POWER OF BLUE ECOLOGY AS A GUIDING PHILOSOPHY: “It matters what stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories. Solutions lie in the new stories we tell,” stated Dr. Serpil Oppermann, Director of the Environmental Humanities Center at Cappadocia University (Turkey)
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story (REPRODUCED IN PART BELOW).
The edition published on November 18, 2025 featured four thought leaders – Michael Blackstock in British Columbia; Jane Wei-Skillern and Zbigniew Grabowski in the United States; and Serpil Oppermann in Turkey. Reflections by the latter three within this story illustrate how the pioneering Blue Ecology work of Michael Blackstock in bridging the gap between Western and Indigenous perspectives resonates with each of them.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Seed change through the power of relationships and networks – conversations with four thought leaders
“The story behind the story has three parts, with each featuring a different thought leader. Read together, the three parts paint a picture of what could be. Michael Blackstock and my conversations with the trio yielded some gems about their hopes and aspirations. In the part that follows, we feature Serpil Oppermann,” stated Kim Stephens.
THOUGHT LEADER TWO: Serpil Oppermann believes hydrological systems react to human betrayal with extreme floods and extreme droughts
Dr. Serpil Oppermann has combined her passion for literature studies with quantum physics! Serpil Oppermann is a past President of the European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture, and the Environment.
KEY TAKEAWAY #1: It matters what stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories
“When I develop a theory, it has to have a grounding. I have to have evidence. My evidence comes from quantum physics. And now from oceanography and limnology. Reading scientific articles is liking reading novels or poems,” states Serpil Oppermann,
Solutions lie in the new stories we tell
“We have to rethink the traditional humanist idea that storytelling is all too human and that humans are the only species with the ability to tell stories. WHAT IF the world we cohabit with a myriad of nonhumans is also expressive and is story-filled?”
Serpil Oppermann’s vision is to use storytelling as a means to an end. Her mission is to be a bridge between the humanities and science studies. She is co-editor and catalyst behind the scenes for The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities which will be published in early 2026.
“Though it may sound like a bold claim, I want to affirm that solutions lie in the new stories we tell, and in stories told by aquatic narrative agencies that enable us to think with water.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #2:The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Blue Humanities features a chapter on Blue Ecology
“Floods and droughts. That is how water protests human betrayal. We need a mindset change in order to affect an attitude change about water. We affect water, and we are affected by water. Hydrological systems react to human betrayal with extreme floods and extreme droughts.”
An Indigenous perspective
“We invited Michael Blackstock to contribute a chapter on Blue Ecology because we think Michael is well-positioned to help us achieve an ambitious goal. We intend this handbook to represent the state of the art in Blue Humanities thinking across different disciplines, regions, theories, and methods,” explains Dr. Oppermann.
“Our Handbook is divided into four sections with a total of thirty-five chapters. Our hope is that these chapters will inform their readers, stimulate their critical imaginations, and leave them wanting to learn more about the discourse of the Blue Humanities.”
“We offer solutions. My solution is to recognize the distressing stories that aquatic agencies are telling us which change the way we tell our stories. It matters what stories we tell and HOW we tell those stories.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #3: Blue Humanities scholars challenge the Green Ecology view of the world
“I am an eco-critic and environmental humanities scholar. We work at the intersections of the sciences and the humanities. Environmental humanities is a field that focuses on the Anthropocene urgencies. But most of the time scholars are writing or talking about ecological devastation that is ongoing on the land.”
Blue Humanities shifts attention from land to ocean
“Most of the time, the focus is on Green Ecology. This new field, Blue Humanities, emerged in the early 2000s. People like me and Steve Mentz and others, many of whom are in the United States, challenged this green focus.”
KEY TAKEAWAY #4: Michael Blackstock developed the definition of “Natural Intelligence” and it is a centrepiece idea within The Blue Humanities Handbook
“The promotion of AI as the greatest thing since sliced bread is constant and we really must counterbalance that. A consequence of the AI drumbeat is that AI decouples humans from nature,” states Michael Blackstock.
“So, I thought, what is the opposite of AI? Well, it is Natural Intelligence! All my recent reading and thinking has flowed from that epiphany.”
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Seed change through the power of relationships and networks.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Jane-Wei-Skillern_power-of-a-relational-foundation_2025.pdf