Spring is in full swing here in Driggs, as evidenced by the sound of rushing water in the distance—the snowmelt from the mountains has started! Life-giving, clean, cold mountain water, released from the winter snows just when things start growing. What an elegant system!
Spring is in our hearts, too. We started the new year with a very ambitious plan to widen the circle of conversation about our ecological priorities to include the rich and varied perspectives from all the Life that usually has no seat at our human-centered table, including the wild animals. We are seeking nothing less than a paradigm shift, in which we human beings begin to consider all life as sacred, and use that larger frame of reference as the basis for making wise environmental decisions.
Even though our newly designed website was launched only a few months ago, we already have “proof of concept” that this approach is working, in greatly increased numbers of people following us on social media, joining our online community, and engaging with the content we post on our website. Many are responding to our blogs, journal, podcasts, videos, animal stories and bi-weekly newsletter. Many want to volunteer.
In less than a week, we are taking our next important step: using the power of online video conferencing technology to begin to convene our community in council to discuss what we can do together to help wild animals and begin to reverse the environmental crises we are facing. We started this project with a new blog series entitled, One Good Deed: Idea and Action Exchange, written by Dr. Ellis Jones, author of The Better World Shopping Guide. Dr. Jones will be regularly inspiring us with simple, practical ideas that make a difference for the planet and empower us as individuals.
On May 17, we are going one step further with our first online Conservation Conversation, entitled How Connecting with An Animal Can Help Us Heal the Earth, hosted by our Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Susan Eirich. Within just a few days of our announcement, 100 people signed up for this special online discussion. To us, this is evidence that humans are hungry for this paradigm shift. We want to learn to live in a way that supports all Life, including our own.
As spring moves into summer, we will be hosting more online Conservation Conversations each month, and introducing more practical ways to help each of us connect with whatever part of nature speaks to us, and through that exchange to discover our unique gift toward healing the planet.
We are able to do all this because of your interest, participation, and support. If you are not doing so already, please follow us on Facebook, and sign up on our website for our Online Conversation Alerts. We need your energy to add to our own. None of us can do it alone. Together, we can find a new way of living on the Earth.
