No. 058: September Reading and Rooting
Discover more from The RēMind
No. 058: September Reading and Rooting
Morocco / Libya / Hurricane Lee / Ecovillages and community-based economies / Feral Cattle / Chestnut Recovery / Measuring Hunger / Butterflies and more!
Happy Friday Regenerative School Community,
There’s been so much going on: internally, within our close circles, locally, and globally. So let’s get into it.
For those of you in the Northeast, stay safe and dry this weekend! The New York Times has been publishing live updates on Hurricane Lee’s trajectory, so we recommend consulting their forecast.
The earthquake devastation in Morocco and flooding catastrophe in Libya have rocked our North African community, so please donate if you are willing and able (we recommend the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies).
As we walk through our day to day, we can’t help but feel bombarded by news of climate disaster near and far, suffering and stress in our families, friends, and greater communities (local and global). It has us meditating on the need for safe places and seeds of change. With that in mind, the Regenerative School will begin fundraising for a community garden on Monday, September 18th. Our hope is to cultivate a bountiful climate-resilient meeting place for future cross-cultural conversations and innovative learning and free, fresh community produce. Stay tuned for more!
For a ten minute tune-in to help ease into presence wherever and however you find yourself today, we recommend this meditation video here. If you are interested in a day away in nature, we invite you to join us and our Sequoia Samanvaya and Nourishing Wellness partners on October 14th for a day retreat!
Keep scrolling for our mid-September reading recommendations and stay tuned for more Rē School offerings and updates on Friday, September 29th.
Best,
The Rē Team
Did you know that the numbered rating system for hurricanes is based on WIND. “The 5 Hurricane Categories, Explained” by Amudalat Ajasa, Aaron Steckelberg, and Julie Vitkovskaya for the Washington Post is an excellent resource for both visual and reading learners. Click here to learn more.
People around the world are increasingly flocking to ecovillages—where neighbors share responsibilities like farming and childcare—as climate change makes them search for a more sustainable existence. This trend has inspired a curious profile on Emmy and Loïc Leruste and their decision to join an “eco-hamlet” called Plessis in France. Read all about the growing popularity of ecovillages and eco-spirituality in “Searching For Utopia In Our Warming World” by Mélissa Godin for Noēma Magazine.
For more on “ecovillages” and community-based economies, we also recommend watching our conversation with Ram Oruganti, of Samanvaya Social Venture, Chennai, On Community, Climate & Connection! In our hour together, Ram sheds light on the transformative potential of local economies and the inspiring lens of dharma. Click here to watch!
“At last count, over 2,000 cows and bulls roam Chirikof. . . [a remote island in the Gulf of Alaska]. Depending on whom you ask, the cattle are everything from unwelcome invasive megafauna to rightful heirs of a place this domesticated species has inhabited for 200 years, perhaps more. Whether they stay or go probably comes down to human emotions, not evidence.” Jude Isabella’s “The Republic of Cows” for Hakai Magazine is a fascinating feature exploring how Alaska gave an uninhabited, remote island to feral cattle. Click here to read.
The American chestnut tree is coming back. Who is it for? by Maya L. Kapoor for Grist. As federal agencies prepare to deregulate transgenic chestnuts, Indigenous nations are asserting their rights to access and care for them. Click here to explore the intersection of tribal access, state interests and chestnut recovery!
In an investigation that took a year and spanned multiple countries, Mongabay reporters obtained details about carbon credits purchased by 33 UN entities, representing more than 75% of its reported offset portfolio since 2012. More than a dozen of the projects that issued the UN’s carbon credits were linked to reports of environmental damage, displacement, or health concerns. Others were deemed worthless by a number of leading climate experts. Click here to learn “Why the UN is not climate neutral.”
“Cut a chrysalis open, and you will find a rotting caterpillar. What you will never find is that mythical creature, half caterpillar, half butterfly, a fit emblem of the human soul, for those whose cast of mind leads them to seek such emblems. No, the process of transformation consists almost entirely of decay.” While Pat Barker is responsible for that beautiful quote, Willow Defebaugh pens a beautiful meditation on metamorphosis for ATMOS. Click here to ground in this beautiful essay.
The Offshoot is a great newsletter that explores the future of food. We highly recommend subscribing for thought-provoking reporting and essays. This week’s newsletter explores the duality of our industrial food: how can we have more food than ever, and more hunger than ever, at the same time. Click here to read more.
Democracy Now interviewed Helena Gualinga, a youth Kichwa Sarayaku environmental activist following Ecuador’s vote to ban oil drilling in the protected the Amazon’s Yasuní National Park. “It sets a crucial precedent for all Indigenous territories in the Amazon, as well as for the world, because this is the first time that people actually get to vote on an oil project,” explains Gualinga. Click here to learn more about this critical first step.
We love the New Economy Roundup, a bimonthly newsletter highlighting solidarity economies around the world. Last month they shared a “mini teach-in” on participatory democracy and budgeting. It’s a great list which highlights active campaigns in the US and abroad and suggests supplemental reading for those curious. Check it out here.
On a former plantation in central Louisiana, The Jubilee Justice Black Farmers' Rice Project is pioneering regenerative farming practices as a means to address systemic racism. This innovative project combines restorative economics, regenerative agriculture, and asset ownership to work towards racial justice. By embracing regenerative farming, Jubilee Justice Rice Project tackles the racial wealth gap, land theft and the loss of Black farmers, and the environmentally harmful methods of rice production. Learn more by watching this episode of the Laura Flanders Show on Youtube.
THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK!
The Regenerative School is gearing up for an exciting Fall 2023 with a fresh annual initiative: the RēInvest Campaign. We will see you on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th for a special edition newsletter to launch our fundraising efforts for an Amesbury, MA community garden! Stay tuned!
What have you been reading? What have you been listening to? Write to us at admin@regenerativeschool.org and let us know!
Thank you and see you soon!