Core Ecological Concepts Core Ecological Concepts Understanding
the patterns and processes by which nature sustains life is
central to ecological literacy. Fritjof Capra says that these
may be called principles of ecology, principles of
sustainability, principles of community, or even the basic facts
of life. In our work with teachers and schools, the Center for
Ecoliteracy has identified six of these principles that are
important for students to understand and be able to apply to the
real world. Recognizing these core ecological concepts is one of
the important results of our guiding principle, "Nature Is Our
Teacher," which is described in the "Explore" section of this
website. We present them again here for the guidance they can
provide to teachers as they plan lessons as part of schooling
for sustainability. All living things in an ecosystem are
interconnected through networks of relationship. They depend on
this web of life to survive. For example: In a garden, a network
of pollinators promotes genetic d