ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 frames diversity as a source of sustainability solutions rather than as a problem. It describes two Multicultural Mindfulness practices – Culture-Conscious Listening and Global Praxis – to strengthen academic engagement with big-picture questions and culture competence. It presents Environmental Liberation Education as a structural empowerment approach for teachers and students to change routines with diversity, sustainability, and mindfulness circle activities, indoors with nature and outdoors. It shows the author’s transformative journey on a Multicultural Healthy Identity Quest with antibias-antiracist environmental consciousness setbacks and breakthroughs. It describes Three Transformative Tools for Environmental Liberation Education: Diversity Circles are inclusive learning communities for change; Multicultural Mindfulness is a peace-giving body-mind-culture-environment integration process; the Approach-in-Dimension is holistic humanization planning and evaluation. Chapter 1 offers culturally responsive social-emotional academic activities to reduce unsustainable systems by bridging arts and sciences. It explains how to connect human superdiversity and Earth’s biodiversity to subjects with culture and nature storytelling, inquiry methods, and interdisciplinary projects. It defines joyful justice transformative activities, on site and off, for academic engagement from Paulo Freire, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thich Nhat Hanh. It presents two Multicultural Mindfulness Activities and a journal question: Split-Second Conflict Resolution, Culture-Conscious Listening, and What’s a Transformative Teacher?
