Who We Are
We are so excited to embark on this Ecological Belonging journey with you.
We want to take a moment to introduce ourselves. Below each of us has written a brief reflection on what Ecological Belonging means to each of us. If you’re interested in reading more about our backgrounds, visit www.wellbeing-project.org.
What does ecological belonging mean to us?
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What does ecological belonging mean to us? 〰️
Ecological Belonging Networks and Storyteller Coordinator
For me, Ecological Belonging is the felt sense of belonging and connectedness with the natural surroundings wherever I call home. Growing up I always lived near a coast. Even when I lived in a different city, I was always near a body of water. It wasn’t until I moved to an urban city that didn’t really have a river or sea nearby that I realized how important it was for me to have the ritual of walking along a coastline or sitting near a riverbank. Many of my family rituals have to do with being and living near water (whether that was going fishing with my dad or eating Maryland-style crabs during celebrations). These (often coastal) stories, rituals, and shared knowledge and experiences are what ground me and give me a sense of connection and relationship to myself, my family, and the world around me. I hope, as you engage in this work, that you share in moments of personal insights and learning. Welcome :)
Special Projects Manager
He vivido fuera de la casa donde crecí, del país donde me crié por los pasados 15 años. Al tener la oportunidad, decidí ir a estudiar bajo otra cultura y otro idioma. A partir de ahí mi camino me ha llevado a vivir en 6 países diferentes, a empacar y desempacar muchísimas más, y también a aprender a conservar relaciones de familia y amistad desde la lejanía. Pronto descubrí que el truco para mi estaba en mantener y aprender nuevas prácticas y rituales que me recordaban aquel sentido de pertenencia, interno y externo, que independientemente del contexto o la cultura donde me encontrara, estas prácticas y rituales son formas diferentes de recordar quienes somos y cómo nos relacionamos con otros y con la madre tierra.
Para mi Ecological Belonging trae este recordar al centro de la conversación y nos invita a hacer consciencia y replantearnos como pertenecemos y como nos interrelacionamos con nosotros mismo, otros y con el mundo. Un concepto que desvela la magia de los rituales y las prácticas, que revela la sabiduría detrás de estas y que nos invita a re-tejernos de manera consciente en la fábrica del universal, ahí donde todo y todos cabemos.
Special Initiatives and Projects Lead
Growing up in the United States in the 1980s/90s, consumerism and pop culture were dominant. Perfect food came from the grocery store, but wild fruit or mushrooms were highly discouraged – nature was too “dangerous”. I grew up with religion, but not with a deeper connection to the world around me. Throughout much of my life, I felt a deep longing, a deep sense of disconnection. It was only in my 30s, when I moved to Sweden to study sustainability, that I learned to live and appreciate the connection to the world around me. To forage for berries and mushrooms, take long uninterrupted treks in the forest and mountains. When I learned spiritual practices that brought me closer to the people around me, the natural world, and into a deeper meaning of life. Now, as a father, I try to weave together rituals, practices and stories for my family so that they may better feel connected to something bigger than themselves and be better stewards of the planet. It is also my wish that this program can do the same for others.
We are not the experts, nor are we the first ones to ever engage in Ecological Belonging related work. The very point of this initiative acknowledges how Ecological Belonging is what always has been. The role that we play is to simply give space, share stories, and keep asking questions. We are honored to explore with you.
Remember. Everyone who engages in this journey will not look the same, share the same qualities or interests, or have the same values. We each individually and collectively experience what it means to remember, renew, and reweave our internal and external relationships with ourselves, each other, and the natural world around us.
We all get to enter this journey together, wherever we are, and that, in and of itself, is what makes this journey so intricately beautiful and interconnected. Like a spider web, our journeys are connected, regardless of where we begin. So if you’re someone who has always felt a connection to the natural world, great. If you’re someone who has never been interested in engaging with the natural world, that’s okay, too! There is no single starting point or way of engaging with this work, and we invite you to begin the journey, wherever you are in this moment.
