Social Work and Work and Human Services Responsibilities in a Time of Climate Change Country, Community and Complexity

This book provides an accessible, research-informed text for students, social workers and other social service workers and community development workers focused on practically linking climate change to social justice. The book is designed for: • Those who want to embed an understanding of climate change and its social justice impacts in their everyday practice. • Those keen to explore the explicit but also often invisible ways we see injustice playing out and exacerbated by climate change. • Those interested in embarking on research and action which addresses climate change in an inclusive, creative and fair way. Utilising existing and current research with organisations, government and communities, it examines key themes and contexts where work has been done and where more work is needed to design and implement inclusive and just action on climate change. With a core position revolving around the idea and practice of justice – for earth and everything that lives here, it draws on First Nations worldviews, critical analysis, community-led approaches and complexity theory, to outline some practical ways to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change as well as a strategy to reshape our life and work for the longer term. It will be required reading for all scholars, students and professionals of social work, social welfare, community development, international development, community health and environmental and community education. This book provides an accessible, research-informed text for students, social workers and other social service workers and community development workers focused on practically linking climate change to social justice. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgement 14 How we name and use key concepts throughout the book 14 1 Starting the conversation 16 About this book 17 The start 18 First Nations Worldviews – the first sunrise 19 Complexity theory 20 Community development 21 A note on context – neo-liberalism 23 Social work and human services: what’s climate change got to do with it? 24 Research and its roles 25 Possibilities 25 The layout of this book 26 The authors 28 2 Ideas in action 33 Connecting social and ecological justice: exploring frames and ideas 33 Responsibility 36 Risk 38 Resilience 39 Making sense of action: mitigation and adaptation? 41 Locating social work and human services – ethics, care and social justice 42 Care, ethics and intersections 43 Ideas to action 45 3 First Nations Worldviews – the first sunrise 50 Author standpoint 50 The first sunrise – time immemorial 51 First Nations Worldviews 52 Climate action and Aboriginal Worldviews 56 Cultural burning, a renewed interest 58 What is cultural burning? 59 Environmental justice 59 The Victorian Traditional Owner Cultural Fire Strategy 60 Human rights and social work 62 Practical tools 63 Cultural humility 64 Decolonisation 64 Listening deeply 64 Acknowledgement 65 Critical reflection 65 4 Complexity 69 Introduction 69 The development of complexity theory 71 Complexity theory and social systems 72 Focus concepts 73 Convergence 73 Emergence 75 Self-organising systems 76 Feedback loops 77 Adaptation 78 Incorporating a critical lens 78 Wicked problems 79 Human services and collaborative complexity 81 Action research and complexity thinking 81 Implications for social work and human service practice 82 Connections are key to complex systems 84 Complexity thinking acknowledges and values diverse perspectives 85 Complexity theory integrates micro-, meso-, macro- and chrono-systems 85 In the life of complex systems and wicked problems, there is no end point, only progression 86 Arising from this, small actions can have large consequences (and vice versa) 86 Social workers and human service practitioners are agents for change 86 Complexity thinking encourages innovation and optimism in an uncertain world 87 Conclusion 87 5 The basics 91 Food 92 Alternative food systems and their challenges 94 Promising directions 96 Energy 101 Renewable energy and social justice 102 Community renewable energy projects 105 Water 109 The Murray-Darling Basin 111 Social work and human services 115 6 Acting for change 121 Community development practice and climate change 121 Some useful conceptual tools 123 Understandings of power 124 Critical consciousness or conscientisation 124 Recognition 125 Dadirri (as practice) 126 A few words of caution: the ‘c’ word 127 Acting for change as individuals 128 At home 132 At the office 134 With our neighbourhoods 135 7 Acting for change together: collective action 141 The dominance of individual choice and why we need to reconnect collective networks for action 141 Collective action persists and re-emerges 143 Swimming against the tide not in a good way 145 What are we talking about when we say, ‘collective action’? 146 Self-organising systems 148 Drawing down on social capital and local networks 150 Widening and deepening the view: collective action at multiple scales 151 Collective action: not as simple as it looks 155 8 Acting for change: mobilising policy 160 Public policy 160 Wicked social problems 162 Climate change and policy 165 National policy 168 Global policy making 169 Positive steps 171 Social work and human service practitioners as policy actors 172 9 Emergent moments: when it all goes wrong 182 Drawing from our research to make sense of ideas, context and action when disasters bring climate change to our attention 183 Context 1 – coastal communities 184 Context 2– peri-urban communities on the outskirts of a capital city 188 Context 3 – region comprising rural, urban, coastal and inland communities 192 Learning from emergent moments 193 10 Emergent moments: the future 195 Introduction 195 Mental health 197 Scenario 198 What is the change we suggest? 198 What is the role of social workers and human service workers? 198 Health 199 Scenario 200 What is the change we suggest? 200 What is the role of social and human service workers? 201 Housing 202 Scenario 203 What is the change we suggest? 203 What is the role of social workers? 204 Child protection 204 Scenario 205 What is the change we suggest? 205 What might this mean for social workers and human service workers? 206 Income support 206 Scenario 207 What needs to change? 207 What is the role of social and human service workers? 207 Place- based (non-government) organisations 208 Scenario 209 What needs to change? 209 What is the role of social and human service workers? 210 Conclusion 210 11 Case studies 212 Case study: food systems, water and workers 212 Water risk as plantings grow 212 Harvest labour: challenges and responses 213 Case study: Aboriginal knowledges and community voices 214 We’d love a flood about now... 215 They were invited... 215 Case study: Knitting Nannas 216 ‘What are you knitting? – A revolution’ 216 The Nannas as a self-organising system 216 Craftivism in action 217 The importance of interconnectedness 218 Case study: urban heat sinks 218 Impacts of heatwaves 218 Perceptions of climate change 219 Case study: beyond the hero narrative: recognising community collective action 220 Community in action 221 Index 224 Social,Work;,Human,Services;,Food,Systems;,Energy;,Climate,Change;,Community,Development;,Mobilising,Policy;,Emergent,moments Social Work,Human Services,Food Systems,Energy,Climate Change,Community Development,Mobilising Policy,Emergent moments "This book provides an accessible, research informed text for students, social workers and other social service workers and community development workers focused on practically linking climate change to social justice. It will be required reading for all scholars, students and professionals of social work, social welfare, community development, international development, community health, and environmental and community education"-- Provided by publisher