Wholistic Restoration: A braided journey toward a more sustainable and reciprocal relationship with Mother Earth and each other.

This four-part series will be presented by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners in ecology, land-based education, and research. Together, we will strive to unpack our diverse worldviews, the process of learning, and understanding the connections between humanity and nature. The discussions will guide us through the journey of re-evaluating personal attitudes and assumptions, and the process of decolonizing how we come to know and what we perceive as valuable. The journey includes the process of decolonizing our knowledge and view of nature, reconciliation with all our relations, how to care for the ‘Land’, and opportunities and pathways to work together and give back.

This webinar series will be presented via Zoom from 6:30-8pm, with time for questions at the end of each session. To register, there is a suggested cost of $30 for one session, $100 for all four, or whatever you are able to contribute.

Deadline to register for all four sessions is November 22.

Sign up here!

Sessions

November 23 – Decolonizing worldviews

There are many different ways of knowing and of seeing how we fit in nature. This will be a reflection and an opportunity to look at our biases around knowledge systems and the natural world, what we consider valuable, and why. Join us on a journey into the Self, unpacking worldviews, and the different meanings of being in relationship with the natural world.

• A newcomer’s journey of learning and unlearning – Martin Tamlyn
• Unpacking nature and wilderness – Tim Alamenciak
• My Journey of Coming Home: A Story of Epistemic Resurgence, from the Scientific Method to the Paradigm of the Medicine Wheel – Mackenzie Lespérance

Session biographies for Decolonizing worldviews can be found here.

Deadline to register is November 22.

November 25 – Reconciliation with all our relations

As human beings interacting with Nature, each other, and the Land, we must pay constant attention to maintaining good connections across the spectrum of existence. There is so much to learn about how we work toward repairing relationships and properly cohabitating with all our relations. This will be an opportunity to find ourselves within these concepts by linking our shared history.

• What Settlers Can Learn from the Process of Writing Land Acknowledgements – Ellie Clin
• Land = Identity and Belonging – Dave Skene
• Nurturing a relationship with the Land – Martin Tamlyn
• We are all related – Maurice Switzer

Session biographies for Reconciliation with all our relations can be found here.

Deadline to register is November 24

December 7 – Caring for the Land

Wholistic Restoration requires an understanding of ecosystems, place, practice, and your own positionality. Caring for the Land is about connecting how ecosystem knowledge and personal action can contribute to a healthy planet. This session will link an accessible individual journey into reciprocity with an overview of general ecosystems; how they function; and how to honour, protect, and restore.

• A beginner’s guide to ecological restoration – Zack Harris
• Watersheds and Streams from Form to Function – Jack Imhof
• Acceptance, connection, and caring of the land – Theodore Flamand

Session biographies for Caring for the Land can be found here.

Deadline to register is December 6.

December 9 – Working together and giving back

We are all contributors on the journey to effective ecological restoration. We are part of the same Earth and connected by interwoven systems that govern how we live and interact with each other. This session will present an overview of the reciprocity of our actions, and discuss how to collaborate with community partners, create sustainable volunteer engagement, and invite us to evaluate our motivations in caring for the land.

• Interwoven Systems of Reciprocity – Sarina Perchak and Dave Skene
• Building and sustaining volunteer motivation – Tim Alamenciak
• The Manitoulin Phragmites Project – Judith Jones
• Creative approaches to community engagement – Martin Tamlyn

Session biographies for Working together and giving back can be found here.

Deadline to register is December 8.

Sign up here!