Loyola University Chicago and the International Jesuit Ecology Project (IJEP) have launched Healing Earth, a free digital environmental science textbook. The textbook is intended for fourth-year secondary school students, first-year university students, adult learners, and independent learners worldwide. Unlike any other environmental science textbook, Healing Earth presents an integrated, global, and living approach to the ecological challenges we face on our extraordinary planet.

The International Jesuit Ecology Project (IJEP) is a three-year collaborative project between Loyola University Chicago faculty and scholars from Jesuit institutions around the world. Learn more about the project and collaboration: http://www.luc.edu/ijep

Loyola University Chicago and the International Jesuit Ecology Project (IJEP) have launched Healing Earth, a free digital environmental science textbook. Available online http://healingearth.ijep.net/, the textbook is intended for fourth-year secondary school students, first-year university students, adult learners, and independent learners worldwide. The text takes a global approach to environmental issues through Ignatian pedagogy—a method that challenges students to see scientifically, evaluate ethically, reflect spiritually, and act effectively. More than 90 scholars from Jesuit institutions across the world contributed to the project, which is already being utilized by educators in more than 40 cross-curricular classrooms teaching biology, theology, social science, fine arts, and public health courses.

Each of the textbook’s six chapters includes a case study that guides students through the Ignatian pedagogical approach, outlining the scientific, ethical, and spiritual issues raised in each example. There is also an online forum for students to discuss the intersection of environmental science and social issues highlighted in the book. Due to the dynamic nature of climate change and environmental science, the authors plan to make regular updates to the digital text, which will include updated resource links and video content. IJEP collaborators plan to move the project forward by creating additional resources for educators, which will include forums for lesson plan sharing and a teacher’s manual. To accommodate a global audience, the textbook is currently being translated into multiple languages.

View the textbook