We as humans have an important role to play when confronted with an issue which is in any way concerned with our relationship to nature. Although we coexist on this planet with numerous other species of life, ours is the only one whose decisions can potentially have a significant influence on the status quo of the delicate system that is Earth. Our attitudes and connections towards nature are important because they directly affect how we will realize the goal of sustainability. Nonetheless, in order to begin this task we must first ascertain what it is exactly that we are working with. The words ‘nature’ and ‘sustainability’ are often used but rarely defined, therefore an interdisciplinary approach is required to provide a working
This two-pronged approach captures the essence of sustainability because it accounts for both the present time and the future.

It is only with the right attitude and connection with nature that we can begin to move towards sustainability. This is simply not the time to accept defeat by thinking that we have already removed nature from the surface of the Earth. If I may say so, McKibben (1989)’s pessimist views can do nothing to help us in dealing with the world’s current issues, because to accept his ideas is the equivalent of giving up, and all our environmentally conscious efforts would have been in vain. “To think ourselves capable of causing ‘the end of nature’ is an act of great hubris, for it means forgetting the wildness that dwells everywhere within and around us.” (Cronon 1995 pp. 89). There will always be people who have no affection for nature, and so the built and urban environment is where they are content and comfortable. These ideas are perfectly acceptable as everyone is entitled to their own view. However, our interpretation of sustainability involves the “simultaneous pursuit

of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity,” and to do this we need people who have the right mindset and attitude towards nature. For instance, it