McKinnon and Alston have created an important resource for social work students, practitioners and academics who are concerned about social work's response to the global ecological crisis - the most pressing issue of our time. - Dr Justin Rogers, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Bath, UK Jennifer McKinnon and Margaret Alston's edited collection provides a comprehensive overview of the key theoretical, policy, and practice concerns that link the environment and social work, in both developed and developing countries. - Dr Carolyn Snell, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University of York, UK

The world is on the brink of ecological crisis. In the last decade we have seen a number of catastrophic events that illustrate this, including the 2004 tsunami across the Pacific, which killed over 150,000 people, and Hurricane Katrina in the United States, which left thousands dead and millions displaced. As the frequency and scale of environmental disasters has increased, social workers have found themselves on the front line of crisis interventions, working to ensure that the basic needs of communities are met. This evocative, highly thought-provoking book encourages social workers to incorporate an awareness of the physical environment into their work with individuals, groups and communities. Written by an international group of experts and led by two of the top names in the field, it offers an examination of key theoretical concepts combined with specific guidance on developing an ecological social work practice in a variety of situations – from daily life in urban communities to post-disaster sites – from areas across the globe. A fresh new perspective on a topic that gains greater significance day by day, Ecological Social Work calls for practitioners to use their skills in speaking on behalf of the vulnerable to lend their voice to the physical environment: to bring forward the stories of those marginalised by environmental disaster in order to lead creative solutions to this most fundamental of crises.