This newsletter reunites stories about re-imagining education across the territories of the Ecoverse. During these past six months multiple in-person and online Ecoversities Gatherings have taken place, from the regional to the planetary in Cascadia, Chile, México, Nigeria, Brazil, the Re-imagining Education Conference 4.0… And so, we have many stories left to tell—
— and yet, at this time, various friends of the alliance are in Gaza, along with their families, themselves facing tremendous and dire circumstances. Please consider giving them support in our Mutual Aid and Solidarity Opportunities Page at our website.
Making Sanctuary: 1st Turtle Island Ecoversities Regional Gathering in the Atlan Center, White Salmon, WA, July 17 - 22, 2024 🐟🌲
“The gathering was a wondrous opportunity to rest, play, dance, compost, and open ourselves up to being taught by the wide worlds around and within us. The memories of our adventures dance and weave in ways that help me forget my worries and embrace my all my joys, fears, sorrows, and responsibilities with care and gratitude.” - Devin Bokaer, Open Hearted Learning, Turtle Island.
“As we co-created a schedule of unique offerings, collaboratively cooked meals, and shared stories, I felt the power of simply being present (…) some outcomes—connectedness, relationality, rejuvenation— can only come from quiet shared space as part of a collective…they can’t be designed, planned, or forced.”Benya Basseches, Riverversity, Turtle Island.
“Although we like to believe that we’re the same person, our bodies and who we think we are, are constantly changing. As Octavia Butler wrote “All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change.” For many reasons, I was not the same person when I was in Mexico as I was for this gathering a year later. When I arrived at Atlan, I realized I needed some downtime to ground myself. I was nursing a broken heart at the time, and I remember walking into the forest to do some walking meditation. In that walk, I stumbled upon a labyrinth made of stones in the woods. At the end of the labyrinth was a big tree where I sat and felt held as I wept and allowed my heart to break open. The magic of the forest left me feeling freer as did the intimate conversations with other people.” - Lorena Galbor, Sensemaking and Care Circle, Turtle Island.
1st Gathering of Midwifery and Ancestral Knowledges for El Buen Vivir, Putuendo, Chile, June 28-30, 2024 🐣
“Pollinating the union between the North and the South, in the Southern Cordillera of Chile, Nana Vicky, midwife and medicine woman from the Purepecha in Michoacan, meets Grandmother Sara, midwife, healer, bone setter, and then, they both meet with Elder Oriunda from Putuendo, the magical town that hosted this gathering…"
Hilando Semillas, an ecoversitarian network that is sowing seeds for deep regeneration, that previously helped the alliance with a series of Non-Violent Communication workshops, in collaboration with CIET (Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Transmodernos) held this first gathering of midwifery and ancestral knowledges in Chile. They provided certification and training to midwifes, and shelter to the childhoods just arriving into this world. Flora generously shares this harvest with our community:
Ecoversities Pollinations, Learning Exchanges and Residencies 🐝
The Ecoversities Alliance supports residencies between ecoversities around the world, as learning journeys for pollinating and exchanging cosmovisions, dreamings, and practices that empower local communities.
“It is the territory that receives us, the living knowledge is in the territory, it is the ecoversity of life, so to speak. To be in ceremony is to take care of these relationships.” - Accompany Albert Salazar (Garden of the Binational Friendship Park) during his residency in Casa Provita Ecoversity in the heart of the forest of Providencia, Costa Rica. A place where strange birds gather to sing, and the youth are reclaiming their learning processes and strengthening their interpersonal relationships.Read the full story in our website.
“In Favela Da Paz Institute there are many different projects and things happening at the same time. I don’t know how but somehow you always end up knowing what the next activity is…" - Follow Nina Shear (El Nido Casa Abierta, Ecuador) opening herself to the flourishing atmosphere of Instituto Favela da Paz, with musical samba nights, sustainable food, and new friendships. Read more about her residency here.
Ecoversities Germinating Projects 🌳
The Ecoversities Germinator Service Circlehelps nurture young ecoversities, drawing wisdom and experience from elder members and collaborators. In this section we share a few gestating projects that are currently being supported by the alliance.
EMANDULO Wellness Village is a sanctuary for ecologies and practices that nourish the healing of the people and the land, preserving traditional medicines and indigenous foods for future generations.“The germinating funds allowed me to invite four young men from my village in the Eastern Cape who are ambassadors of the project [EMANDULO Ecobrick Project] who after the learning journey will spread word and begin a clean up campaign around the village and collect plastic and waste to use for building the ecobrick which is going to be our way for cleaning up the villages which do not have a waste management program at all.”- Nonhlanhla Moroenyane, EMANDULO, Wellness Village, Afrika Region.Read more about this beautiful project in our website.
Azadwadi Forest IsCool was created to nurture eco-awareness and a deep connection with nature in children and young adults. "Tomorrow's leaders must be rooted in sustainability, harmony, and compassion to address the world’s challenges. To save our kids from modern slavery, we must create an environment that equips them to face challenges without compromising their joy. We are a part of nature. We ask ourselves: what would a river do? What would a star do? What would nature do? (…)" - Azad, Azadwadi Forest isCool, India Region. Find more about Azadwadi in their website.
Living Trace is a project that honors what has come before and has the aspiration of making visible what is underneath, the traces of life lying below, the colonial impact, and to see the pathways of natural living systems. "We are only here for a short time as humans, compared to the rest of life. That is, what we do where we are here can be an offering to life, this is part of it. As an Ecoversity, is not only do do do, but the learning to be." - Keala Young, Living Trace, Turtle Island Region. Learn more about this project on their website.
The Space Between Ecoversities 🌌
Here we enjoy to share neat moments, encounters, within and around the ecoverse ✨
Andrea Gonzalez Andino, Sierra Allen and Naryan Wong visit Eileen Walz and Benya Basseches in Colorado, celebrating friendship and co-working closely on the Re-imagining Education Conference 4.0, along with Adventureversity and the COhere experiment.
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