No. 049: On Transitions
Earth Day Celebration / RēAwaken Spring Retreat / Puerto Rico Educational Tour / Finding Belonging through Transitions / ReMembering the Origins of Climate Change / Land Acknowledgement course
“The kind of change we are after is cellular as well as institutional, is personal and intimate, is collective as well as cultural. We are making love synonymous with justice.”
— PRENTIS HEMPHILL
Happy Friday Regenerative School Community,
How is your week going?
Tomorrow is Earth day. Since 1970, Earth Day has been celebrated to promote environmental awareness, protection, and stewardship. It is a day to uplift regenerative mindsets and practices. As humans of the earth, we are Earth. We are no more and no less Earth than the trees around us, the microbes in our gut, and the rock beneath our feet. The difference: we have the capacity to act and enact change.
To do so, we must rethink how we engage together, support each other, and relate to one another.
As it stands, we have chosen colonization over conservation and community. The most widespread ideologies have been centered around ownership, competition, supremacy, violence, and accumulation beyond need. Education systems have been based on standardization: muting what makes us unique, and hampering change.
Our collective survival is contingent on a harmonious relationship with the Earth and one another: a relationship that prioritizes sustainability, reparations, and equity. Interconnectedness of our public policies and our private lives is imperative. Connection with one another is crucial. Love, justice, and support is vital. This work starts with us. It starts within and it starts in community.
Rē has undergone transitions in the last year, we have moved states, transformed our core community, and realigned our purpose. We find ourselves at a new beginning: learning about our new habitat, reconnecting with incredible folks, having important conversations, rebuilding relationships, adapting, listening, thinking, and adjusting. Where are we now? How are we now? And how can we be of service?
This work takes time and effort, we are learning about the needs of our adopted community and the strengths of its beautiful inhabitants. We are looking within ourselves for ways to align and paths forward towards new ways of connecting and creating lasting impact.
Spring is a season that is often associated with transitions, as it represents a period of growth, renewal, and change. We hope to celebrate this transition in nature, and our transition in community, with you on May 20th at our RēAwaken spring retreat (registration and information below).
Tomorrow, we will be between Amesbury and Newburyport, MA celebrating the Earth, resilience, and possibility. Rē is hosting a crafts table where we will be busy painting tote bags and meeting neighbors! Do you want to come color and take home a free reusable, natural cotton market bag? We would love to see you (scroll for more info)!
Empower with Nature’s Maya Galimidi will be going live on Instagram with our director, Ashlei Laing on April 30th to further discus land transitions, belonging and adapting in nature and community. Bring your favorite warm drink and questions.
Stay tuned for reading recommendations on May 5th.
Deep gratitude for you all,
The Rē Team
Earth Day with Rē
Come join Rē: The Regenerative School on Earth Day!
1:00 - 3:00 PM Camp Kent Community Clean Up in Amesbury MA
5:00 - 10:00 PM One World Earth Day Benefit with Imagine Studios in Newburyport, MA
Rē: The Regenerative School will be hosting a crafts table at both events to decorate free reusable, natural cotton tote bags!
Stop by with your family, littles and neighbors anytime! We hope to see you there!
RēAwaken: A Day RēTreat
Join us for a SPRING day in nature filled with YOGA, MEDITATION, HIKING, ART, reflection and more! Surrounded by Alnoba NH’s ancestral forests, we will gather in community to breathe, move, and reset for the summer season. Curious about the Regenerative School Community? Interested in exploring your inner landscape? Join us May 20th, 2023 from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm ET!
Half-day tickets available!
Click here to sign up: https://regenerativeschool.org/dayretreat/
Visit our Facebook group here: https://fb.me/e/NtnTadMZ
Email us at admin@regenerativeschool.org for more info and scholarships.
RēTour: Puerto Rico
What is travel to you? How can you sustainably and respectfully explore a place as a visitor or tourist?
If these questions speak to you, this is the trip for you! Join like minded others on a journey that encompasses adventure, nourishing relaxation, experiential learning, working alongside locals, and connection. This 10-day trip will be a unique window into the diverse landscapes and culture of Puerto Rico, a beautiful island rich in history. We will delve into and honor Boricua indigenous roots by discussing the island’s continuously complex relationship to its colonizers. We will be working with ISER Caribe, a local organization that is investing in their community.
Help support important ecological work and cultural practices while thoughtfully touring this gorgeous island.
Rē is an environmental and social justice organization. All of our educational tours and programming are designed to accommodate individuals from diverse backgrounds and abilities, and prioritize the preservation and regeneration of local ecosystems and communities. We are teachers and students interested in ethical, sustainable tourism and regenerative education.
Program Dates: August 2-12, 2023
Trip cost: $ 2,800 – 3,200 USD
To secure your spot, we request a $500 deposit towards the full trip cost due by June 1, 2023. If the Rē cancels the tour for whatever reason (weather, COVID-19, etc.), we will issue full refunds. However, if you cancel, no refund will be provided.
Participants are responsible for booking and paying for their own roundtrip flights to Puerto Rico before and after the tour.
RēTour pricing includes: accommodations for program duration, local transportation, field trips, excursions, and group meals.
Coming soon: Itinerary, and meet the teaching team!
RēMembering the Origins of Climate Change
Join us for a spiritual journey through time and space into our shared inheritance. After 500 years of justifying colonization and mass genocide of Indigenous peoples, the Vatican has finally rejected the Doctrine of Discovery. Even so, this antiquated Doctrine isn’t buried in the past, it continues to impact tribal sovereignty today and shape how we perceive Climate Change. Come join the Rē School in a 12-session ReMembering course from Sequoia Samanvaya. Rev. Sara Walcott will take us through early imperialism, the Destruction of Turtle Island, the codification of the Doctrine of Discovery, and more.
WEEK 1, APR 23 | An Introduction to ReMembering
WEEK 2, MAY 07 | Imperialism + Religion
WEEK 3, MAY 21 | Connecting Race + Place
WEEK 4, JUN 04 | Witch Hunts, Colonization + Climate Change
WEEK 5, JUN 18 | Turtle Island, Global Tastes + Modern Economies
WEEK 6, JUL 02 | Creative Integration
WEEK 7, JUL 16 | Belonging, Ownership + Family Histories
WEEK 8, JUL 30 | Governance, Sovereignty, + Intellectual Property
WEEK 9, AUG 13 | Westward Expansion + Creation of “Wildnerness”
WEEK 10, AUG 27 | Codification of Doctrine of Discovery
WEEK 11, SEP 10 | Real Origins + Implications of Women’s Rights Movement
WEEK 12, SEP 24 | ReEnchanting + Integration
Classes start April 23! If you want to participate with our international community on this timely opportunity, email admin@regenerativeschool.org or visit sequoiasamanvaya.com/remembering for more information and registration details.
Land Acknowlegement Course
“Too often, land acknowledgments become performative. Hasty and awkward, they don't actually provide avenues to say hello to the land we are on, respect the dis-membered past, or begin the art of repair.” In this workshop, Sequoia Samanvaya’s Rev. Sara Jolena Wolcott takes participants on a journey to transform truth into action and workshop their own relationship to local history and land.
This four-part course will meet via zoom on Mondays, 12 pm to 1:15 pm ET
WEEK 1, JUN 5
WEEK 2, JUN 12
WEEK 3, JUN 19
FINAL, AUG 21 (Optional)
Classes start June 5! If you are interested in joining this IMPORTANT skill building course, email admin@regenerativeschool.org or visit sequoiasamanvaya.systeme.io/land-acknowledgements for more information and registration details.
That concludes this week’s newsletter, we hope you are inspired to join us outside or online at one or a couple of these juicy offerings.
Our next reading roundup and resource recommendations will be posted May 5. Subscribe below so you don’t miss it!
Thank you and see you soon!
The Rē Team