No. 51: Gratitude for Our Growing Community
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No. 51: Gratitude for Our Growing Community
RēAwaken Retreat TOMORROW / Participatory Action Research / Puerto Rico RēTour / June Land Acknowledgement Course / Black Earth Compost
Spring is in FULL BLOOM! The snow and ice has long since melted away and branches are lush with new growth and birdsong. As perennial flowers start to burst open, our minds turn towards our community, soil and food, peace and friendship building, gardening and tending to the Earth!
We are so grateful for the support we gathered and received at the beginning of the year. In January, we shared our hopes for an eco-campus and community garden plot and you encouraged us with open ears, open arms, and generous donations.
As we stroll into the summer, we thought we would update you on our garden plans, hopes and dreams!
We have a few plots in mind: two in Amesbury and one in West Newbury. Some are semi-organized while some are organically wild, but we love the idea of both! We have also had a few community members step forward with interest of native plant identification and planting expertise, permaculture and agroecology knowledge, caretaking, food systems and farming skills.
We are hoping to work with a local organization Black Earth Compost, who has a “build for you” option to install raised beds and fill them with rich compost! This will cost a couple thousand dollars, but we are hopeful and eager to support our community as we root in this land.
As we are closer to finding our physical space, we continue to water our window seedlings and practice patience throughout this transition. We are taking this new project in stride with deep breaths, open hearts and open hands. We cannot wait to pull up a bench around some raised beds and sit with you.
All our best to spring: life, health and abundance!
Tomorrow is our Spring RēAwaken Retreat!
We are so humbled by everyone’s interest and help in SELLING OUT our first Northeast Retreat! Our facilitators, Thana Numan of Nourishing Wellness and Caitlin Smith of Within Wellness, are excited to guide our FIFTEEN participants in an embodied nature practice full of yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic food, reflection, and art.
More to follow! If you missed out on joining us this May, stay tuned for more retreats in nature and community this fall!
PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (PAR)
PAR is a bottom-up approach that emphasizes collaborative knowledge production by marginalized and local stakeholders who possess the daily, lived experience of the issues at hand. PAR empowers and capacitates communities to gather and analyze information to generate and apply solutions driven by their own needs and aspirations. It is active listening put in practice and in research.
Rē has been working with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Global Campus over the last couple of years to build out an online “Peacebuilding through PAR” course. If you are interested in accessing this virtual learning platform and community, please reach out to admin@regenerativeschool.org and we will help you sign up!
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.
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.
Earth Day Recap
Lastly, we want to thank our community again for showing up and spending such a beautiful Earth Day with us. We decorated reusable, natural cotton tote bags, cleaned up Camp Kent Nature Center, gathered in drum and discussion circles, sang, and communed. Gratitude to Camp Kent for hosting a glorious day outside and a big thank you to Imagine Studios, People’s Cafe Newburyport, Wangari Fahari and the One World Earth Day Benefit for such an abundant evening together.
We look forward to seeing some of you tomorrow at Alnoba. More updates and offerings soon.
That concludes this week’s newsletter! Our next reading roundup and resource recommendations will be posted Friday, June 2. Subscribe below so you don’t miss it!
Thank you and see you soon!
The Rē Team