With all the suffering and environmental degradation we are witnessing, it is natural to respond with fear, overwhelm, anger, and grief. While uncomfortable emotions can sever us from our power and wisdom, when we work with them skillfully they can reconnect us to an expanded self, to one another, and to our living Earth.

 

Scholar of Buddhism, Systems Theory and Deep Ecology Joanna Macy has created a body of teachings called The Work that Reconnects which transforms despair and apathy into constructive, collaborative action. Joanna’s work forms the basis for our offerings.

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Our Offerings

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• Ecological Empowerment Workshops & Retreats

• Community Support & Healing Processes 

• Coaching for Environment Workers & Activists

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Ecological Empowerment Workshops & Retreats

 

Who our Workshops & Retreats are for

Our online and in-person offerings are for people working in the environmental sector, community groups, citizen activists - any group of 6 or more people who are feeling the impacts of what’s happening to our planet and wanting to step forward for Earth.

Your group can host a workshop or retreat with us - see below for details. We also invite you to register to one of our upcoming offerings to get a taste of the teachings.

 

Overview
 

Workshops and retreats are interactive and include grounding exercises, group activities, teachings and reflections, including tools and processes to: 

 

• connect with people who share similar cares, dreams and concerns 

• feel and honour our pain for the world, including ecological grief

• turn anxiety, grief and anger into courage, creativity and joy

• nourish your capacity to act for positive change.

 

Available Formats & Themes

 

Both in-person and online offerings are available. The duration can be adapted to meet the availability and needs of your group, including how deeply you want to engage with the work. For example, events can take the form of two- or three-hour workshops, and one- or multi-day retreats.

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Themes can be adapted based on your needs and interests. Have a look at our scheduled and past events for some examples. 
 

Host a Workshop or Retreat with us

 

Contact us to start the discussion.
 

Community Support & Healing Processes
 

What are Community Support & Healing Processes?

 

They involve giving gifts of attention, remembrance and acts of beauty to a place or species that has been damaged or is threatened. These rituals and processes, which often take place directly on-site, support human healing and the revitalization of the place or living being. Two examples include:

Rituals of Collective Mourning

 

Just as humans hold vigil when there is harm done to fellow humans, we can do the same for nature to promote collective healing. These events bring people together in community to express pain and grief for a natural environment or species so that we can move forward together. 

 

See for example the Community Vigil for the Rideau Canal Skateway that Heart Land facilitated in 2023. This was the first year in Ottawa’s history where the skateway never opened to the public, due to a warming climate.

 

Listening to the Land

 

If we were to listen to a threatened natural area from the perspective of every kind of being that lives there, what new insights would emerge on how to protect it?

 

Integrating the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel teachings and the Work That Reconnects, this interactive workshop centers on human creativity and empathy as powerful tools to mitigate the climate crisis and repair relationships.

 

Who can initiate an event?

 

We can facilitate healing rituals and processes with any group of people concerned about land, water or species that are threatened or have been damaged. 

Host an event with us

 

Contact us to start the discussion.

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Coaching for Environment Workers & Activists

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With the continued exploitation of our natural environment and insufficient action from global powers, it can be easy for champions of the environment to become frustrated and sink into feelings of powerlessness. 

 

We all know the importance of this work and that it must continue. We offer one-on-one and group coaching to help you:

 

• Connect with your deepest values and ideals and why you are doing this work.

• Clarify your vision and become re-connected with your power.

• Express and alchemize emotions such as sadness, anger and grief to create inner space for action.

 

Are you an environment champion or part of a team looking to rekindle your fire for the work? Contact us to learn more about what our coaching can offer.

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