Everything has calmed down after the launch of the Natural Change Report in September. Other than a week teaching at Schumacher College and a quick trip to Edinburgh to run a workshop with Tim Kasser and the second WWF Natural Change Project group, all is quiet until next March!
It would be great to hear from you if you’d like help with any new year programmes, would like some mentoring support, or are interested in joining the new Ecopsychology Distance Learning Programme (now starting April 2012).
Or if your organisation or community would like to learn more about the Natural Change approach… book me for a workshop or presentation!
Courses
Natural Change for Facilitators, Knoydart, Scotland
24th – 31st March, 2012
This is a professional development course for those interested in facilitating groups using approaches pioneered on WWF’s Natural Change Project. Natural Change is an outdoor-based experiential programme designed to engage and support leaders for sustainability.
More information and applications…
*NEW* Ecopsychology Distance Learning Programme
16th April – 15th June, 2012
The Ecopsychology Distance Learning Programme offers a bespoke 12 week learning opportunity for those interested in exploring ecopsychology theory. It is being offered to answer the call from many people who would like to explore ecopsychology in a structured and supported way, but who don’t have the time or resources to attend a residential course or engage with longer, formal study.
A major part of the learning process will be to help you explore how you might apply ecopsychology to your own personal and professional life. The programme may also be used to compliment your ongoing research or study in other academic or professional fields.
Wild Mindfulness, Holy Isle, Scotland
26th June – 2nd July, 2012
This course takes the practice of mindfulness out of the meditation hall and into the wild. Through mindfulness practice and other contemplative work outdoors on the island, the course offers a chance to attend to our deep interconnectedness with our wider ecology. With this attention comes a renewed sense of self, and the potential to return home to ourselves as part of nature. Importantly, by means of shared reflection, we will also explore how these wild meditation experiences might inform our personal response to our current ecological crises.
News
Ecopsychology at Schumacher College
Just in from a lovely week at Schumacher College teaching ‘Ecopsychology: a revolution at home’ with Mary-Jayne Rust. The course was the fifth fully-booked week we’ve taught at the College this year and they have asked us to teach two more programmes next year.
The first of these, ‘Ecopsychology: experiencing the ecological self’, is in May and is open for bookings…
Natural Change Report 2011 published
The WWF ‘Natural Change: Catalysing leadership for sustainability’ report was published by WWF Scotland on September 29th. The report was launched at an event at the Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, where project participants talked about their experiences and how the project has influenced their leadership work in the education sector in Scotland.
Co-authored by Margaret Kerr and I, the report is available online and in print.
Download a PDF copy of the report…
Email WWF for a printed copy of the report…
View the launch event slideshow…
Articles published in the European Journal of Ecopsychology
Margaret Kerr and I have a two-part paper published in the European Journal of Ecopsychology. The paper explores the limitations of many contemporary approaches to ecopsychology research and proposes a new approach based in Transpersonal Psychology and Deep Ecology.
Read the abstracts here…
Subscribe to the European Journal of Ecopsychology here…
BOOK: Vital Signs – Psychological Responses to Ecological Crisis
This new anthology, edited by Mary-Jayne Rust and Nick Totton, represents a significant contribution to the field of ecopsychology. Regarded by many as the contemporary European equivalent of Theodore Roszak et al’s seminal text ‘Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind ‘ published in 1995, this new book will no doubt stimulate a whole new dialogue around ecopsychology theory and practice.
Margaret Kerr and I feel very privileged to have two chapters in the book. Chapter 5, ‘The Ecology of the Unconscious’ explores how experiences of wild places heal us and motivate us to live within the Earth’s limits. Chapter 18 gives an account of the Natural Change Project that we facilitate for WWF Scotland as an example of ecopsychology practice.
The book is published by Karnac Books and will be available on the December 16th.
Have a lovely Winter Solstice!
