Dear friends,
Tomorrow is the winter solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It is a time to pause, slow down, and reflect so that our forward motion in the new year may be filled with intention.
For those interested: we have a virtual winter retreat offering available on our online library with a yoga practice, meditation, and Ayurvedic tips to navigate the darkness of solstice and the winter months.
As a time of reflection, we are sitting with all that 2023 has brought for Rē. While we are still settling in Amesbury, we have seeded so many partnerships, connections, offerings, and friendships. We submitted more than ten grants and project proposals, penned a land proposal, raised more than $3,200 in grassroots donations through our RēInvest campaign and Giving Tuesday drive, and received an incredibly generous donation of $200,000 from an anonymous donor to continue our important community work!
While there is much to uplift and celebrate regarding our movements and momentum over the last twelve months, we thought we would share some highlights!
EARTH DAY: Rē: The Regenerative School had a lovely first Earth Day in Massachusetts! We participated in a Community Clean-up at Camp Kent, hosted a youth craft table, and attended the One World Earth Day Benefit with Imagine Studios in Newburyport.
CONVERSATION WITH MAYA: In April, we engaged a rich Instagram Live conversation about reconnecting with land and home with Maya Galimidi of Empower with Nature. If you missed it, click here to watch!
SPRING RETREAT: In May, we held a SOLD OUT Spring Retreat: RēAwaken with Caitlin Smith of Within Wellness and Thana Numan of Nourishing Wellness at Alnoba New Hampshire. We sat, meditated, moved and reflected in community, nurturing and holding space for one another under rejuvenating springtime rains.
SUMMER SOLSTICE: In June, we hosted our first Summer Solstice Garden event to commune in nature and share the heartbeat of Rē! We spent a warm summer evening in beautiful company, watched the sun set over the mighty Merrimack river on Penacook land, and gave thanks for cycles, change, plant power, and light.
CONVERSATION WITH RAM: In August, Rē teamed up with Dr. Sara Jolena Wolcott of Sequoia Samanvanya to facilitate an inspiring and popular online conversation with Ram Oruganti of Samanvaya Social Venture, in Chennai, India. Find the recording here!
CONFERENCES: Rē also attended a couple of conferences this year! At the Alnoba Environmental Leadership Awards we participated in a local teach-in with world renowned racial, social, and environmental justice activists and thought leaders. At Harvard’s Responsibility and Repair: Legacies of Indigenous Enslavement, Indenture, and Colonization, we listened and learned from Native and university leaders are advancing national dialogue, expanding research, and empowering Indigenous communities.
FARM TO TABLE TICKET LAUNCH: In September, we launched ticket sales for our Seasonal and locally-sourced Farm to Table Dinner! We have since postponed this delicious offering to the sunny month of June 2024, BUT tickets to this SPECIAL event would make for a fantastic holiday gift for your sustainable-minded loved ones *wink*! Grab tickets here!
FALL RETREAT: In October, we put on another Fall Retreat: RēBalance with Thana Numan of Nourishing Wellness, Kristine Marie Hill of Collective Wisdoms, and Rev. Sara Jolena Wolcott of Sequoia Samanvaya at Alnoba. We held space for heavy current events (both geo-political and personal) together in nature and sat in a restorative woman’s circle around a fire.
RēINVEST: In November, we raised $3,216 in grassroots donations for our RēInvest in Community Campaign and celebrated our community with a RēUnite Online Party! We had friends join us from more than three continents!
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY: We helped Imagine Studios organize Newburyport's 3rd Annual Indigenous Peoples Day! The Regenerative School organized a participatory voices board to hold space and amplify Newburyport’s desires for and from community.
FILM SCREENING: Rē saw more than 75 people come out to support our “Dawnland” and “Bounty” movie screening with Imagine Studios and The Upstander Project at the Screening Room in Newburyport, MA. We raised more than $400 in one night for Wabanaki REACH and the MA Center for Native American Awareness, supporting indigenous initiatives that foster understanding and empowerment.
NEW COURSE: We also launched a brand new course called Nature’s Lens: Shifting Perspectives with Maya Galimidi of Empower with Nature! We are looking forward to starting 2024 with a new Nature’s Lens class around “Harmonious Coexistence” on January 28th! Sign up here!
PUERTO RICO TOUR: Rē’s team also continued to collaborate with our Puerto Rican partner ISER Caribe and their community as we plan Rē’s next educational tour for April 13-20! Reserve your spot today!
Heartfelt gratitude to all those who have connected with our organization, actively participated in our diverse offerings, and joined our community this year! Together, we've forged meaningful connections and shared memorable experiences. We are collaboratively seeding change and building a special community!
We truly appreciate each and every one of you and look forward to embracing 2024 together.
We will leave you with one of our favorite poems, which feels perfect and poignant for this time of year.
Snowy Night by Mary Oliver
from What Do We Know (DaCapo Press, 2002)
Last night, an owl
in the blue dark
tossed an indeterminate number
of carefully shaped sounds into
the world, in which,
a quarter of a mile away, I happened
to be standing.
I couldn’t tell
which one it was –
the barred or the great-horned
ship of the air –
it was that distant. But, anyway,
aren’t there moments
that are better than knowing something,
and sweeter? Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness. I suppose
if this were someone else’s story
they would have insisted on knowing
whatever is knowable – would have hurried
over the fields
to name it – the owl, I mean.
But it’s mine, this poem of the night,
and I just stood there, listening and holding out
my hands to the soft glitter
falling through the air. I love this world,
but not for its answers.
And I wish good luck to the owl,
whatever its name –
and I wish great welcome to the snow,
whatever its severe and comfortless
and beautiful meaning.
This beautiful poem implores us to sit with what’s around us (people, feelings, geo-political conflicts, local current events, weather, etc). Oliver invites us to welcome the “snow,” the dark of solstice, and the unknown. She asks us to listen to those we might not recognize. She beckons us to practice wonder in times of uncertainty.
So here’s to sitting with the present and making space for what we do not yet understand. Here’s to solstice, here’s to the unnamed owls in the world, and to each and every one of you.
Our last reading list of 2023 will land in your inbox this Friday.
Until then, be well.
Best,
The Rē Team