The environment and social work: An overview and introduction

Coates J, Gray M. The environment and social work: An overview and introduction This article provides an overview and analysis of social work's engagement with the modern environmental movement. Major trends and themes in environmental social work scholarship and the significance of interdisciplinarity are discussed. Attention is drawn to the importance of a broad knowledge base and of working in unison with other professions in order to respond effectively to the many dimensions of climate change and environmental degradation. Responding to the challenges of environmental destruction has opened opportunities for the profession to review its foundational knowledge and obligations to people and environments. The articles in this Special Issue are introduced and include theoretical frameworks, examples and case studies of what social workers are doing, or might do, in relation to environmental and educational initiatives.