Activity 4-3: Connect with Local Regenerative Community Organizations
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Motivation
Building regenerative communities is about more than reducing our carbon footprint (as important as that is). To truly heal our relationships with each other and our living planet, we must transform everything about how we live. As daunting as that seems, it is also a beautiful opportunity to imagine and create ways of life that are better for everyone. This holistic endeavor requires work in multiple areas--shifting our culture, values, and worldview to be life-giving and reconnect people to land; meeting our needs in ways that do not exploit people or planet; restructuring our systems of governance and economics; and bringing justice and healing to those who have suffered the most under oppressive systems. Many organizations are already working toward building the communities we need, and they could use your talents, energy, and enthusiasm. |
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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Things to Try
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Look at the Park in Context
As John Muir famously wrote, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." This is, of course, as true of your park as it is of everything else. Think about where the mammals, birds, insects, and other creatures you see in the park go when they aren't in the park. What do they need in those places? The plants may not move, but think about how their needs are affected by systems that extend far beyond the edges of the park. The park is affected by social systems too. If you explored the park's human story in Activity 2-5, recall all the people and organizations that have helped create and shape the park. What resources and social agreements are needed to care for the park and ensure that it remains a haven for you, your neighbors, and all the beings that live there? Consider Your Networks
Just like the park, you too are embedded in overlapping networks of relationships. Consider all the organizations and groups you are already a part of. They might include your family, schools, workplaces, sports teams, recreational groups, clubs, faith communities, and more. How might the people in these groups work together toward a more regenerative community? Maybe a sports team could spend part of a practice picking up litter around the field, or your workplace could host a bike tune-up event to encourage bike commuting, or your faith community or school could plant a rain garden, just to name a few ideas. Through branches scraped bare by the encroaching dark, I can see the delicate gold of sunrise.
November 10, 2016 |
Explore Local Organizations
Use the resources below or your favorite search engine to find organizations working in areas that you find inspiring. If you created your Regenerative Community Venn Diagram in Activity 4-2, that can provide a focus for your search. When you land on an organization's web page, dig in to learn more about their approach, the kind of projects they work on, and who they work with. Check out upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, or other ways to get involved. Most organizations will also have a social media presence. Following their accounts on your favorite platform can be a good way to learn about upcoming activities and to get a sense of the tone of the organization and how active they are. Go to a Meeting or Event
Once you have identified an organization or two that aligns with your interests, take the next step by showing up. Different organizations will have different ways for you to engage. Some may have volunteer opportunities where you can help out with a project for an afternoon or evening. Some may have planning meetings that are open to newcomers. Some may have social events specifically designed to help people meet members and learn about the organization. When you attend an event, talk to others about their experiences with the organization. How long have they been involved? What do they especially like? How does the organization make decisions? Recharge in the Park
The work of fostering regenerative communities can be creative and fulfilling, but it is also daunting. When you feel discouraged or overwhelmed, try spending some time in the park. Reconnecting with the land, the sky, the plants and creatures can help ground you in the purpose of the work and recharge to carry on another day. |
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Resources
Twin Cities Area Regenerative Community Organizations - This mind map-style diagram contains links to dozens of organizations in the Twin Cities area working toward various aspects of regenerative communities. The organizations are grouped into four broad areas: meeting needs, shifting culture, governance and economy, and healing from oppression.
Transition Near Me Map - |
Suggested Reading
Braiding Sweetgrass chapter: "Shkitagen: People of the Seventh Fire" - Bodwewadmi (Potawatomi) means People of the Fire. The Potawatomi used fire not only for heat, cooking, and ceremony, but also to shape and nurture a thriving landscape. The shkitagen, a fungus that can hold embers for an extended period, was carried to provide the source for fires. Potowatami stories and prophecies also tell of seven fires, representing seven stages in the history of the people. The Seventh Fire is said to be a time when people will walk paths ravaged by destruction, gathering pieces needed for rebuilding and carrying shkitagen to reignite sacred fires. Working together with attention, patience, and care, we can be the people of the Seventh Fire, rekindling life-giving communities. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson - This collection of essays and poems brings profound humanity to the climate crisis. The authors delve into the deep anguish of facing the reality of our situation, as in Ash Sanders' "Under the Weather." But they also recognize the possibilities for relationship and community to reshape that reality, as in "Community is Our Best Chance," by Christine E. Nieves Rodriguez. Threads of intersectionality run throughout the collection, highlighting the ways that climate instability, extractive economics, and the many facets of oppression feed on each other. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate, by Naomi Klein - More than any other single thing, this book set me on my path to climate action. It is not an easy read, and it took me months of fits and starts to gather the courage to dig in and finish. Klein lays bare the stark realities of the connections between capitalist economies dependent on endless growth and the near inevitability of the ecological crises that result. For me, the case she makes crystalized a sense of urgency and the imperative to change everything. The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, by Rob Hopkins - |
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4-3 Explore Regenerative Community Organizations →
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