EcoLabs

While research­ing sus­tain­abil­i­ty graph­ics for my M.A. Final Project, I came across Eco­Labs and the con­cept of eco-lit­er­a­cy. Eco­Labs is a not for prof­it net­work of design­ers and visu­al artists who cre­ate mate­ri­als, projects and pro­grams that sup­port eco­log­i­cal lit­er­a­cy. The aim of the orga­ni­za­tion is to nur­ture whole sys­tems think­ing, fos­ter eco­log­i­cal lit­er­a­cy, and cre­ate an alter­na­tive cul­tur­al vision that will dri­ve trans­for­ma­tion­al change to meet the goals of a ful­ly sus­tain­able soci­ety.

“Eco­log­i­cal lit­er­a­cy — the under­stand­ing of the prin­ci­ples of orga­ni­za­tion that ecosys­tems have evolved to sus­tain the web of life — is the first step on the road to sus­tain­abil­i­ty. The sec­ond step is the move towards ecode­sign. We need to apply our eco­log­i­cal knowl­edge to the fun­da­men­tal redesign of our tech­nolo­gies and social insti­tu­tions, so as to bridge the cur­rent gap between human design and the eco­log­i­cal sus­tain­able sys­tems of nature.”

– Fritjof Capra (2003)