J. Stan Rowe
(1918-2004)
Stan Rowe was a well-known ecologist and writer. He was also a mentor to many searching for a worldview that recognized the beauty and surpassing value of the Earth, or 'Home Place'.
An Albertan by birth, Rowe was trained as a geo-ecologist, with a background in botany, forestry, and landscape ecology. He worked as a research forester with Forestry Canada for nineteen years and in the 1970s and 80s was Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan. After retiring from academic work, Rowe moved to New Denver, B.C. where he remained active as a writer, speaker and activist.
Rowe was well known in the scientific community for his pioneering article on "The level of integration concept in ecology." Published in the Journal of Ecology in 1961, it was a landmark piece that changed the way ecologists thought about landscape.
Stan authored the book Forest Regions of Canada (1959)-a frequent text in university courses-and Home Place: Essays in Ecology (1990; 2002). At the time of his death, a third book (to be titled Earth Alive) was nearing completion. As well, he authored numerous articles and was a celebrated public speaker on ecosystems and human ecology. He was the first Chair of the Saskatchewan Environmental Advisory Council.
Rowe received a number of awards, including the Rosalie Early Memorial Award, the Canadian Forestry Achievement Award, and the J.B. Harkin Conservation Award for his significant contribution to protecting Canada's parks and wilderness areas. The Canadian Botanical Association also established an award in his name.
A profound understanding of ecology backed Stan's philosophical views on the surpassing value of the Ecosphere. His writing on this topic is helping to redefine the way people view the world. Stan rejected the use of the word "environment" to describe the natural world since it suggests a surrounding space separate from its inhabitants. Instead, he coined the word Ecosphere to better characterize the marvelously diverse planet we inhabit. It would be even more accurate, he said, to think of the world as our "Home Place", or as he put it "the Home of all homes."
"The reality of the world is not people and separate 'other things'," he said. "Nor is the Earth a machine whose secrets lie in its fragmented parts. It is-beyond all understanding-an integrated Ecosphere of marvelous creativity."
Rowe had a profound interest in words. He believed the way we name things affects how we think, and the way we think determines how we act. The solution to humankind's assault on nature was, he thought, to reevaluate what it really is. If we conceptualize the world as our home, which it is, we will more likely treat it as we treat our homes, with affection.
Stan took risks for his beliefs. He was a conscientious objector in WW II and was sent to teach school in internment camps for Japanese Canadians. In 1997, he was jailed briefly for protesting logging operations near New Denver.
For a collection of Stan's essays visit http://www.ecospherics.net/index.html.