Cosmic Rivers of Life with Dr. Jude Currivan

Join us for the second session of our Wetlands Series.

We talk with Dr. Emily Hite to explore the complex connections between communities and their land and water.  Dr. Hite is a cultural, environmental anthropologist and passionate advocate for environmental sustainability whose research focuses on the intersection of human-water relationships and climate governance. 

Dr. Hite investigates the far-reaching consequences of damming rivers and how communities and wetlands are intricately linked to the health and vitality of these waterways. We will speak about the importance of maintaining the integrity of rivers and the delicate balance required to sustain both human communities and the diverse ecosystems they rely on.  As part of this conversation, Dr. Hite will share stories of communities working together to maintain an ancestral connection to their waters and land in the face of infrastructure and land development.

How did Dr. Hite find her passion for her work, and what is her personal relationship with water? 

She shares valuable insights from her research and collaboration with the Global River Protection Coalition and her studies in Costa Rica, as well as shed light on the Coalition’s ongoing efforts to enhance wetland protections on a global scale. 

Together, let's empower ourselves with knowledge and contribute to the collective effort to preserve the waters that flow through our world.

Dr. Emily Hite is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Saint Louis University. She is also a primary investigator at SLU's Water Institute and serves as a regional co-chair of the Global River Protection Coalition. Her research is focused on understanding human-water relationships and how they are challenged by both climatic changes and climate policy.  A central concern of her research is the justice and equity of the processes of climate governance, with particular interest in how different knowledges, values, and belief systems are integrated into those processes. 

Dr. Hite works with dam-impacted communities in the United States and throughout Latin America and conducts research at international climate and hydropower meetings to understand local-to-global perspectives. The ultimate aim of her research is to influence more culturally-informed governance that aligns with the principles of climate justice.

Here we delve into the profound intersections of Wetlands, Indigenous food systems, and the enduring impacts of colonization, featuring the esteemed Dr. Lyla June Johnston. A luminary in her field, Dr. Johnston, a poet, anthropologist, and advocate for Indigenous wisdom, will lead us through an exploration of the intricate relationships between these elements. 

Lyla June speaks about the significance of Wetlands and highlight their importance in Indigenous cultures and food systems. From her unique perspective, Dr. Johnston shares stories and sustainable practices that have shaped Indigenous food cultures and deep connections and partnerships with the land.

As part of this conversation, we also examine the impacts of colonization on Wetlands and Indigenous food systems following the westward expansion of European settlements across Turtle Island. Together, we explore changing perspectives on Wetlands and restoration efforts, as well as movements for reclaiming and revitalizing Indigenous land stewardship and food systems.  

This is an incredible opportunity to engage with a visionary leader and gain a deeper understanding of the vital connections between Wetlands, Indigenous food systems, and the ongoing impacts of colonization.  

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives, and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Note:  Slides that she references can be seen in the video recording of this presentation available here:  https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/events-programs/2024/lyla-june-johnston

It's time to rewild ourselves and our dominant worldviews to build earth-centered communities for all. 

Join us for an illuminating journey with Osprey Orielle Lake, a renowned author, activist, and changemaker, as we delve into the pressing need to rewild ourselves and our dominant worldviews. In a world teetering on the edge of social, environmental, and climate collapse, this webinar offers a beacon of hope and a roadmap to building Earth-centered communities that can thrive.

In our exploration, we'll tackle the complex web of interconnected crises, including colonialism, racism, patriarchy, capitalism, and ecocide. By weaving together ecological, mythical, political, and cultural perspectives, Osprey invites us to reconnect with the Earth's lineage and historical memory. Together, we'll explore the delicate threshold between peril and promise.

Uncover the collective wisdom passed down by Earth-centered cultures. Gain a deeper understanding of climate justice and systemic challenges. Find inspiration to contribute to the creation of thriving Earth communities. This webinar promises to be a wellspring of hope and a remedy to the prevailing despair of our times. 

Osprey Orielle Lake is the founder and executive director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN).  She works internationally with grassroots, BIPOC and Indigenous leaders, policymakers, and diverse coalitions to build climate justice, resilient communities, and a just transition to a decentralized, democratized clean-energy future. 

She sits on the executive committee for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and on the steering committee for the Fossil Free Non-Proliferation Treaty. Osprey’s writing about climate justice, relationships with nature, women in leadership, and other topics has been featured in The Guardian, Earth Island Journal, The Ecologist, Ms. Magazine and many other publications. 

She is the author of the award-winning book Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature. Osprey holds an MA in Culture and Environmental Studies from Holy Names University in Oakland and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area on Coast Miwok lands. 

To learn more, go to: https://ospreyoriellelake.earth

Join us for an insightful webinar as we delve into the inspiring journey of Christina Lynch, a story of reconnecting with her Bajan heritage, her unique upbringing, and the profound influence of her environment on her path to regaining her voice. In this engaging and enlightening discussion, Christina will take you on a journey through her intuitive herbal path, sharing the powerful plant allies that have played a pivotal role in her physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Christina will also shed light on her current projects aimed at guiding and supporting others on their own paths of self-discovery and healing. You'll gain valuable insights into the practices and resources that have helped her along the way, empowering you to connect the dots in your own life and find your voice.

This webinar is a unique opportunity to hear from a passionate and knowledgeable herbalist as she shares her wisdom, stories, and vision for personal and collective healing. 

Christina Lynch is a growing community herbalist who desires to share her knowledge and passions with those around her. She is a first-generation American, with her lineage deriving from Barbados. Taking a great desire to reconnect to the Earth, continuing the spiritual and physical connections with the Earth as her ancestors once did, her intent is to assist others in starting or continuing their journeys in becoming one with themselves. 

Christina is the founder of Black Herbalists Alliance, Trydent Consulting, and Gingerly Expressions, an organization focused on intentional creation of herbal products and services, to assist others in starting or continuing their own journeys in becoming one with themselves; and to finance fiscal sponsorship and opportunities to support BIPOC healers.

Christina offers herbal programs, herbal classes, and herbal tea blends. She studied under Emily Ruff and Maggie O’Halloran and is an avid tea lover, recovering foodie, and cultural explorer. She is currently on the board of Red Hills Small Farm Alliance, Florida School of Holistic Living and American Herbalists Guild.

This webinar is part of our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Your contribution makes it possible for ONE to share these educational resources for building co-creative relationships with the Living Earth. You can Donate here and read more about the fundraiser: https://www.natureevolutionaries.com/give-to-thrive  🌎🌿💜  Together we are cultivating a world where all beings have the right to thrive and our Sacred connection with Nature is honored. 

Join us for this exciting webinar that looks deeply at the vast intelligence of the plant world, including plants and trees that heal us, guide us, and feed us. You have probably heard the expression “master plants” and immediately think about psychotropic plants. In this paradigm-shifting webinar we will explore the idea that All plants are master plants and if approached and treated in a sacred manner, have the ability to open doors of perception, heal us at a core level, and nourish us optimally.  

🌿 Imagine plants that can guide us in co-evolution into the “New Earth”. 

🌿 Imagine plants that have certain chemical constituents that heal and nourish us because of their spiritual intelligence. 

🌿 Imagine yourself connecting effortlessly directly into the spiritual intelligence of plants.  

🌿 Imagine that simply by eating certain plants they are serving as “master plants”.
 
Teacher, curandera, and ethnobotanist, Rocio Alarcon, is joining us once again to inspire, guide and deepen into the realm of the spiritual intelligence of plants. This is new and exclusive never-before-shared material that she has prepared for ONE participants.


Rocio Alarcon is a healer for our times.  She has worked tirelessly for decades to preserve indigenous cultures and land both in the Amazon and in the Andean community where she grew up, under the tutelage of master healers. She has lovingly brought many modern seekers, as well as skeptics, into the fold of the healing traditions of her ancestors, teaching especially about our relationship with the “divine forces” in the natural world. Rocio’s grandmothers held intimate connections with the forces of nature, particularly the plants and the hummingbirds, whom they could call upon for the healing of their communities.  Recently, Rocio has been bringing forth this particular ancestral heritage.  

Rocio brings to her inherited knowledge a scientific understanding of the co-evolution of plants and animals and ecosystems, as well as understandings of healing based on modern neuroscience.   She weaves this all together in her teachings on the healing power of the plants.

What does life look like if we live with an awareness of interbeing? How is our relationship with Nature informing our lives today to support a vibrant future?

You are invited to join us in discussion with an incredible panel of Nature Evolutionaries, Pam Montgomery, Myra Jackson, Larry Karsteadt, and Lauren Valle as they share their experience of deep kinship with Nature and their vision for a vibrant future.

This discussion will be grounded in our present time and our daily lives and you will also be invited to share your perspectives and vision in the meeting chat. From this rich conversation and your input, we will assemble the highlights and essence of our time together in a shared document.

🎉And, we are also celebrating ONE's 10th Anniversary during this webinar!! We will have a prize drawing for registrants for some wonderful gifts: Plant Initiation with Pam Montgomery at Sweetwater Sanctuary in Vermont (or online), Connecting Creatively with Nature online course, and an all-access pass to Women Working for the Earth Summit recordings.


Pam Montgomery is an herbalist, author, international teacher, Earth elder and new-paradigm thinker who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for green beings and has been investigating plants and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than three decades.

Larry Karsteadt’s life journey has been rich, rewarding and varied, with a long professional career as an Emergency Medical Services administrator in California, a Master’s degree in Biology from Cal-Poly Humboldt in northern California, extensive world travels, and a growing musical repertoire with his beloved guitar.

Myra Jackson is an Earth Elder who has held careers in engineering, holographic organizational development and academia. She carries the title of Diplomat of the Biosphere with a primary focus on transforming our societal relationship with Nature through public policy approaches that recognize Nature's intrinsic rights to exist whole along with all Her lifeforms.

Lauren Valle is a community herbalist, gardener, artist, and a mother of two young boys. She is devoted to reawakening the memories we all carry of being joyfully woven into the web of life, and to dismantling the social constructs that lead us to believe that we are separate from each other and that we are separate from Nature.

Join natural builder, Sigi Koko, as she shares about working with Nature to create inspired architectural designs and construction from natural materials.  We will explore Sigi’s passion and commitment for eco-sensible design and her practical outlook in partnering with Nature in the building of our homes.   Creating in collaboration with our own ecosystems leads to more efficient homes as well as incredibly beautiful, connected spaces.  

Mimicking Nature instead of trying to overpower with our will just makes sense to Sigi.

Sigi Koko, owner and operator of Down to Earth Design, is one of the most established and prolific architect/builders of natural structures in the United States. Her company, founded in 1998, predominantly serves the mid-Atlantic region of the US and designs strawbale homes and residential-scale commercial structures for their environmentally minded clients. For over 25 years Sigi has been pushing the boundaries of the construction market towards sustainable and environmentally conscious building. She is also a major advocate and educator of natural building techniques, holding workshops and courses for students seeking to learn to build with natural materials. 

To learn more about Sigi’s work visit her website https://buildnaturally.com/ 

What does life look like if we recognize Earth as our kin and Mountains as our ancestors?  

Join Dr. John Hausdoerffer as he shares his vision and experience of deep kinship with Nature and talks about how good life can be when we are in a meaningful relationship with our landscapes.  We will honor Mountains in our discussion as wise Elders who can help guide us in being the ancestors we want to see in the future.  

Being those ancestors is rooted in the here and now and calls us to enliven values that nourish life for the following generations.   As guardians of Earth, Mountains show us the way.

Dr. John Hausdoerffer is an environmental philosopher, teacher, organizational founder, and writer from Gunnison, Colo. He believes that peace between humans begins with a spiritual connection with a just distribution of the “ecosphere” that forms our local and global home. His books “Catlin’s Lament“; “Wildness“; and (forthcoming) “What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be?” imagine how environmental health must come from and result in the healing of deep histories of social injustice and cultural trauma. “Dr. John” calls for a new ethic that views all places as part of our home, all generations of all beings as part of our scope of responsibility, and all actions as potential expressions of human care for the world. As he often says, “environmental ethics insists on humans as more than bodies that consume bodies in a global economy, insists that we are wholehearted beings capable of understanding and caring for the complex local and global systems that sustain us.”

Throughout his life, Dr. John’s dedication to peace has been driven by this question: What does the good life look like once we accept that all places are “here” and all eras are “now”? What does the good life look like if all peoples are considered as part of an equal humanity and if all species are considered as persons?

What does it mean to propagate Black Joy? To begin, Dr. Chris Omni invites you to think about how we propagate plants. 

In order to create new plants, the parent plant must be healthy and striving. In the space of propagating Black Joy, Dr. Omni, the parent plant, spent several years on an intentional healing and nature-inspired journey of self-discovery after the passing of her Mama from a 26-year battle with cancer. Seven years later, she is strong, whole, and grounded. Now, Dr. Omni joyfully enters a space of celebrating and growing Black Joy in the lives of other Black people such as Michelle Gunn and Ashley Powell - 2022/2023 Black Joy research mentees from Florida State University who were promoted to interns for the 2023/2024 season. During this webinar, you get to hear directly from these brilliant young leaders.

Partner in supporting the  “Black Joy is Lit(erature) Workshop Series”:  a writing workshop and retreat for Black undergraduate students in Florida
https://www.pledge.to/black-joy-is-lit-erature-retreat

Dr. Chris Omni, the Black Joy Scholar is a speaker, award-winning entrepreneur, artist, and activist.  Her research explores Nature’s influence on the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being of Black people and by blending her 25-year background in public health with her foreground in art education, Dr. Omni provides a counter-narrative to the typical deficit lens generally applied to the Black experience.

Michelle Gunn is an international affairs student at Florida State University. Originally from Orlando, Florida, she aspires to one day lead a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the issues amongst the Black diaspora. 

Ashley Powell is a Psychology and  Business student at Florida State University. She is a senior this year and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s in business and eventually work in a field where she can utilize both psychology and business.

Join us in conversation with Lisa Estabrook, artist, author and creator of Soulflower Plant Spirit Oracle deck as she shares her journey with her plant spirit mentors. We will explore the power of intentions, living body wisdom, restoring imagination as a super sense, and conscious creation with the elemental realm. 

It has always been Lisa’s intention to grow herself which means that the plant spirits have continually helped her stretch her comfort zone!  Over the last year or so her gardens have been calling for a new “blueprint" and she is leaning into that and what it can mean for our work in the world.

Feeling empowered and listening to and following the wisdom of our own hearts is an ongoing thread that Lisa is sharing with others as she remembers with the help of the plants.   Lisa encourages us all to give ourselves permission to create a life from the inside out rather than the outside in, as so many of us have long been conditioned to do. 

Lisa Estabrook is an artist, mother, way shower, author, home herbalist and plant whisperer who has spent the last 30 years figuring out how to live a meaningful, heart-led, healthy and joyful life. The creation of the Soulflower Plant Spirit Oracle deck was the result of a two-year long personal journey of self-discovery and healing which also launched her heART based Soulflower business with a growing range of products intended to support and inspire connection with ourselves and our planet. Lisa's belief is that the more we learn about ourselves, and take responsibility for our own healing (wholing) journeys, the more we will empower and support ourselves and by extension our families, our communities and ultimately the Earth herself. The founder of the online CommUNITY Garden, Lisa lives in Yarmouth, Maine.