Using contemplative practices, this retreat explores the connections between our deepest inner experiences and our environmental efforts. Through daily meditation, art, nature walks, yoga, journal writing and other reflective exercises, we will investigate the interface between inner ecology and our pedagogical and activist work. Furthermore, the workshop will introduce contemplative practices tailored specifically for use in the classroom and activist settings.

Much of the workshop will probe the depths of the environmental crisis with the aim of appreciating the profundity of climate change, massive extinction, freshwater scarcity, and other global environmental challenges. This will include focusing not only on the biophysical but also the moral, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of these problems. The aim is to learn how to hold the depth and heartbreak of environmental issues without falling into despair, and to focus our energies toward building a more just, ecologically sound future.