Nature Evolutionaries

A great episode with Chris Omni, eco-spiritualist, Black Women’s health researcher, writer, and filmmaker in celebration and exploration of Black Joy in Green Spaces.  

Here is your invitation from Chris
Greetings, Souls of Love and Light! You are warmly invited to join me, Chris Omni, as we hold space with and for one another and journey into a world of Black Joy in Green Spaces. 

In this new world, we will bear witness to the 2022 TEDx Talk, Granny’s Garden: Growing Black Joy, followed by an intimate conversation about how this journey started, where it is now, and where it is going.

In addition to the Divine Timing of this webinar, we will collectively celebrate the eve of the National Black Joy Day! Yesssss, there is such a day! Your presence at this webinar will be one of the many ways to recognize this beautiful holiday while spreading awareness of this movement to provide a counter story to the typical deficit narrative that is generally associated with Black people.

If you are ready to honor the lived experiences of Black people, I invite you to read the following poetic theorization of Black Joy. Read it to yourself and then read it out loud. Make people ask you…

 What is Black Joy?

Black Joy is a Statement 

Black Joy is a Stride

Black Joy is Permission

Black Joy is Pride

Black Joy is a form of Resistance

Black Joy is a form of Rest

Black Joy is ANYTHING you need it to be

because Black Joy is truly the best!

Chris Omni is an eco-spiritualist, two-timeTEDx speaker, three-time First Place 3-MT (3-Minute Thesis) Winner, Black women's health researcher, published author, documentary filmmaker, internationally recognized nature writer, community mobilizer, and former health motivation columnist. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and two master’s degrees - Public Health and Liberal Arts. Chris is a doctoral candidate at Florida State University where she is researching Black Joy in Green Spaces through the methodologies of auto-ethnography, narrative inquiry, photo-elicitation, and nomadic inquiry. Most recently, Chris’s TEDx Talk, “Granny’s Garden: How to Grow Black Joy,” featured the first, public, poetic theorizing of Black Joy! (https://youtu.be/PScP5BcKsxU).

Chris deeply values the unapologetic use of her voice and agency to speak life, love, and Light to all people with a particular emphasis on Black people. She views her body as a vessel that has not only delivered life but receives life in the form of lessons and abilities from the Ancestors. As others have stated, “Chris Omni is a whole vibe!”

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We are happy to welcome Sharifa Oppenheimer, author of A Litany of Wild Graces: Meditations on Sacred Ecology! She shares with us not only her poems and essays, but also the process of transformation she underwent as she wrote this new book of love for the wild and tender Earth.  She experienced an ever deepening understanding of Gaia and the countless beings, landforms, waters, and winds that compose Her living body. Through her gift of these poems, she inspires us to go out into the emerald earth ~ to touch, smell, listen, taste ~ to forge friendships with our more-than-human neighbors.

Sharifa Oppenheimer was the founding teacher of the Charlottesville Waldorf School and is the author of the best-selling book Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children and its companion workbook How To Create The Star of your Family Culture. She recently wrote With Stars in Their Eyes: Brain Science and Your Child’s Journey Toward the Self.

After writing extensively from her experience, wisdom, and love of young children, she has turned her hand toward writing about other aspects of profound connection. She has been a student of Sufism for many decades and has deep respect for other indigenous wisdom traditions which point humanity toward the sacred nature of the living earth. She offers Sacred Earth ~ Sacred Self gatherings that explore humanity’s biological and spiritual inter-being with our other-than-human relations. Her new book A Litany of Wild Graces: Meditations on Sacred Ecology (Red Elixir Press, April 2022) explores these themes through essays, poetry, and litany. The mother of three grown sons and grandmother to many grandchildren, she lives with her husband in an enchanted forest in Virginia.

https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/teleseminars-1/2022/sharifa-oppenheimer

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Krista Nelson is on a mission to share what she’s learned about the power of nature to acknowledge loss, soothe grief, quiet fear, and nurture the seed of peace, love, and optimism; a process of transformation and manifestation.

Many people have lost innocence, relationships, jobs, titles, property, and in the COVID-19 pandemic, a lifestyle. As a collective, we’ve experienced loss due to climate change, racial injustice, sexism, ageism, and disease.

Cultivating an intimate relationship with Nature elements is powerful medicine you don't need a prescription for and access is as close as your own breath.

Krista Nelson, an African American single mother of five is an author, mentor and nature whisperer. She lives in Eastern Pennsylvania and works as a life coach helping artists, executives, teachers, advocates, environmentalists, and feminists connect with nature elements to support their leadership abilities. As a Silver Lining Sentinel, she helps as many people as possible see their personal silver linings by falling in love with nature.

Krista has written several books including, “My Secret Barack: Crowning The King” and “Create Your Dream Life in 6 Steps or Less”. In 2015 she was selected as a featured author in the 31st annual Celebration of Black Writing festival sponsored by The Art Sanctuary in Philadelphia. Krista was both presenter and panelist for The Tomorrow People Organization’s 2021 & 2022 International Conference on Spirituality and Psychology.

To view the video recording and links to Krista's videos and work, please visit our website here: https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/teleseminars-1/2022/krista-nelson

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Following in the footsteps of Germany's Bard, Goethe, Maureen will share his 7 step method which is a protocol for studying natural phenomena. We will learn how to breathe into what Goethe referred to as the "Life-filled Giving”. This will be applied to the study of dynamic images of plants and the living principle of how a plant/living being manifests its unique Essence.

This approach brings a true recognition that plants have an inherent Cosmic connection to their Eternal Essence in the Cosmos. With examples of plant studies to illustrate how this can connect to the Eternal Nature of our own spiritual being. Prepare to have your mind blown as we answer the call to connect to our own inner world on what Goethe called "The Human Journey of Universal Oneness"!

In this episode Maureen uses visual aids.  To view the video recording and see the slides, please visit our website here:  https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/teleseminars-1/2022/maureen-robertson

About Maureen

Maureen Robertson has almost 30 years of experience working with herbs as a Medical Herbalist, Herbal Educator & Herb grower. She co-founded the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine in 1992 offering courses from introductory to professional training at BSc and MSc degree level.

At the same time that she encountered Goethe's way of studying "the Holy Open Book of Nature" as shared by Rudolf Steiner and she also discovered an approach of wholeness to studying plants, landscape, and natural phenomena that have continued to inspire. She developed a clinical application of Goethe's method which shaped her herbal practice, the plant studies she shares, and the way she supports the healing process for the people she works with.

In 2012 she established the Herbal Apprenticeship at Drimlabarra Herb Farm, Isle of Arran, Scotland which she ran for 4 years before relocating to Portugal in 2014 where she runs the Herbal Path programs.

For the last 4 years she has been immersed in studying Medical Astrology and now integrates this fascinating and birth right knowledge into her practice. 

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Our relationship with plants dives deep into our psyche. Surely, it is coded in our ancestral DNA. Cultures throughout the world have always turned to plants to heal the mind and heart, both as medicinal herbs and energetically. Plants guide the individual, but also family and community, to work together towards the highest good in the future. Each one carries its signature healing message that is reflected in its form, function, and sacred geometry. Much of this plant symbolism is still strongly embedded in our spiritual practices and seasonal celebrations. We can open this gateway to hear what the plants are teaching us—and make the world a better place with nature as our ally. 

Kathi Keville has written 15 books and over 150 articles for national magazines. An internationally known herbalist, aromatherapist, forager, and avid organic gardener, she is highly recognized in the natural products industry. Kathi is the Director of the American Herb Association, a founding member of the American Herbalist Guild, and was granted honorary membership to the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy and American Aromatherapy Association for her pioneering work.

Kathi’s Green Medicine Herb School offers a year-round herbal program in Nevada City, California. The beautifully landscaped herb gardens showcase 500 species of medicinal and aromatic plants from around the world. Kathi also teaches at institutions, symposiums, herb schools, and retreats throughout the US. These have included the University of California, Omega Institute, Blue Sky Education Foundation, and International Herb Symposiums. She also leads an annual Aroma-Herbalism Journey to Tuscany.

Kathi presents herb healing and gardening information on her Garden Forum KVMR radio show. She also co-hosted a 15-part TV series Everybody Nose for Dish TV that featured her gardens. In addition, she previously co-owned and managed a commercial, organic herb farm and herb products company. She is currently working on up-coming books about essential oils and the herbalist-mystic, Hildegard of Bingen.

You can follow Kathi on Facebook and Instagram and visit her web site at www.ahaherb.com

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What can we (as in you and I) do about climate change and our rapidly shifting landscapes?  

The water cycle of our planet is being severely disturbed, from the tops of our watersheds to the river mouths feeding the oceans.  This is leading to increased drought, desertification, flooding, water scarcity, collapse of ecosystem function, disease, crop loss, etc – which, when they occur, are called “natural” disasters.  However, there is nothing natural about these disturbances; rather, it is the direct result of short-sighted land stewardship.

This feedback loop is not only preventable but reversible through improved management of and cooperation with natural systems.  Decentralized water retention landscapes - returning the water to the earth that is otherwise being diverted by human development - provides a proven and effective method for enhancing the cycling of water in the landscape, reversing desertification, stabilizing climate change, and improving water availability and quality; all while increasing productivity and vitality for both humans and nature. 

In this presentation Zach Weiss will share both the context for the larger water-ecological issues at hand, as well as real-world stories of the solutions and approaches that can effect change and create incredible possibilities for Restoration and Regeneration.

Zach Weiss - Protégé of revolutionary Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer, Zach is the first person to earn Holzer Practitioner certification directly from Sepp - through a rigorous two-year apprenticeship. This led to the creation of Elemental Ecosystems to provide an action-oriented process to improve clients' relationship with their land. The firm specializes in water retention landscapes that harvest rain to create naturally productive ecosystems. Through Elemental Ecosystems Zach has worked in more than 25 different countries on 6 continents, spanning a wide range of climates, contexts, land-forms and ecosystems. After a decade of experience in the field, Zach is now creating an online educational platform called Water Stories, to bring these approaches and techniques to the masses, in order to revive the health of our planet. You can learn more at www.WaterStories.com

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In this episode Judith Poelarends shares about the healing qualities of the Alaskan wildflowers and what they have to share with us about living in challenging circumstances. The vibrational remedies made from these flowers help us on the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Learn more about how they support us in finding balance, releasing what we no longer need, and enhancing our connection with Nature.

Judith Poelarends is the Director of Alaskan Essences. Her roots are in The Netherlands where she had a career as a scientific researcher in animal health. In 2007 her search for more meaning and happiness in life led to the discovery of flower essences. In 2008 she did a one-year class on flower essences. After she was certified she started doing consultations for people and animals. In 2013, during a flower essence workshop in Alaska, Judith met Steve Johnson, the founder of Alaskan Essences. She moved from the Netherlands to Victor Montana in 2015 to be with her husband and start a practice here. After Steve passed away in March 2017, Judith decided to continue the Alaskan Essences and she is now the Director. She enjoys teaching about flower essences and their amazing empowering qualities.

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Join Maeve McBride, a climate justice organizer and writer, as she shares stories about her intertwined paths of seeking justice and finding spirit. Maeve will share poetry, song, and her lived experiences, weaving together vignettes from her past, transformative moments, and maybe even some nuts-and-bolts of organizing direct actions. She will draw from her work organizing a five-day climate walk in Vermont, blockading oil trains, and her recent practice of movement chaplaincy. Listen to her thoughts on how we can thrive while doing the seemingly impossible work of dismantling the nasty -isms of our time - capitalism, racism, colonialism - to name a few.

Maeve (she/her) is a white settler of predominantly Scot-Irish, English, and German heritage living on Abenaki land in what is now known as Vermont. Maeve is currently the Fundraising Director at the Global Ecovillage Network and organizes with the No Coal, No Gas campaign, working to shutter the last coal-fired power plant in New England. For many years, Maeve was the director of 350Vermont, an affiliate organization of 350.org, where she organized local, regional, and national actions and events. Maeve's professional background is varied - from political campaigns to the US EPA, from river engineering in Alaska to fieldwork in Philadelphia. One of Maeve's current passions is reclaiming her family's farming roots by starting a small cooperative farm in Jericho, where she and her family recently relocated. Maeve also writes memoirs, poetry, and prose on the subjects of grief, land connection, somatics, social justice, and god. You can find her writing on Patreon. 

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How do you connect with Nature? Come hang out with the ONE Visioning Council as they share their favorite daily activities for connecting with Nature. You'll receive simple tips, insights, and inspiration from this group of fun and dedicated women~ Pam Montgomery, Jen Frey, Julie Caldwell, Sara Artemisia, Lillian Edwards, April Thanhauser, Laura Parisi, and Elyshia Holliday.

In this special episode we celebrate Giving Tuesday by recognizing the many wonderful people who support ONE’s work, who are dedicated to living in co-creative partnership with Nature, and more than human kin who bless our lives in extraordinary ways. The ONE team offers this heartful opportunity of connection in the spirit of reciprocity.

If you'd like to contribute, you can use this link to donate or send a check to ONE, 1525 Danby Mt Rd, Danby, VT 05739. 💚

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The medicinal blessings of the plant people begin with their more obvious physical gifts. When we are in need of those gifts, we are surely grateful to have access to them, whether comfrey is being applied as a poultice to help heal a sprained ankle, or someone is sipping a cup of rosemary tea to prevent or soothe a migraine headache.

But plant medicine runs deeper than physical constituents; plants are more than the sum of their visible parts, they are multi-dimensional, and their spiritual medicine is revealed within and just underneath their physical attributes.

In this conversation, we’ll explore ways to see and access the metaphorical, spiritual magic of common plants and trees as well as ways to connect with these gifts in a grounded way. As we learn to embody the teachings of the plants we become empowered to offer ever more joyful service at this pivotal time in our world.

Robin Rose Bennett is a story-teller, writer, and herbalist. She has been offering classes in Wisewoman Healing Ways: Herbal Medicine and EarthSpirit Teachings since 1986 - at herb conferences, festivals, clinics, medical and nursing schools, and most joyously, outside with the plants. Robin Rose shares herbal medicine with gratitude for the loving generosity of the plants and the magic, mystery, and beauty of the web of life. She is on the faculty of the New York Open Center and the Arbor-Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism, and is the author of two meditation mp3’s and the books: Healing Magic- A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living and The Gift of Healing Herbs- Plant Medicines and Home Remedies for a Vibrantly Healthy Life.  (FB: WiseWoman Healing Ways, with Robin Rose Bennett, IG: @RobinRoseBennett, YouTube: Robin Rose Bennett. For more information, visit: www.RobinRoseBennett.com.

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