The RēMind, No. 004: The Complexity of Regeneration
Learning Opportunities at Rē / Defining Regen Agriculture / The Promise of Regen Fashion / Regen Network's Carbon Credits System / Greta Thunberg on Complexity and Crisis
Upcoming Learning Opportunities at Rē:
Our Newest Online Course Starts Next Week!
Nature and Belonging: Finding Connection Through Nature and the Senses
*June 6 to July 4, weekly sessions for five weeks*
*Course fee: $15*
Register here!
The pandemic is difficult on so many levels. Fear that you or those you love could become seriously ill. Anxiety about the ability to work and finances. And, maybe most of all, the exhausting stretches of quarantine in one location, perhaps alone.
Lockdown may have kept you in a location you don't want to be in-- in a small urban apartment, stuck in another country, or quarantining outside of your own home to protect vulnerable family members.
Whatever the circumstances, you've likely grown tired of looking at the walls of your lockdown space, maybe even tired of what was once your favorite walk after so much repetition. You feel disconnected, like you no longer belong to that place that you know so well.
In our new online course, Rē wants to help you deal with this moment that we are all facing. Our 'Nature and Belonging' course takes on this challenge by exploring concepts from eco-psychology and phenomenological techniques that engage your five senses. The five week program will help course participants find connection and build re-connection with the place where they are.
Join course facilitator Maya Galimidi, founder of Empower With Nature, for this important and timely course!
Register here!
Regenerative Agriculture Needs a Reckoning
-photo: The Counter
“But the growing, still-incipient movement harbors a secret below its hopeful surface: No one really agrees on what “regenerative agriculture” means, or what it should accomplish, let alone how those benefits should be quantified. Significant disagreements remain—not only about practices like cover crops, or the feasibility of widespread carbon capture, but about market power and racial equity and land ownership. Even as “regenerative” gets increasingly hyped as a transformative solution, the fundamentals are still being negotiated.”
A very well researched and balanced article covering the scope of the complexity that has emerged around the regenerative agriculture movement. What is important to highlight is that there needs to be a clearer understanding of what exactly regenerative agriculture is to have integrity, inclusion and measurability.
If you’re interested in a deep dive into the many dimensions of the regenerative ag movement, this article is for you!
Why Is Fashion Talking About Regenerative Farming?
photo: NYTimes
The New York Times published this article showcasing how certain big names in the fashion industry are getting involved with regenerative agriculture. North Face, Allbirds, Patagonia and Kering are hopping on the buzzword of regenerative by linking arms with cotton, wool, cashmere and leather producers to source materials and support farmers that are regenerating the land they steward.
“In January, the luxury group Kering, owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent (among other brands), was a co-founder of the Regenerative Fund for Nature, aimed at converting one million hectares (2.47 million acres) of land producing raw materials for fashion from regular farmland to regenerative agriculture in five years.”
What’s real and what’s hype? It’s still too early to know, but this article helps to tease out what these companies will need to do to make good on their promises.
On this topic, we’d also like to give a shout out to the folks at Patagonia who reached out to us directly from their Nashville, Tennessee, operation last month looking for opportunities for collaboration and materials sourcing. They were also very eager to help facilitate networking between regenerative organizations and producers in our local area. Thanks to the Nashville Patagonia team for their grassroots work!
Regen Network Announces Historic Carbon Credit Sale in Australia
“Agtech start-up Regen Network announces the historic sale of soil carbon credits to Microsoft, one of the largest soil carbon credit issuances ever in Australia. These soil carbon credits, known as CarbonPlus Grassland credits, help Microsoft meet its climate goals and reward Australian land stewards for sequestering carbon and ecological stewardship of their ranch lands.”
Read the full article here.
Regen Network is a blockchain technology that tracks, verifies and rewards positive change to ecological systems. The aim is a decentralized network that is addressing the problem of increased carbon in the atmosphere by providing a profit for capturing carbon by land stewards, as well as credible measurement for businesses to invest in carbon credits. It’s exciting to see concrete projects forming around this type of decentralized governance and financing to build an ecologically driven economy!
-video: Regen Network
Greta Thunberg Connects the Climate, Ecological & Health Crisis
Thunberg is an inspiring voice who helps us to see the complexity of our ecological challenges with increased clarity. The climate crisis and health crisis are not separate; they are interconnected and mutual reinforcing. In this short video, Thunberg articulates how she understands the connections between the planet’s health and our health as individuals.
-video: Greta Thunberg