga at the Trauma Center in Boston. In addition, my professional experiences working with the Women of Courage Program and Shunda Creek Wilderness Addiction Treatment Center, are examples of this participation. I hope this portfolio is an example of my personal, professional, and academic work that aims to align my relationship with community and the planet in a sustainable way through choices, actions, ethics and a critical lens.
The Concept
The concept of NEW ECOLOGY Project emerged from an independent study called 'The Relationship Between Yoga, Mindfulness, and Community Development'. The course was a vehicle to explore the relationship between the self in the natural environment through exploring Eastern theories and practices of mindfulness and yoga, in addition to community capacity building towards social action and change. The outcome of this course was the development of a four-day module. The module invites participants in a journey of self-inquiry to investigate their personal values within a group setting. Over the duration of the four days, participants transition from looking inward, to then explore how they participate in the world in alignment with their values through choices that contribute to social and eco-change.
The Framework
The NEW ECOLOGY Project is a framework for social and eco-change and transformation. It accounts from the micro through to macro systems – a person’s spirit and organic body through to the planet Earth. It is a relational model that uses holistic practices of mind, body, and spirit to account for intra and interpersonal growth and change. Natural elements are consistently referred to in metaphor. A core principle within this model is fostering relationship with the Earth to understand the interdependent nature of life and to support healing.
Throughout the past two years, I have been reconfiguring my own ecology
Navigating The Framework
My portfolio is a based upon a framework I call the NEW ECOLOGY Project. Each tab explores how my past and present experiences integrate to inform this framework. A description of each tab is described below to support navigating my porfolio.
- Home: This tab describes why the NEW ECOLOGY project integrates both micro (spirit) and macro (Earth) systems into the framework
- Micro ~ International Social Work & Yoga: This tab explores yoga, a practice that supports the micro system, and it’s role within a macro context.
- Macro ~ the Earth: This tab describes my eco-social work model of practice that informs the NEW ECOLOGY framework.
- Grounding Practice: The project incorporates models and theories of practice discussed in this tab
- Cedar Tree: This tab is the point of integration discussing social work, yoga, and the Earth.
- Lessons: The moral of this story is relationships.
- Water: This tab discusses the paradoxical world of social work and how yoga integrates into the paradox.
- Inspiration: Within this tab I talk about the people, places, and music that inspired my along the way.
- Bibliography: This a list of some of the literature that informs my model of practice.
- Assignments: Links are provided throughout the website to different assignments listed in this tab.
How does this relate to social work?
Let me expand. Social work is a profession of ‘service;’ however, it emerged and was informed by the industrial revolution and modernity. Due to being part of modern society’s structure, parts of the social work system mimic and parallel the oppressive nature of our modernization (see 'Complexity of Globalization' assignment). For example, the profession often closely aligns with values and assumptions of the economic model, determinism, consumerism, and domination. Over time, I do not think social work has adapted and had a quick enough response to the environmental crisis on this planet.
In response to this, I think social workers need to take responsibility for a role that contributes to a new foundation of professional values and assumptions grounded in the notions of:
The NEW ECOLOGY Project was birthed from a process of integration and it speaks to the tension present between values and participation in creating a sustainable planet. The framework invites people into a process integration through an adult learning process and inquiry to investigate their role of self in this tension. Please see the module within Assignments titled - The New Ecology Project. It provides a step by step breakdown of the different possible activities to include in the framework.
Throughout my second year of studies and personal pursuits, a demand for the transformation of human consciousness to support sustainable living on this planet, continued to be strong common thread amongst literature I reviewed. The NEW ECOLOGY Project is my attempt to offer a model of practice and framework that could support the shift of human consciousness.
Let me expand. Social work is a profession of ‘service;’ however, it emerged and was informed by the industrial revolution and modernity. Due to being part of modern society’s structure, parts of the social work system mimic and parallel the oppressive nature of our modernization (see 'Complexity of Globalization' assignment). For example, the profession often closely aligns with values and assumptions of the economic model, determinism, consumerism, and domination. Over time, I do not think social work has adapted and had a quick enough response to the environmental crisis on this planet.
In response to this, I think social workers need to take responsibility for a role that contributes to a new foundation of professional values and assumptions grounded in the notions of:
- complexity;
- there is wisdom in nature;
- belonging;
- everything is interdependent.
The NEW ECOLOGY Project was birthed from a process of integration and it speaks to the tension present between values and participation in creating a sustainable planet. The framework invites people into a process integration through an adult learning process and inquiry to investigate their role of self in this tension. Please see the module within Assignments titled - The New Ecology Project. It provides a step by step breakdown of the different possible activities to include in the framework.
Throughout my second year of studies and personal pursuits, a demand for the transformation of human consciousness to support sustainable living on this planet, continued to be strong common thread amongst literature I reviewed. The NEW ECOLOGY Project is my attempt to offer a model of practice and framework that could support the shift of human consciousness.