Contributors to the archive of hope and cautionary tales have undertaken to create a digital archive of stories about how scholars and community members are collaborating on projects that work towards increased environmental sustainability and social justice.

Humanities for the Environment is an international system of observatories, and ASU serves as the headquarters of the North American Observatory. The aim of the HFE Observatories, funded in their first phase by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is to identify, explore and demonstrate the contributions that humanistic and artistic disciplines can make to understanding and engaging with global environmental challenges.

This pilot project seeks to establish a model for other communities to employ as they consider the future of food in their regions.

Contributors, including senior academics, community members and students raise questions about the consequences of ecological transformation and control for wildlife, plants and the human-nature relationship. They examine both traditional notions of stewardship (e.g., the idea of overlooking) and also cultural blindspots in traditional modes of interacting with nature.