Climate Connections | Living Projects

Climate Connections
TRANSFORMATIONAL RESILIENCE

What is the Course?

Over 3-months together we will explore how to cultivate more resilience and connection in our lives. We will pay attention to where it already exists and support these areas to strengthen and grow. We will also explore other skills and possibilities to enhance resilience in our lives.

This course takes a holistic approach to the topic of ‘resilience’ as inseparable to wider social and ecological conditions of which we are a part. As such, we intend that the course will also inspire you to find voice and empowerment on the issues most important to you.

Why Resilience?

Resilience is not about ‘bouncing back’ or ‘returning to normal’. Why would we want to? For so many of us ‘normal’ means isolation, chronic stress, meaningless work, insecurity and dysfunctional relationships. Instead we will explore how we can use adversity to imagine and implement creative pathways towards something different, more life-affirming, and perhaps more meaningful.

Who’s it for?

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery, this course is specifically for ‘young adults’ (roughly defined as between the ages of 18-35 years old*) in South Devon to have a dedicated space to explore the skills necessary to take action on behalf of people and planet. These days will provide space to share our concerns with others from our local area, develop friendships and a supportive community to face these challenges together.

*If you are a little older or younger than this age range and would like to attend, please do still apply and we will consider your application.

A FULLY FUNDED 3-MONTH IMMERSIVE LEARNING JOURNEY FOR YOUNG ADULTS IN SOUTH DEVON

Oct 2022 - Feb 2023

The Living Projects, Pondfield, Dartington

An embodied in-person deep dive into the theme of ‘resilience’ in a time of social and ecological breakdown. Designed to support you to explore what resilience means in the context of your own life with a supportive group of peers. We will explore questions such as:

In times of crisis, how do we stay outward-looking and connected to the needs of others? How do we build meaningful and connected lives in times of social and ecological breakdown? If there is opportunity in this moment, how do we harness its potential?

Practicals

The course takes place over a 3-month period to allow plenty of space to apply the learning to your life and context with a supportive peer group. We will meet in-person for 2 consecutive days on the land at Pondfield in October, for 1 day again in mid-December, and a final 2 days at Pondfield in late January 2023. There will be a zoom call soon after each in-person meeting to reflect on learnings and connect as a group (full times and details below).

Finding Connection, Finding Regulation:
- Saturday 22nd October 2022 - 10am-8pm
- Sunday 23rd October 2022 – 10am-5pm
- Follow-Up Zoom Call: Tuesday 15th November 2022 - 7.00-8.30pm

Naming the Struggles:
- Saturday 17th December – 10am-10pm
- Follow-Up Zoom Call: Tuesday 10th January 2023 - 7.00-8.30pm

Pursuing lives of Meaning and Purpose:
- Saturday 28th January 2023- 10am-8pm
- Sunday 29th January 2023 – 10am-5pm
- Follow-Up Zoom Call: Tuesday 21st February 2023- 7.00-8.30pm

The Living Projects

The Living Projects at Pondfield is a thriving community led space that facilitates pioneering initiatives coming from our local area to tackle systemic issues around purposeful work, social infrastructure, rural youth opportunities and nature connection.

Founded in 2014 by local young people who wanted to see more opportunities for their generation, Pondfield has grown into a thriving hub for our community. We grow food, we explore pioneering techniques to help ecosystems and biodiversity through regenerative land management. We offer space for volunteering and learning about various horticulture approaches whilst we continue to support the local community through providing opportunities for connection to the land, social health and true wellbeing.

Project Coordinator - Declan D'Arcy

Declan is concerned with returning to a world grounded on principles of kindness and care. He is committed to turning towards the disconnection and dehumanisation that is destroying the web of life.

He is a trained facilitator, working at the intersection of nature-connection, decolonisation and trauma-informed practice to ensure transformative and adaptive responses to ecological unravelling are deeply inclusive.

Declan has been trained in a number of community building/conflict transformation modalities, The Work That Reconnects, Grief Tending, Nature-Connection, Deep Adaptation and psychospiritual resilience-building.

Who are we?