"The science of ecology", writes Canadian Ecologist Pierre Dansereau, "has much to contribute to the development of a new consciousness of our environment and the new rules of stewardship we must accept, if it can lend itself to a bold integration of environmental data and interpretation, and if it can bring the human impact within its scope. The comprehension of ecological harmony and the apprehension of ecological disaster is therefore a matter of bringing together accumulated knowledge of scientists and projecting it ino the inner reflection of the individual and of the people. My concern, therefore, is as much with the inscape as it is with the landscape, as much with the human perception of environment as with man's impact on nature."

The six radio broadcasts published here were given in the fall of 1972 as the twelfth series of Massey Lectures. They were organized by Lester C. Sugarman and James Anderson, executive producer of the Ideas unit of the CBC Radio Arts Department and producer of the broadcasts. Begun by the CBC in 1961 to enable distinguished authorities in fields of general interest and importance to present the results of original study or research, the lecture series was named in honor of the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey, former Governor General of Canada.