To truly understand both the local and global damage done to the global ecosystem – in terms of short-term and long-term consequences – it is first necessary for a person to have a deep perspective of this ecosystem, specifically a thorough understanding of the relationships between all sub-systems interacting as part of the global ecosystem – including human social systems and institutions.  In this poster I describe several unique aspects of virtual environments as potential affordances for facilitating humans' achievement of this deeper perspective and understanding of interrelated sub-systems, based on connections between ecological literacy, systems thinking, and understanding complex systems.
This deep understanding is a pillar of ecological literacy, which cannot be approached without several  substantial perceptual shifts within any person toward a “systems thinking” mindset.  Three substantial outcomes of these perceptual shifts are, potentially: 1) increased awareness of resilience in all self-organizing systems – and an understanding of its fundamental importance to the healthy function of any system, 2) increased awareness for the necessity of adaptivity in humans as we continue our existence on this planet full of interacting systems, and 3) an increase in our ability to adapt within the limitations of systems resilience (i.e., an increase in adaptive capacity).
Beyond a proactive perspective of systems events, humans that have become “systems thinkers” can not only reduce possible further damage to systems equilibrium from short-sighted reactive solutions (a form of bounded rationality), they can understand systems interactions well enough to prevent truly major disasters.  A key to this prevention is an ability (and willingness) to become stewards for the natural processes requisite for maintaining resilience within and across the interacting sub-systems of the global ecosystem.  This stewardship is based partly upon the allowance of any given system to pursue its own boundaries, even if that means socio-cultural discomfort (in the short-term) for the human race.

Results/Conclusions

As educators, we must build learning systems for practice of this stewardship – systems that foster both the appreciation and the understanding necessary for achieving the adaptive capacity crucial for accepting (and celebrating) these socio-cultural discomforts.  Considering the high complexity of these systems, virtual environments are an appropriate platform for guided experiential learning for stewardship within these interacting systems.  Several example scenarios using virtual environments for guided inquiry practice leading to understanding and appreciating complexity for environmental stewardship are described.