Michael J Schuck
Electronic classrooms are the new reality for millions of teachers and students worldwide. Reliable online resources are needed now more than ever.
Healing Earth is a proven, free online textbook in environmental science for beginning college students, upper level secondary school students, and adult learners.
Since its launch in 2016, Healing Earth’s English and Spanish versions have annually engaged over 150,000 students and teachers in 140 countries. Healing Earth is endorsed by the international Jesuit Secretariats of Higher Education and Secondary Education and received the Vatican’s Expanded Reason Award in 2017 for excellence in teaching.
Healing Earth is an integral, global, and living online textbook in environmental science. Inspired by Pope Francis’ call for an integral ecology, each of Healing Earth’s six chapters on biodiversity, energy, natural resources, water, food, and global climate change present scientific knowledge, ethical analysis, spiritual reflection, and a call to action.
The content, examples and lessons in Healing Earth are global, drawing from each of six world regions: South America, Africa, Europe, South Asia, Pacific Asia, and North America. Healing Earth is a living textbook, responding to new data, teacher and student contributions, and helpful edits are on an ongoing basis.
Some teachers use Healing Earth as the main textbook in their environmental science and environmental ethics courses. Others use Healing Earth’s chapters and sections as rich additions to their already existing course resources. All are aided by the textbook’s popup glossary and detailed Teacher Guide.
However it is used, Healing Earth’s goal remains the same: help teachers and students at every level and every region grow into integral ecologists. Let’s dare to imagine a healed Earth, willing to put our hands, hearts, and minds to the task.
For more information, explore the Healing Earth website and contact us at ijep@luc.edu.
Previous Ecojesuit articles: Expanded Reason Award for Healing Earth (2017), Healing Earth (2016) and Healing Earth, Living Text (2014)
Michael J. Schuck is the Co-Director of the International Jesuit Ecology Project and Professor at the Department of Theology and Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago. He can be reached at mschuck@luc.edu.
