Participation for this programme is already full, registration is now closed. 

Stay tuned for more details on upcoming Study Programmes. We hope to see you next time!

The Study Programme Ecology and Sustainability will unveil the values and the relationship one is capable of having with the natural world. Drawing from philosophers, ecologists, eco-phycologists, anthropologists, storytellers, activists and poets we will reflect on how we perceive the environment today and how we can create environmental and social change.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Where does your connection with the Earth rest?

Can we ever be sustainable?

The programme aims to offer a space of reflection, learning and action stirring the critical thinking of participants. The subjects discussed will aim to rethink the values between society and the environment.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

During 8 meetings we will journey through different ecological thoughts and perspectives to re-construct a narrative of wholeness and authentic sustainability. To guide us on this inquiry we will study and discuss different authors work such as Arne Naess, Joanna Macy, E. F. Schumacher, Stephan Harding, Aldo Leopold, Vandana Shiva, Murray Bookchin, Mathew Fox, Andrew Harvey, James Lovelock and more. You will be open to radical ecologists and thinkers while sharing your own perspective and rediscovering your own ecological values. 

During the programme you will receive materials such as book chapters, poems, videos and online talks to support and enrich your investigation.

PRIVATE RESEARCH

Participants will have the opportunity to dive into research. Following a thread of your own choosing you will have support to develop your ecosophy or any kind of expression of your choosing, this is an optional offering. Participants may chose to work on a poem, a painting, an essay, a story, a photograph, design a nature connection activity, a workshop or a talk.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

All are welcome to this study programme. We will have a small group to ensure participants get to know each other creating an intimate and safe space for conversation and learning. No background in ecology is required, simply the desire to deepen your thoughts around nature connection, ecological values and sustainability.

SESSIONS

The full course has 8 weekly meetings facilitated in a holistic and transformative learning format. The sessions will be recorded for your keeping. Subjects will be introduced by the facilitator with PPT support and discussed by the group through an inquiry method.  When you subscribe to the study programme you will receive study materials.

COURSE SCHEDULE 2019

Every Wednesday from March 6th to April 24th (19:00 to 21:00)

06/March

I. Introduction & Sustainability 

Re-thinking sustainability and course overview. This session is dedicated to get to know each other, share our perspectives around the concept of sustainability and understand how the study programme will take place.

13/March

II. Deep Ecology & Ecological Self

Deep Ecology is an ecological and environmental philosophy promoting interconnection and diversity, and endorsing the inherent worth of all beings regardless of their utility to human beings. It involves moving beyond the individualism of Western cultures towards seeing human beings as part of a global ecosystem. 

20/March

III. The Work That Reconnects

The ‘Work that Reconnects’ is a series of experiential practices pioneered by Joanna Macy drawn from systems theory, deep ecology, Buddhism, Indigenous wisdom and other sources, which aims to:

● Provide people with opportunities to confront feelings of being overwhelmed and powerless relating to the catastrophes the planet is facing

● Reframe our pain for the world as evidence of our interconnectedness in the web of life

● Revitalise ourselves to play a part in the creation of a regenerative planet

27/March

IV. Social Ecology & Ecofeminism

Murray Bookchin was a leading theoretical progenitor of the many currents of left ecological thought and action that emerged from the 1960s. The session will explore the common routs of oppression that cause harm and destruction to both women and nature and a path to the interconnected liberation of all beings.

03/April

V. Nature Connection & Indigenous Ways of Being

Indigenous people have a tradition of conservation. In this session we will explore the traditions of indigenous tribes and how their way of being is intertwined with the natural world. Participants will be offered nature connection practices and activities they can offer to other communities (students, colleagues, friends..) and will discuss why is it important to feel the belonging to place. What can we learn from indigenous people?

10/April

VI. The Power of Storytelling

During the session we will explore how stories transform our world and participants will gain tools to share their own story in an authentic form. We will explore the different narratives we live by and think creatively and collectively on how we can share a new story, our personal and professional stories. 

17/April

VII. Sacred Activism & Spiritual Ecology

The session explores the integration of spiritual values with practical action in activism and environmental work.  We will discuss the role of reverence for the earth into today’s ecological debate.To create a truly sustainable future should spirituality play a role? What would a future based on interconnectedness and honouring all life look like? How can activism and environmental action life generating instead of life burning? Join us to unravel new forms of seeing the world and being an activist.“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity—then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”

– David Suzuki

24/April

VIII. Conclusion and final reflection

Project presentation and weaving together all our threads. During this session we will look back into our learning journey aiming to create a holistic narrative and an understanding of how we can move forward applying our discoveries.