Social Ecology
Social – from L. socialis “united, living with others,” Ecology “branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments…” (www.etymonline.com). Our school uses the term “social ecology” to help us understand the cause and effect between human beings and their environments. For example, we all live in this world, and this world has different environments – from one continent to another, as well as from one community to another. A person’s health and wellbeing – physical, emotional, and spiritual – has as much to do with a person’s decisions in life as it does to the environments in which that person is raised. A person is always a part of an ecosystem that they can both impact and also be impacted. The “social” in “social ecology” also helps us understand that environments are different – some better than others – because of human manipulation of those environments. Do you know how an environment can be impacted by a human being? Think of differences in housing, stores, community centers, employment, etc.

HKHC Chicago IL Part 2 from Healthy Kids,Healthy Communities on Vimeo.