Believe it or not, I have submitted my PhD dissertation. Yes, like you, I was starting to think we would never hear those words but there they are in writing. This, of course, is the outcome of the research which many of you contributed to - or expressed an interest in - in one way or another sometime between 2009-2012 and which I remain deeply grateful for. It seems a long time ago now and it has been a bit of an arduous process but I am almost there: we just need to hope that the examiners review it favourably and I defend my work well enough in order to graduate in March 2014.

So, in focusing on finishing up, I have not been able to dedicate much time (or "mojo-vation") for other more popular writings, news, creative pieces or updates such as this. However, this overdue newsletter summarizes some of the posts over the past months which you may have missed or may alternatively be keen to revisit.

Ebbs and lulls in my world don't imply that the same is happening in the big outside world. On the contrary, recently there has been a flurry of studies, films, popular news and initiatives related to connectedness with nature, nature experience and its implications for human wellbeing. I've listed some in the "Around the Web" section below.

Throughout the coming year, I hope to make digestible snippets of my voluminous dissertation available to readers through more easy to access media (e.g. writings, videos). This will be alongside a few other plans currently in the making. In the meantime, please take some moments to view the presentations, films, writings and news below.

~ Matt Z

Dancing With Thoreau
View the trailer and support this promising upcoming feature film about connectedness with nature, its benefits and how, as "a different kind of environmental activism", connectedness can be optimized through our encounters with nature to become healthier and better people. read more and view trailer ≫

Project Wild Thing
David Bond is concerned. His kids' waking hours are dominated by a cacophony of marketing, and a screen dependence threatening to turn them into glassy-eyed zombies. In an attempt to compete with the brands, which take up a third of his daughter's life, Bond appoints himself Marketing Director for Nature. Like any self-respecting salesman, he sets about developing a campaign and a logo. With the help of a number of bemused professionals, he is soon selling Nature to British families. His product is free, plentiful and has proven benefits - but is Nature past its sell-by date? read more and view trailer ≫

Connecting to Nature – What Does This Mean and How Do You Do It?
Facilitator Erica Gurner gives her interpretation of connectedness based on her experience: "People ask me what I do in my work and I tell them that I run programs that are about connecting to nature for wellbeing and sustainability. After almost a year of doing this under my own steam, I'm still not comfortable with that response because people find it hard to understand what is meant by connecting to nature; wellbeing and sustainability. read more ≫

4 / 5 UK Children Disconnected From Nature
A groundbreaking three-year research project undertaken by the RSPB has found that only 21 per cent of children in the UK have a level of connectedness with nature that can be considered 'realistic and achievable' for all children. The report's findings were released at an event at the British Houses of Parliament on the16 October, 2013. read more ≫

Rewild The Child
Investigative journalist George Monbiot outlines why a week in the countryside is worth three months in a classroom by citing studies which show that children who spend time learning in natural environments not only perform better in a range of standard school subjects but exploring the natural world makes other subjects relevant and gets apathetic students more excited about learning. read more ≫

Art, Science & Nature: A Compelling Fusion
Check out these articles and initiatives which explore the nexus of art, science and the environment:
Are Artists the Ultimate Environmentalists? read more ≫
The University of California (Davis) offers an Art/Science Fusion program to bring the creative energies of the arts and the sciences into a mixture that catalyzes change and innovation in learning for people of all ages. read more ≫
Balance-Unbalance is a major International Conference designed to use art as a catalyst to explore intersections between nature, science, technology and society as we move into an era of both unprecedented ecological threats and transdisciplinary possibilities. read more ≫

eyes4earth.org acts as an outreach portal for research being led by Matthew Zylstra and based at Stellenbosch University (Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology and Faculty of Education) and housed within the TsamaHUB's trandisciplinary doctoral programme in sustainability. Between 2009 – 2011, Matthew's PhD research was funded by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (C•I•B). The views, opinions and material contained on eyes4earth.org are of the researcher and not necessarily endorsed by the C•I•B, TsamaHUB, Stellenbosch University or other listed collaborators. eyes4earth.org is supported by the EarthCollective Network.

Design by Andrew Zylstra (EarthCollective Media).

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