Why we have conversations and not consultation
We’re used to being ‘consulted with’ on environmental issues. It turns out, this is a terrible methodology. This is why, in Restore the Bay, we talk about conversations, not consultation. There are certain words we never use. For example, no-one is here to teach anyone. It’s not about community education … which implies there is something you don’t know. That’s hardly the point. The key to unlocking nature-based solutions is giving you the chance to think differently, understand each other and reveal new ideas and actions. It’s a more nuanced approach. It’s led by you. And it works.
What is the answer if we don’t know the question?
One way to look at this is that there is no right question (or answer) to ‘how do we restore the bay?’ It’s a process. Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy provides the metaphor.
In possibly one of the most important conservation books every written, Adams fictionalises scientists that task a supercomputer ‘Deep Thought’ to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Seven and a half million years later, they gather around Deep Thought and press it for an answer. To which Deep Thought replies "You're really not going to like it” . After copious demands from the scientists, Deep Thought simply says … "Forty-two”, adding "I checked it very thoroughly … and that quite definitely is the answer.”
The problem, as Deep Thought subsequently says is “that you've never actually known what the question is" and that “… once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means.”
AI cannot reveal the way we connect with ecosystems because no-one has ever asked. AI can only see patterns in data that exists in a digital format. Most of what we need to know about how to manage our environment sits in understanding personal connection to nature and is contained in our minds.
Conversations reveal possibilities we never considered
Having conversations enables our community to learn from itself. Someone asked me the other day ‘how are you planning to use our data, will it be to make proposals?’ Another person said ‘I cannot see anything on your website that links the study to protecting marine parks and sanctuaries’.
The proposals and protection of the sites you value comes from you, not us. If anyone forces decisions onto your community, conservation fails. If you’re asking the question ‘how do I protect what I value?’ Then you need a process to come up with your own ideas for how to protect the Bay. To do that means starting new conversations and enabling information flow between you and others in your community, otherwise we’ll all make the wrong decisions. Once the right questions have revealed themselves in this process, in the words of Deep Thought, ‘you'll know what the answer means’ .
Restore the Bay sets up an environment for collective knowledge-sharing and enables outcomes impossible to achieve any other way. When we challenge each other to think about our connection to nature, we find new parallels in our understanding. It’s both enlightening and cathartic. We ask questions, not of a ‘superior intelligence’ (Deep Thought was a metaphor), but of a much more sophisticated intelligence (our community) … revealing patterns and considerations previously hidden.
Attend a Workshop
Ultimately this is why our workshops are important. That and because of how we are using the information and why we would love to see you on the 21st June!!
Read about what we do and how your information will be used.
Register here
Afternoon workshop on 21 June from midday until 3pm (lunch provided)
In a later post we’ll talk about the complex system tool that underpins everything we’re doing. We’ll look at how the simple information we’re gathering is part of an extremely complex system; why it’s robust evidence for decisions; and how this will further empower our community to look after the Bay.